Below is the email sent to all registered racers about the postponement of the Sprocket Fuel MTB Race to Aug 24th.
Hi [FIRSTNAME],
It is with much disappointment to report that The Sprocket Fuel MTB Race scheduled for this Sat, August 10th has been officially postponed to our rain date of August 24th. See below for your options.
All weather outlets are in agreement – Tropical Storm Debby is going to dump 7-10 inches of rain on our area starting this afternoon and ending at some point on Friday. This is a ton of rain and there will be flooding. The forecast is also calling for wind gusts of up to 40mph, which will surely take down limbs and trees, especially considering the saturated soil that will result from all the rain. The only difference in the forecast from the weather update I sent on Monday night is that the rain will now taper off on Friday instead of lingering into Saturday. The ironic thing is that the weather on Saturday now looks nice, and that will make the sting of this postponement just a little more stingy. But, the damage will be done, and it will take time for the trails to dry out and for the debris to be cleaned up – unfortunately, more time than we will have.
A few thoughts on this postponement and the decision making process:
1) Who cares about the mud, it’s going to be sunny on Sat, why not just race? Unleashing 200-300 mountain bikers onto muddy and seriously wet trails would cause significant damage to the trails and would drastically increase the risk of falling, and thus injury. We love producing trail races – but only in a responsible manner. The added safety risk of racing in these conditions is not acceptable and neither is trashing the trails that volunteers and park staff spend countless hours maintaining for our enjoyment (and self-induced suffering:).
2) Why not wait to make the call? We do not take postponing a race lightly and it is always a last resort. But, in this case, it is warranted. The rain is coming – no doubt – and a lot of it. This is not your garden variety rainy day where we might receive ½ to 1 inch of the precip. 7 inches is a TON of rain (not to mention the wind) and there is no way the trails will recover in time. Based on the forecast, of which all are in agreement, this is a slam dunk decision and because of that, there is no need to wait any longer to make the call. Bright side – now you have time to make other plans for the beautiful weekend ahead 🙁
3) Such a bummer:( I know you have been looking forward to the race, trained hard, blocked off your day, made travel plans, unpacked your game face, etc. – I understand that it is disappointing not to race – and certainly no fun. We love putting on races and facilitating the fun, and were looking forward to this weekend as well. Postponing is also difficult on us financially and is administratively time consuming. We share your disappointment.
OK – enough of that doom and gloom – let’s bury that negativity and look forward to blue bird skies and dreamy trails on Aug 24th! So, now what? You have three options:
1) Option 1 – Attend the rain date on Aug 24th. If you can race on Aug 24th, THERE IS NOTHING YOU NEED TO DO. You will remain on the start list and your start times and category will remain the same.
2) Option 2 – Receive credit to next year’s race or to another Roadless Races event. To select this option, email your request BY WED, 8/14 to info@roadlessraces.com and we will send you a coupon code good for 100% of what you paid for this race.
3) Option 3 – Receive a refund (minus the bikereg processing fee that was charged when you registered – we do not receive these funds). To select this option, please email your request BY WED, 8/14 to info@roadlessraces.com and we will process the refund.
THANK YOU for your support, patience, and understanding. See you on Aug 24th and if you can’t make the rain date, I hope to see you at next year’s Sprocket Fuel or at another RR event.
Jim
P.S. – In light of the postponement, I will send the race day info email on Mon 8/20 or Tues 8/21. In the meantime, you can find race details on our website (roadlessraces.com) and you are always welcome to contact me with questions.
Jim Harman
Race Director
Roadless Races
571-251-6034
jim@roadlessraces.com
roadlessraces.com
