Day-of-Race Registration
opens at 4:00pm and closes 5 minutes before race start. Please show up early or on-time and schedule enough time for registration. Bring $2 and 3 (three) 12-oz. beverages of your choice.
Bathrooms
There are bathrooms located in Cowan Park. Please use these instead of pissing in the bushes so that we're less likely to attract the negative attention of the neighborhood.
Starting Procedure
This will be a mass start with a slight twist. I want to give the men and women a separate start. This will be a true Le Mans style start (run to your bike and go when you get the signal). All racers will put their bikes down on the south side of the Ravenna Park pedestrian bridge and stage on the north side.
Course and Race Format
The course will feel more like a fast and non-technical cyclocross race over hard-packed trails and part of a residential street, featuring some potholes, some ruts, and a sprinkle of gravel. However, unlike a cyclocross race, everything will be 100% rideable (no barriers or dismounts). Check out the course map to get the idea.
From the south side of the bridge, everyone will turn left, go through the small parking lot, and get onto the path on the south side of the ravine (following course counter-clockwise).
On the first lap, racers will pass through the finish/checkpoint. No one has to stop at the checkpoint on the first lap; you'll complete a full lap before having to stop here.
Once racers reach the second checkpoint at the far side of the loop in Cowan Park, they'll get a drink ticket from the person running the checkpoint. Keep following the course back to the finish/checkpoint and exchange the ticket for one of your beverages. Racers need to finish their beverage at the checkpoint. Once you've finished the beverage, you get to do another lap.
The winner will be the first to finish their 3 beverages.
Specific Hazards to the Course
There is a bollard on the north side of the parking lot on 20th Ave NE & NE 58th at the entrance to the trail. Don't run into this.
The descent to the bottom of the ravine is a fast but non-technical descent. Watch for pedestrians as you will probably be going fast. We'll have someone down there to direct traffic.
The path underneath the 15th Ave bridge has about a 4-5 foot drop-off on the left side. Stay on the trail here and don't try to pass; this is the only spot on the course where you'll want to go single-file.
What type of bike and tires should I race?
While racers will be allowed to race any type of bike (exception: no e-bikes), we strongly recommend to ride a bike that can accommodate at least 28c wide tires that feature some profile.
Mountain bikes are fine, fixed-gears (you might want to run a brake) and singlespeeds are fine, cyclocross-style bikes are probably better. Even when the weather is good, the course might feature some roots, loose gravel, or muddy/slick sections.
The current weather forecast (as of 1/15) for Saturday is: Mainly cloudy. High 52, Low 41F. Winds light and variable.
Crashes and Mechanicals
If you crash, you're responsible for any damage you do to yourself. If you're lucky, I'll remember to bring a first-aid kit, but don't count on it.
If your bike breaks, there is no neutral support offered. Please continue to go in the course direction (counter-clockwise) as best you can so that you're not traveling in the opposite direction as the race. Head-on crashes are bad.
Helmets & Dogs
Please wear a helmet if you're racing. We won't enforce this, since you're all adults and can make your own decisions in life. But think about it.
If you bring a dog, keep it leashed for the safety of both your animal and those around you. Bear in mind that the upper part of Ravenna Park is a popular off-leash area and that you may encounter off-leash dogs and their humans. Please be aware that the course is not closed to other park users, and it is to your benefit not to hit them.
Disclaimers
By participating, you agree that your bike is safe and in good working order, that you are an adult and responsible for your own choices in life. Don't be a dick.
Last edited by axel on Fri Jan 17, 2014 6:12 am; edited 19 times in total _________________ fat rob.
Bo Ttorff
Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 4:45 pm
GO SEAHAWKS!! 12 for LYFEJoined: 20 Jul 2011Posts: 3092Location: King County
daywalkerJoined: 09 Nov 2007Posts: 6108Location: Hatertown
Well, it's a ditch. And we're well accustomed to driving head first into those so...
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TorreyK
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 7:14 pm
Joined: 02 Sep 2009Posts: 1116Location: White Center/Burien
mass start or time trial style?
_________________ Time to go.
axel
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 7:27 pm
Joined: 15 Feb 2013Posts: 1654Location: St Johns PDX
TorreyK wrote:
mass start or time trial style?
going to run this with two Le Mans mass starts. we'll release the men first, then after 30 seconds we'll release the women. both will run to the south end of the pedestrian bridge to get on their bikes and go.
there is plenty of room on the course for passing safely. depending on one's pace, you may end up passing or being passed by riders from the other field. all we ask is that you be courteous to other riders when doing so.
edit: also one should be aware that the park is open to the public. you may encounter other trail users and we should be nice to them as well.
_________________ fat rob.
tictoc
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 11:21 pm
Joined: 08 Jul 2009Posts: 765Location: Right here, Right Now!
axel wrote:
you may encounter other trail users and we should be nice to them as well.
Haha. Nice try.
_________________ ------------------>TO EXIST IS TO COMPLY<--------------------
axel
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 9:02 am
Joined: 15 Feb 2013Posts: 1654Location: St Johns PDX
As someone who works for a race promoter, you have no idea how awesomely passive aggressive Seattleites are about "sharing" the park with bike races. Especially ones that have a park permit.
There's a guy who insists - EVERY SINGLE YEAR - on walking his dog on course, backwards, at Magnusson cross races. He even called the police on us once claiming that we had illegally blocked off his sidewalk. The dog got straight-up owned by a bike a couple of years ago. I felt bad for the dog.
Or the woman who tried to drive their car through our course tape (across the course... fortunately between races) to get to a parking lot close to her favorite bird watching spot at a park that we're not allowed to use anymore because the woman complained to the town council after the race about damage to the park that didn't occur. That was a hoot.
And that's nothing compared to the clueless folks who cross under three lines of caution tape and walk past a "CAUTION BICYCLE RACE IN PROGRESS" orange construction sign in order to stroll down the middle of the finishing straight at Woodland Park unaware of the sprinting cyclists right behind them. Then they get shocked when a half a dozen spectators and the race announcer yell at them because they're about to get run over. EVERY SINGLE YEAR. We have the course cleanup day the Monday after the race so we don't lose Woodland Park too.
There was talk for a while of establishing a permanent cyclocross course at Discovery Park for a while back around 2009. I bet you can guess what happened at a Seattle Parks public comment meeting. Note: there is no permanent cyclocross course at Discovery Park.
Oh, and don't forget about this piece of LOL about Lincoln Park. You know those hidden single track trails that duck around that park? Ever think "wow, that'd be fun to ride a race there!" LOL!
I wish you the best, but fully expect the worst when it comes to "sharing the park", even if the cyclists are all on their full-on best behavior.
axel
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 9:18 pm
Joined: 15 Feb 2013Posts: 1654Location: St Johns PDX
well, guess we'd better cancel this then. thanks Matthew!
_________________ fat rob.
madamimadam
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 9:34 pm
Joined: 13 Jul 2012Posts: 161
Mathew! Ever the optimist. ROB this sounds like fun. Hope it goes well!
well, guess we'd better cancel this then. thanks Matthew!
I don't think you should cancel this at all. I'd ride it if I weren't out of town that weekend.
I just think you should be prepared to deal with aggro locals who don't like to share... no matter how well behaved the riders are (and the overwhelming majority will be well behaved). This includes being prepared to deal with the passive aggressive locals who will start at step one ("there are cyclists in my park and I don't like it!") and jump straight to step five (call the police) without telling you.
I honestly wish you the best. Grassroots racing is generally a good thing.
limpyweta
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 6:34 am
Joined: 23 Sep 2008Posts: 740Location: North Beach
No matter how much space I give folks (5'?), if they don't think I saw, or was ever looking for, them, they sometimes can get pretty uppity. Just sending someone on the trail to inform folks there's a race on some printed route, before it happens, and getting some acknowledgement, may do better than any tape.
_________________ Alec
Alex
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 6:58 am
Joined: 18 May 2006Posts: 3128Location: Roosevelt
Matthew wrote:
I would be prepared to deal with aggro locals who don't like to share... no matter how well behaved the riders are (and the overwhelming majority will be well behaved). This includes being prepared to deal with the passive aggressive locals who will start at step one ("there are cyclists in my park and I don't like it!") and jump straight to step five (call the police) without telling you.
I'm a local, Ravenna Park is practically in my back yard and I've lived in this house for over 10 years.
Bikes (including myself) use the park all of the time and I've never had negative feedback from other trail users. I've been commuting through the park for 15 years.
Only about half of the trails in the park are open to bikes. I've ridden on the others and they are fun, but I don't think I'd run a race on them during daylight (even waning) hours. Since the course was describing as having lots of room for passing I'm guessing that it isn't being run on the closed trails, they are almost all narrow.
The event sounds like fun. If I'm in town that weekend I might even show up and race.
Alex
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 7:01 am
Joined: 18 May 2006Posts: 3128Location: Roosevelt
Also, nice job starting at that location.
The picnic shelter over there has a great fireplace and is fairly discrete, it's a much better place for .83-style antics than having a pizza box fire in the middle of the upper playground.
Bo Ttorff
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 11:33 am
GO SEAHAWKS!! 12 for LYFEJoined: 20 Jul 2011Posts: 3092Location: King County
Lists all the negatives of racing in the park....
Can't make it, out of town.
Who are you, Joe?
_________________ -housed white guy
derrickito
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 11:44 am
now with 50 percent more EVILJoined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 10566
Alex wrote:
pizza box fire in the middle of the upper playground.
!whoooopsie!
tehschkott
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 12:14 pm
daywalkerJoined: 09 Nov 2007Posts: 6108Location: Hatertown
not it!
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caustic meatloaf
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2013 8:38 am
Joined: 06 Dec 2010Posts: 1235537Location: a hammy melange...
Bo Ttorff wrote:
Lists all the negatives of racing in the park....
Can't make it, out of town.
Who are you, Joe?
Ha! I WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE.
_________________ HIS NAME IS EDMUND
axel
Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 1:56 pm
Joined: 15 Feb 2013Posts: 1654Location: St Johns PDX
bump.
this race is still happening next weekend, but a certain sponsor that we were relying on for some prizes stopped returning my messages. c'est la vie!
we'll still put this on as scheduled, but it looks like prizes will be cash-only unless someone has schwag that they want to donate to the cause. get in touch and let me know if you can help there.
a donation for racing will be small (details to follow) and all cash will go directly back to the racers. I'm also going to put up some of my own money so that we can offer a decent purse for the King and Queen.
_________________ fat rob.
caustic meatloaf
Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 2:47 pm
Joined: 06 Dec 2010Posts: 1235537Location: a hammy melange...
got my race bike all decked out:
_________________ HIS NAME IS EDMUND
derrickito
Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 3:11 pm
now with 50 percent more EVILJoined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 10566
if thursday goes as planned, i will donate 1 handle of everclear to the race for either a prize or libations on behalf of a wealthy point83 benefactor that would like to remain nameless.
axel
Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 6:28 pm
Joined: 15 Feb 2013Posts: 1654Location: St Johns PDX
derrickito wrote:
if thursday goes as planned, i will donate 1 handle of everclear to the race for either a prize or libations on behalf of a wealthy point83 benefactor that would like to remain nameless.
the is rad. thanks!
_________________ fat rob.
tictoc
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 12:05 am
Joined: 08 Jul 2009Posts: 765Location: Right here, Right Now!
totally excited to go to this for sure
All this Ravenna park race talk has got me nostalgic:
Early '90's.
I was intrigued by this mountain bike thing, so i bought a sweet (cheap) ass Univega mtn bike, and started tearing up the ravenna park trails. This was before the smaller trails, i.e., the fun ones, were closed to bicycles. I didn't care that these weren't "mountain" trails, I was getting rad! Over the days and weeks I rode, I began to notice many well placed branches laid across the paths. Cool. Makes the ride more exciting. After awhile I realized that these branches, none more than 2"-3" in diameter, had been placed there by "other" park users in an attempt to dissuade bicycle riders. I laughed and felt a little pity... they really thought these little limbs would prevent cyclists? They made the trails more rad!!
tldr; I got rad in Ravenna park and may have been part of the trails being posted "off limits" to bicycles.
imma gonna refill my drink and wax more nostalgic...
Same time period. I worked at the U-Village Skippers (now an Azteca) and lived near 53rd and Roosevelt. It was much easier to ride through the park than the shorter route up and over the ridge. One night in mid-fall (it was getting dark earlier) I rode up into the park and past the playground in the southeast end and proceeded to take what I thought was a familiar trail.
As I descended it grew darker. Looking for the long, straight shot down to the main path, I saw a gap in the shadows. I released the brakes and stomped the pedals and it wasn't until my front tire left the path that I realized my mistake. I was in mid-air.
Three thoughts entered my mind:
Damn, this wasn't the right trail.
Shit, I'm far off the ground.
Fuck, this is going to hurt.
Knowing I had no chance to land it, I pushed the bike down and away from myself and proceeded to side-flop onto hardpacked dirt. Completely knocked out of breath I drug myself to a nearby bench and assessed myself. Only some gnarly scrapes and bruises.
Lying there I re-counted the thought I've had on a few of my best wrecks- I wish someone had been there. Not for the comfort they could of provided, but just for the witness to confirm what i felt. Imagine sitting on that bench, on a beautiful Seattle evening, surrounded by a peaceful setting... then Whooosh! Me and my bike launching out of the canopy and crash landing a mere 20ft from where you sit!
Woulda been a good story.
tldr; I rode through Ravenna Park at dusk and hurt myself
Lets go racing
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who needs witnesses when we have calvin and hobbes
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Douglas
Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 5:35 pm
Joined: 20 Jan 2011Posts: 837Location: teh woods
Do we still do Tuesday rides? That would be a great opportunity to marshal the course with all volunteers who plan to heckle the corners.
_________________ Now's good. Before would have been better, but before is over.
TorreyK
Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:55 am
Joined: 02 Sep 2009Posts: 1116Location: White Center/Burien
I don't know if you have any additional corner people/volunteers, but if you do, a person would be much appreciated at the bottom of the descent marked "downhill" on the map. Would be scary to merge back onto the ravine trail with oncoming walkers/cyclists.
_________________ Time to go.
axel
Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 6:46 am
Joined: 15 Feb 2013Posts: 1654Location: St Johns PDX
TorreyK wrote:
I don't know if you have any additional corner people/volunteers, but if you do, a person would be much appreciated at the bottom of the descent marked "downhill" on the map. Would be scary to merge back onto the ravine trail with oncoming walkers/cyclists.
yes, we'll have someone down there directing traffic.
_________________ fat rob.
Bo Ttorff
Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:21 am
GO SEAHAWKS!! 12 for LYFEJoined: 20 Jul 2011Posts: 3092Location: King County
Excite! 3 days!
_________________ -housed white guy
Rogelio
Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:38 am
Joined: 31 Jul 2007Posts: 3092Location: Pos, aya, por la Corona-Alta-Madera y que no.
I have secured a CX bike since all my CX bikes are currently being rebuilt.
I am also well excited.
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caustic meatloaf
Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 11:26 am
Joined: 06 Dec 2010Posts: 1235537Location: a hammy melange...
Rogelio wrote:
I have secured a CX bike since all my CX bikes are currently being rebuilt.
I am also well excited.
I put knobby tires on my touring bike.
hmm. Maybe 33mm knobbies will fit on the paramount. I'd rather ride that instead.
_________________ HIS NAME IS EDMUND
Rogelio
Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 11:40 am
Joined: 31 Jul 2007Posts: 3092Location: Pos, aya, por la Corona-Alta-Madera y que no.
Yeah, nothing bigger than 23's is going on the Cervelo, so: borrowed bike.
_________________ Do you like apples?
axel
Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:41 pm
Joined: 15 Feb 2013Posts: 1654Location: St Johns PDX
please read the massive info dump at the top of the thread. see y'all Saturday.
_________________ fat rob.
the dreaded ben
Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:51 pm
Grumpy GreebJoined: 20 Aug 2005Posts: 5329Location: flavor country
axel wrote:
please read the massive info dump at the top of the thread. see y'all Saturday.
is there an audiobook?
axel
Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:22 pm
Joined: 15 Feb 2013Posts: 1654Location: St Johns PDX
the dreaded ben wrote:
axel wrote:
please read the massive info dump at the top of the thread. see y'all Saturday.
is there an audiobook?
settle for a tl;dr?
pay the price, ride bikes fast, drink beer fast, don't crash, win.
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