So are the days of our lives...
#1876
Senior Member
Can you possibly set up a franchise type deal where you have a main hub like New Britian but then have satellite races at SUNY, Hartford, Rockleigh, etc? SUNY and Rockleigh would be far for you to travel but if you hired people to help you run races that these outposts, the total number of riders could increase as certain locations will be local to a large percentage of riders. At these races you won't get the NY and MA crowd to mix like at Bethel, but it could be more regional type racing under your CDR umbrella.
The other venues have me thinking of holding one day races, perhaps counting towards an overall prize under the CDR umbrella if you will. As it is if things work out there will be at least two places, maybe even three, for the Spring Series. If I do 2 weeks at each location I can increase the count and just make it more of a series, perhaps through the season.
As someone pointed out somewhere Bethel was great because it allowed the mix of NYC and CT racers. There aren't many races like that. it's like where a river flows into the ocean, salt and fresh water mixing up.
__________________
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
#1877
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This might qualify as a TMI, but I have to get a colonoscopy done and the prep has me a bit freaked, especially the fasting portion... Any tips? The fact I spend my days mumbling 'I'm hungry' has me kind of concerned...
One thing is for sure, I'm stepping on the scale the morning of.... Let's see how light I can go
One thing is for sure, I'm stepping on the scale the morning of.... Let's see how light I can go
#1878
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This might qualify as a TMI, but I have to get a colonoscopy done and the prep has me a bit freaked, especially the fasting portion... Any tips? The fact I spend my days mumbling 'I'm hungry' has me kind of concerned...
One thing is for sure, I'm stepping on the scale the morning of.... Let's see how light I can go
One thing is for sure, I'm stepping on the scale the morning of.... Let's see how light I can go
How long do you have to fast for? 24 hours? Supposedly it's good for you, and if it's a one-time thing it shouldn't be too bad.
#1879
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Figure this is as good a time as any since the season just finished and a somewhat forced break is a good thing. I'm guessing that it'll take a couple days to get the body back to normal. This clinic does full sedation, which is good for comfort during, but can sometimes cause issues after...
Just finished getting full blood work, which I've wanted to do for bit. I find that since I'm active and racing that I have this false sense of security that everything is a-ok, but you never know... Time to be preventative...
Last edited by rbart4506; 10-02-14 at 12:07 PM.
#1881
Senior Member
I figured CDR's answer was going to be what it was, and he should be applauded for stepping up in this regard. Volunteers, god love em, but especially regarding corner marshals I've seen promoters trot out untrained/clueless/passive people to work blind/high traffic areas and watched really bad stuff happen as a result.
We had "volunteers" working corners at motorcycle races but they were a trained, core group that had two way radio contact with the race director. They'd get travel money and lunch, which sounds like what CDR's doing.
Not a huge outlay for a huge step up in quality. Certainly as much of a value added as a blue shirt.
We had "volunteers" working corners at motorcycle races but they were a trained, core group that had two way radio contact with the race director. They'd get travel money and lunch, which sounds like what CDR's doing.
Not a huge outlay for a huge step up in quality. Certainly as much of a value added as a blue shirt.
What I don't get is how anyone else can promote races without getting audited or without risking everything they own in case of an accident.
Even a big dollar race, reliant on volunteers, can fall flat with the basics. To wit - the Danbury Crit, which used the same group that puts on the Philly race (I've actually contracted under them for Tour of PA), somehow they ended up with volunteer corner marshals. They were only marginally effective, they missed a couple key spots, and the result was that a pedestrian got hit at 2 to go in the P12 race, she was seriously injured, and the race was stopped. All that cash for the really impressive infrastructure and they didn't have enough marshals, nor did the marshals have any kind of "point of contact" if there was an emergency (like the knife fight that happened just after Turn Two).
__________________
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
#1882
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#1883
Senior Member
This might qualify as a TMI, but I have to get a colonoscopy done and the prep has me a bit freaked, especially the fasting portion... Any tips? The fact I spend my days mumbling 'I'm hungry' has me kind of concerned...
One thing is for sure, I'm stepping on the scale the morning of.... Let's see how light I can go
One thing is for sure, I'm stepping on the scale the morning of.... Let's see how light I can go
I had my first check when my mom died, I was… 36? 37? They found a polyp. They've found 3 polyps so far, all benign. I figure it's worth it.
24 hours the first time, give or take. Not a huge problem for me. I use sugar (white grape juice I think) to keep my energy higher and then suffer the morning of the procedure. I've gotten morning appointments for each of my checks so no need to go through the day famished.
The latest one I started the "process" I think in the later morning the day before, like 10AM or 11 AM. My appointment was at 8 or 9 AM the next day.
The actual process is fine since I've been out. Basically it's "No I don't feel anything…." and then I wake up and it's 5 hours later. I try to eat probiotic type stuff after since I figure my system is empty. I'm actually super relaxed when I go home because I got some super solid rest. I could see how a Michael Jackson would use the same drug to sleep.
You'll be fine, good luck with the test.
__________________
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
#1884
Senior Member
Oh refrigerating the jug of stuff makes it more tolerable.
__________________
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
#1885
out walking the earth
Thread Starter
I figured CDR's answer was going to be what it was, and he should be applauded for stepping up in this regard. Volunteers, god love em, but especially regarding corner marshals I've seen promoters trot out untrained/clueless/passive people to work blind/high traffic areas and watched really bad stuff happen as a result.
We had "volunteers" working corners at motorcycle races but they were a trained, core group that had two way radio contact with the race director. They'd get travel money and lunch, which sounds like what CDR's doing.
Not a huge outlay for a huge step up in quality. Certainly as much of a value added as a blue shirt.
We had "volunteers" working corners at motorcycle races but they were a trained, core group that had two way radio contact with the race director. They'd get travel money and lunch, which sounds like what CDR's doing.
Not a huge outlay for a huge step up in quality. Certainly as much of a value added as a blue shirt.
#1886
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We just closed on a vacation home in Asheville NC. A few miles form the Blueridge Parkway. Now I won't have lack of terrain to blame my pathetic climbing ability on.
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You could fall off a cliff and die.
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You could hit a tree and die.
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You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
#1887
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Key marshals are paid, the rest are volunteers, all are trained at Bethel.
#1888
Senior Member
The people who are paid employees aren't really marshaling, that I'm aware of. I might be wrong. A few pages back I believe CDR indicated the series lost money. And he's got an expensive trailer invested in this. Turning a profit certainly helps the sustainability of racing in a region. There are several promoters that I'm aware of that are making money, and they're putting on good races, and their race offerings are growing. It might not be the best model in the eyes of everyone but for racers it keeps races on the calendar and for those willing to deal with the aggravation of dealing with towns, cops, permits, racers, they get to make some money. I don't want to see his races go away, and I really don't like to hear it's not making money for him.
I have a hard time shedding the idea that I don't get to keep money from the race. That was the rule at the beginning, for maybe 10 years. No one profited from the race, that was a core value. If the race made money, and it usually made something, we'd spend it on race stuff, leaving $1000-1500 for seed money for next year. This is how we got radios, cameras, etc. At one point a helper, a high level corporate person, had his legal team incorporate Carpe Diem Promotions and then legally I couldn't touch the money, forget about morally. We bought the van after a few years of saving profits. We bought finish line cameras as we dropped them etc. Generator after we did about $8k of damage to two of our cars running the laptops and printers off of a voltage inverter thing plugged into the cars (melted wiring in both of our cars, ours was $2k, his was $6k).
At any rate I got into a mode where the money is untouchable. In 2010 the corporate guy had been gone for a few years after moving away. He asked me to make the company into something else so he's off of it so I made it the LLC it is today. Now the money is tied to me, meaning it's mine.
My biggest year by far 2010 I think. Cat 3-4 fields were typically 80-100 riders, we hit 125 twice, P123s were hitting 100 starters, M40s were 80-90, etc, and the race cleared about $10k. That's a massive amount of money because normally a fantastic year was $3-5k. That massive amount of money has been the reserve because the race has lost money since, and now the account is such that I have to put money into it to pay for pretty much anything.
I assumed things wouldn't change for another 10 years in terms of the venue, I assumed that the weather wouldn't be horrible all the time, so I made some "capital investments" between mid 2013-early 2014 with literally 10 years of races in my mind. The biggest change was selling the van (which I felt was getting unsafe to drive, especially fully loaded) and buying a "modular" set up, meaning a trailer and a tow vehicle. I could use the tow vehicle alone or use it with the trailer. I bought the tow vehicle last year, the trailer this year, and then of course the race goes down the tubes - poor weather, late start to organization (late fees), and additional costs for police and top notch (aka paid) marshals.
In related stuff I spoke with the guy that does much of the timing/finishes in the area. He used to have a big truck, big trailer. Now he drives a minivan. He told me flat out that he ended up working to pay for maintenance / operating costs. Now he's cut back on his operating costs so he can actually earn something. Of course I spoke to him after I bought the trailer and tow vehicle. I realized that the first $5k I "clear" only covers the payments on the trailer and tow vehicle. It makes my event services gigs more important (since they're all profit minus fuel and my time).
I did pay 3 people to marshal most of the day. Turn One, of course, but also Hill and Turn Two. I also pay the registration folks, but they get less. The two head marshals got paid the most.
As a rule I double everyone's pay on the last day, as a bonus. I forgot about that but it makes it really 8 weeks of payroll costs, not 7. I did it every year I've paid people, and that's going back something like 10 years. I also pay double to the officials as a thanks as well, but they're not part of payroll.
If a sponsorship deal comes through then the sponsor will provide pretty much as many volunteers as I ask for. It's a corporation and employees can trade a volunteer day for a work day - they get paid like they were at work and they get a weekday off, something like that. The volunteers have to show up, it's like they're skipping work if they don't, so they tend to be ultra reliable. At any rate I hope to leverage that and pay one "Supervisor of Marshals" or even "Director of Volunteers" and then populate the positions with reasonably well trained volunteers.
It would help to have a closed access course, one where it's pretty easy to control traffic going into the course. That would reduce staffing needs/costs.
I'm going to publish some numbers at some point so I'll put them here. The races cost $44k to run this year. I brought in $38k in entry fees. Sponsorship bridged much of the gap. I expect to lose much of the sponsorship (the numbers being thrown around are half what I got in 2014). This means I have to cut my costs, perhaps raise entries a couple dollars (literally like $2), and hope for better weather forecasts. If costs come down $8k ($5k payroll reduction, $3k less in police/etc), I make no capital investments (no need to buy stuff other than consumables), and I increase entry fees a couple dollars, then the race can make a few bucks even if the weather is horrible, maybe $38-40k coming in and $38k going out. That's my goal, to keep the costs under $40k and try to get the "money in" to over $40k.
Right after the race I thought I had basically broken even. However USAC takes forever to cash their insurance checks (one still isn't cashed, from March), one employee only started cashing his checks as the 6 month point approached, and at that time I hadn't gotten all the expenses together for the Missus. WIth the full picture the race fell a little over $6k short without sponsorship, or almost $1k/week.
That's actually not a huge thing. That would get covered by 60 more racers, which would have been realistic on a weekend where snow wasn't forecast for 2 PM or something every single Sunday of the Series. 120 more racers in a week and now I'm clearing $1k for that day, $7k for the Series. In 2014 I had the lowest numbers for the Series since the early days. One week it was 125 riders which is just crazy. Record weeks are 350 racers, regular is 200-300.
__________________
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
#1889
Old & Getting Older Racer
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This might qualify as a TMI, but I have to get a colonoscopy done and the prep has me a bit freaked, especially the fasting portion... Any tips? The fact I spend my days mumbling 'I'm hungry' has me kind of concerned...
One thing is for sure, I'm stepping on the scale the morning of.... Let's see how light I can go
One thing is for sure, I'm stepping on the scale the morning of.... Let's see how light I can go
My wife hates the prep. I didn't think it was as bad as she said. Not that I want to get another colonoscopy soon. Fasting wasn't a huge issue as I was plenty busy doing other things. The actual procedure was nothing and I mean just that. They turned on the anesthesia and it was complete lights out -- no dreams, no nothing.
My biggest fear was not being fully cleaned out. Happened to my wife once. It means you get to do it again.
I was surprised/disappointed that my weight delta the morning of the procedure was not that great. Guess I'm not quite as full of $h1t as people say.
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Thanks.
Cleave
"Real men still wear pink."
Visit my blog at https://cleavesblant.wordpress.com/
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#1890
Senior Member
cdr - have you looked into ninigret at all? location isn't ideal but it's a closed course and manages to pull decent field sizes throughout the season.
#1891
out walking the earth
Thread Starter
Hmm. Spread out series. A couple at bethel. A couple in new Britain. A couple at ningret. Maybe toss in some Rockleigh
#1892
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Four times the logistics, but four times the fun.
#1893
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Thanks for the pointers guys...
CDR, that's what I wanted to hear. My procedure is at 8am on the Tuesday so I figured eat breakfast early on Monday and then start the process. Luckily the Monday is a stat holiday so I'll be at home and not using up a sick day for prep. I'm assuming no issues getting on the bike the next day after the procedure?
CDR, that's what I wanted to hear. My procedure is at 8am on the Tuesday so I figured eat breakfast early on Monday and then start the process. Luckily the Monday is a stat holiday so I'll be at home and not using up a sick day for prep. I'm assuming no issues getting on the bike the next day after the procedure?
#1894
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I'm overdue for my first test, but heard something on the radio about a new & improved test ..... Gotta look into that.
Edit:
FDA approves first non-invasive DNA screening test for colorectal cancer
Edit:
FDA approves first non-invasive DNA screening test for colorectal cancer
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Last edited by Homebrew01; 10-02-14 at 08:19 PM.
#1895
Making a kilometer blurry
#1896
Senior Member
Thanks for the pointers guys...
CDR, that's what I wanted to hear. My procedure is at 8am on the Tuesday so I figured eat breakfast early on Monday and then start the process. Luckily the Monday is a stat holiday so I'll be at home and not using up a sick day for prep. I'm assuming no issues getting on the bike the next day after the procedure?
CDR, that's what I wanted to hear. My procedure is at 8am on the Tuesday so I figured eat breakfast early on Monday and then start the process. Luckily the Monday is a stat holiday so I'll be at home and not using up a sick day for prep. I'm assuming no issues getting on the bike the next day after the procedure?
As far as riding after I was wiped out for the full day and even the next time I felt a bit fatigued. The day of the procedure you're wiped out, so wiped out that it's reasonable not to remember anything that happens in the the couple hours after you wake up. I read somewhere that devious spouses will actually grill their partners during this time since there is very little resistance to lying accompanied by no memory of the grilling. I tried really hard to remember what the doc said but no go, I recalled the doctor talking to me vaguely but no idea what he said. I do remember most of everything that happened up until they hit me with the sleeping drug, what I don't remember is normal forgetfulness. I remember talking with a nurse, my heart rate (it was about 5-10 bpm lower than regular resting HR), etc.
I can't remember when I rode next but I tend to put actual cycling on a back foot so I wasn't in a hurry to go train. There's no soreness, if that's a question, so I don't see why you wouldn't be able to ride the day after. I wasn't myself for two days, that's for sure, probably partially due to the fasting, the other half due to the drugs etc.
I was really cold when I went to the procedure, realistically due to the fasting. I had to get there early, maybe 30 minutes, 45 minutes, I forget. Wear long sleeves, warm stuff. You'll end up in a gown but at least you'll be warm on the way over.
__________________
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
#1897
In the Pain Cave
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#1898
out walking the earth
Thread Starter
Strava Segment | Kain Road
hit this yesterday on a training ride. it was so steep, with wet roads, my rear wheel spun and I had to stay in the saddle and weave for dry spots. 39x23 was a bit much.
hit this yesterday on a training ride. it was so steep, with wet roads, my rear wheel spun and I had to stay in the saddle and weave for dry spots. 39x23 was a bit much.
#1899
pan y agua
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Just a small town home, but awesome mountain views, walking distance to downtown, and access to great riding. We're pretty stoked.
__________________
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
#1900
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My brother just moved down that way. Mars Hill. he's not racing any more, but tells me great riding on those roads.
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Last edited by Homebrew01; 10-03-14 at 12:49 PM.