I really like the chairlift idea!!!! I'd settle for a ropetow or even a poma lift.
Ed
--- On Thu, 10/30/08, Raedeke, John wrote:
From: Raedeke, John
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Course safety
To: obra@list.obra.org
Date: Thursday, October 30, 2008, 8:45 AM
Maybe we should also clear the course of rocks, fill potholes, rake wet leaves and divert around potentially slippery muddy sections too. Maybe a chairlift up some of those run-ups.
Seriously I think there is potential for accidents in any race, no matter what we do. Thats Racin !! I have seen more tape wrapped up into someones wheel, cog, or brakes or a stake taking out a pedal and cause issues more than cones. Cones are just another great obstacle. We had some cones and some tape at the Southern Oregon Outlaw race last weekend, no cone problems, no tape problems. Just riders riding over their head a few times and going down on their own. Thankfully not taking anyone with them. With or without cones or tape/stakes that will happen at some point. After all that is one of the draws for the spectators, watching some fun crashes.
All in all what it really takes is a careful use of both in appropriate areas and working on educating the participants and spectators as to where to walk, ride and stand. Veteran racers can be a great teacher for novice racers and spectators, and help keep the course as safe as possible.
john
On 10/29/08 11:08 AM, "Erik Voldengen" wrote:
Friends that have raced from out of town do not respect cones at all, and claim cones only mark suggested course. I don't feel the same way, but they all sure seem to hate cones.
But now that all those cones have been purchased, it's a greener solution! I wonder how much of that plastic course tape goes into the nation's land fills in the course of a single cyclocross season. Probably enough to fill 20 Cross Crusade RVs. I don't think I've ever seen a race gather up the course tape for reuse next time.
-Erik
On Wed, Oct 29, 2008 at 10:48 AM, Terry Keele wrote:
I think it's time we truly evaluate whether cones are down-right un safe. They offer zero crowd control and end up scattered about the course. In the A race on Saturday, a cone was spit out of a back wheel and into Seth Hosmer's front wheel resulting in an ugly crash that also took out Mike Beno.
In the same race, I was being lapped by Chris Sheppard and two River City Riders were coming at us head-on in the wrong lane. I want to be clear that they were not cheating or cutting the course in any way, they simply lost track of the maze of cones and following what they thought was the course.
Cones also allow riders to ride outside of their abilities when they see clean dirt beyond the cone lined barrier. I'm not advocating we tape the entire course, but taping the danger spots is a good first step.
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