Tuesday, December 30, 2008

What's Next?

Hey everyone…
I’m excited and thankful about everything you guys are doing up at Krug. The timing appears to be near perfect as I have had a few recent discussions with city staff regarding the possibility of sponsoring some type of annual bike festival in an effort to promote the city’s park system as well as community wellness. In my opinion, Krug Park is the ideal location for the center of activities. I’m thinking in terms of XC racing, a starting/stopping point for road racing, trials comp/demo, beginner clinics, live music and food… or perhaps awards, music, food, videos, raffles, etc at the civic arena after the races whereby alcohol could be served/consumed, since it’s illegal in the parks.

Please understand that I don’t have the authority to make promises or commit resources on behalf of the City of St. Joseph. Staff has asked for my input and will likely rely on that input when making decisions as it pertains to the city’s involvement, if any. At this point, it appears that Parks and Recreation Director, Bill McKinney will have to grant permission as it pertains to many key aspects of bike related activities in the parks. Naturally, the city council may have some involvement depending on the nature and extent of city finances and other resources. I believe some of you may have worked with Mr. McKinney on various elements up to this point.

I have not spoken with him regarding the use of Krug Park for a bike related festival/event. I would like to make sure that all of us are on the same page and fully supportive of all activities that may be pursued. I think most of you know that my interest is in observed trials, thus I would like to pursue that aspect of the big picture, however I will not go it alone as I believe biking venues and events are made better by complimenting activities. I believe that perhaps the biggest part of growing any sport is reaching out to the spectators who, depending on what they see and hear may decide to get involved themselves… especially the kids… pull them away from the video games.

Simply put, not everyone wants to sit around watching a trials rider like me struggling to get over a rock and not everyone wants to stand beside a trail waiting for an XC rider to come by… but, when you put everything together and provide options, people start to feel the “Vibe” that all of us love. How many times have you heard people say, it wasn’t the race or the comp that made it cool, it was the before and after, it was the people, the whole scene, the “Vibe”. Thanks to many of you, St. Joe now has an awesome trail system that keeps getting better.

So, here’s my question for all of you… and responses are needed… Would you support this type of event and be willing to meet with and speak to the necessary people to get the wheels turning? My sincere apologies if this is something that you’re already working towards and I just haven’t heard about it. We must have a unified group approach with as many supporters as we can get… even if it’s just someone willing to say, “Yes, I would like to see this in St. Joseph.”

This post is not intended to be all inclusive by any means. Just wanted to get the discussion started in a format that everyone can view and provide input. Again, I make no promises on behalf of the city, nor has the city committed to anything at this point. Given the current economy, there’s no telling what kind of support there may be in the coming months.

I'd love to sit down and have a face to face discussion with everyone at some point if possible.
Thanks.
Ed

6 comments:

JDOUG said...

Sounds fun... Expesially since there are no races close to home this year coming up...

I am on board.

You have to start planning right now to make it work well and not be a cluster F**k... There is nothing worse than doing something like this and being unorganized.

Anonymous said...

Count me in. Can some more events possibly be planned prior to the Tour of Missouri like last year, If it returns to St Joe?

St. Joe Trials (Ed Schilling) said...

To my knowledge, the City won't hear anything on the Tour of Missouri until mid/late January.

After the 2008 Tour, I believe the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) determined that trying to do a full weekend of stuff prior to the Tour was not a good idea given the small number of activities that went on... of course I feel that there wasn't enough notice in the sense that nobody knew what to expect or what the potential was.

I have so many questions for all you guys regarding how the mtb race series stuff goes as far as scheduling. I guess the smart thing to do would be to start off small and make sure that whatever activities we choose are very well organized as JDOUG mentioned.

I don't have a lot of time to surf the web, but something I'm interested in at this point is coming up with a list of everything required for an event in each dicipline... xc, trials, road, etc. My thought is to identify the needs and attempt to identify individuals or groups that may be able to provide resources at little or no cost.

I would certainly prefer spring or fall events over the heat/humidity of summer, but that may put us in competition with bigger venues... as I said, I have no idea how all that scheduling stuff works for xc, which I feel will be the key element.

Is there any type of short downhill or side by side racing that would be possible at Krug whereby we could include one of the multi-dicipline events where the best score over 3 events (xc, downhill, beginner trials, tricycle races) wins a prize?

Sorry for my lack of experience in the area, but I'm thinking in terms of the Eureka Springs Fat Tire Festival whereby they do downhil, observed trials, and short loop time trials on a Saturday, then hold the awards ceremony and social event along with XC registration at an event hall on Saturday night with videos of prior years racing, music etc. Then have the big xc race on Sunday followed by an onsite awards ceremony.

What about some type of short track races throughout the summer whereby we could advertise the upcoming event(if we go with a fall schedule) and build the hype and support for the local riders?...kind of like the Parties on the Parkway on a Saturday or Sunday morning... maybe some kids races of some kind whereby the event is all about the kids. The pros put their bikes down and give all the time and attention to the kids. Just thinking out loud.

JDOUG said...

This is just an opinion, take it or leave it. But I would make sure that it is not anytime near the tour of missouri.

That event takes virtually every city service and many sponsors to make happen.

If we do soemthing at the same time, it will be very difficult to collaborate with anyone other than us. And sponsors will put there money with the tour and not the Krug event also...

St. Joe Trials (Ed Schilling) said...

I totally agree. If the tour happens I'm already obligated to organize another trials demo and who knows what else.
I'm thinking in terms of non-Tour years.

Anonymous said...

I am definitely in on the tricycle races. Who wants a piece of me? What about combining a road and mtb race-similar to a cyclocross at Krug for St Joe riders?