Sept. 8 2005
"Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead." Benjamin Franklin

Routines are emerging in South Louisiana. The routines are different,
but they represent a progress that is good and helpful as the region
moves on and beyond the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Traffic is thick
in Baton Rouge and no doubt areas comparably close to New Orleans
like Houma and Lafayette; these towns were not designed to easily
accommodate double the population in a week or two.

And workout routines are emerging, though somewhat differently. In
Baton Rouge, for example, the weekday rides on the River Road were
tough with substantially more motor traffic using the route as an
alternative to other routes. But multisporters like most in the
region are working and working hard to create a new "normal" for life
in South Louisiana.

Hang in there, it's getting better and in my view it's getting better
at a faster pace than I imagined.

Jeff Diamond of Baton Rouge announced that the off-road duathlon
scheduled for the Hooper Road Park in the capital city area has been
cancelled.

Bike Races in Mississippi Cancelled
From Shane Hernandez
Due to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath I feel it is prudent to
cancel the Meridian Omnium scheduled for Mississippi on Sept. 10 and
11. Our prayers and thoughts are with everyone the areas impacted by
the storm, especially our LaMBRA friends.

Bike Tour Based in Hammond Cancelled
From Marc Breecher
Regretfully, the Hammond Kiwanis Club has decided to cancel this
year's Tour de Tangipahoa. After a discussion by club members it was
determined that because of the ravages of Hurricane Katrina and the
aftermath of the storm that it is impossible to hold the Tour as
scheduled. In the past we have relied heavily on the generosity of
Albertson's, vendors who donated many items for our rest stops and
meals and others. All of these are now overwhelmed in their response
to the storm. Also, security from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's
Office and other agencies will not be available … all law enforcement
personnel are exhausted.

Furthermore, we cannot be assured that the path of the Tour de
Tangipahoa will be fully cleared of the tremendous amount of trees
and limbs that fell on parish roads. Finally we know that many of our
treasured riders are facing huge rebuilding tasks and some are even
being forced to relocate their families. In the face of all
these "negatives," the club decided that the Tour de Tangipahoa
simply could not be held.

Those who have paid for their registration in advance will be
reimbursed. Some of the checks we have received have not yet been
deposited and we will return this to you. We will also reimburse
those who had paid earlier and whose checks had been deposited.
However, we will not send any checks out until we once again have
secure mail service. We have not had mail service in Hammond in more
than 10 days.

This is not the end of the Tour de Tangipahoa! We are considering
possibly having a spring event if all goes well. We hope to continue
the great tradition that has been the Tour de Tangipahoa for the past
15 years. We thank you for your support in the past and for
understanding our predicament at this time. If you have any questions
or suggestions, let us know! The best to all of you.

LaMBRA Cancels Remaining Points Race for Competitive Cyclists
From Caroline Owen
We decided it would be best to cancel the remaining events left for
the 2005 LAMBRA season due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As
far as LaMBRA (Louisiana Mississippi Bike Racing Association) and the
LCCS scoring goes, we will use the current standings in the LCCS cup
to determine the jersey and overall team winners for this year.

I regret that this is necessary but I think it is the fairest and
safest thing to do in light of our current situation in Louisiana and
Mississippi. I hope that everyone is safe and my thoughts prayers
are with everyone! Please feel free to contact me if you should have
any questions.

Meat Pie Triathlon Still Set Sept. 25
From Elizabeth & Don Cassano
Dear Friends of the Multisport Community,
We would like to take this opportunity to address the Multisport
community as a whole.

We hope this message finds all of you & your loved ones safe, strong
and determined.

There have been many questions regarding the upcoming Meat Pie Tri,
slated for Sept. 25 in downtown Natchitoches.

After reviewing logistics, hotel availability and the manpower
required for Meat Pie Tri, the City of Natchitoches, the sponsors and
the race directors of the event have made the decision to proceed.

Run Wild Event Management LLC, producer of Meat Pie Tri, will make a
donation of $2 per finisher to the Central Louisiana American Red
Cross Chapter.

Thanks to all of you for your support in helping us make this
decision. We look forward to seeing everyone on September 25.

Meat Pie Triathlon Now Offering Bigger Champ Points
From Bob Sigerson
Because the championship CajunMan Triathlon was cancelled due to the
storm, the Meat Pie Triathlon has been designated the Louisiana State
Championship with the blessing of CajunMan Triathlon race director
Russell Bex. It will, therefore, be a 100 point rankings race.

The Meat Pie Triathlon will remain a club championship race.
Meat Pie has more than 200 pre-registered, so if you want to get in
after you get everything back to as normal as you can, go to their
website to sign up.

Club South of BR Area Helping with Storm Evacuees
From Ben Cherbonnier, Club South Runners
225.927.9200
We all have lots of race t-shirts and perhaps shoes that we no longer
use. Consider donation items to help others that have nothing.
The Red Cross does not accept used items, but there are many churches
that will accept used items and distribute.

If you would deliver any items to my office, CMA at 8180 YMCA Plaza
Drive, which is near Perkins and Siegen. I will get them into the
right hands for distribution.

Also, Club South Runners announces that due to the hurricane the
following events have been cancelled and hope to be rescheduled.

BR Cemetery Stroll Sept. 9
BR WHAMOLAMA 5km Sept. 17
LSU Cross Country in BR Sept. 24

Send Old Race Shirt to Help Hurricane Victims
From Lance Phegley
(lance@...)
The devastation from Hurricane Katrina is unbelievable and many of the
evacuees/refugees are being relocated to Houston. These people have
nothing - zero. We worked very closely with the Red Cross the last
time this happened in our area and the clothing was very much
appreciated.

We are asking event directors to ship their old event clothing to us
and we'll get it to the local Red Cross chapters so they can get the
clothing to those who need it most. We would also greatly appreciate
it if you would post the info below
(or a link to:
http://www.insidetexasrunning.com/news/clothingdrive2005.html)
on your event web site. We are requesting assistance not only from
event directors but individual runners, cyclists, swimmers,
triathletes, etc.

The amount of clothing that is needed is really hard to fathom -
every item will be treasured.

Thousands of people in the Louisiana, Mississippi, and surrounding
areas were flooded out of their homes by Hurricane Katrina, many of
them losing everything -- home, cars, clothes, etc. Some 25,000
people were bused from New Orleans to Houston, where they will make
the Houston Astrodome their home for the foreseeable future.

Inside Texas Running is calling on all runners, cyclists, swimmers,
triathletes, or anyone else to lend a helping hand to those in need.
We're calling upon all race directors to donate the leftover or
unused T-shirts from their events. For those who have lost everything
in the floods, a nice, dry T-shirt would be greatly appreciated,
regardless if it was from an event they hadn't heard of or if the
shirt isn't from this year's event.

But this call for help isn't limited to just event directors.
Everyone has extra race T-shirts, shoes, pants, etc. sitting in their
closet -- now is the time to lighten your laundry load and get them
into the hands of people who could really use them.

T-shirts (and other clothing) can be delivered or shipped (postage-
paid, please) to the ITR offices at:
Inside Texas Running
14201 Memorial Drive, Suite 204
Houston, TX 77079
281.759.0555

All donations will be delivered to the Red Cross for distribution to
those most in need. If you have any questions, please contact Loran
Sheffer at 281.759.0555.

++++++++++

That's it from here. Bless God America.

Kenny Dunaway
2325 Weymouth Drive #D
Baton Rouge, LA 70809-1481
USA
225/296-7490
Isaiah 40:31; John 3:16