Hi Weeksy
I didn't add it up and as I said it 'does' very much depend on what you want to get out of it.
For me it's a personal acheivement and I really wouldn't bother about tooling around at the back. It's the taking part that I like the idea of.
There is no such thing as cheap racing thesedays I agree - however no real sport is cheap.
I competed with horses for many years and CK will tell how expensive that it too.
I do believe it can be addictive for some - I wouldn't consider myself one of those ( way too old )
I've seen how easy it is to get carried away with the spending and that was with a reliable bike ( yes it was reliable )
Horses for courses. I don't believe it has to be horrific but it's not cheap - what fun is thesedays ?