Cyclocross courses: Cautionary tales, Part 2
Dec 2000
 
 

Introduction	With 'cross occurring in the rainy season in most parts of the country, issues around course damage and course approval are at the front of many promoters' minds. One example is Jeff Clark's experience in Santa Cruz--detailed here--which got him kicked off the course for three years until he promised to hold the race in the early fall when dry conditions were likely.  That's one approach, but what do you do when there's no avoiding wet weather?  The following is a recent discussion from rec.bicycles.racing about various approaches to management of courses (and of park staff).  --Dave Carr
Course issues, part 2	Subject: Cross Impact Date: 11/16/2000 Author: Greg Hall <vc_slim@my-deja.com> Has anyone been prohibited from using a proposed cyclocross course due to the effects it might have on the environment? Is there much reclamation effort required after an event?    ------------------------------------ Subject: Re: Cross Impact  Date: 12/06/2000  Author: Tim McNamara <timmcn@mr.net> Sure, local promoters have lost race venues because of trail damage or other problems. Racing in the rain and mud, in particular, can do a lot of damage very quickly to a park or another public-use area. If possible it should be avoided or at the least step should be taken to minimize the damage. Avoiding using particularly vulnerable areas to begin with is a good start. ------------------------------------ Subject: Re: Cross Impact  Author: Dave Carr <davidlcarr@aol.com> >Racing in the rain and mud, in particular, can do a lot of damage very quickly to a park or another public-use area.  That proposal essentially means 'cross on pavement or sand, since you can't control the weather and those are the only surfaces not ruined by bad weather.  That's not much use to a 'cross promoter.    I'm really interested to hear from the east coast guys where the parks dept actually expects there to be damage and is prepared to respond. Out here in CA, they all expect the grass to stay perfect no matter what. Impossible.  I tmust be the generally good weather here: managers aren't prepared to deal with the effects of bad weather.    Surf City has a pretty good setup at Watsonville: they have an area of grass that the management doesn't care about preserving, and the turf is all very stout bermuda grass, which can stand up to a lot of abuse. DC ------------------------------------ Subject: Re: Cross Impact  Author: Paul Alman <paul@quickrelease.com> We have been lucky so far. The weather has cooperated during the past 3 CX races we have run at a very popular local park. We also worked very closely with the park maintenance manager regarding what was off-limits, where we were routing the course, contingency plans and in getting them to realize that there might be some temporary damage to the park. Given that the philosophy here is one of promoting usage of this park over keeping it pristine, they have been very accommodating. It remains to be seen what the reaction will be if we really tear up the hill that is used both for run-up and high speed descent... We do have alternative courses we can use that are much less intrusive, have a plan to limit participation if the weather looks as if it mean more damage to the course, etc. The key, so far, has been to enlist everyone's support for the plan, get them to "invest" in the activity and keep them in the loop in every way we can. ------------------------------------ Subject: Re: Cross Impact  Author: gfm01 <gfm01@my-deja.com> Our final race of last season was held on a rainy day in a nice pristine city park, second race in that site for the season.  While we only had about 40 riders on that cold Jan. day, the impact to the grass was almost nothing.  When the spring grass came, the impact of the race was totally invisible.    We ensured our Parks and Rec. folks that we would call race if it was really muddy, but I think it would have taken a real flood to damage the site. Of course, it certainly a function of the # of riders.  If we had 300 riders that day, the course might have suffered, but not much.    Hope this helps. Gary Morgan ------------------------------------ Subject: Re: Cross Impact  Date: 12/06/2000  Author: Andrew Albright <albrigh@mail.med.upenn.edu> [Note: Andrew is the promoter of the Monkey Hill CX race in Delaware] I don't know about other parts of the country, but in the Mid-Atlantic if you stay on full-grass areas (before you race), then you shouldn't have a problem in the long-run. In 1999 we had a 'mud bog' that was torn to crap. The parks people rolled it out for me with a huge roller (they gave me the option of doing it myself), but the charge was only $40-worth it to me. Threw some grass seed down. [This is the same situation as Jeff Clark at Surf City.]  The key is to get the ruts out and new grass seed down. They had no problem with this because I took the trouble to fix it. They thanked me for showing up after the race to take care of the park. I said, why are you thanking me. We did a little damage to the park and are fixing it like we said we would. He said people always say that, but then after their event is over, just disappear.  Keep a constant dialogue going with the person you are directly dealing with for use of the land. Even if you have immediate damage point out to them that it is temporary. Ask to be compared to other users of the park (if it is public parks this is a good argument). Having a football field that is torn to shit down the middle helps a lot. > Sometimes land managers aren't prepared to deal with the effects of bad weather.    You just have to out think them and out talk them. We got booted from Monkey Hill for 1998 (after using it in 1997 without any damage). Why? Because the state took over taking care of the park and they were 'professionals'.    They never told me 'No' for 1998, I just got the beaucratic run-around. So in Jan of 1999, I got a chance to talk for 10 minutes in front of the DE Bicycle Council. This included some State employees. I pointed out that we wouldn't do any permanent damage. I compared our use to the use of football or soccer (which is chronic damage).  Then in 1999 we had the situation which I already detailed above.    I am sure that there is some way to use any public land (some easier than others). Find out who is in charge, bug the shit out of them argue with them, etc. They will rarely give you a 'No' in writing (probably coz they could get sued or something). Just keep at it. And start now for Fall 2001.    If anyone needs specific help in getting a course, email me. I've got plenty of ideas. Andrew ------------------------------------ Subject: Re: Cross Impact  Date: 12/06/2000  Author: Adam Hodges Myerson <amyerson@aol.com> I think part of how they get around this in Europe, on top of the cultural thing, is that a lot of the races are in farms or orchards, where it doesn't really matter if the tracks get torn up. A tractor's gonna roll over them the next day anyway. That's why their races are so muddy.  Adam ------------------------------------ Subject: Re: Cross Impact  Author: Greg Hall <vc_slim@my-deja.com> Thanks for the input on taking care of cross courses. A local promoter has gone the reseeding route on some of the problem areas after one recent race.  The problem that's about to rear it's ugly head is an outlaw cross series at a local city park. No permission has been granted for the use of the park nor has a race permit been issued. My concern is that with so little concern for proper channels the promoter may also avoid taking responsibility for any damage done to the park thus jeopardizing future racing efforts. Hopefully the parks department will get wind of this situation and rectify the matter.  Greg Hall

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