CHDH RACEwas fun, BUT.....

I agree with you. Couldn't hear what he was saying and they woudln't turn the music off or down. Maybe they weren't able to turn it off or down. It sucked because we couldn't hear him and then all of sudden, it was over. Either way, I had fun racing and catching up the the guys I don't get to see until Northstar. Here are a few boredom pics I took while trying to keep my sanity waiting for the awards/raffle.

1)Saw a quad tumble down this hill. That was rad.
2)Civic parked by the mud puddle w/window down. Tacoma blows through said puddle. Civic muddy.
3)Monster Energy....
4) Chick was like 12 years old. Moto was screaming for help.

I thought it was a great race other than at the end there. During the awards things were a bit out of control. I think I saw the DJ trying to fight someone?:hot:

I thought the MC/Talking guy was a little strange, funny though. Truvativ Hozzelfelter Cranks. It was cool since he kept getting prices off by $500 or more and then he would just say, 'come get your money.'

Overall I thought it was a great race, they will get better, its only their first year doing it...

i hat a great time on the course. but the freakin "awards ceremony" give me a break. the times were way off aswell, i passed a guy in my class but on the results he beat me by 10 seconds? WTF!!!!
did anyone else think some of the volenteers were assholes?
and waithin forever for times was rediculous.

man that little rant made me feel a little better.
i hope all the ride sfo guys see this thread!

sorry all of you have so much to complain about.. i personally had a great time @ chdh! ya, the awards ceremony wasnt the best, but hey, it was an awesome weekend of racing!! not everything is perfect, but i think the ride SFO guys put on a great race.
come on.. this was a lot better than the NORBA stuff that we all can complain about.....

to put it short : i got to race, therefore i am happy

I had fun racing, but the awards thing made me annoyed for the drive home. The fact that after waiting for 4 hours after my run, finding out that I podiumed which I was really stoked about, I went up to the announcer to find no podium or medal, just one of the volunteers (working really hard because I guess one of the main guys bailed) giving me a hat. When I got home I made the hat my medal and wrote "4th JrX, CHDH" on it.

At least they put on the race and it was still fun. The shuttle bogging down halfway up the hill was exciting to be in. And next year they'll learn from their mistakes, bring all the medals, have a real podium, and do the results more promptly so they don't keep us there for so long.

thePINKster said:

this was a lot better than the NORBA stuff that we all can complain about.....

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wtf are you talking about!?!?!?! Norba timing is dialed, you get results 10 minutes after you finish....

jmeperu said:

i passed a guy in my class but on the results he beat me by 10 seconds? WTF!!!

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yea that was odd with mediocre expert riders beating pros and such

Keep in mind guys when we first did this event, there were only about 120 racers. Working the race was mandatory for our team for all the races, so we had 30+ volunteers. I know I was an a-hole that first year dealing with all the stress involved in putting on an event. So cut them some slack - this was their first time and it was a huge event with 300 racers, tons of sponsors, and the mini-expo area.

People don't realize how much pressure there is in the timing booth (I was the main timer 4 of the 5 years we did the race) and with the timing in general. That's why we had signs before that said you'd be disqualified if you talked to the timing people. We got the system dialed and were able to post results quickly. But unfortunately we weren't able to help out rideSFO with the timing. In reality, rideSFO gave us credit for helping them on this event on their website, but really, we didn't do much to help them (web stuff, contact info, etc.) - but no "physical" help. Using an electronic system like the big races use is expensive. If this event keeps growing though, that might be the route to take. But expect the price of registration to go up if that happens...

Some of you probably remember those first raffles - crazy man - our first year it was like Africa hot and the raffle went on and on. That's when stuff went flying (which wasn't the greatest idea). It's tough though giving away all that loot (we should have just kept some of the stuff - that would've shortened the raffle time). Hard to complain though - there was a lot of stuff.

Mike
TWW

Couldn't have said it better Mike. Really, the only thing that got screwy was the award ceremony at the end. The actual race coordination/management was spot on. I can't even begin to imagine the time and effort it took to even put all this together. HUGE props to the guys at Ridesfo for stepping up to the plate and undertaking the commitment. If it wasn't for them, there would have been no race this weekend. Clearly there is room for improvement like having an actual podium setup so all us posers can feel important by standing on a box for all to see as well as hearing our names over the PA. Let's cut 'em some slack and thank them and all the volunteers for their hard work.

Hopefully there will be another CHDH race next year...and if there is, I'm sure it will be even better.

surfinguru said:

Hopefully there will be another CHDH race next year...and if there is, I'm sure it will be even better.

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it couldnt have been much worse. at least the course was fun.

cmon bro -- its a local backyard boogie race
(not like points count), so whats more important
than having a fun course (that was by far the best
its ever been)??
those guys worked their asses off, n for the most part
pulled off a super fun event.
give em a break.

The guys put on a good event. The weather was a factor, but you can't blame SFO for the rain. The amount of work they put into the course was huge and it showed, best GGG/CHDH course ever. The amount of sponsors they lined up, the pro payout and the raffle prizes were all top notch. I do agree that things fell apart at the awards ceremony, and a lot of people were grumbling about it. I think for a few guys (with no experience) trying to put on a race for 300 riders they did a really great job. So it wasn't all perfect, races rarely are. I for one am glad they stepped up, spent endless hours putting the event together, and exposed themselves to a lot of criticism so we could have fun racing our bicycles. It is a mellow local event, don't take yourself so seriously that you lose sight of the fact it's supposed to be fun. I bet next year the guys will address the few hiccups in this years event, we all learn as we go. Props to Ride SFO for the race, thanks guys.

results still aren't up

Rye_Bread said:

results still aren't up

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norba results arent up on the web for at least a week after the race...chill your jets monkey nutz.

Ok, I really need to vent here. There were some thing that really concerned me a lot about the whole event.

First off, I understand things aren’t going to go completely smooth for the first time someone puts on an event of this size. But there are certain things that should be bulletproof.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time at the event all weekend. Spending time with friends, camping, riding bikes, etc. - always good. With that said…

The race started almost an hour and a half late (it was around an hour and 20-25 minutes late from the original start time posted) My only guess to why it started late was because they had shut the practice down the day before pretty early (the stopped practice at 3:45ish).

After the race finally came to a finish it was time for the raffle. The raffle took about an hour or so to get started (with 3 last calls on ticket sale spaced about 10 min apart). The announcer was obviously stalling for most likely reasons mentioned below. The announcer also interviewed pretty much every winner of each prize. For all most of the crowd it was getting a bit irritating (I was there with 12 people and everyone agreed it was getting a bit ridiculous). They gave away some great prizes for sure – the dude with the blue hat (who was one of the event organizers/helpers or something) who won a decent amount of the prizes had to be stoked.

After the raffle I had nicely asked about the results to a group of the organizers (that seemed to be franticly flipping through results pages) and was told “We’re working on it!” (Pretty rudely said I might add) – Then I asked if they were going to post the results they had finished with already and got the same response. I then asked another organizer in a booth across the river and was told 5 minutes until they were going to post the results. More than 30 minutes later I finally got a straight answer from someone saying results were printing.

Cue craziness from a bunch or tired, sun soaked, riders, family members, etc. who have been waiting hours for results.

After the long and drawn out raffle - The “Awards Ceremony” was a total joke. It finally came after close to 3 hours after the end of the races. I raced in the Sport 19-34 class. There were about 35 registered racers for this class. One of the largest classes at the event. The class was COMPLETY IGNORED at the “Awards Ceremony” (if you could even call it that). There was no podium. There were not enough awards for racers who placed (not having awards 5 deep is understandable, but not having enough for top 3 of each class is a little ridiculous).

The whole thing was total madness because they posted the results for about 5 minutes, moved it about 30 feet, then took about 10 minutes to start reading the results in a completely disorganized fashion (first started reading the classes only 3 deep – then after going on to the next class, going back to the 1st class and starting over again), not to mention you could hardly hear anything because the DJ (who was too involved with getting in some guys face who just wanted to see results after waiting so long to view the results) crowd to notice the volume of the music was WAY too loud for how quiet the microphone was.

I could keep going on about more little things, but the major gripes I have are (Cliff Notes):

• The times should have been bulletproof system that should have been tested to avoid HUGE delays in results and wrong times for racers.
• Not having enough awards for at least 3 deep in each class is pretty ridiculous. I don’t understand how that could be messed up. (The men’s Sport 19-34 didn’t even get ANY awards)
• If there was a problem with times, just tell us. (Yeah we will be pissed, but at least we would know) Don’t make us sit around for hours and be jerks to us if we ask what the delay is about. If you said sorry or at least explained that there was a problem people would be WAY lest pissed off. “Sorry, we ran into an issue on the times” would have done just fine.

I know this was a massive post and I’m sorry. I was just so disappointed with the way things went – especially on race day. I’m not saying this to attack the organizers, because again the event was a lot of fun. But really, I’m not sure what to tell my sponsors about the results, I feel like it was kind of a waste to drive as far as I did and pay to register etc.

Sorry I really just needed to get some things out.

Here are some pictures from the event:

Cameras:


Push it real good:


Goodtimes and good friends:

I remember the part about the DJ getting in the guys face, it passed some time while they were getting it together.

But, yeah, pretty much all of the above is true. I still have to say that they did a great job considering it was their first year. That raffle was also very impressive, so many prizes.

I was thinking about getting about 10 other people to help me out and jump that guy in the blue hat, I think we could have gotten enough prizes off him for all 10 of us.

Overall most of the problems at that race come with most races, except the awards ceremony part. Usually that is better organized. That was the major flaw to me.

After 5 years of building, marshalling, and breaking down this course when TWW was the promoter, I was so happy (happy, I say!) to finally have the chance to race it. In fact, I was just happy to be at the bottom of the hill after my race run to enjoy the spectacle instead of working 'till dusk up top dragging haybails and all the other stuff back down the hill, "restoring" the "natural" terrain to prerace condition, etc..

I loved this course. Let me say it again: I ... LOVED ... THIS ...COURSE. It was so much fun, so fast, so sticky! Nice stuff. Blake and Phil and the rest of the Ride SFO crew really did it up. I'm just so glad that Sea Otter will be my 2nd race of the year, instead of the 1st. It's always nice to get that first race out of the way at the start of each season.

I hope that there will be a repeat in years to come.

I didnt sick around for the awards, I figured I wasnt going to poium anyway, so I bailed. So, I cant really comment on that part of the event, but...I do want to give Phil, Blake, Eric and all of the voulnteers a BIG THANKS. It takes alot to pick up the torch, and put something like that together. And get it just perfect on your go of it-come on, who was really expecting that?? Everyone knows, if you want perfect timing, and a world class awards ceremony you need to go to Northstar, or most any TBB event.

I payed the $35 just like everyone else, and was a little bummed about not getting a time right away, but whatever, It wasnt the first time (and certanly won't be the last time!!) that I didnt get a time, got told "were working on it" or " Were so busy, I haven't had a chance to pee since this morning and I've got a hundred racers all wondering the same thing as you!" (a TBB favorite), or had to read all the armchair warriors talking about how much better they would have done it....the day after.

It sounds like there were a few flaws, but I have to say GOOD JOB RIDESFO!!

MVRIDER said:

Everyone knows, if you want perfect timing, and a world class awards ceremony you need to go to Northstar, or most any TBB event.

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ha. ha.
i didn't race this past weekend, but have been thinking as i read this thread that the complaints mentioned reminded me of that horrible n* race the year before last where everyone waited around in the cold FOREVER to find out that they didn't have the results and anyone that did win would be mailed a medal.

v10"o-PlEaSuRe said:

norba results arent up on the web for at least a week after the race...chill your jets monkey nutz.

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results still aren't up

btw mikey, your mom took some bitchin' pictures, and she even figured out who I was saturday without a number plate. Thank you Mrs. Haderer.

-Ryan

see anything you like...dont go jackin photos or ima have to kick ur ass...

v10"o-PlEaSuRe said:

see anything you like...dont go jackin photos or ima have to kick ur ass...

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im gonna wait, a bit see if there are any I like from sunday, but there's already a good saturday one

combat guards are dope

alloutproductio said:

...snip... a fun course (that was by far the best its ever been)??

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Ouch! Theo, I love you man, but that hurt. :nuts: I thought my courses were pretty cool in past years. Yes, I do agree that this was the best version of the course (props to Blake) - it was just the "by far" part that hurt my fragile ego. However, I forgive you since you put me crashing in HellaG. Up until last year, the actually specifically forbade us to build jumps with dirt (remember our ramps), but that's another story...

Blake, Phil, and Eric did awesome - got some bugs to work out with timing and results, but it was so cool that they stepped up and picked up where Team Wrong Way left off, and kept this fun local race alive. The venue is just a great one - rough, technical, all-downhill trail that we can actually build jumps and birms on, with a fireroad for shuttling, which starts in the parking lot immediately adjacent to the finish line where vendors can set up boothes and repair tents (Trailhead!) - how cool is all of that? Add to that, that all of the other DH races in the greater Bay Area are gone except for the Sea Otter: from Todd O's races in Hollister Hills and that one year in Morgan Hill, to Dan Barger's races at Grant Ranch. Although it's not Bay Area, even the 007 went away (I dug that one).

Anyway, I'm not sure what I'm saying - we all need to vent when things go south, but I guess also try to recognize all the good parts too. Make no mistake, they WILL read all of this sh*t, so try to let them know everything - what was broken, but also what you really enjoyed. I'll give you an example: it really seems like a few of you were bummed that there was no real podium ceremony. I was one of the main organizors of this race in all of the previous years, and this still surprises me. Often DHers almost seemed "too cool" to smile for the camera when we took podium pictures, or were embarrassed to go up and get their medal, or didn't even stick around for it. And I can understand some of that - I heard that I got 5th place, and the podium/medal thing is no biggie to me. It's more important to me that I can eventually check them online. But I forget that for some folks (including kids new to racing), the medals and podium shots (especially for parents) are a bigger deal. Good feedback... Keep it coming... And more pics!

It would be great if we were allowed to continue riding the course when all the racing is finished (ala shuttles). That's the real reason I went in the first place. I know a lot of people who showed up but couldn't race would have enjoyed that.

The shuttle drivers were doing there best, but man-o-man was it rough sometimes going up that road.

The course seemed like it had less pedalling than previous courses, and it was more fluid overall. I REAALLY liked the finish line. That made way more sense to end it there.

I guess my only real complaint was that I wish I could have had more runs in on Sunday before the race and also that the guy at the start gate seemed a bit confused. He is in a rather critical postion, and should be completely aware of how things work and what time it is.

Actual conversation overheard at the start gate for somebody in Junior ex

Race official: "Ok 10 seconds....5, 4, 3, oh wait ..(what seems like more than 3 seconds).. GO!"
Racer: "Should I go?"
Race official: "Go!"
Somebody else: "Did he leave on zero?"
Race official: "Uhh, yeah!"


And for me...

Race official: "Ok you start in Five minutes...(2 minutes go by)...OK four minutes and thirty seconds."
Me: "Are you sure? That seemed really long."
Race official: "Wait....no three minutes and thirty seconds."
Me (sarcastically): "Are you sure it's not ten minutes now?"

All this lack of podium talk is cracking me up - hell, in the five years we did it, we never had a real podium. We even goofed up on getting all the photos of the medal winners last year on the web:

http://www.teamwrongway.com/ggg/2005/photos.htm

And that was our 5th time mind you. We did get the photos right for the previous years though.

So people make mistakes - it happens. The key thing is to give good feedback on how to make the event better. Trust me, the organizers want everything to be perfect for the racers - we're racers too, so we know how important it is to you (even though it's just a bike race). Does it take time to figure everything out? Hell yeah. I think if you talk to people who did our races will tell you that #5 (except for the mud), was sooooo much better than #1.

Blake and the rideSFO crew will be back and even better next year. Big shout out to them for keeping Bay Area DH racing alive!

One of the biggest costs of the race is insurance. And the insurance is for the registered racers only. So once the race is over, technically there is no more insurance coverage for riders on the course. So that is why no more shuttles are provided for people to ride afterwards. Yes, everyone would say they wouldn't sue if they got hurt, but what happens if you aren't the one making that decision?

Oh and apparently you never rode on the 007 shuttles - I didn't either, but I heard the stories... really long rides... alcohol... gnarly one lane roads...

Also, the race makes for a super long weekend for those people organizing it, so to allow more runs on the course would delay the tear down which would add even more time to a long race day. The poor folks that do the tear down don't get to be part of the normally fun festivities at the end - they're up there working their a$$e$ off while people win all kinds of cool schwag.

If the weather had cooperated, everyone could've gotten in more runs. We've had reports in the past of guys doing up to 10 practice runs during the Saturday practice sessions. Crazy. Oh and registered racers on practice day were covered by insurance also.

Where did the finish line end? No more sprint straightaway?

The finish was right after a fatty berm. It was awesome I tell you.

I understand about the shuttles and insurance...

What are the rules about other vehicles on the fireroads? What happens If me and my crew decide to do our own shuttles? Can only registerd offroad vehicles go on the fireroads? I only say this because I don't see them "breaking down" the dirt jumps without the use of explosives...

Here's the rule from the Carnegie site:

VEHICLE OPERATION
Motorcycles and all terrain vehicles (ATVs), as legally defined in the California Vehicle Code, are allowed to operate throughout the park on trails and fire roads. All other vehicles (including 4x4s, Odysseys, Pilots and special construction vehicles) are prohibited from operating in the hills and are restricted to the valley floor.

So it's hoofin' it to the top. Marla rode her V10 to the top so it is rideable. Consider it a nice warmup.

And when we did the races, we had to wipe out all jumps, berms, etc. so you might be surprised. Plus, once the snow fencing is gone, MXers will tear those things up if they're not already goner.

Oh I know what a good workout it is hiking, I hiked up for my race run for that very reason.

i just don't want to hike up every time...oh well.

You know some guys used motos to tow bikes up. I think you'd be okay doing this. Just need to find someone with a motorcycle or ATV.

So there were timing mistakes? Id like to know whether my finish was legit or not. timing mistakes for all classes? Just Pro?

i think the only way to find out is go to sea otter...its odd because people claim times are off by times less than 30 seconds which is just odd...

Our beer sponsor, Big Sky Brewing Co. makes a number of different adult beverages. So far, reports back are that the Moose Drool Brown Ale and Big Sky Crystal Ale are really good schtuff. Try it out - you can get 'em at BevMo.

http://www.bigskybrew.com/

Sorry for the spam post but just trying to share the wealth. Don't think y'all will mind.

Legal verbage - please drink responsibly...

as far as big sky goes, gotta stick with the Summer Honey. that's by far my favorite. my dad is a huge advocate for the moose drool though. before bevmo carried it, he used to buy it on the internet.

you homo's complaining need to zip it. I don't think. No wait! I know you guys could not even have come close to doing a better job if you tried to put on such an event. You try something first you figure out how to do it better the next time. Phil and his crew put on in awesome event with the money and support they had. yeah the timing of the race was a little wierd but I am sure they did not have the bank that NORBA does. For a local event you need to support it not bitch and moan about it. Good event Phil and Your crew. Oh yeah and the raffle was killer. HUGE!!! thanks for the good time.