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Fire Escape -> July Meeting Summary (7/9/2008 10:14:09 PM)
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2 July 2008
July M V T R Meeting
Rocky Mountain Weekend
Only a few weeks left and much still to do in preparation for the event. While the event officially takes place on the 26th and 27th of July there is plenty to be done between now and then. We are looking to all MVTR members along with their friends and families to get it all done!
There are work parties scheduled for the 8th, 12th, 16th, 19th and 20th to get the course ready. Something on the order of 1 ½ miles of trail needs to be cut to connect some existing trail sections. We are trying to work to both the letter and spirit of the NETRA “Club Work Rule” which calls for riders to work the event that their club puts on, in that vein the Trail Bosses have been politely (we hope) declining many of the requests to work our event by members of other clubs. One consequence of this is that we will really need all of our Hare Scrambles riders to step up and help out!
At the Rocky Weekend itself, help will be needed during all hours between mid-day Friday (probably all day really) when we start collecting signatures on the event waiver and Sunday evening when the last of the grass track stakes are collected and the trash (yes, it IS carry-in, carry-out but….) is gathered. In between we need people for sign-up, AMA and NETRA membership, tech inspection, first-aid, back up scoring (I hear nothing ever goes wrong with the electronic system…), course marshals, pre-riders, sweep riders and a hundred other jobs.
Among those other jobs will be parking! Like last year we are limited to how much land is available. The need (he has to make a living too) for the landowner to utilize much of the field for a (paying) hay crop leaves us without the seemingly endless space of the past. Large trailers and RVs will have to be parked perpendicular to the road and side by side in the order of their arrival. We just don’t have room for people to set up their own “compound” or save spaces for friends who may be arriving later.
Highlights of the weekend should include: crews from Red Bull, HRP/Scorbordz and Factory Connection. The Junior Enduro and the PeeWees ride on Saturday and the “full-on” Hare Scramble is on Sunday. The status of the traditional Saturday night movies is unknown, still hoping to find a projector to use. Weather permitting we may have a new addition to the Opening Ceremony on Sunday morning. The availability of a short suspension tuning loop, with advice from FC on Saturday afternoon is still possible but not definite.
Trail Bosses for the Weekend are:
PeeWee-Andy Anthony
Jr. Enduro-Jon Thomas
H.S.-Shawn Levesque
Classic Review
The Trail Bosses are constructing review/overview articles for inclusion in our next newsletter. Some of the “highpoints” shared at the meeting were: The rain prior to the event probably helped a lot with dust but was not so much as to create quagmires (not to say that there weren’t a few slick spots). Despite having about 50 less riders entered this year the event still raised $135,000 for Cystic Fibrosis research. It appears that having Rodney Smith address the riders and remind them that they were all ambassadors for the sport was a real plus, the message was taken to heart and most everyone was on their best behavior. Pretty much everyone made it back to the track intact, there were some broken bikes but broken bodies were in the minority (bruises and the occasional dislocation not withstanding). On the “Kid’s Classic” there were some minor heat issues and at least one rider needed the reminder that the water was for drinking and didn’t have to be saved to clean-up later. The “kids” appeared to appreciate sharing lunch with the Big Bike Rally (I know that I appreciated the chance to get off the DR and sit on a comfortable rock for a while).
Arrows vs. Ribboning: There were more compliments than complaints on using ribbon for Sunday’s ride. There is still room for improvement in the marking “technique” (longer ribbon and choice of color for a start) but it does seem to work.
Neal’s Ride: As many know, Neal Lorenzen, Trail Boss for many prior Classics offered to host a ride “up north” for the many who help to make the Classic happen. The ride was described as “awesome” on Saturday and “a bit damp” on Sunday. Commendations are in order for all who made this event another success and specifically to Neal for rewarding them.
[sm=rdr.gif] Bruce
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