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Thursday, April 20th, 2006Sorry about the previous problems.
Archive for April 20th, 2006
Thursday, April 20th, 2006
Skibby is all sad-like because he is the race promoter at the Opus series that got canned last Tuesday night. Cheer up Skibby!
Race promotion can be really really stressful. I am sure that everyone who has ever promoted a race, especially a race series, has a story to tell. Here is mine…
Back in the day, when I was at the helm of the Loon State Cyclists team, we had this great idea to promote a criterium in downtown Osseo on the 4th of July. The race would take place in the morning because the whole town turned out in the afternoon for the annual Independence Day parade. So there was a bit of time crunch and we had to hustle to keep things moving along so as not to interrupt the parade.
Set up went without a hitch and the racing was good but, as is inevitable, things started to run a bit over schedule. The final race of the day was the Men’s Category 1/2 and, by the time this race began, the parade was scheduled to start in less than 30 minutes. The race was listed to run for 45 minutes. We should have maybe shortened the race but we made the call to push it and hope that the parade would accommodate us.
The race began and the sidewalks and corners began to fill up with spectators. Soon the entire course was lined with people watching, what I thought was, an entertaining bike race. I was helping officiate the race so I had time between laps to observe the crowds and they seemed to be enjoying the race. With 15 minutes to go in the race, about the time the parade was supposed to start, things began to change.
Kids began to cry. Dogs began to bark. Parents started to approach the officials and ask them how much longer this bike race “thing” was going to last. The race got faster as it approached the final 10 minutes and I began to panic as more and more people started towards the streets in anticipation of the parade. Kids were sitting on the curb within a hands reach distance of the cyclists, spectators started to wander into the street and had to be ordered off the road. I thought we had things in hand and under control with just a few minutes left in the race when I noticed the local high school marching band assembling on the opposite side of the course. Something was going on.
The 30 rider strong peloton came roaring around the final turn of the course with 5 laps to go and I watched in horror as the band formed up and began to march across the road on the opposite side of the course. It was clear that the band was not going to make it across before the race reached them. I looked at the chief official and he had the same look of raw panic on his face that I must have. He looked at me and said “stop the race.”
So, with the pack blasting down the straightaway setting up for the finale of the race, I stepped out on the course and whistled the race to a halt. Ever have to deal with 30 amped up adrenaline filled bike racers? It’s not pretty. The guy slightly off the front, the guy who was about to attack, the sprinter waiting for the last lap…all who thought they were going to win “for sure”, all who were now pissed. Pissed at me.
We were able to get the race restarted for the final few laps, which pissed off the spectators who were more than ready for the parade to get started. The race ended without further incident and we quickly got the course cleaned up for the parade. But we were not invited back to race next year.
Oh well, at least no cyclists got hit by a tuba.
Thursday, April 20th, 2006
“Our country’s stood beside us
People have sent us aid.
Katrina could not stop us, our hopes will never fade.
Congress, Bush and FEMA
People across our land
Together have come to rebuild us and we join them hand-in-hand!”
These lyrics were sung to First Lady Laura Bush by 100 children from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
Doesn’t this seem like the kind of song they would sing in Communist China in praise of the great revolution?
Do Congress, Bush and FEMA really deserve praise for the way Hurricane Katrina was handled?
What kind of parent lets their kid sing propaganda in support of incompetent government politicians and bureaucrats?
Remind me what the hell country we live in again?
