RIDE REPORT - UMM Short Course Pre Ride

What a beautiful day to be outside. The group pre ran the UMM short course minus the mystery events. There were a few stops along the way; one to try out a bike tow system, one a pit stop at the parks fine toilet facilities; one to let Ryan pull cactus out of my butt and one because Steve wasn't sure what, "Turn left at the trail junction" meant. We kept a good pace and even with the stops the overall time was 2h 5m.

Couple of thoughts on event prep:

Multi Trail Use - Emphasis must be focused on the multi use nature of the trails. Most of the single track is very fast. Safety must be paramount to competition. This is the first event of this nature at Usery Mountain Regional Park and our ability to come back and do this again next year will be based on the success of this venture. Courtesy and communication are the rules of the day.

Trail Warning Signs - The recommendation will be to put 'warning signs' on sections of the trail where there are blind corners, 90 degree turns and other hazards. This will warn participants as well as other trail users of potential dangers.

Transition Bags - The course will feature a bike finish. This means that participants will need to return to the TA to retrieve any gear they might leave. We may be able to assist both participants in retrieving gear and volunteers' with wrapping the Transition Area up after the last rider leaves by providing a plastic bag with a team number on it. Participants would stow their TA gear in the bag with their team number. Volunteers would transport the bags back to the Staging area and teams could retrieve them there, saving a trip back to the TA.

Tentative plans call for a pre run the long course in two weeks. Unlike today, I will need to avoid anything from the Wendy's Drive Thru the night before and probably stretch before taking on the long course. As always, suggestions on ways to improve the process are always welcome.

Mike B.