Great weekend of riding up in the Scratchgravels. Friday night, Russ, Melinda,
Jim & I rode with some folks from Team GDC and Team Velo. This afternoon, Jeff
& I were riding the course counter-clockwise when we came across some riders
trying to "unravel" the course.

Presently, there are four racers signed up on-line to race and I'm expecting
lots more this week. Lots of interest..."if we build it, they will come." BSC
racers, please sign-up on-line for quicker registration.

Below is the email update I've sent all the great, spectacular, wonderful,
outstanding folks that have already agreed to help us out on our race. See you
this weekend!
-------------------------
Hello,

Thank you to those that were able to respond back last week about volunteering
at our team's May 17th bike race. Interest appears to be growing daily about
this upcoming event. On Friday night, I pre-rode the course with eight riders.
This afternoon four others joined me. The course is dry & the weather for next
weekend is looking great. As this race is part of the the Montana Off-Road Race
Series (MORS) we're expecting racers from across the state to take part.

Here's an update on where things stand regarding volunteer assignments.

Racer Registration & Check-in: The following folks have agreed to help out
during the 9:00 to 10:30 registration process: Melinda Barnes, Chris Dexter,
Jill Hamilton, Claire Vandewalle and Karen Powell. I asked our race official,
John Coulthard, to provide a little background instruction on what to expect
during the registration process....

1. Have your racer release forms on a separate table with pens and instruct your
help not to let people fill them out in front of them.
2. Have 3 people sitting at stations with ample table space:
3. The first person will check the racer release form for completeness and the
riders license (Cat 1, 2, 3 and that they are licensed for MTB and not just
road) the current license has a blue title block and 2009 in blue, if they
don't have a license have the person write one-day across the top.
4. The first person will pass the form to the second, who will verify the
category and assign the correct number. Have that person write the category,
gender and race number across the top of the release form and add the name,
gender, category and race number in a notebook.
5. The second person will pass the form to the 3rd who will take the
registration payment (we'll have a list of those that have already paid early
on-line available)

John's wife, who is also a race official, is planning to be there to help out
during this process as well.

Race Timers: Melinda Barnes, Chris Dexter & Jill Hamilton have volunteered to be
at the finish line to do the race timing and scoring. The majority of the
junior racers will race at 11:00. Our main and, presumably, largest race will
take place at noon with Category 1, 2 & 3 level competitors. We could have
upwards of 50+ racers. MTB races are not the most difficult of cycling events
to score, but it's good to have several sets of eyes here counting laps,
tracking race plates and documenting finishing times. John & his wife will be
able to assist in this part of the race, but I'm still looking for a few more
folks to volunteer here.

Course Marshals: I've been able to secure some additional help with the course
marshaling. Jim Barnes and Gail & Adele Delp have agreed to watch the course
over near the Head Lane Trailhead. This is great as this section of the course
is perhaps the most confusing to "unravel" for racers. Also, the Delps have
some walkie-talkies. If there are others out there that have these, we could
agree on a set channel to be on for improved communication during the race.
Karen Powell, after she helps with registration, can help out as a marshal as
well. Karen, I tentatively have you at a spot near the finish line where you
can point racers in the correct direction after they complete a lap...practice
pointing right for the juniors and left for the Cat 1/2/3 race! Lonnie & Diane
Olson will be stationed on Echo Drive right next to the trailhead to help out on
the juniors and Cat 1/2/3 race. Lonnie, I'll talk with you more about this
later this week. Derek Bell will watch a tricky right hand turn onto some
single-track at mile 3.1 of the large course. Dennis Horton will watch a spot
on the course at the bottom of some single-track to make sure folks keep ridin'
straight. There are a couple more spots I'd really like to have watched, so I'm
still actively recruiting volunteers. I've sent an email out to the Helena
Bicycle Club about this and need to make a few more phone calls. I'm confident
they are out there, and I'm confident they will be found!

That's all for now. I plan to be up at the Echo Drive Trailhead Saturday @ 4:00
to begin marking the course and parking lot. If there is anyone interested in
joining myself and others for this, please feel free to swing by.

Please don't forget that volunteer release form. This can be found on-line at
http://www.usacycling.org/forms/volunteer_release.pdf. Please print it off and
bring a signed one on the 17th. Don't worry if you forget...I'll have these
forms at the event as well.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for agreeing to help out on this event. It's
gonna be a great event for racers of all ages & you're a big reason why!

I'll send a final pre-race update out either Thursday or Friday.

Chad Dexter

chaddexter@...
H: 458-4726
W: 444-1846