Piss off enough of these local business folks, however inconsequential the impact to their businesses may seem and petty their grievances, and you end up losing your bike permit. This is exactly the type of person who ends up in local township government.
Having been a newsguy and sitting through countless city/county meetings…and having been part of another similar production…this guy is more likely the guy to sit around the coffee shop/gas station/diner with his fellow business owners and work themselves into a frenzy and then show up at a meeting and grouch, and then lean on their “guy” or “gal” on the board…who will sponsor efforts to hamper the race…who’ll then be joined by another board member who really doesn’t bring anything ever to the table, but feels they need to “do” something and they’ll sign on. Meanwhile, the other half of the board is married to the guy/gal who operates one of the hotel franchises in town. And then, friends, what we have there…is a kerfluffle.
I was involved (albeit peripherally) in a hot air balloon race. I know extensive, elaborate maps of nearly two full counties (lots of square miles) were provided to the pilots and crews (and wind directions had to be accounted for)…with tons of color coding signifying property owners who did not want the balloons flying over at all (they say it scared their cows). Some would, or would not permit landings. Or only permitting landings in specific parts of their farm/property and what gates could be opened or not and at what time of day.
Every year I was impressed by the effort of the “RD” and the committee that created those maps, handed out dinner gift cert bribes, offered balloon rides, inked deals to be the ‘pork patty’ vendor on site. Everything and more than the Salt Lake Olympic Committee did…except the hookers and blow. I was also impressed by the pilots and crew who followed it so well. Of course, sometimes errors or safety decisions lead to mistakes. At which point, I think they had a pretty significant slush fund of gift certificates and such to assuage. I’d hear the calls on the radio. “Pilot X just landed in the Johnson’s alfalfa patch. We need to send someone out with a gift basket and a bottle of wine.”
Then again, maybe they did go the hookers and blow route in those cases.
This gave me something to think about on the false flats. I decided that as an out-of-town athlete, I’m not sure I have anything to contribute, other than I MUCH prefer seeing this method of expressing frustration vs. throwing tacks on the road à la IMLOU.
My first thought was, ‘Wow, you didn’t plan for this? You could have made a killing today.’ But I also don’t know the information that was given out. It seemed to be a new business and maybe they understood their was a race or maybe they didn’t get the memo that the road would have been closed. Maybe the truck can only make it’s delivery one day a week (from out of town) and Ice Cream would melt if she took it a week earlier?? I don’t know. Did the sales she got the days before and after the race offset the loss of sales the day of race?? I don’t know that either. Just adding my experience with business loss due to road closures.
It appears the business owner did try to work out an accommodation before the race and the organizers and the sheriff came up with a traffic plan. The road was not closed but it was kind of surrounded by the course so difficult to navigate. All he wanted was a sign reminding drivers the road was open and business on it were open. Before the race, the sheriff signed off on plan and the organizer agreed to put a couple of flag people at the last intersection before his stretch of road on race day. Then someone dropped the ball and the plan was not carried out. I did not get the impression he was some much pissed about a race going by his business but the fact he felt he was being given a run around by the organizer when he tried to check the day before the race if everything was set. The original reporter got a statement from the race director stating the the business owner did not contact the race organization until race day then the the business owner produced phone records showing that was not true. That and some rather unapologetic quotes which made the race director not look too good. Even the sheriff was taking the business guy’s side.
Bored I found the whole original article, http://www.dailycamera.com/…-blasts-ironman-70-3 (not the summary originally posted) and the plot thickens.
It appears the business owner did try to work out an accommodation before the race and the organizers and the sheriff came up with a traffic plan. The road was not closed but it was kind of surrounded by the course so difficult to navigate. All he wanted was a sign reminding drivers the road was open and business on it were open. Before the race, the sheriff signed off on plan and the organizer agreed to put a couple of flag people at the last intersection before his stretch of road on race day. Then someone dropped the ball and the plan was not carried out. I did not get the impression he was some much pissed about a race going by his business but the fact he felt he was being given a run around by the organizer when he tried to check the day before the race if everything was set. The original reporter got a statement from the race director stating the the business owner did not contact the race organization until race day then the the business owner produced phone records showing that was not true. That and some rather unapologetic quotes which made the race director not look too good. Even the sheriff was taking the business guy’s side.
Sure does seem like the race dropped the ball.
Hard to get too itchy and scratchy about a ball being dropped on something the scale of a 140.6
But, as they say…the coverup is worse than the ball dropping. I know they have a ton of balls in the air in the final days. Then again, while that may not have been a really big ball, it was definitely a pretty brightly colored one that it was gonna be pretty noticeable when dropped.
I cannot predict the stuff that fascinates me or makes me start thinking. For some reason, this whole thing has let loose more wasted brain power on me today than it should.
Bored I found the whole original article, http://www.dailycamera.com/…-blasts-ironman-70-3 (not the summary originally posted) and the plot thickens.
It appears the business owner did try to work out an accommodation before the race and the organizers and the sheriff came up with a traffic plan. The road was not closed but it was kind of surrounded by the course so difficult to navigate. All he wanted was a sign reminding drivers the road was open and business on it were open. Before the race, the sheriff signed off on plan and the organizer agreed to put a couple of flag people at the last intersection before his stretch of road on race day. Then someone dropped the ball and the plan was not carried out. I did not get the impression he was some much pissed about a race going by his business but the fact he felt he was being given a run around by the organizer when he tried to check the day before the race if everything was set. The original reporter got a statement from the race director stating the the business owner did not contact the race organization until race day then the the business owner produced phone records showing that was not true. That and some rather unapologetic quotes which made the race director not look too good. Even the sheriff was taking the business guy’s side.
At the end of the day though is the race organizer responsible for any kind of signage reminding people the roads and businesses are open? To me it would seem the municipalities hold that responsibility.
It does seem in this instance that the RD and Ironman folks could have been a bit more “nice” and proactive once communications were opened with this guy but I still wonder if that’s in anyway Ironman’s problem or responsibility.
I cannot predict the stuff that fascinates me or makes me start thinking. For some reason, this whole thing has let loose more wasted brain power on me today than it should.
It is amazing what can become interesting when you are not interested in doing what you are supposed to doing . . …
‘Go to hell:’ Longmont business blasts Ironman 70.3 via roadside sign
Raul Bustamante is the co-owner of United Wood Products Inc. along the Diagonal Highway between Airport Road and Niwot Road. Bustamante grew frustrated last year when use of the highway for the Ironman 70.3 half-triathlon made access to his business appear nearly impossible.
This year, Bustamante reached out to local law enforcement asking whether a sign could be put out letting passersby know local businesses along the road would still be open during the race. After chatting with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and Colorado State Patrol, Bustamante felt reassured that this would be a simple fix.
But when he called to double check with Ironman race organizers that everything was set, his frustrations ballooned.
“She told me she was too busy and that she couldn’t do that,” Bustamante said of an Ironman representative. “She told me I needed to call somebody else, but she wouldn’t give their phone number. How am I supposed to contact them to make sure everything is OK?”
Piss off enough of these local business folks, however inconsequential the impact to their businesses may seem and petty their grievances, and you end up losing your bike permit. This is exactly the type of person who ends up in local township government.
That is true. Also, that’s the type of people running for your local HOA.
How hard wood it have been for ironman to put up some signage indicating businesses are still open. Seems like and easy thing to do to get along. Then we wonder why communities don’t want to host us. To most people we are a bunch of weirdos who exercise too much.
A public road should be shared by all. It is not like these are protesters out blocking traffic just to draw attention to their cause.
So he can’t use it for half of a day out of a year BFD. Life is full of inconveniences.
A public road should be shared by all. It is not like these are protesters out blocking traffic just to draw attention to their cause.
So he can’t use it for half of a day out of a year BFD. Life is full of inconveniences.
I hope youre joking with this. Cant tell…
You wanna go tell the business owner this message and tell us how it goes? Of course I AM joking, never do that because it would only further the divide between ironman and communities, and only increase this man’s/woman’s (and all their like-minded friends) anger towards triathletes/cyclists. Which could drive them to more extreme actions (tacks in road, etc.).
