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When should events be cancelled
With all the recent rain in Sydney and looking at the trail status updates form Awaba to Appin being closed. When do event organizer reschedule events? Whilst understanding that event organizer invest a huge amount of time effort and money into make the event a success. local committees also look forward to the cash input it brings but having up to 1200 riders on any course under the conditions that Sydney has copped in the last week will chop it up and bring increased spot light on the mountain bike community from green groups and councils etc.
We do not have a great plethora of quality places to ride and are being attacked regularly as an irresponsible and environmentally damaging sport. With proposals for new tracks at Bundanoon and Kur-ring-gai council coming under pressure from local residences and a new park at Hornsby Shire being proposed do we as a committee need to take some short term pain for the longer term gain but postponing events?
We voluntarily stop riding tracks when flag red when do we as a community extend this to major events and communicate this wish to event organizers.
We are building tracks to a code of practice (IMBA) should the MTB community also develop a wet weather riding and event code of practice?
From a frustrated rider and trail builder also with cabin fever
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itching to ride Glenrock up here in Newcastle today but we have had heaps of rain overnight on trails that have still not dried out fully from earlier in the weeks rain.I fully agree in short term pain for a long term gain as I have 1 more week to go before I get 2 weeks holidays-cannot wait!!.What I have noticed since joining this forum is that most races get called off right at the last minute-that is late night before/first thing in the morning-I guess the promoters just hpoe everything wiil come good!
Are you referring to a particular event as each event is different due to the track. With Dirtworks this weekend I think it would take extreme weather to cancel it mainly due to the fact that it is mainly on fire trail. Also with the fact it is a one loop race. Most will make a call the day before or the morning if the weather was bad overnight. I think the recent race at Awaba was cancelled the day before.
Not just referring to the Dirtworks but it put the thought in my mind first. Past events like the Capital Punishment and Otaway have been well publicized mud feasts. Not having ridden the Dirtworks but entered this year i cannot fully comment on the track, but in general most fire trails are poorly built following the fall line and shed water poorly. Riders tend to ride the best line creating a quasi single track despite the width of the track.
Manly Dam has parts on fire trail and remains red at the slightest sign of rain
Club run races will always do the right thin by the track as they put in the maintenance whilst the rest of us can pay our money turn up ride and go home to clean up our bikes.
With increased numbers of bikes being sold each year our existing trails are under greater pressure and as a community we seem fractured in 3 groups, individuals, clubs, commercial companies with little formal discussion between everyone for the long term benefit of our sport as a whole.
There may be no wright or wrong answer but good discussion is a start.
Hoping the sun comes out big time so i can justify riding tomorrow as have bad cabin fever
For the most part Dirt Works follows ridge lines and it is fairly sandy and the OGNR quite rocky.
As a result I'm not expecting it to be too bad. The big climb at the start and the descent down Jacks Track might be interesting though.
I'm actually hoping the rain has helped to settle the last 30k's down because when we went through a month ago it had just been graded and was very soft and energy sapping.
Recent Single track mind round at Awaba was rightfully postponed due to wetness.
And I remember a Sydney 12hr being called off halfway through due to it becoming boggy.
We've run some very wet races at Lidsdale but that trail was able to cope so I was fine with letting them go ahead. 1 year it belted down all week leading up and the day before we came this >< close to calling it off but Sunday cleared and by lap 2 the track was firm.
1 notable exception was when we called an 8hr off at the 6hr mark due to a big electrical storm.
I don't think you can have a general rule for everywhere as each trail is going to have its own levels of wetness that it can sustain.
Saying that State Forest permits state that for races on it's land events should be called off if there is water sheeting across or down the trail.
With the dirtworks being run along an old road, mostly on ridgetops on a well draining base I couldn't see this level of wetness being an issue
Difficult subject. As others have noted, each site is different.
One would hope that IMBA standards compliance would mean tracks are built to handle the abuse on an occasional (say once a year) basis, but such compliance on all event circuits is a long term work in progress.
I think it's an issue that's probably worth building some guidelines around for eventholders, but it will be a judgement call in the end. Question to be addressed would be who makes the call - my thought is probably should be a small committee independant from the eventholder and which is accountable to site stakeholders. Wouldn't be fair to burden a single person with the decision.
Publicly known guidelines would also help reduce rider backlash
Statements like the Forestery's - events should be called off if there is water sheeting across or down the trail.
But IMBA standard design trails are not supposed to do this unless it is torrential rain.
Ok I take it back. The OGNR was quite muddy with some big puddles.
A few soft bits on the rest of the course but generally fine.