[bent^biker]

So all of the talk about the great race going on over at beacon has me thinking...why no races over on this side? Now we all know that the likelyhood of getting a national circuit race, or anything at the passes is a far shot; so why not something at a place like Galbraith or another local trail. One of the posts in the skibowl thread had me thinking, why not use trails we already have, to race down? With a little fortification there is no reason the trails at Galbraith couldn't handle a small scale event. Not anything big, just something sponsored by local shops and clubs with no huge cash prizes at steak, more of a bragging rights event to go fast and have a good time.

I know that this has probably been debated many times but I thought I'd just throw it out there once more.

 

[scottjustscott]

How about a Chinese Downhill at the Flow Park?

 

[MMike]

So all of the talk about the great race going on over at beacon has me thinking...why no races over on this side? Now we all know that the likelyhood of getting a national circuit race, or anything at the passes is a far shot; so why not something at a place like Galbraith or another local trail. One of the posts in the skibowl thread had me thinking, why not use trails we already have, to race down? With a little fortification there is no reason the trails at Galbraith couldn't handle a small scale event. Not anything big, just something sponsored by local shops and clubs with no huge cash prizes at steak, more of a bragging rights event to go fast and have a good time.

I know that this has probably been debated many times but I thought I'd just throw it out there once more.

I think the is a great idea. I nominate trailhacker to take this on.

 

[MinorThreat]

If you host it, we will come . Remember too that Matt and the folks up in B'ham will be having the Broken Spoke, but that is later. July looks awfully dead - - maybe you can shoot for doing something then?

 

[bent^biker]

I'd be willing to help put htis together as much as I can along with a few other willng soles. How about something in June? Anybody have trail nominations for the course?

 

[mplutodh1]

I tried to get a ball rolling with a series this year, I am just too swamped with trying to graduate, taking a full time job back in seattle, putting on the Broken Spoke and personal commitments. Plus the response was pretty weak. Racers want it, promoters are burned out.

Unfortunately we are also running into problems as promoters because of illegal trail building. Trails such as the Hush Hush trail here in Bellingham, along with building over at Moran State Park have caused problems. With that said, the Broken Spoke DH will not happen this year, we are working on a press release to notify everyone of this. We refused to hold the race on a course like we had to use last year, and Double Black Diamond is not an option at this time. If illegal building continues, it will be near impossible for promoters to find locations for races.

The Broken Spoke will still have an XC event, and guided trail rides/tours. I'm working on some rides with lunches provided, trips to lakes, lookouts, etc to fill the gaps created by dropping the DH for this year. The event will also be condensed into a 1 day festival instead of 2.

We are in the process of hiring a GIS/Environmental Impact intern to help with the challenge of getting access to Double Black Diamond in the future and to help bring the trail back to acceptable standards, in the mean time that just means no DH this year.

But enough about Broken Spoke, back to my point. It would be great to get some racing on this side started, I tried to get a ball rolling but it's a hefty boulder to move for just one person. Feel free to let me know what your thoughts are or if anyone wants to help out with efforts to promote ideas like that.

 

[dwaugh]

Too bad about the Broken Spoke DH for this year... hope the next year will have better outlooks and a better course.

 

[ffonsok]

ahhh no broken spoke? even though the course was lacking last year i still had fun....

 

[mplutodh1]

Still going to be a festival, plenty of beer. Andrew has big plans for the brewfest - homebrew contest, plenty of local breweries, should be awesome. Live music all day (gonna switch up the bands a little too). Plenty of rides, XC race, vendors, etc. Plus cost is half of what it was last year.

Even without a DH, come up!

 

[MinorThreat]

Let's all make it a point to support this event even without a DH race. Dig that hardtail out and grunt some hills . It's important that we do our part to support what few events there are to help form a foundation for future years.

 

[bent^biker]

Thats too bad about broken spoke. No chance of anything happening at Galbraith. All of the trails there are up to spec and with a few heftyer berms etc could be fine downhill runs.

Where are the details for the broken spoke as it will be happening?

 

[mplutodh1]

We are trying to get as many of the details worked out before we announce everything. Check the website, we will have updated info there asap. Plus a press release will be out soon.

 

[downhillracer]

dang
i was looking forward to the broken spoke dh this year with the new course and all
*sigh*

 

[DH8 Pilot]

I wish I could've made last year's Broken Spoke and was hoping to participate in this years, bummed to hear it's not going to work out for the DH. I hope something works out for local racing, it would be great to have something like that around here! Even just a mini series of 3-5 races would be cool!

 

[Mut]

Why not run the same DH course as last year? Just advertise it as the Kamakize of B-ham. The course was fun in its own way, I never had a chance before to go down a fun fire road at those speeds and have so many corners to 2 wheel drift around. Some of those corners were pretty tough to navigate at 40 mph. I saw a number of knarley crashes! As long as everyone knows what there in for, you'll get a good turn out. I'll make sure of it!

 

[mplutodh1]

To be honest, we didn't think there was enough folks that would come to even cover the cost of holding the DH on last years course.

Without Milliseconds for timing (they are booked) we are looking at a cost that we just can't afford. Unfortunately the negative feedback we got about the course last year made us fear holding it on that same course again. Our goal since we decided on Larrabee for the location has been to use Double Black Diamond.

If there is enough interest to hold it on last years course and some support from outside (ie help with a timing solution, shuttles, etc) it might be reconsidered but as it looks now, we just aren't in a financial position to risk the low turn outs on that course.

Sorry guys, I'm bummed as much, if not more then everyone else. The DH has been my baby since I began putting this together nearly 3 years ago.

 

[kinghami3]

To be honest, we didn't think there was enough folks that would come to even cover the cost of holding the DH on last years course.

Without Milliseconds for timing (they are booked) we are looking at a cost that we just can't afford. Unfortunately the negative feedback we got about the course last year made us fear holding it on that same course again. Our goal since we decided on Larrabee for the location has been to use Double Black Diamond.

If there is enough interest to hold it on last years course and some support from outside (ie help with a timing solution, shuttles, etc) it might be reconsidered but as it looks now, we just aren't in a financial position to risk the low turn outs on that course.

Sorry guys, I'm bummed as much, if not more then everyone else. The DH has been my baby since I began putting this together nearly 3 years ago.

If it were fixed up (i.e. berms ), Double Diamond should be a pretty good course. I wasn't there, but people I've talked to said that last years course was good in a nostalgic way; at least for the older riders. It's a shame to give up on the first try, but I understand your position. It may be a good idea to set aside this year's DH funds for an event next year, and if that's doable, you just might have an event with enough pizzaz to get the ball rolling.

 

[SuperSlow]

race down blanchard

 

[Mut]

For timing, just do some stop watch's. It's not perfect, but it's effective. And if you don't have more than 100 people it's pretty simple. At the CPR series a few years back that's all we did. Now with lap tops and cell phone, it's that much easier. We got to keep something alive around here!

 

[mplutodh1]

Few issues with stopwatches - They work, but you should have seen the number of riders who complained with the chip setup at last years event, I remember what happened at old R&R events where they didnt use chip.
I know I'll be the guy standing at the finish being yelled at, and although I can take it, I won't. In a way I'll admit I am selfish with that, I just won't subject myself to that on top of the stresses of holding the event in the first place. It's an emotional rollercoster.

Plus, even with stopwatches, the cost of shuttles isn't cheap. I've never seen a self-shuttle event work well either. Young riders without a "buddy" in a truck get screwed and never get runs, cars are parked everywhere so no one can turn around, EMT's can't safely get up the road, etc.
I know everyones response will be use box trucks - its not as simple as it sounds. Not a single insurance policy we have found will cover the liability of using them to carry people. And believe me we've been looking. There's enough risk in holding an event, as promoters we can't afford to add more.

Sorry guys, I'm trying as hard as all of you to keep it alive but risking the financial well-being of individuals and companies for the sake of holding an event just cant be done.

 

[MinorThreat]

Matt,
I know that no truck is good from an insurance standpoint; but I've made up my mind that if I have my druthers to do shuttles at Beacon sometime, it won't be with box vans. I'll look for a 4WD two-ton with a 20' bed and grain sides.

 

[bent^biker]

Am I missing something really obvious or could we have a few races out at Port Angeles?

 

[MinorThreat]

The obvious thing is the manpower of people to hold the race. You don't just decide to "have a race" and do it. Someone decides (like Matt or Casey or Tim, Eric and Me) to put in the work to ensure that a race happens. As you can see from Matt's posts over the months, it is no easy task. Being willing to 'help out some' is a lot different than being willing to incur a certain amount of financial risk and make a large investment of time (that we'd all rather spend riding) to put on a race.

 

[bent^biker]

true dat