It's now been just over a week since the first running of the Bearspaw Open, presented with The RCMP - A Career Nowhere Near Ordinary, and I'm starting to feel like I've recovered from the whole organizational thing!
On the whole I think that the race went really really well. Lots of great feedback about the race course, with several people telling me that it's perhaps one of the best in Alberta. It's certainly different! It was also pretty safe, with only one relatively serious crash. Luckily the outcome was (as far as I know) some road rash and a chewed-up jersey. Racers seemed to cope with the heat (+32c I think) pretty well, although I noticed from the Commissaire vehicle that quite a few folks need to work on getting their bottles in the feed zone!
For sure we had some organizational cock-ups, but nothing too major and we'll have 'em ironed out for next year. More on this subject in a later post.
I know that the RCMP thought that it was a great event also, and the internal feedback I'm getting is very positive. We've a had a very brief discussion about next year's event already, and I'm hoping to sit down soon with them to do a full review of this year's event and to schedule a kick-off meeting for 2009.
Some quick notes on "lessons learned" as a first-time organizer:
- Find out who your Chief Commissaire is and get him/her involved early. Carol Mayne was the Chief of the Open, and I can't say enough about how awesome she was to deal with
- Talk to the ABA. Lots. Again, easy to deal with them and they were quite helpful
- People in Alberta register at the last second. Try not to panic when only a handful of folks have registered a week and a half before the event. Next year I'm going to try and alleviate this in 3 ways: A. No race-day registration, B. Publish field limits, and C. Have some great early-bird registration incentives
- Work on making your race more of an "event" than just a race. The "Dinner & a Bike Race" concept worked well, and I think it's going to be way more awesome next year
- Try to find a race course with shorter loops so that the spectators can stay interested
- Get your permit WAAAAAAAY early and then start talking with local residents/businesses. Give them lots of notice and information, and don't forget to invite them out to the event. You will sleep better at night having 'em on your side
Running this event was a ton of work, and it was a whole lot more stressful than I could've imagined when I told the Midweek Mayhem board of directors "A race? Sure, ya, I'll handle that." In the end, though, it was great to develop something that people are looking forward to coming back to next year.
We've got some great ideas on how to make the event better for next year, including some potential changes to the race course to make it even better. Stay tuned.
Labels: Organization, Post-mortem, Resources
Registration is now open for the 2008 Bearspaw Open, presented with The RCMP - A Career Nowhere Near Ordinary.
Please visit the Midweek Mayhem website to register, purchase meals for "Dinner & a Bike Race", or make a donation to Youth Cycling.
Please note that your meal for Dinner & a Bike Race is included with your race registration. Also, although we are not charging an entry fee for Alberta Youth Provincial Road Race Championship entries, we are requiring that participants purchase a meal for Dinner & a Bike Race.
FYI, there is currently a slight discrepancy in information about pricing for Dinner & a Bike Race. Meals purchased seperately will be $12.00, not $10.00. We will update the information on the Midweek Mayhem website as soon as possible.
Registration payments will be made via PayPal. You do not require a PayPal account to pay, there is a "continue" option which allows you to skip creation of a PayPal account. When you have completed payment, please click the provided link. This will return you to the Midweek Mayhem website where you will provide details such as which event you want to race in, License #, UCI Code, Team, Emergency Contact, etc. You will also need to provide your PayPal receipt ID, which you can find in the confirmation email that PayPal sends when payment is completed. If you have any questions or problems, please email us at midweekracing[at]gmail.com.
Please visit the Midweek Mayhem website to register, purchase meals for "Dinner & a Bike Race", or make a donation to Youth Cycling.
Please note that your meal for Dinner & a Bike Race is included with your race registration. Also, although we are not charging an entry fee for Alberta Youth Provincial Road Race Championship entries, we are requiring that participants purchase a meal for Dinner & a Bike Race.
FYI, there is currently a slight discrepancy in information about pricing for Dinner & a Bike Race. Meals purchased seperately will be $12.00, not $10.00. We will update the information on the Midweek Mayhem website as soon as possible.
Registration payments will be made via PayPal. You do not require a PayPal account to pay, there is a "continue" option which allows you to skip creation of a PayPal account. When you have completed payment, please click the provided link. This will return you to the Midweek Mayhem website where you will provide details such as which event you want to race in, License #, UCI Code, Team, Emergency Contact, etc. You will also need to provide your PayPal receipt ID, which you can find in the confirmation email that PayPal sends when payment is completed. If you have any questions or problems, please email us at midweekracing[at]gmail.com.
Labels: Dinner and a Bike Race, General Info, Organization, Race entries, Youth racing
Like any other race or event out there we are in the process of seeking additional sponsorship. If you are interested in becoming involved with Le Circuit please let us know. As a first year event we understand that it's difficult to see what the actual ROI in associating with us will be, but we do have some numbers/metrics that could be of interest.
If you are interested in becoming involved, please contact us at midweekracing@gmail.com and ask for a copy of our Sponsor and Expo package.
If you are interested in becoming involved, please contact us at midweekracing@gmail.com and ask for a copy of our Sponsor and Expo package.
Labels: Organization, Sponsorship
We're coming into the final stages of race organization now that we're less than 8 weeks away from race day. Like any other race, we're going to be depending on volunteers to make everything happen. As such we're looking for some good people to help us deliver a race of exceptional quality for the athletes, and a great experience for spectators.
If you are interested in helping out, or know someone who is interested in helping out, please get a hold of us at midweekracing@gmail.com.
If you are planning on racing Le Circuit and are able to provide a volunteer, or are willing to volunteer yourself, we will be announcing an entry-fee discount policy in the next few days.
Volunteers will be well taken care of with food, drinks, and (hopefully) a bit of swag.
If you are interested in helping out, or know someone who is interested in helping out, please get a hold of us at midweekracing@gmail.com.
If you are planning on racing Le Circuit and are able to provide a volunteer, or are willing to volunteer yourself, we will be announcing an entry-fee discount policy in the next few days.
Volunteers will be well taken care of with food, drinks, and (hopefully) a bit of swag.
Labels: Organization, Volunteers
As things start to fall into place for race day on Thursday August 7th we're getting ready to release at least one big announcement in the next week or so. Hint: It's related to the schedule of events/categories, and it's really going to help the race live up to its name...
Stay tuned!
Stay tuned!
Labels: General Info, Organization, Race entries
Race HQ:
Forgot to mention in the previous post about the Permit that I have also got the Race HQ site booked. It's an excellent facility, with lots of capacity, a great paved area for expo stuff (more on that later!), wireless internet, and it's perfectly situated at the top of a >1km grinder climb for the start/finish. There's also a great large deck for post-race festivities if required!
As with info on the race course itself and some other organizational details, I'll be posting more complete information when the Permit is officially completed. Stay tuned!!
Race Announcer: introducing Sean Carter!
We're excited to announce that Sean Carter (local racer, Veloplzen club big-wig, all around good guy) has graciously accepted our offer to be the cornerstone of our race day announcing/commentary team! Trust me, his enthusiasm and knowledge is going to bring a little something special to the race. We're stoked! Look for some Q&A with Sean as we get closer to the race date...
Forgot to mention in the previous post about the Permit that I have also got the Race HQ site booked. It's an excellent facility, with lots of capacity, a great paved area for expo stuff (more on that later!), wireless internet, and it's perfectly situated at the top of a >1km grinder climb for the start/finish. There's also a great large deck for post-race festivities if required!
As with info on the race course itself and some other organizational details, I'll be posting more complete information when the Permit is officially completed. Stay tuned!!
Race Announcer: introducing Sean Carter!
We're excited to announce that Sean Carter (local racer, Veloplzen club big-wig, all around good guy) has graciously accepted our offer to be the cornerstone of our race day announcing/commentary team! Trust me, his enthusiasm and knowledge is going to bring a little something special to the race. We're stoked! Look for some Q&A with Sean as we get closer to the race date...
Labels: Organization, Resources
As a first-time race promoter it's been a bit overwhelming when looking at all the tasks that have to be completed in order for the race to be a "go". As mentioned previously, the first hurdle is getting insurance lined up. Thankfully this is a pretty simple process, and it's quick too. It's all taken care of, so hurdle #1 is dealt with.
Getting the insurance in place is critical as it's a requirement before the City will even consider giving you a special event roads permit. And that permit is beyond critical, as quite simply it all boils down to "no permit, no race".
Road Permit:
I'm happy to report that it looks like the permit has now gone thru most of the City's internal processes/sign-offs. In the end I had a bit of back and forth with the Calgary Police Service's traffic boss as we discussed what the requirements would be from their perspective for a safe race course. It's a bit nerve-wracking dealing with this stuff, as you can almost hear the cash-register in the back of your mind as the Sergeant adds more cars/constables to the list, but I quickly realised that he was truly interested in a safe race course. At no point did I think he was trying to rack up OT for CPS members. In fact, I really got the impression that he was acting as a partner, and that he was trying his best to make things affordable for me.
At any rate, it looks like we've come to an agreement on policing requirements for the race that is super reasonable. We also agreed to slightly novel arrangement for police services. I'll talk about it more, but I'm going to wait until I have the permit in my hands with all sign-off's in place!
All in all, I've been really happy with how the City has been working with me and helping to make sure that this race goes off safely. I've heard a lot of horror stories, but my experience to this point has been that if you go there in with a positive attitude and are willing to listen to what they have to say, you're going to sail thru the process. These people have TONS of experience dealing with different events taking place on City roads. Treating them as resources/partners instead of regulatory hurdles is a smart move.
Getting the insurance in place is critical as it's a requirement before the City will even consider giving you a special event roads permit. And that permit is beyond critical, as quite simply it all boils down to "no permit, no race".
Road Permit:
I'm happy to report that it looks like the permit has now gone thru most of the City's internal processes/sign-offs. In the end I had a bit of back and forth with the Calgary Police Service's traffic boss as we discussed what the requirements would be from their perspective for a safe race course. It's a bit nerve-wracking dealing with this stuff, as you can almost hear the cash-register in the back of your mind as the Sergeant adds more cars/constables to the list, but I quickly realised that he was truly interested in a safe race course. At no point did I think he was trying to rack up OT for CPS members. In fact, I really got the impression that he was acting as a partner, and that he was trying his best to make things affordable for me.
At any rate, it looks like we've come to an agreement on policing requirements for the race that is super reasonable. We also agreed to slightly novel arrangement for police services. I'll talk about it more, but I'm going to wait until I have the permit in my hands with all sign-off's in place!
All in all, I've been really happy with how the City has been working with me and helping to make sure that this race goes off safely. I've heard a lot of horror stories, but my experience to this point has been that if you go there in with a positive attitude and are willing to listen to what they have to say, you're going to sail thru the process. These people have TONS of experience dealing with different events taking place on City roads. Treating them as resources/partners instead of regulatory hurdles is a smart move.
Labels: Organization, Permits
Things are ticking along nicely with the early stages of race organization. I think we're on track to getting something special on the roads on August 7th!
I was up in Edmonton this week for work and managed to drop in to the ABA to meet Scott Kelly (the road, track, & cyclocross coordinator) to chat about what I've got in mind for the race and to make sure that A) it's in line with what they're trying to build for Calgary Bikeweek, and B) I'm not on crack.
As it turns out, it would appear that I'm not on crack. Thank goodness. It would cause some issues with my employer if I was.
As it also turns out, I'm even more stoked about putting on this after meeting with Scott (and Monica and Kipp). I think that the Bikeweek has some real support up at the ABA, and it seems like they are very willing to help as much as they can with organization and support. The Tour de Bowness is looking huge for this year, and our event (along with the regular Midweek Mayhem Tuesday night crit) is going to (IMHO) do a great job of keeping athletes in town for the week between the TdB and the Wild Roses crit and the ITT provincial champs.
I'm also hoping that in the next few weeks we can make some progress in getting the Circuit de Mayhem involved with the Youth Championships! Stay tuned for updates on this front.
In other organizational news, I've got some solid results coming in on the sponsorship front. Nothing to announce officially yet, but hopefully I can start sending out some press releases soon!
Finally, I've got the permit process started with the City of Calgary. They've been excellent to deal with, and have been more than willing to provide some sound advice. Thanks very much, City of Calgary, and especially John at the Roads Engineering department!
Keep checking back...
I was up in Edmonton this week for work and managed to drop in to the ABA to meet Scott Kelly (the road, track, & cyclocross coordinator) to chat about what I've got in mind for the race and to make sure that A) it's in line with what they're trying to build for Calgary Bikeweek, and B) I'm not on crack.
As it turns out, it would appear that I'm not on crack. Thank goodness. It would cause some issues with my employer if I was.
As it also turns out, I'm even more stoked about putting on this after meeting with Scott (and Monica and Kipp). I think that the Bikeweek has some real support up at the ABA, and it seems like they are very willing to help as much as they can with organization and support. The Tour de Bowness is looking huge for this year, and our event (along with the regular Midweek Mayhem Tuesday night crit) is going to (IMHO) do a great job of keeping athletes in town for the week between the TdB and the Wild Roses crit and the ITT provincial champs.
I'm also hoping that in the next few weeks we can make some progress in getting the Circuit de Mayhem involved with the Youth Championships! Stay tuned for updates on this front.
In other organizational news, I've got some solid results coming in on the sponsorship front. Nothing to announce officially yet, but hopefully I can start sending out some press releases soon!
Finally, I've got the permit process started with the City of Calgary. They've been excellent to deal with, and have been more than willing to provide some sound advice. Thanks very much, City of Calgary, and especially John at the Roads Engineering department!
Keep checking back...
Labels: Organization
So where does the Circuit Mayhem stand as of today?
Everything is still tentative, but certainly things are becoming more solidified. I've currently got 2 potential race locations. I'm in touch with the City of Calgary Roads Department about permits for Option #1 (preferred option), and I'm feeling reasonably confident that we should get approval. The course for this option is pretty cool. Slightly over 5k per lap of rolling pavement with a nice little climb to the start/finish, and a super technical >90 degree right-hand corner leading into the climb off a high speed downhill straightaway. This technical feature will place a premium on being at the front of the race and bike-handling skills.
Option #2 is outside of the City in the Bragg Creek area. I've started getting into contact with the Province in regards to the roads I want to use for this course. The MD (Municipal District) were my initial point of contact, and they were super to deal with. I've also been in touch with the RCMP's Southern Alberta District HQ, and they have also been very positive to work with. I'm hoping to have a better feel for the chances of using this course within the next week or two.
As an aside, the Alberta Bicycle Association (ABA) has published an excellent resource guide for race organizers this year. It's got great information and some solid planning ideas. It's been invaluable to me so for, and I can't recommend it enough. Check it out if you have any aspirations of hosting a race!
Everything is still tentative, but certainly things are becoming more solidified. I've currently got 2 potential race locations. I'm in touch with the City of Calgary Roads Department about permits for Option #1 (preferred option), and I'm feeling reasonably confident that we should get approval. The course for this option is pretty cool. Slightly over 5k per lap of rolling pavement with a nice little climb to the start/finish, and a super technical >90 degree right-hand corner leading into the climb off a high speed downhill straightaway. This technical feature will place a premium on being at the front of the race and bike-handling skills.
Option #2 is outside of the City in the Bragg Creek area. I've started getting into contact with the Province in regards to the roads I want to use for this course. The MD (Municipal District) were my initial point of contact, and they were super to deal with. I've also been in touch with the RCMP's Southern Alberta District HQ, and they have also been very positive to work with. I'm hoping to have a better feel for the chances of using this course within the next week or two.
As an aside, the Alberta Bicycle Association (ABA) has published an excellent resource guide for race organizers this year. It's got great information and some solid planning ideas. It's been invaluable to me so for, and I can't recommend it enough. Check it out if you have any aspirations of hosting a race!
Labels: Organization, Resources
