Author Topic: Bikecicle 2011 - February 12th - planning thread (Read 22878 times)

Sal Atticum · « **on:** December 03, 2010, 09:18:54 AM »

Volunteers:
1. Beek (but I will probably be all over the place)
2. Lauren (only for 1:30 race) course marshal
3. Andrea (afternoon) registration and marshal first race
4. Michael (only for 2:30 race) course marshal
5. Yost (all day) prep, course marshal, teardown
6. New Logan (all day) prep, course marshal, teardown
7. Karin (all but one race) registration, course marshal,
8. James (all day?) course marshal
9. Aaron (all but one race) course marshal
10. Mrs. Aaron (at least Aaron's race) course marshal
11. Adam (if not working) prep, course marshal, teardown
12. Joe (all day) registration, course marshal, teardown
13. Jordan (all day) prep, course marshal, teardown
14. Mills (all but one race) course marshal

Volunteer assignments will probably change as time goes on; we'll try to make it so you don't have to stand out in the cold for the whole afternoon.
If you aren't volunteering, I'm assuming you're racing!

This is where planning will happen for our 2nd annual Bikecicle race. A lot of this stuff may be obvious to me and to others, but I want to make "how this works" as understandable as possible to newer club members who want to help out with the organizing. If you are interested in helping organize, let me know and we'll figure some stuff out together.

Old info:
Bikecicle 2010
Bikecicle 2009 (cancelled)

Winter schedule (so far):
January 30th: Fargo icebike race
January 31st - February 2nd: Arrowhead 135
February 6th: Winnipeg icebike race (unconfirmed for 2011)
February 12th: Bikecicle
February 26th: END-IT

Items:
- Saturday, February 12th 2011, during the Grand Forks Winterfest.

- First race at 1:30, registration for all races from 12:30 to 1:15.

- Course will be in approximately the same place as last year: north of the Blue Moose on the East Grand Forks Greenway.

- Course will involve snowy paved trail (which may or may not be icy at the time) and off-trail sections through deep snow.

- Division will be based on number of laps--probably three laps for advance and one lap for beginners, although a two lap option may be feasible this year.

- USAC or not is to be determined.
- We should have insurance either way, under the Winterfest umbrella or through USAC.
- A USAC race will be better-publicized to all USAC members in the area.
- A USAC race will cost us more due to hiring an official (unless one of us gets an officiating license before then).
- I am unsure still whether entry fees will cost more as a USAC race; I will contact people who know better.

- This race will require a number of volunteers, and this is one thing that people can begin lining up now. There will be road crossings involved, so I'm serious when I say that if we don't have an excess of volunteers, club members will not be racing because they will have to work.

- We did registration and awards at The Blue Moose last year, who is now our title sponsor. I need to make sure with them that it is okay for us to set up there again. This is an important detail that needs to be worked out before we can get flyers out.

- Schwag was purchased at The Ski & Bike Shop last year as well as for our recent cyclocross series. We will need to see if they are willing to give us a good discount again. People seem to like it when we give stuff away.

- Need to determine whether we want to run races together or separate. USAC will probably want to run things separately since it makes it easier to figure out who is in what race (well, obviously). The issue we ran into with cx this fall is not making it clear that some racers may have to wait around for their race after registering.

- Budget will be up as soon as I figure out what we can do with USAC/non-USAC.

- The City Council meeting to give us money or not for this event (from the Urban Development office) is on December 6th, so hopefully we will know soon after that whether we are getting matching funds. They are recommending that we get $600 for this event (we asked for $700 in our proposed budget).

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #1 on:** December 16, 2010, 01:27:16 PM »

We have just received the contract from the Office of Urban Development. We will get $600 of matching funds for this event.

What this means: We go halvsies on paying for the event with them, which means we will be reimbursed half of what we spend up to $600. In their words:

Quote

...when submitting your request for funds, please provide documentation of the required dollar-for-dollar match (i.e., copies of check registers or copies of invoices, etc., for twice the amount of your grant.

This does not mean that we can spend $600 and then be completely reimbursed. If we put down $600, they will give us $300. If we put down $1200, they will give us $600, etc.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #2 on:** December 31, 2010, 10:37:43 AM »

Wow, this crap is annoying.

We are pending on the USAC site as a "real" race. Let's hope I didn't screw it up.

Plantains · « **Reply #3 on:** January 02, 2011, 05:32:17 PM »

It will probably say pending for a while... I wouldn't wait on it.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #4 on:** January 02, 2011, 05:47:49 PM »

No worries, I've been in touch with Larry.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #5 on:** January 12, 2011, 11:50:26 AM »

I need to get a map together as soon as possible to get added to the special events application for Winterfest. Anyone have a specific route or set of obstacles in mind? I may have to go out and do this on Thursday after the meeting (as my "long ride" for the week).

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #6 on:** January 12, 2011, 11:57:25 AM »

Following the rough course of last year sounds like a good plan. I was going to ask you guys at the meeting tomorrow about what "technical" sections you want. For example, having sections through snow over grass, etc.

Do we want people to be able to ride the entire thing or should we make it like the cyclocross race where there are sections people might have to carry their bike through.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #7 on:** January 12, 2011, 12:18:53 PM »

There should be sections that are just too hard to ride (or only advanced riders can ride), either because of snow depth or slope. Depending on the ice at the edges there's a gully I was thinking of using to drop people down to the river without getting near the snowmobile race.

sanders · « **Reply #8 on:** January 12, 2011, 01:38:24 PM »

Beek I can go with you tomorrow, is after the meeting the only time you could/want to go?

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #9 on:** January 12, 2011, 02:20:52 PM »

I could go before the meeting, which might be easier but I don't know your schedule. I just need to get up and focus a little better on the new semester.

sanders · « **Reply #10 on:** January 12, 2011, 07:03:01 PM »

I could go anytime tomorrow other than 9:30 - 11. whatever is better for you

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #11 on:** January 12, 2011, 09:34:56 PM »

We could go at four and still have some light. What say ye?

sanders · « **Reply #12 on:** January 12, 2011, 09:56:06 PM »

i say ye, le do ehh ahh fo

Cycleguy · « **Reply #13 on:** January 14, 2011, 03:19:06 PM »

I put a flyer advertising the event in Babcock.

Plantains · « **Reply #14 on:** January 15, 2011, 12:57:51 PM »

Remember to think MTB and not CX.

sanders · « **Reply #15 on:** January 16, 2011, 04:56:14 PM »

you can most defiinitely put flyers up and help with advertising! You can download them and print them off/send the flyers to bike shops in winnipeg, fargo, minneapolis, sioux falls...I am not aware if anybody has sent them to anyplace yet so correct me if somebody has sent stuff to fargo, etc. We would appreciate any of your help!

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #16 on:** January 17, 2011, 03:19:41 PM »

I sent an email down to Jeremy in Fargo, but I've been waiting until we get the USAC online registration figured out to do more contacting.

I put together a map I'm sending to Kim and Dave to see what they think.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=208329735238098844857.00049a113b07f21ad1164&ll=47.932921,-97.032495&spn=0.00335,0.007467&t=h&z=17

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #17 on:** January 17, 2011, 03:58:15 PM »

I'll hang some around Clifford/Odegard this week.

When should we try and finalize the course?

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #18 on:** January 17, 2011, 04:02:39 PM »

I just asked Kim Greendahl and Dave Aker (Winterfest planners and Greenway people in charge) if we could ride on the river and whether running through the park was going to cause any problems. As soon as I hear back from them we can adjust things as necessary.

Aaron, if you have a different idea for the course you can make a map and we can see what people like.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #19 on:** January 18, 2011, 01:44:24 PM »

If anyone wants to really help me out, you can call up Ink, Inc. and see what they charge for shirts (if we give them a one- or two- or three-color design) and what sort of lead time they need.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #20 on:** January 18, 2011, 04:50:33 PM »

Okay, so it looks like we'll be interfering with the xc ski trail on the east side of the course. Any ideas? We could double up the southwest side and run some of it through the snow, but it's going to be a lot of work for we who are volunteering.

As for going on the river, Grand Forks is okay with it (as long as we indemnify them) and I'm waiting to hear back from East Grand Forks.

Does anyone have a snowblower we could use for part of the course?

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #21 on:** January 19, 2011, 12:35:25 AM »

Course looks good to me. I got 2 shovels - no snowblower. I have no problem dedicating some manpower to clearing portions of the course.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #22 on:** January 21, 2011, 02:31:38 PM »

I would love to pack down some sweet singletrack similar to the trails that get packed down on campus in the winter. I have no idea how long such a thing would take to do, but since the course needs to be finalized anyway, I may go out and see what I can figure out on Saturday and try packing. Even if we get some more snow, the trail would stay rideable until the race I think.

If that doesn't work, yeah, shovels. And a lot more people I'll have to force to help out.

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #23 on:** January 21, 2011, 10:34:29 PM »

I'm SOL this weekend, but it would be relatively easy to pack down some snow... I think I have a some plywood in the shed we could plop down... stomp on it a few times, and keep going. Repeat as necessary and include some foot traffic, and I bet we get a good approximation to the trails on campus.

Plantains · « **Reply #24 on:** January 22, 2011, 11:53:05 AM »

Why not just get a sled and some weight and put it on a bike?

sanders · « **Reply #25 on:** January 22, 2011, 01:19:09 PM »

yea that would be cool to get some single track stuff, i won't be able to go today. but sled or plywood in combonation with some foot traffic would work perfect.

once we get the course figured out better, we need to get an estimate of how many volunteers we need for the course.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #26 on:** January 22, 2011, 03:37:27 PM »

I went out for two hours today and have a course in mind. The snow is quite loose, but maybe we can take advantage of the warmer temperatures next week. I didn't bother trying to finalize any of the singletrack sections, but the more people we get walking/riding through/over them the better they will end up.

If the snowmobile sections melt we're a little screwed, but if that happens we'll just have to run the same course as last year.

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #27 on:** January 22, 2011, 08:03:32 PM »

Feeling creative?

http://gizmodo.com/5740726/diy-bicycle-snow-plow-works-great-for-light-snow

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #28 on:** January 22, 2011, 08:25:08 PM »

We could win Grand Forks if we built a fleet of those...

Plantains · « **Reply #29 on:** January 23, 2011, 03:04:36 PM »

I feel like that plow is a horrible design due to the yaw that it would inevitably have? That said... the concept is great, just modify it so that the plow has a better CG.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #30 on:** January 24, 2011, 12:03:27 PM »

Here's my map for the course after being out for two hours on Saturday. It will utilize five volunteer positions and some large signs on the snowmobile trail.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #31 on:** January 25, 2011, 08:21:24 PM »

Filling in volees at the top of this thread.

Plantains · « **Reply #32 on:** January 26, 2011, 12:56:38 AM »

Typo on USAC

"Collegiate riders: If the correct category doesn't show up for you, select either Cat 3 (for C/D riders) or Cat 2 (for A/B riders) and send an email to [email protected] with your name and correct caegory and we will fix your registration."

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #33 on:** January 26, 2011, 07:51:08 AM »

Fixed.

Plantains · « **Reply #34 on:** January 27, 2011, 12:37:36 PM »

Logging in to view pages is stupid. Also... what is this?

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #35 on:** January 27, 2011, 01:39:17 PM »

Quote from: Plantains on January 27, 2011, 12:37:36 PM

Logging in to view pages is stupid. Also... what is this?

The newspaper in East Grand Forks. The guy who runs After 5 works there too so he interviewed me. I'll try to get a copy and upload the article.

Plantains · « **Reply #36 on:** January 28, 2011, 11:01:02 PM »

Oh nice...

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #37 on:** January 29, 2011, 10:46:32 AM »

If anyone does or knows someone who snowmobiles on the Greenway, can you try to show some respect to other users? I'm not saying that all snowmobilers are hooligans, and it may just be one idiot who's out there all over the place, but seriously, I'm not laying down tree trunks on the snowmobile trail, so why do some people feel the need to mess up the ski trail (the grooming of which was paid for by the residents of both cities)? Why do some people need to drag snow into the path when it's been plowed?

I'm not against snowmobiles. I know everyone enjoys winter in a different way, and I'm even HAPPY that the trail is there so we can use it in the race course, but please show some respect.

Meanwhile, I need to go back out and move some Bikecicle trail sections because some idiot went through and messed up the snow. Not a huge deal, but since I wanted to have the race course open, rideable, and being ridden by people to wear it in the week before the race, this sort of thing makes me not want to make the effort.

Last mini-rant: So what's the deal with plowing the Greenway path up to the access points and then leaving a pile of snow you have to climb over? Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose? It's like the Washington Street underpass sidewalk staying unplowed for days after a snowfall--that's how people get back and forth past the stupid trainyard, do you think everyone who walks in the winter is young and ready to trudge through drifts of snow at a moment's notice?

red hibiscus · « **Reply #38 on:** January 29, 2011, 12:07:26 PM »

I'm sorry, but snowmobiles belong out in the country and not within city limits...for reasons such as this. And because they're basically obnoxious

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #39 on:** January 29, 2011, 09:17:23 PM »

So sleds are cool... but ya, there are idiots out there in every hobby it seems like. I think part of the issue is some of the riders out there are teens from EGF... either oblivious or couldn't care less about other greenway users.

As far as the pile of snow issue goes, it's something worth reporting to greenway committee. Perhaps the week before the race we can use some of the posts/tape from the cx race and try and keep individuals from wrecking the course?

Plantains · « **Reply #40 on:** January 29, 2011, 09:18:12 PM »

Its funnier coz we're idiots.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #41 on:** January 31, 2011, 12:01:00 PM »

We will need to give Blue Moose an idea of numbers before race day, at least as a courtesy so if we do show up with 60 people they won't flip out.

sanders · « **Reply #42 on:** January 31, 2011, 12:33:31 PM »

Very true, i was thinking about that earlier.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #43 on:** February 05, 2011, 08:52:04 PM »

Toaster says no worries about the shovel--Ted bought it and they all made fun of him (because he's from Florida, you know).

Thanks to EVERYONE who came out and helped Sanders and me (well, mostly Sanders) film for the promo video this morning and then do trail work this afternoon: New Logan, Aaron, Skip and Doublefist! We'll need to go out and do some more shoveling this week, so be ready...

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #44 on:** February 05, 2011, 11:32:34 PM »

just name a time... I have a portable shovel I can bring for later in the week. I also have one of those large ~3 person plastic toboggans. That could be good for packing down snow too.

Long range computer models show little if any snow accumulation from now till race time:

Models have us staying cold till Thurs. then it will supposedly warm into the 20s for the race on Sat.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #45 on:** February 06, 2011, 10:34:54 AM »

Cool!

How good is wind prediction a week in advance? Are we going to have to deal with drifting before Saturday? I'm expecting to, since we're in North Dakota.

Plantains · « **Reply #46 on:** February 06, 2011, 06:51:59 PM »

Quote from: Sal Atticum on February 06, 2011, 10:34:54 AM

Cool!

How good is wind prediction a week in advance? Are we going to have to deal with drifting before Saturday? I'm expecting to, since we're in North Dakota.

Beek you can go here to see whats up with the wind. It's color coded and self explanitory... just mouse over the times that you want to see and you'll see what the winds are going to do.

http://www.weather.gov/forecasts/wfo/sectors/fgfWeek.php?page=4&element=WindSpd

Plantains · « **Reply #47 on:** February 06, 2011, 06:55:19 PM »

You can also try to use this one as it gets closer... though ouwx may have some better charts. This one is the transport wind for fire prediction. Not sure how it would work with snow?

http://www.weather.gov/forecasts/wfo/sectors/fgfFireWeek.php?page=2&element=TransWind

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #48 on:** February 06, 2011, 08:56:40 PM »

Thanks Dave! I think it looks like Tuesday is going to be the worst for wind, 17 knots or so.

How have you been?

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #49 on:** February 06, 2011, 09:28:36 PM »

Quote

Are we going to have to deal with drifting before Saturday

Heh. I rode most of the greenway today, and that is a definitive YES! Greenway is already drifted over in places. The course isn't too bad. Most of the drifts there only cover half the path. In other locations, there are ~2ft drifts in narrow bands. Nothing impassable.

Honestly, I like the drifts and think they add some fun to the course. It was fun plowing through them earlier today, sending powder everywhere.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #50 on:** February 06, 2011, 10:29:32 PM »

Did you happen to see the sections we shoveled yesterday? I imagine they are in prime drifting position. I think I'm going to be right about my prediction of needing to be out every day this week...

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #51 on:** February 06, 2011, 11:43:16 PM »

Quote

Did you happen to see the sections we shoveled yesterday?

Either I didn't because I wasn't paying attention OR they are completely drifted over and I didn't notice them.

I wouldn't get my hopes up. I had paths I blazed through the drifts near the golf course (southbound) that were drifted over by the time I returned 30 min later (northbound).

It may just be best to let it be until Friday afternoon?

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #52 on:** February 07, 2011, 08:13:10 AM »

If the whole club makes it out on Friday afternoon to contribute to clearing the course, I'll wait.

If it's just four of us again, or just me, then there's no point in even having this event since people obviously don't give a rat's ass about it.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #53 on:** February 07, 2011, 09:55:38 AM »

Quote from: OUWxGuesser on February 06, 2011, 11:43:16 PM

Quote
Did you happen to see the sections we shoveled yesterday?

Either I didn't because I wasn't paying attention OR they are completely drifted over and I didn't notice them.

I wouldn't get my hopes up. I had paths I blazed through the drifts near the golf course (southbound) that were drifted over by the time I returned 30 min later (northbound).

It may just be best to let it be until Friday afternoon?

No worries. I just rode the sections we shoveled and they're fine. I definitely agree that the drifts over the path are fun to ride; hopefully we can have conditions like that on Saturday.

That post wasn't directed at you, by the way. You came out to help with the filiming in the AM so we didn't try to make you come out and spend a couple hours shoveling. It's some other people I'm thinking of whose faces I seldom see.

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #54 on:** February 07, 2011, 10:29:07 AM »

I didn't realize you were shoveling later so that's my bad, for some reason I thought it was going to be the following afternoon.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #55 on:** February 07, 2011, 11:09:06 AM »

We ended up doing it Saturday because we figured the weather was great and we didn't want to interfere with spin on Sunday.

Plantains · « **Reply #56 on:** February 07, 2011, 12:14:17 PM »

Quote from: Sal Atticum on February 06, 2011, 08:56:40 PM

Thanks Dave! I think it looks like Tuesday is going to be the worst for wind, 17 knots or so.

How have you been?

You're welcome sir. I'm alright... just grinding away at the job search here and waiting until the test results get posted to see where I scored on those PD exams. HBU? I see we've entered the "Rats Ass" phase of event planning.

Glad to see I'm not missing anything new... lol

Sean Cooley · « **Reply #57 on:** February 07, 2011, 05:36:01 PM »

I can work all morning until the 2nd race.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #58 on:** February 07, 2011, 05:56:29 PM »

Quote from: Sean Cooley on February 07, 2011, 05:36:01 PM

I can work all morning until the 2nd race.

Sweet. Are you racing?

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #59 on:** February 07, 2011, 08:10:58 PM »

Saw the paths you shoveled this afternoon. Still look OK. I think the weeds in the area keep the drifting down.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #60 on:** February 07, 2011, 09:07:57 PM »

Sanders and I will be going out tomorrow afternoon around 3. There may be a group going out Wednesday afternoon as well if we don't get things done.

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #61 on:** February 08, 2011, 02:51:00 PM »

Just saw this now (not sure how I missed it). I won't be there today, but can help out tomorrow.

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #62 on:** February 09, 2011, 12:01:38 AM »

Looks like we will hit at least 30F on Sat. What's the status for tomorrow? Do you guys need help, or did you finish things up today?

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #63 on:** February 09, 2011, 08:57:23 AM »

Sandman and I cleared what could minimally be said to be the last section that needed to be cleared. It's pretty sweet. Thanks to Liz for lending us shovels!

We were also talking about cutting the course in half and having people do twice as many laps to get the same distance. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen in the perfect spot. Sanders, I don't know what you want to do about this: in the attached image, I marked a cutoff that would give us a course that's 2 km instead of 4 km. This would be another section to shovel, but would also give us a tighter course that requires fewer volunteers (meaning more people get to race!).

The cutoff would be about 100 m of singletrack shoveling. It took Sanders and I about an hour to clear the section we did, which is a 64 m according to the map I have, so if we had four people still go out at the same time it could be an hour or so work. I'll cruise by on my way into school and see what the terrain is like through there.

What say people? Can we gather a crew either today (remember, spin 3-5 pm) or tomorrow afternoon? I have to work at 5 tonight, otherwise I'd go out later on.

sanders · « **Reply #64 on:** February 09, 2011, 09:43:11 AM »

attached? Im not really a big fan of the six lap course really, but just maybe.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #65 on:** February 09, 2011, 10:45:08 AM »

Quote from: sanders on February 09, 2011, 09:43:11 AM

attached? Im not really a big fan of the six lap course really, but just maybe.

I'm not even sure what you are trying to say.

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #66 on:** February 09, 2011, 11:36:46 AM »

I guess the question is how the snowmobile trail will hold up with it possibly being mid-30s. A shorter course with more laps should pack down pretty quickly. Could also turn into a slushy mess. I really have no opinion... I think either will work out fine.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #67 on:** February 09, 2011, 11:46:00 AM »

If it gets too warm to ride the snowmobile trail, the only alternative we're going to have is to decide on race day to run the same course we ran last year.

IMHO, I think we should make the course the best we can and plan for rideable conditions. If it's too warm, that's the breaks. This is pretty much how it can work in cycling, especially mtb and 'cross races: you ride what you end up with. Riding (or pushing) in slush is a heck of a lot more interesting and memorable than riding your bike around on the bike path.

I'll most likely be out tomorrow working on this. I've marked both ends of what the cutoff could be with bamboo poles with blue cloth tied to them, and then my tracks should be followable in between, if you want to ride by today and give me your opinion.

Plantains · « **Reply #68 on:** February 09, 2011, 12:27:16 PM »

Quote from: Sal Atticum on February 09, 2011, 11:46:00 AM

If it gets too warm to ride the snowmobile trail, the only alternative we're going to have is to decide on race day to run the same course we ran last year.

IMHO, I think we should make the course the best we can and plan for rideable conditions. If it's too warm, that's the breaks. This is pretty much how it can work in cycling, especially mtb and 'cross races: you ride what you end up with. Riding (or pushing) in slush is a heck of a lot more interesting and memorable than riding your bike around on the bike path.

I'll most likely be out tomorrow working on this. I've marked both ends of what the cutoff could be with bamboo poles with blue cloth tied to them, and then my tracks should be followable in between, if you want to ride by today and give me your opinion.

QFT

Basically, put out the course that you all feel best represents what we have to offer. If the weather gets too warm and it causes the conditions to deteriorate... tough. Thats racing.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #69 on:** February 09, 2011, 02:45:55 PM »

I was waiting for you to chime in. You're much more succinct than I am.

Sanders has this idea that an extra half kilometer (500m) isn't all that far, and might make things work out better if we didn't try to dig a shortcut (leaving the short course at 2.5 km) and ran 3 laps for the short race and 5 laps for the long, making the total distances come out to 7.5 (rather than 8 ) km for the short race and 12.5 (rather than 12) for the long.

Is this within reason? I already made sure with Larry that we could change the number of laps as long as the distance was the same, but is 500m too far to stretch things?

Part of me wants to (next year) make it a mystery distance prediction race and not have to worry about all of this, then we could make up the course the day before and nobody would be the wiser

Plantains · « **Reply #70 on:** February 09, 2011, 03:25:05 PM »

Frankly, I don't think that 500m is too far to stretch things. Worst case scenario you can just say that we mis-measured or something? I mean... whatever... stuff happens in the winter and some sections just plain aren't going to be rideable and some sections are going to be better. In the end, the silly rules (like the one in question) should take a backseat to having a great event.

If a rider wants to complain that the course was .5k longer or shorter than they expected, then kindly invite them not to exist in the real world. Or tell them they should've tried harder.

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #71 on:** February 10, 2011, 08:47:53 AM »

What the slogan would have been if we'd known the weather a long time ago:

"35 degrees? You might as well race naked!"

OUWxGuesser · « **Reply #72 on:** February 10, 2011, 10:51:34 AM »

Birthday suit could be the winning costume....

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #73 on:** February 10, 2011, 11:04:47 AM »

Some of us need to go to SBS and buy prizes before Saturday afternoon! Logan, do you have any free time between now and then (so we can use the checkbook)?

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #74 on:** February 10, 2011, 02:37:07 PM »

Volunteers I know about should have just received this email:

Quote

Hello Bikecicle Volunteers!

This ought to be my last email to you until Saturday. Please let me know if you are unable to show up, or if you have any other input.

The Super-News:
* Last minute people who want to do the USAC officiating class on Friday from 5-10 PM need to get in touch with me ASAP! The class costs $35, and depending on what happens you may have the opportunity to officiate on Saturday and get some experience.

The News:
* The course is done; we don't need any more help shoveling. Thanks to those who came out!

* We shortened the course, so there are no road crossings. There are, however, intersections that may be confusing to tired people. The prep group will do their best to mark everything well, but if you are marshaling we still need you!
** In case people ask, the new course is a little over two kilometers long. We're adjusting the number of laps to keep the same approximate distance, so the first race will be three laps and the second race five laps.

* In the attached spreadsheet, I've marked which stations (numbered on the new map) you are assigned. This is not binding, I just wanted to make sure I could fill every spot. We'll figure out on race day where everyone can go, but you need to show up for volunteer meetings at the following times:
Quote
You should show up at The Blue Moose (we'll probably be in the Back 40 Taproom) at these times so we can be organized:
Setup: 10 AM
Registration: 11:30 AM
Race 1: 1 PM
Race 2: 2 PM
Teardown: anticipated around 4:30 after awards

* If I don't have your number, please get it to me. My number is 802-922-3696, call me if you have questions on or before race day. If anyone wants to bring some radios for communication, that would be sweet but not required.

* By all means, bring your bike! The weather is supposed to be FANTASTIC on Saturday, so who knows: maybe you'll ride the course in the morning and want to race in the afternoon?

* On that note, you'll see that we have a few extra people for marshals during the second race, and even then we could cut back to one marshal at each position if people don't mind standing alone. You know what this means? If you want to race, feel free to sign up (online deadline is midnight tonight) and let me know. Maybe we could get some more collegiate riders out there.

Seriously, you guys are great for helping out with this event, which gets the club a lot of exposure and might even make us some money. Thanks.

Matt

Alaska Unicyclist · « **Reply #75 on:** February 10, 2011, 04:19:12 PM »

yo beek. im free the rest of today, and tomorrow afternoon before the class at 5pm

Sal Atticum · « **Reply #76 on:** February 14, 2011, 04:48:08 PM »

A HUGE shoutout to everyone who helped put this event on: it could not have happened without YOU! Even if you felt a little superfluous standing out in the cold, you helped bring riders through safely and without getting completely confused, and that's what matters. We had a great day, and I hope you enjoyed it!