I had to go google up what a Jones Counter was and came up with a couple of links that might help you with some ideas:

http://measure.infopop.cc/eve/forums...2/m/6461039291

http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/...tion/tools.asp

http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/...cation/manual/

http://www.coursemeasurement.org.uk/lessons/lesson4.htm
(I found a typo on this page, transversed numbers, probably not a good thing to do on the job:
"The reading shown is between 65,215 and 65,216. We would record this as 65,125.5 when calibrating the bike a a short calibration course. When measuring a 10k we would record to the nearest whole number of counts. in this case either 65,215 or 65,216." The numbers in red should probably be 65,215.5 . )





You probably already know this so consider this just typing to myself for my own edification and if you then gleen something from it then great and if not then at least I helped you get some sleep .

I'm thinking there are some specific guidelines in the certification manual that I'll look into in awhile as to how to set up a bike for this, and also what would disqualify a bike used for this should a complaint be made by some competitor or official or spectator ("I drove the course in my car after the race and the course was 700 feet too short" ). This does sound like something that would be interesting to get involved with, so it's your fault if this sends me off on a wild tangent with something new to do in my no spare time off work hours.

I assume you'll need to verify your tire pressure both before and after measuring a course, so tubes that hold pressure well would be good to have, so no latex lightweight tubes. Also I assume that you must hold some sort of straight line and not meander all over the place, especially when off pavement and you need to dodge a pothole or stump or boulder or critter, so a good tracking bike would be handy. A straight and steady bike chosen over a quick and good cornering bike.

Per the http://www.coursemeasurement.org.uk/lessons/lesson4.htm , and since this is the C&V section of the site here, I would suggest trying to find either a 1961 built bike or a 1970 built bike, but you already have the frame you're going to use so forget that thought.

With this comment "If you do a lot of measuring, you may wish to carry fore and aft signs reading "Official Measuring" in yellow lettering on a dark background." you might want to fit a rear rack to the bike and have two placquards (sp?) with the Official Measuring text stencilled onto them. Might be overkill, but might also garner you a little consideration from folks while you're out doing that measuring thing.
http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/...ng-bicycle.asp

Also I see why you want a somewhat offroad capable bike:
(imagelinked from http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/...es/page21a.gif )

It also appears you might have to do a little math or trig to calculate distances

(imagelinked from http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/...ges/page30.gif )

This appendix also mentions the possible use of a solid front tire on the bike:
http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/...appendix-a.asp

I also found this maintenance tip for the counter device:
http://measure.infopop.cc/eve/forums...6/m/8211096961

Hey, I just realized they've got thier own measurement bulletin board
http://measure.infopop.cc/eve

Wow, you've got a lot of stuff to keep in mind and comply with, quite the task you're taking on, and even with all of that it still sounds like it could be fun to do.

So, I'm thinking you might want to get a second fork for the bike, one with a solid front tire if you want to go to that level of accuracy. And you'll need some sort of bag to carry a note pad and sketch pad. Might also me handy to have one of those digital voice recorders to verbally take notes on the ride. A GPS unit that can save and download the route and overlay it onto a map would be handy to have.

I've just lost myself with all of this new to me stuff, gotta go scratch out some thoughts and ideas and clear my mind .....