Mike Murray
The officials had the number of flats at 6. I didn't mean to imply that the
number of flats was low, just low given that someone apparently attempted to
sabotage the course. If they had done a reasonable job one would have
thought that they would be able to get at least 10% which would have been 20
flats.
In response:
1. I don't know if anything was done but I would be surprised if anything
COULD have been done. Of course you don't know about the tacks until the
flatted riders return, often at the end of the race. To get gravel swept up
would require a crew of people. Usually the entire crew is involved in the
running of the race. Certainly there are never enough "spare" people to
send people out to sweep the length of the course and look for tacks. I
suppose the race could have been cancelled but then that seems like a bit of
over kill.
2. Usually the sweep in a time trial occurs after all the riders have
completed the course, when the turn around people come in. Since the
officials have a start and finish time on everyone they know if there is
anyone left on the course. It would be very unusual to have people sweeping
during the race. Once again that would also require a bigger crew of
support people. I often wonder if people realize what a precious commodity
race support staff are.
3. The flatted riders that did not ride back in should have appeared as
DNF's. The riders that repaired flats and road in show up as the time they
crossed the line. Yes, there were some of these.
In general I think that any angst over this weekend's affair should be
directed towards the idiots that caused it rather then towards the race
organizer.
Mike Murray
-----Original Message-----
From: Mautner, Paul [mailto:Maut-@tri-met.org]
Sent: Monday, July 31, 2000 8:53 AM
To: 'mmur-@teleport.com'; OBRA Remailer
Subject: RE: [OBRA Chat] District tt course, tacks, impressions?
We had a front flat on the tandem in the "gravel across the road section."
This could have been a nasty spill under the right circumstances.
Few flats depends on your point of view, I guess. It seems to me that there
were quite a few flats based on the other responses. Questions/points I
have:
1. Even if the course was swept at 7am, was anything done after it was
known that gravel and/or tacks had been put on the road? As far as I know,
nothing was but perhaps I am wrong.
2. With all the flats, and even under normal circumstances, why were there
no "sweepers" to pick up people with flats or mechanicals? Walking back the
8-10 km to the start finish was not fun (although we did get a ride from a
local pickup for part of it). Unlike road races, where one usually brings a
spare and pump, TT courses should have this.
3. Under these circumstances, the results should show the DNFs; not even
showing them is as though you never showed up. It will also show a truer
number of victims of flats on this course.
Paul Mautner
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Murray [mailto:mmur-@teleport.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2000 10:48 PM
To: OBRA Remailer
Subject: RE: [OBRA Chat] District tt course, tacks, impressions?
Fortunately there were actually few flats. I believe only 6. Also
fortunately sabotage of this type is rare... I have only seen it 3 previous
times since I started bike racing almost 30 years ago. Once was at the Jack
Frost TT when it was held on a nearby road. Another time was at a criterium
in Eugene where there were several other actions done to make the road less
usable (oil poured on the road, road closure signs removed and concrete
"speed bumps" constructed). In the Eugene episode the number of flats was
huge and the police motorcycle that was driving pace was pulling tacks by
the handful out of his tires.
I don't think that there is really much that can be done about this sort of
thing. The people that do it rarely raise their heads enough to be
identified. They never make their objections, if they have any, known
through normal channels. After the Eugene episode I wrote a letter to the
editor of the Eugene newspaper. I received a response from a women who said
that too many roads were closed for running races in Eugene making it
difficult for her to drive to church and that somehow that justified the
acts of sabotage against a bicycle event. Go figure. I think that most of
the time The people that do this are just common vandals although it is
difficult to understand why they would go to so much work. It really is a
buyer's market for idiots.
Mike Murray
-----Original Message-----
From: sandy kenny [mailto:sasha-@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2000 2:21 PM
To: ob-@topica.com
Subject: [OBRA Chat] District tt course, tacks, impressions?
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