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| Cues for the 2009 Good Life Gravel Adventure |
Today's post comes out of a comment made last week on my "New Finds After All This Time" post. A comment there made by "Brett" stated the following: "I keep thinking they should go back to using just cue sheets for the Unbound 200 and XL. That would really tick off those pro riders!"
You can go back and read my response to Brett, and I will not go over that specifically here. However; what I do want to cover is why the way events were done then, including the cue sheet navigation, wouldn't fly with almost anyone today. Much less the Pros!
There are certain things which fall under the category of "Expectations" when one signs up for an event today. These items change over the course of time as new things enter into the lexicon of how events are produced and younger people enter into attending those events. Furthermore; technology, culture, and current social trends affect how events are going to look and feel as well.
There was a time when you signed up to do an event by mailing in a flyer, or signing on at a bicycle shop. Now? There is no way anyone is doing things that way. How many folks are buying wired computers these days? We used to sell those by the dozen on a daily basis at the bike shops I worked at. How about Power Bars? Anyone still trying to chew one so they can swallow it out there? (IYKYK)
Yeah, so doing things like cue sheet navigation isn't 100% gone, (Hello Ragnorok 105!), but it is functionally extinct now in terms of events.
People expect a gpx route file now. People expect "aid stations", (you unfortunate folks will never know the joy of a slice of Casey's pizza when your world is undone), and of course, if you are in the Pro category, expectations are even more demanding.
Could we strip it back to the way things were done back almost 20 years ago? Possibly. How many would even be interested in that? Not enough to support a person putting on the event, which by the way, is another expectation these days. Hardly anyone is willing to put themselves out there at no charge, like many did back when Gravel got started. Heck, hardly anyone puts on a free gravel event anymore.
So, while it may seem fun to think about cue sheet navigation and a thousand folks out on course trying to figure it all out on their own with an analog computer, this is all just fanciful mind games now. It's unrealistic.But yeah.......those were great days. Make no mistake.
And think about this: In twenty years, nothing will be like it is now either. So, "The Good Ol' Days" are the days you are taking for granted today. Trust me......I know all about that.
UPDATE: I did not know this "Cyclingnews.com" article was going to hit on the same day as this article, but it clearly illustrates the issues with an event "getting big".
Note the salient points which have been talking points for a decade or more as gravel events became more popular.
- Events growing numbers of participants, accepting sponsorship money, and inviting Pro categories = MORE RESPONSIBILITIES.
- Events inviting more participants see folks from "other disciplines" (read road riders, for the most part), which causes issues in the event.
- Mixed fields, mostly involving the "age groups" vs Pros, and how this causes conflicts.
12 comments:
The cue sheet has its place. The cue sheet should be the symbol of a harder level. A RWG map or GPX file should be viewed as a basic standard. But to navigate yourself through a course is a different level, it fatigues the mind and the body.
With that said, RD's and people who set courses up can not intentionally make the cue sheet impossible to understand. Putting in a farm drive at mile 206 just to have a non labeled path on your route is kind of bullshittyda. But if you label it farm drive and look for the red oak with a beware of dog sign would help. It happened to me on a 30 mile gravel ride in Missouri. I came across a farm gate. Unfortunately for me, the road was on the others side of it, and I had ridden 1 mile on private land and did not know i did. It was the course, but I really did not want to open the gate. Another rider came up and told me nope, we are good. And we proceeded on.
But how do you address that with a file as well? Rider meetings only do so much.
“ you unfortunate folks will never know the joy of a slice of Casey's pizza when your world is undone”
This is so true. This and the eternal gratitude to another rider who shared a half a bottle of her water on a dry and dusty afternoon on the second leg of TIv9.
My very first gravel race was the Jackrabbit Hundy back in 2010 I think. It was all cue cards and I had no idea how to use them. The guy at the bike shop said to put them in a sandwich bag and put them under my bib leg gripper. That was a terrible idea as trying to get that out every now and then was a struggle. The last solution I had was a Baryak cue card holder (Q Pro) which was awesome.
I used to eat those dang Power Bars for breakfast every morning. lol
Amen... I thought the same thing when I read that line. I know I sound like a broken record, but we were so fortunate to have been here in that time to experience all the weirdness that used to be gravel events. Now, we're back to curating our own weird rides, either alone, or with a smaller, more intimate group.
Oh man... Powerbars for breakfast sounds like torture. I was sponsored by them in the late '90s and by the end, I was giving everything away. I couldn't eat it anymore.
Power bars sound delightful, when I had to eat Hooah Bars, it is like Power Bars government grade version.
https://asc.army.mil/docs/pubs/alt/2005/4_JulAug/web_edition/02_HooAH!_Bars_Arrive_in_Military_and_Commercial_Markets.cfm
I find the biggest issue with cues and GOS is many roadways have different identification whether it be name or number and the lack of signs. GPS is the only reason we ridiculous times recorded. Cues readers are the pros. They have a whole other level of mental skill. I am for cues.
Now if there is something I wish would go away, it would be event routes which use 5 or more miles of a multi-use path. I don't care how they name the non profit or calling it non competitive MUP have legally designated speed limits and times of usage. It does nothing to help cycling's image with a bunch enthusiastic cyclist bombarding a MUP for 40 miles on a weekend. Take your gang another way around or use less of it. I am see more and more event (competition group rides for non competition) routes building on this trend of large portions of shared use pathways here in the east. What happened to going the long way around and climbing the steep hills?
Power Bars for breakfast. You have my salute. God bless you for your service.
only thing worse than that is a 5K run/walk on a week night and no one knew about except for the Tri group that is doing a train up
Powerbars were impossible to eat under about 50F unless you carried them against your body. The Clif Bar was a revelation when it came out. I still wonder why I didn’t just carry figbars
I will make another plug for randonneuring. Long distance self supported non competitive cycling. For most events the fees are low. There are no pros. Some people like to go fast, and that’s OK. Rarely a staffed control. There are RidewithGPS routes with vetted cues (required) and you can print a cue sheet from RwGPS (which I have used on several brevets).
As of a few years ago the are official unpaved events. I have hosted four and the next is in a few weeks. All have had fewer than 20 riders, and they all had a good time, whether they finished or not. Zero to $5 entry (plus a RUSA.org membership which provides insurance), 62-87 miles, 85-96% unpaved.
If you wanted to put on an event with only cue sheet navigation, RidewithGPS would still be a good tool for creating the route and the cue sheet.
Keep your route file private. Refine the route and edit your cues. The distances are automatically generated, with both distance from start, and distance to next cue.
Export the cue sheet as a PDF and make that available for riders to print or only print them for day-of pickup.
I may have to do a cue sheet only ride. I have done pre-rides with the GPS and the sheet for ground checks. It is fun.
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