gonna just hit publish and post...
never got to proof this
not sure what I said
not sure if I was close to finishing
just gonna hit
PUBLISH AND POST
what is there to say?
so... with the injured Achilles I am not able to ride\race a bike
still on the mend
able to ride
just not at intensity
it is classic for DC to host a 4\20 Alleycat
with Brian Clark in Spain
AZ planning for a September MEGA CAT
there seemed to be an opening
so I took it
tried to get a read on things
was anyone else trying to host a 4/20 race?
it seemed not
so... I threw my hat into the ring
since 4/20 fell on a Wednesday this year
it was going to be the weekend prior or the weekend after
with a Bike Polo tournament the following weekend
the weekend prior seemed to make sense
so...
I started planning...
what could make a 4/20 theme?
what to do... what to do?
the answer was obvious
I had been considering a Disc Golf Biathlon
4/20 seemed like the perfect mix of a quasi hippie sport to push the theme
so it was decided
I would host a 420 Themed Alleycat
with there being Disc Golf Checkpoints in the race
I was thinking it would be like the Ski Biathlon
only instead of cross country skies and shooting targets
it would be bikes and disc golf
the idea excited me
this would be an event that I would enjoy
in my limited Alleycat experience I have oh too often misunderstood the importance of the check point
often more focused on a finishing place
not realizing that the points at a check point can factor into finishing place
in this case... your disc golf game would play in greatly to your finishing place
so...
the design started
it is an organic process
there are ideas in the recesses of my brain
possible check points
cool spots
in this case...
I allowed Disc Golf to help to script the events of the day
immediate thought... Where are there disc golf baskets?
College Park and Seneca Creek are too far
where else are there disc golf options?
oh...
The Fields at RFK and Hardy Rec Center!
HELL YES!
to me it made sense to have at least two holes of golf played in this event
then I wanted a longest drive
and also a putting challenge
the possibilities were endless
but... I wanted to string things together in a way that made sense
so...
I started to piece things together
there was RFK and Hardy Rec Center
BUT HARDY REC CENTER IS IN PALISADES IN NW DC!
and RFK is all the way over in Northeast!
how would this work?
it would work...
I made the announcement
420 Themed Alleycat
4 or so Check Points
20 or so miles
then...
what else fit into the equation?
the LONGEST DRIVE checkpoint could be almost anywhere
I thought about football fields and such that could mix into the event
then the thought of KING GREENLEAF PARK came to mind
the name alone
come on...
KING GREENLEAF has to be part of a 420 Themed Alleycat
so it was decided...
RFK\Hardy Rec Center\King Greenleaf
things were sort of coming together
but not really
where would the race start?
where would the race finish?
Dupont Circle?
AGAIN!?!?!?
Dupont Circle as an Alleycat Start and Finish?
no... that would not be the case
I would start somewhere else and I would finish somewhere else completely
I wanted to finish the race at The Great Eskape
aka The Potomac River Belvedere Viewpoint
yes... crazy... crazy perfect
there was the guess that the last finishers would get there before sunset
we could score things
then have a moment of silence for Shawn Bega Blumenfeld who was killed on his bike the month prior
yes... that was sounding like a plan
but the plan was sketch at best
how\why could I get the racers out there?
sure... I would create a checkpoint trail leading them to the finish
in an organic fashion it all came together
being 420 themed
there was Disc Golf and a little more hippie vibe
in Palisades there is a spot called The Glass Forest
that seemed like a potential checkpoint\selfie spot
ideas were brewing... things were coming together
The Great Eskape finish spot was finding filler on that side of town to justify the finish just past Chain Bridge
in talking to my buddy Mark Hagen things really jumped to the next level
Mark has a friend in Palisades who has a Golf Basket in his backyard
and his house is situated such that it made for easy access to the Capital Crescent Trail
which would make for smooth safe travels to the Tow Path
a good approach to The Great Eskape
Mark put me in touch with Doug
Doug was into my pitch and offered up his backyard as a checkpoint
HELL YES!
and if done correctly
there is a shortcut from The Glass Forest to Doug's House on The Old Trolley Trail
yes...
it was coming together
throw in Buna Bikes and Coffee as a pick up spot on MacArthur Blvd
and well
things were linking up
yes... really coming together
so...
in my mind I had an idea
the 4 Disc Golf Check Points
a number of pick ups
then also
a few selfies
so yes... 4 OR SO checkpoints
there is logic and reasoning
there is a method to the madness
the checkpoints if ordered correctly would line right up
but if done in the wrong order
well... maybe not so lined up
there was something that had to be considered
not only would I need volunteers
but I would need to design the racer such that there was not excessive bottleneck at the check points
so...
I decided up on the Malcolm X Park Start and The Great Eskape Finish
then a number of disc golf checkpoints
but how would I keep everyone from arriving at the disc golf check points in staggered formation
ah...
a few pick ups and a few miles seemed like a good way to spread people out
then also...
scramble the manifest
have racers select what they believe to be the best order and the best route
yes... that should do the trick
reached out to a few friends for support
was able to get a few spots in Mount Pleasant, one stop in Adams Morgan, and then a stop on U Street
these four pick ups would slow the charge
racers would have to pick up a water bottle from Don Juan's, a sample from Dos Greengos, some papers from Capitol Hemp, and then another sample from The Shop DC before heading to what I believed to be the most logical first checkpoint, The Fields at RFK
to make this work I tried to nail down some volunteers for these checkpoints before race day
Mark Hagen offered up assistance for Hardy Rec Center
Doug would handle Doug's House
then I had a number of people that I would spread among the other checkpoints
this guy name Daniel was stoked to help out with his One Wheel Crew
they came out to the President's Day Alleycat
thought they would enjoy hanging out and helping out at this one
so... there were a number of volunteers at RFK
in the end I sent Chris Rabadi, Ben (Deaf Ben), and the One Wheel Crew to handle RFK
it seemed like it could be a spot to need a few volunteers to corral the racers
then at King Greenleaf I send two of my mountain bike buddies George and Graham to handle the longest toss
with extra volunteer
I ended up sending Angel and Chris to The Glass Forrest
thinking they could assist pointing racers the right way
both to the Glass Forest and then to Doug's House
yes... teamwork makes the dreams work
or something like that
it is great to have volunteers you can depend on
hard to think that someone would just show up and accept the abstract commitment
a commitment that can often last hours
hours and hours
chronology is messed up with this story telling effort
just jumped from the planning stages to the day of
mixing the volunteer list like that
but...
it gets the point across
there were some volunteers lined up in advance
while others showed up on game day
including Danny Lesh with his Mobile DJ Set Up
I grabbed Danny Lesh and took him to The Glass Forest
where Danny Hung with Angel and Chris
then came to the finish
thanks Danny!
your playlist really upped the fun factor
so...
created the race
but could not race the race
with the injured achilles
it would have been unlikely that I give the racers a head start
then could meet them at each checkpoint
so...
I was unable to check in on RFK or King Greenleaf
instead... I headed to the finish
spend some time chilling at The Glass Forest
then made a mad dash to Doug's House
then to the finish
trying to beat the racers to the finish
while not having there twiddling my thumbs
as it turns out
I timed things such
that I caught AZ on the Capital Crescent Trail
rolled down the tow path to the Great Eskape with Andy Zalan
the first finisher
Courier Extraordinaire
Alleycat Master
then well...
the fun ended for me
everyone else rolled into the finish
I needed to collect and score manifest
BUT
I NEEDED THE RESULTS FROM THE GOLF CHECKPOINTS TO SCORE THE RACE
man... oh man...
KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID
complex Alleycats can have complex scoring
this Alleycat was complex
tried to make the scoring simple
but
there was an excess of scoring to be done
in an effort to expedite things
without the scores from the Disc Golf Challenges
I could score the Pick Up s and the Photos
oh man...
easier said than done
Almost?
maybe not good enough
it was stressful
I was exhausted
I just wanted to hang out and tell stories like everyone else
but no... I had to score the race
I had to grade papers
I tried to weasel out... the crowd would not have it
The Great Eskape did not let us down
the approach is unusual
when people got to The Potomac River Belvedere Viewpoint they were created by the power of the rapids and the awesomeness of the canyon and the sky above
the bird activity alone was glorious
but the threatening storm was sublime
dropping a few pellets of rain... but not much more
the day blended into evening and then night
we did the awards
then everyone evacuated
everyone was a solid sport about the finish
A FANTASTIC SPOT TO END A RACE
but not every race
it made sense for this race
but perhaps never again
unlikely it will be repeated
