anotherbrian

https://www.nps.gov/deva/parkmgmt/upl...-8_20_14-1.pdf

It's out there now, and it looks like it shouldn't prevent the double century rides from occurring. Skimming it I did see they'll require a minimum 120 days for submittal of request before the event, but I dunno if that is any different than what is in place now.

I'm hoping the fall ride occurs ... it's my favorite route of the two, and I still should have enough time to get fit enough to improve my ride time over last year.

hamster

Looks like the only new significant requirements (compared to what I saw at double centuries previously) are a firm ban on riding two or more abreast (except when passing), and requiring TWO blinking red lights and ANSI/ISEA 107-2010 Class 2 reflective gear (which basically means a safety orange colored vest with thick reflective strips) when riding at night.

https://www.amazon.com/Visibility-Saf...9195208&sr=8-1

P.S. Actually, there are two other important requirements. They ban events during "high use" days, and they only allow night events during full moon.

This year's fall double is out because there's not enough time to request the permit. According to appendix G, 2015 spring double is in big trouble, because they have the continuous period of 3/13 to 4/12, the weekend of 3/6-3/8, and Saturday 4/25 all marked as "high use - no events allowed". The only Saturdays in 2015 that coincide with full moon, aren't high use, and aren't extreme heat days, are: January 31, May 2, May 30, September 26, and October 24.

anotherbrian

Prior spring events have occurred in late-Feb and I still remember baking in the sun ... W/o checking, would that hit a full moon in 15?

hamster

The nearest full moon is March 2 to March 6 and falls completely on weekdays. The one before that is Jan 31 to Feb 4, and the one after that (Apr 1 to Apr 5) is marked "high use" (spring break).

Looks like Adventurecorps will have to jump through hoops and move dates of their cycling events from year to year to fit the conditions. Spring double will have to be moved either to February (and sometimes, e.g. next year, even further, to late January), or to May. They should be able to hold FC508 in late September and the fall double in late October. The only way they can hold Badwater is if they start at sunset during full moon so that all runners clear the park boundary by 10 AM the following morning. (EDIT: runners can't get to the park boundary by 10 AM. Badwater Basin to the park boundary is 86 miles. But they only need to get to 2000' elevation on route 190, and that's only 50 miles.)

Lesper4

Finally some good news at least that the events can go on, I guess i have some lunch time reading material.

calamarichris

It's my opinion the lane-takers were the primary reason the NPS kicked us out in the first place. Despite Chris entreating everyone to ride FRAP in his pre-ride safety briefings, I saw plenty of FLAP misbehavior at every AC event. Worst I can remember was when I was the moto-sag/course marshall; some old guy who either ignored Chris' briefing or just flat out disagreed with it, was riding in the middle of the road and arguing with cars that wanted to pass. I reminded him of Chris' briefing, but such types are more intent on proving their point than they are abiding by an event's rules.
Other park visitors complained to the park rangers and boom--we all get the boot. I'm not at all surprised to hear about the firm ban on riding two abreast; but that won't stop one of them from saying "I'm not riding two abreast, I'm riding in the middle of the road where I should."

hamster

I don't get the feeling that lane takers and people riding two abreast were major areas of concern for people who wrote the report. These things are mentioned almost in passing. They pay more attention to cyclist/runner injuries (they go as far as to tally all injuries known to park personnel since 2008), heat, and nighttime visibility. The report explicitly prohibits side-by-side riding, but it contains no requirements for FRAP beyond what's contained in the Vehicle Code.

And it may be that the whole thing was started simply because there was no protocol regulating sporting events in place, and permits were previously handled on an ad hoc basis. I can't imagine any sane protocol that would have allowed the existence of Badwater Ultramarathon in its traditional form (if park officials don't prohibit a running race that takes place in Death Valley in July during day time, they don't prohibit anything).

jmX

So is the Badwater ultramarathon basically dead now (or at least, inappropriately named?) that they can't hold events on days where the heat will be over 110F?

As for the moon rule, that's kinda lame. Part of what was spectacular about the night portion of double centuries was that you were riding under the milkyway. A full moon sorta ruins that.