We wanted to call this post BYOBW Crisis 2 (Electric Boogaloo) but this is no joke. We are facing nearly $2,000 more in costs this year, which brings the total costs of the event up to roughly $8,000. We’ve received some donations (thank you, you know who you are!) through a silent fundraiser we were passing around, but we are still very, very short of funds to make this year happen.

You can click HERE to donate. If you have any questions please contact us.

Bring Your Own Big Wheel is truly one of the most fun events in our fair city of San Francisco. This Easter will be hopefully be number 14! Thank you so much for bringing the decorated bikes, costumes, laughter and childhood spirit to this one of a kind event.

In the past we have fronted most of the money ourselves and been able to make our costs back in donations on the day of the race. This year however, we’ve had some unexpected costs and we’ve been informed that even more of our costs are increasing to pay for additional Park and Rec officers, as well as more porto-potties, hay bales and insurance. These are things required by the city for us to have the event.

We want this event to stay free to everyone and be free from advertising so we’ve again said no to the corporate sponsorship. We want this event to be for (and by) Big Wheelers and fun seekers, with no obligation other than being nice to your fellow humans and picking up your garbage after the event.

Here’s our hope: that with your help we can generate some pre-event cash flow and the donations on race day can cover the rest. We would feel comfortable with $3,000 (our expenses are detailed below, and we’ve already raised $900 so far ). If we can’t get at least half of our costs covered pre-event, we fear we won’t be able to roll. It’s March 10th now, 6 weeks before the event and we can pay for some of the smaller things ourselves but the larger costs are a bit scary right now.

One important thing we ask, please keep this call out off major public facing lists and websites. As crazy as that may seem, we are VERY concerned about growth of the Big Wheel Races around the small and beautiful McKinkley Park and the gracious residents of the historic Potrero Hill neighborhood. If we outgrow Vermont Street we will stop having the races. It’s ok to pass this around, just be mindful of where it goes.

That’s why we aren’t and won’t do a campaign on one of the popular public fundraising sites. YOU, our riders and true participants make this event awesome and we don’t need publicity because well, YOU know Vermont Street is where you want to be on Easter.

How can you help? Please donate HERE. Any amount helps but $10 or more is really going to help us start paying for expenses. We will absolutely send updates about our progress and let everyone know when we’ve reached our goal.

Just so we are being transparent, here are our expenses:

Total without increases:                                     $6034.28

What we have so far:                                            $900.00
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Thanks in advance for your help. We hope to roll with everyone in April!

Again, that link to donate is: HERE.

With Gratitude and Big Wheels,

The Bring Your Own Big Wheel Crew