About the event:
What a great day and beautiful scenery. Most importantly
I was really happy to see the low number of injuries!!
This event was located by searching for bike
rides on the net. I came across the Two Rock & Roll Bike Trek
sponsored by and benefiting the American Lung Association. Their web site contained
the email address for Jenny Bard who is the ALA organizer for this event. A brief email was sent to her explaining who BA-MARC is and that we might be
able to provide some help, even though it was pretty short notice (2 weeks).
She was delighted to hear from us and connected me to Mike Knobe KD6LYU who
was running net control for the event. He also was very happy to hear we could provide some help to his team. Due
to the late notice only Roger W1RDR, and I could attend, but I think we made
a big difference.
Jenny and her team did a terrific job with
the maps. They had turn-by-turn directions as well as the map. Easy to read
even when riding! Having the course highlighted was also beneficial.
KD6LYU Mike and his team ran a really good
net. I like the folks and communications were never a problem.
Just want to confirm your assessment of
Jenny. Everything was very well organized. Every issue that seemed to come
up she had covered.
I thought this course was pretty well marked. There were a couple turns that maybe could’ve used a larger sign, but I saw two riders miss a turn that had a large sign, paint on the road and another small sign across the street. Go figure.
When I was at Rest Stop 3, Bruce (I forgot
his call sign) fired up the APRS from inside his truck and was able to track Roger W1RDR exact position with amazing detail. We were both pretty
impressed.
At the end of the event when I was making the sweep, I ran across
two riders who wanted a SAG to bring them in. Even though we were able to get someone
there, it would have been a lot easier if net control, the SAG wagon and I
had APRS. It would have only taken a couple seconds to absolutely pin point
where the riders were. This would be even more vital if there was a serious
injury.
I still get blown away that the organizers,
the other Hams and the cyclists all made a point to say how much they appreciated
our support. As we were saying our goodbyes, hearing the organizers rave about
our support was really special.
Things I learned:
I wish I had followed the itinerary. I
thought I had lost it, but I had it taped under the map on my tank bag. I
uncovered it a couple days later after I was going over the course with the
itinerary it sure was put together well. I ended up spending a lot of time
up front with just a few cyclists and since we were short handed I'm sure
I could've helped somewhere else.
I still need to take a first aid course. Luckily I didn't need it.
I need to add a good tape that will stick, but not remove the pinstripes off my saddlebags, good highlighters, a small air compressor, or a good pump, and perhaps a larger tank bag for the next event. Oh yeah, I need a better seat!! It would also be helpful if there was a recommended “things to have on a bike tour” list. The list would include things such as tape for the signs, highlighters, tube repair kits, pump, etc.
As a club we need to get our own orange vests at a minimum, and we can talk about windshield signs and saddlebag signs. I don’t believe these are high budget items, but it could make things a lot easier.
Larry,
K6ACE
