THE EXPLANATION:
Sorry for the delay - I’ve re-tabulating the results yet again. It’s time consuming because every time I download an update, I have to remove the illegitimate data by hand.
A lot of you are wondering why some contestants have moved down in the rankings. Here’s the quick explanation: for a vote to count it must list a “first,” “second,” and “third” choice. Sadly, the guilty party not only voted for themselves “first” hundreds of times, they also voted for other contestants dozens upon dozens upon dozens of times, (at times in big blocks) for their second and third choices. These ballots also had to be considered illegal and were subsequently removed.
My guess is that a script was set up on a handful of machines that cleared both the cookies and the cache of the machine and then automated the voting process, subsequently allowing each machine to vote again and again. Backing out all of the bad data has played hell with the rankings and completely upended some of your expectations. In some cases, folks who thought they were in good standing now find themselves somewhat behind. There are some ruffled feathers out there.
We’ve had a few thoughtful conversations over the weekend with some of the contestants, and there have been some unsurprisingly clipped emails directed at us as well. There’s also a bit of backlash going on by some folks online (and I’m sure in person.) Let me set the record straight – we are not cheating or skewing the results, we are merely rectifying a situation not of our making...and investing a lot of our time in doing so. I can understand some anger, but having it directed at us seems a little off base. With that said, that’s also sort of understandable as we haven’t released a detailed explanation until right now. Please feel free to pass this along to whomever may benefit from reading it.
My phone number and email are generally public domain. I would encourage ANYONE who has questions to pick up the phone and speak to me rather than allow those ambiguities to balloon into something else. I truly regret that things worked out this way, but again I must reiterate, our mistake was trusting in the integrity of the individual. Our experience here in Colorado has always proven this to be the proper course. Withe the Mountain States Cup, The Firecracker, Mountain Bike Little League and The Summit Mountain Challenge we’ve gone to great lengths over the past decade to cultivate, recognize and at times reward what we perceive as outstanding instances of sportsmanship. This philosophy has served us well. I believe that most people, and certainly the vast majority of all of you subscribe to this ethos. Unfortunately, there are some who do not and there is one in our midst.
Thanks for hanging in there –
Mike
Michael McCormack
Managing Director The GreenSpeed Project, Inc.
mikemac@breckepic.com 970.485.5847
UPDATED RESULTS:
Ok folks – these are the real results once the bogus votes have been removed. As you can see, there’s still a bit of shuffling going on and not much space separating some of the top vote-getters and those within striking distance.
You’ve got until midnight to get the vote out, so if you've got a horse in the race, get your pork-luvvin’, Tammany-hall style politician’s smile out and keep shaking those hands and kissing those babies.
…and please, please, PLEASE – impress upon your friends that importance of only voting once per computer. Now that our radar is up for suspicious activity I’ll be taking it upon myself to discard all shady-looking votes. There’s an acceptable limit to how many votes can come from one box – and we’re actually being pretty generous in that regard, but my advice? Don’t push it too far. Do not let your chances be marginalized.
MM
5358 Jen Hanks, Salt Lake City, UT, played by: Jennifer Garner from “Alias” and “Elektra”
5273 Team Dicky, aka Rich Dillen, Charlotte, NC, played by: Rick Moranis
5020 Tomi McMillar, Carlisle, PA, played by: the "I've fallen and can't get up" lady
4993 Heather Szabo and Mary Monroe, Lafayette and Durango, CO, played by Cameron Diaz (X2)
4890 Luke Wiens, HOMETOWN: Temecula, CA, played by: Robert Duval
4616 Matthew Juth, Evergreen, CO, played by: Edward Norton
4024 Brandon Dwight, played by Bill Murray (directed and produced by Wes Andreson)3967 Jeffrey Carter, Denver, CO, played by that guy from Breaking Away
3906 Wendy Skean, Mountain Center, CA, played by: Tinker. In drag.
3861 Neil Miner, Boulder, CO, played by Jon Heder
3728 Ryan Draper, Canmore, Alberta CAN, played by Owen Wilson (He hopes)
3238 Mary Wilcox, Ogden, UT, played by: The 5th Element. Or Angelina Jolie. Or Will Ferrell.
2934 Lynda Wallenfels, St George, UT, played by Claire Littleton
2751 Ben Thompson, Bend, OR, played by: Himself
2739 Anthony Maguire, Taos, NM, played by “Ant” Maguire
2661 Larry Grossman, Eagle, CO, played by: Robert DeNiro
2551 Keith Berkoben, Somerville, MA, played by Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones
2531 Sarah Uhl, played by....wait for it...SARAH UHL!
2150 Cory Wallace, played by Harrison Ford/Indy/the Blade Runner guy
Monday, March 16, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
- WE DELIVER
...your food that is, thanks to Subaru and Mountain Bike Magazine. Subaru is going to provide each racer/team with 2 reusable shopping bags made from recycled bottles (RPET). These are a lot like those $.99 plastic jobbies at Whole Foods. We're going to design them so that we can easily print your bib numbers on the side. You can load them up with extra gear, your own personal food...whatever, and we'll stage them for you at the aid station (or the stage finish) of your choosing each day of racing.
Why is this a big deal? Well, the Hammer folks are our energy gel and beverage sponsor and their stuff is great, but even they acknowledge that if you're on a particular nutrition or supplement regimen that in a race of this distance you might want to have the ability to stick to it as closely as possible. We're implementing a strategy (with their firm blessing I might add - they're so cool,) to help you do just that. Your bags will be lined up at the place of your choosing in numerical order, then we'll bring them all back to race HQ at the end of the day so you can reboot for the next day's stage.
...and you get to take those effin bags home. That means that in a sea of promotional reusable bag crap you'll have the swankest one in town. One that says, "I'm tougher than you. And you. And you." ...and so on and so forth.
Subaru's also underwriting the on-site shuttle system. What is it? Well, they're giving us 10 cars to use for the event. With the generous help of Yakima, they'll all be outiftted with bike racks. From 9am to 8pm each day Breck Epic staffers will use the cars to take you just about wherever you want to go. We're trying to make it as easy as possible to get around our little town, so much so that we can say with a straight face, 'once you get here you don't need a car'.
Wanna go to dinner? We'll take you. Wanna ride to the rec center? We'll take you. Wanna go back to your condo? We'll take you. Wanna take a hopped up 2009 Outback curb-jumping? We're still negotiating that one.
Wanna express your thanks? Consider Subaru when making your next auto purchase - this is just the sort of customer-centric philosophy that makes them a great fit with The BE and a good choice for your next car. It helps that they have the punk-rock 2.5 liter Boxxer turbo engine. My wife has it in her car and I kick the living shit out of it every chance I get (keep that on the DL, yo.) What does it say when I've got my foot rammed all the way to its floorboard? "IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT, YOU GUTLESS WORM?!?!? GIMME MOOORRREEE!!!!" All that and 20-something MPG. Made in a zero-waste facility. I love it.
Thanks Subaru. Thanks Mountain Bike. Your thoughtfulness just made the event a bit better.
MM
Why is this a big deal? Well, the Hammer folks are our energy gel and beverage sponsor and their stuff is great, but even they acknowledge that if you're on a particular nutrition or supplement regimen that in a race of this distance you might want to have the ability to stick to it as closely as possible. We're implementing a strategy (with their firm blessing I might add - they're so cool,) to help you do just that. Your bags will be lined up at the place of your choosing in numerical order, then we'll bring them all back to race HQ at the end of the day so you can reboot for the next day's stage.
...and you get to take those effin bags home. That means that in a sea of promotional reusable bag crap you'll have the swankest one in town. One that says, "I'm tougher than you. And you. And you." ...and so on and so forth.
Subaru's also underwriting the on-site shuttle system. What is it? Well, they're giving us 10 cars to use for the event. With the generous help of Yakima, they'll all be outiftted with bike racks. From 9am to 8pm each day Breck Epic staffers will use the cars to take you just about wherever you want to go. We're trying to make it as easy as possible to get around our little town, so much so that we can say with a straight face, 'once you get here you don't need a car'.
Wanna go to dinner? We'll take you. Wanna ride to the rec center? We'll take you. Wanna go back to your condo? We'll take you. Wanna take a hopped up 2009 Outback curb-jumping? We're still negotiating that one.
Wanna express your thanks? Consider Subaru when making your next auto purchase - this is just the sort of customer-centric philosophy that makes them a great fit with The BE and a good choice for your next car. It helps that they have the punk-rock 2.5 liter Boxxer turbo engine. My wife has it in her car and I kick the living shit out of it every chance I get (keep that on the DL, yo.) What does it say when I've got my foot rammed all the way to its floorboard? "IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT, YOU GUTLESS WORM?!?!? GIMME MOOORRREEE!!!!" All that and 20-something MPG. Made in a zero-waste facility. I love it.
Thanks Subaru. Thanks Mountain Bike. Your thoughtfulness just made the event a bit better.
MM
Saturday, February 28, 2009
- ALISON DUNLAP?
You may have heard of her. She's kind of a big deal. She'll be racing with Mr. Alison Dunlap, Greg Fro-zelli (former Breck denizen) in the Coed Duo class. Katie Compton will also be here, but won't be racing - she'll be supporting husband Mark Legg-Compton in a long overdue role reversal. All kidding aside, these are two of the nicest, most genuine pros on the circuit. In my long association with both they've always made time for fans, always epitomized the high-water mark of sportsmanship and best of all, they're the first to laugh at themselves. That's nice. Katie can also swear like a trucker. I call that added value.
I'm not sure how the rest of the pro field is going to shake out. With MTB NATS only a couple of weeks after our event a lot of them are opting to not burn all of their matches above 10,000 feet. There is a rumor that the Fisher/Subaru squad will be jumping in - we'll see. Evan Plews is signed up - he's been quietly making a name for himself on the marathon circuit over the past few years. Josh Tostado may sign up - we'll see. He's a local kid and a friend, so we're trying not to pressure him - if it works with hsi program, great. He'd certainly be a favorite.
Lance Armstrong, in a not surprising move, has spurned the 2009 Tour de France and announced his intention to throw his hat in the ring for the inaugural BE. In his words: "Those French guys are dicks. I'm going to Disneyland!....err, I mean Breckenridge!"
(And if you're Lance's attorney, I'll eviscerate my own clearly fabricated story about Lance in deference to your humorlessly hair-trigger litigation finger and state that the above paragraph is not true. It is, in fact 100% false. Funhaters.)
I'm not sure how the rest of the pro field is going to shake out. With MTB NATS only a couple of weeks after our event a lot of them are opting to not burn all of their matches above 10,000 feet. There is a rumor that the Fisher/Subaru squad will be jumping in - we'll see. Evan Plews is signed up - he's been quietly making a name for himself on the marathon circuit over the past few years. Josh Tostado may sign up - we'll see. He's a local kid and a friend, so we're trying not to pressure him - if it works with hsi program, great. He'd certainly be a favorite.
Lance Armstrong, in a not surprising move, has spurned the 2009 Tour de France and announced his intention to throw his hat in the ring for the inaugural BE. In his words: "Those French guys are dicks. I'm going to Disneyland!....err, I mean Breckenridge!"
(And if you're Lance's attorney, I'll eviscerate my own clearly fabricated story about Lance in deference to your humorlessly hair-trigger litigation finger and state that the above paragraph is not true. It is, in fact 100% false. Funhaters.)
Monday, February 23, 2009
- A Word About Entry Fees
The total cost of ownership.
Thought you guys might like to see how we stack up against the competition in the pricing department. Interesting reading, especially once travel costs are added in.
SOLO CATEGORIES (w/o travel costs)
- BC Bike Race: the race, camping & meal plan: $1897
- Trans-Rockies: no solo category offered for full-distance
- The Breck Epic: the race, camping & meal plan: $1442
TEAM CATEGORIES (w/o travel costs):
- BC Bike Race: the race, camping & meal plan: $3795
- Trans-Rockies: the race, camping & meal plan: $3120
- The Breck Epic: the race, camping & meal plan: $2745
Other things to consider:
- Once you get to Breck, you don't need a car. Our venue is in town. We've got an efficient shuttle/taxi system that is at no cost to participants.
- Travel costs to Colorado (with your bikes) are substantially lower than to Canadia.
- Our beer is better. Their bacon is. Their flannel is OK too. We're considering flying in some.
- The course, brothers and sisters. The course. It is holy-shitballs good. Very little road, almost no hike-a-bike.
Why are we pointing all of this out? Well, we're getting a bit of pushback on price from a handful of folks who feel that we should be significantly less expensive. Fact is, we are. And by a lot especially when considering the total cost of participation. We're not completely unfazed by criticism though, so we took the time to work through the math...again. Why? We thought if we squeezed a bit here and there that we might be able to offer a reduction in price. Here's what we came up with:
We're not subsidized by anyone. Not the state of Colorado. Not the town of Breckenridge. Not the local marketing chamber. And as most folks will tell you, this is a difficult sponsorship year. That means that the event needs to live on revenue that it generates from its participants. This is actually a good thing - we've seen far too many great races whose business models were predicated on the sponsorship model disappear over the past few months when their patrons had to back out. By following the honest and straight-forward model of not allowing our expenses to exceed the revenue that we generate from entry fees we guarantee that we'll be around in 2010. And 11. And 12. And so on and so forth.
So we crunched the numbers looking to trim a bit of fat. And there just isn't any. The big dollars in our event are tied up in labor, which is closely related to our medical and safety plans. I can't think of a worse way to try and save money. The next runners-up on the budget scale (other places to save money) are items that would negatively impact the event experience to a degree that I'm just not comfortable with. Here in Summit County it's always been more about substance over style, yet there are certain things that make a race good and in these areas we just don't want to compromise. You'll have to accept our word that our race costs what it costs and that in deference to these challenging economic times we're already as lean as we possibly can be...and we're still the cheapest in both the straight-up and expanded comparisons.
In other breaking news, the website went live last month: BreckEpic.com. It's effin awesome. Thanks Dave Rossi. Cheggidout. In "other"other breaking news, in a nod to Upton Sinclair I'm trying to not use exclamation points anymore.
MM
Friday, February 20, 2009
Course Maps. Elevation Profiles. Tools for inspiration and terror.
A quick note - these are hand-drawn routes. That means that the stated mileage is probably a bit short. It also means that when combining the tendency for a GPS program to overstate elevation gain with the ham-fisted approach of drawing the routes resulting in losing elevation gain, that the ACTUAL elevation gains per route are probably pretty close.
Or not.
These are the 5 main stages (no prologue)...and they are not in order. Another disclaimer: these loops do not appear to be very long. But because of altitude and the fact that there's very little road to be had here, they are as big around as a can of corn.
Guyot Loop: 39.35 miles/8561'
Or not.
These are the 5 main stages (no prologue)...and they are not in order. Another disclaimer: these loops do not appear to be very long. But because of altitude and the fact that there's very little road to be had here, they are as big around as a can of corn.
Guyot Loop: 39.35 miles/8561'
Colorado Trail Loop: 34.38 miles/7811'
Wheeler Loop: 35.91 miles'/7620' 
Pennsylvania Creek Loop: 28.08 miles/5993'
Gold Dust Loop: 33.18 miles/5496'
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Breck Epic Newsletter, 2/18/2009: IMBA Stuff. Pricing. Courses. New Sponsors. Other Crap.
Greetings Breck Epic folks and assorted bike industry friends -
This newsletter is going out to a larger audience than normal. Receiving this month's pearl of editorial smarminess are our regular lot of self-flagellating XC suspects, plus (and much to their surprise) a slew of gravity racers and riders as well as gravity-specific media and industry folks worldwide. Why? Because there's a topic that concerns us all and we're trying to get one last push in for raising awareness.
As many of you are undoubtedly aware, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) has proposed a rule change which will make it easier for parks to open trails for mountain biking by leaving access issues in the hands of individual rangers. Predictably, this has the hiking segment up in arms at the prospect of us godless heathens and Philistines plundering 'their' territory. What the hiking folks don't seem to understand with their short-sighted "our way is the only proper way" rhetoric is that there are way more folks that just don't care about wilderness issues than those of us that do.
Those that gravitate towards finding our enjoyment outdoors are best served by banding together in the unified protection of those resources and sorting out our differences through pragmatic and well-reasoned discourse instead of adopting separatist stances (there's a lesson in there that some within our own ranks might learn from as well.) If the hikers and their well-funded lobbies keep shutting the door on potential allies they're going to shortly find themselves with underfunded and dwindling resources, ones that in the current 'no frills' economic climate may very well disappear. Like us or not, we're far more alike than different in our respect for the backcountry and our desire for its preservation. We also represent additional revenue streams for a consistently underfunded resource. We're not big on clichés, but something about 'cutting off your nose to spite your face' comes to mind. Get with it hikers - like it or not, we're on the same effin' team.
So what can you do? Sadly, the public comment period ended yesterday - but the outcome still affects you, so pass the word and stay tuned in. If you know a journalist, pass along this tidbit of info. If you know a forest ranger or a land manager, voice your support for the initiative. Basically, be an advocate and an eloquent one if you can. Support IMBA or your local chapter of it - those folks have really paid the freight on bringing this initiative to the fore and generating the support necessary to get if off life-support and into the law books.
That's about it for the gravity folks. Feel free to skip the rest of the newsletter. For those of you interested in more Breck Epic MTB Stage Race propaganda, read on. Thanks for playing along.
Mike
The Breck Epic
A Greenspeed Project Event in Support of Open Space
Whatcha Get in This Issue:
Blogger's Grant Program Voting
New Partners
Pricing is Finalized
Course Maps and Elevation Profiles
Upcoming Events
About The Greenspeed Project and The Breck Epic and the Greenspeed Project
The Breck Epic Blogger's Grant Program is Up and Running!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We're giving away 4 free entries to this year's race to a lucky few who can browbeat the most of their friends into voting for them. 'Winners' (we use that terms loosely) of the voting contest will be required to submit a handful or prerace articles, then one article for each day of racing. These articles will receive online publication from some of the industry's best mags. Why? Because so much race coverage is from the outside looking in. Some of the very best race coverage comes from the racers themselves, and with a deliciously cruel torture device like a 6-day mountain bike stage race in place there's sure to be tops popping off everywhere. We're hoping to catch some of that agony and ecstasy in print. For your enjoyment. Sorta like crisping up an ant with a magnifying glass when you were a kid. Or maybe that was just us.
The entrants are all posted under the "Blog City" link at BreckEpic.com (our shiny new website.) We have two more entrants to add, Brandon Dwight of "Chocolate, Waffles and 'Cross" fame and Sarah Uhl. She's sort of a big deal. You can go check it out and vote right now if you'd like. Voting ends on March 15th. One vote per computer, please.
New Patrons:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We'd like to welcome the folks from Hammer Nutrition, Topofusion, Yakima, KuhlUSA and Shimano to the Breck Epic fold.
Hammer is the official supplier of energy drinks and gels to the event. They'll be loading you up on HammerGel and Heed before, during and after the race. Their approach to athletic nutrition is best-in-class and they offer a complete range of products designed to work independently or together as a system.
Topofusion is the brainiac product of the Morris brothers, two long-distance MTB guys who didn't like the products available to them in the GPS world. Their creation is an inspired amalgamation of products and platforms that features the best aspects of things like Motionbased and Google Earth and combines them with an easy-to-understand interface, the ability to create 'blended' maps with photographic and topographical elements and the ability to upload user data like heartrate, cadence, power output, etc. In short, an amazing tool created by mountain bikers for mountain bikers.
Yakima - have you checked out the latest Yakima site? It's pretty cool and does a great job of featuring their comprehensive offerings from rooftop cargo boxes to hitch mount racks to the usual slate of well-thought-out rooftop products, all designed to work with your existing or factory rack. The Yakima folks will be outfitting our Subaru shuttle vehicles so that both you and your ride will travel in safety and style.
KuhlUSA - based in Murray, Utah, Kuhl is at the leading edge of mountain culture and style. One of the official outfitters of the Breck Epic and Greenspeed staff, their offerings are funky, stylish and functional - all necessary elements up here where warmth and steez are prerequisites.
Shimano - you may have heard of these guys. As the official tech provider of the event they'll be on-site assisting with our mechanical efforts and probably lugging along a product or two that won't be hitting the shelves for a while. They make this stuff called "XTR"...
These guys join an already loaded murderer's row of partners including Subaru, Santa Cruz Bikes, Crank Brothers, Fox Racing Shox, Marmot, JettMTB. Mountain Bike Magazine, Squirt Lube, The Aplineer, Ergon, Great Western Lodging, Ground Apparel and the United States Forest Service.
Pricing Finalized:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As of January 3rd, our pricing has been set. We're happy to announce that we're the least expensive of the North American mountain bike stage race offerings especially when considering the ease with which most of you can get yourselves and your gear to Colorado. Even better? Once you get here you don't even need a car! If you've already placed your deposit you can head to SportsBaseOnline and select you're a la carte items - camping, meal plans, additional banquet tickets, etc. Once you've dialed it in, the SBO folks will invoice you in two separate payments for your balance. The first is due on March 15th, the second on May 31st. There is a processing surcharge for your initial deposit of $250/rider, but after that we're picking up the tab on credit card fees. On a separate note, we're filling up fast and once we fill our field limit, we're done. No ifs, ands or buts. At this point, deposits are not refundable, but they are 100% transferrable AND deferrable to 2010.
Course Maps and Elevation Profiles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'd bet that this may interest some of you. The final tally is just over 200 miles and about 40,000 feet of vertical. While that may seem short to some, we'd like to point out that the majority of the course is over 10,000 feet and that road sections are few and far between. The Breck Epic is a true mountain bike race and the majority of our terrain is primo quality Summit County riding. We'll be posting maps, elevation profiles and GPS data to the site shortly. If you just can't wait, send me a note and I'll email you the data you need in your preferred format (thanks to the cross-platform beauty of TopFusion!)
Upcoming Events ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We've got a few of our own to tell you about and a handful of others that are close to our hearts.
Coming up first is the "12 Hours of Crested Butte" Nordic ski race. This one is promoted and produced by The Alpineer, one of the very first promotional partners of The Breck Epic. If you're not familiar with Travis and his crew you should head to their website and check 'em out - or better yet, sign up for his race - it's a benefit for the CB Nordic Center. They've also got all the backcountry goodies that make nerds like us drool...and they're having a massive sale.
The Breck Epic a bit too much? Didn't get into Leadville? You can also check out The Breck 100 (or it's little sisters, the B68 or B32). Thane and his Warriors Cycling crew have put together some pretty stiff challenges for those of you that only have a day or two to spend here. The B100 courses are, in a word, 'amazing.' Check 'em out at http://www.warriorscycling.com/
The Firecracker 50: like you didn't know about this one. Word from on high is that there will be a stricter field limit in place for 2009. Our advice? Register early. The F50 is one of the very best races in North America...and you get wool socks. www.mavsports.com
...and our stuff.
You were dying to know what else we're cooking up, right? We've got a 50-mile backcountry ballbusting cyclocross affair we've dubbed "Crossifixion: Hell on Wheels". Debuting in September 20th, 2009 (alongside Breck's annual Oktoberfest bacchanale,) it's a direct rip-off of one of the toughest races in the world, "The 3 Peaks" cyclocross race in Wales. At the suggestion of Jasen Thorpe, Editor in Chief of Mountain Bike Magazine, we'll also be placing barriers on course. Blame him. More info? Contact us.
We'll also be producing a ski mountaineering race called "The 5 Peaks" that will be held in Breckenridge in the spring of 2010. We can promise a long day in the AT gear, your tele stuff, your splitboard or your snowshoes. There'll be fantastic scenery and ripping skiing. There will also be beer. And grilled meat. Contact us for more info.
About The Greenspeed Project & The Breck Epic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Greenspeed Project, Inc. was established in the fall of 2008 with the sole intent of funding backcountry initiatives, trail maintenance and trail system improvements through the medium of slightly left-of-center backcountry events. In addition to producing 'greener' events than then norm, we're committed to aligning ourselves with likeminded partners in the outdoor industry. A significant portion of the proceeds from our events and races is donated directly back to local and regional land managers with the intention that it be earmarked for the items mentioned above.
The Breck Epic MTB Stage Race (July 5-10, 2009) is a 6-day ultra-endurance backcountry affair to be held in the massive tangle of backcountry surrounding Breckenridge, CO. As a race its mission is to showcase the incredible work that visionary land managers here have accomplished by pairing an ambitious and shared vision with a 'let's roll our sleeves up and get this thing done together' mentality. It is one of a small few such races in US, and certainly among the most difficult.
If you'd like to find out more we'll happily fire a mind-bullet your way stuffed with an ungodly amount of sleep-inducing propaganda. No need to send us a note, we'll know that you want it. We can also email it.
Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P 970.485.5847
E MikeMac@BreckEpic.com
W www.breckepic.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This newsletter is going out to a larger audience than normal. Receiving this month's pearl of editorial smarminess are our regular lot of self-flagellating XC suspects, plus (and much to their surprise) a slew of gravity racers and riders as well as gravity-specific media and industry folks worldwide. Why? Because there's a topic that concerns us all and we're trying to get one last push in for raising awareness.
As many of you are undoubtedly aware, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) has proposed a rule change which will make it easier for parks to open trails for mountain biking by leaving access issues in the hands of individual rangers. Predictably, this has the hiking segment up in arms at the prospect of us godless heathens and Philistines plundering 'their' territory. What the hiking folks don't seem to understand with their short-sighted "our way is the only proper way" rhetoric is that there are way more folks that just don't care about wilderness issues than those of us that do.
Those that gravitate towards finding our enjoyment outdoors are best served by banding together in the unified protection of those resources and sorting out our differences through pragmatic and well-reasoned discourse instead of adopting separatist stances (there's a lesson in there that some within our own ranks might learn from as well.) If the hikers and their well-funded lobbies keep shutting the door on potential allies they're going to shortly find themselves with underfunded and dwindling resources, ones that in the current 'no frills' economic climate may very well disappear. Like us or not, we're far more alike than different in our respect for the backcountry and our desire for its preservation. We also represent additional revenue streams for a consistently underfunded resource. We're not big on clichés, but something about 'cutting off your nose to spite your face' comes to mind. Get with it hikers - like it or not, we're on the same effin' team.
So what can you do? Sadly, the public comment period ended yesterday - but the outcome still affects you, so pass the word and stay tuned in. If you know a journalist, pass along this tidbit of info. If you know a forest ranger or a land manager, voice your support for the initiative. Basically, be an advocate and an eloquent one if you can. Support IMBA or your local chapter of it - those folks have really paid the freight on bringing this initiative to the fore and generating the support necessary to get if off life-support and into the law books.
That's about it for the gravity folks. Feel free to skip the rest of the newsletter. For those of you interested in more Breck Epic MTB Stage Race propaganda, read on. Thanks for playing along.
Mike
The Breck Epic
A Greenspeed Project Event in Support of Open Space
Whatcha Get in This Issue:
Blogger's Grant Program Voting
New Partners
Pricing is Finalized
Course Maps and Elevation Profiles
Upcoming Events
About The Greenspeed Project and The Breck Epic and the Greenspeed Project
The Breck Epic Blogger's Grant Program is Up and Running!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We're giving away 4 free entries to this year's race to a lucky few who can browbeat the most of their friends into voting for them. 'Winners' (we use that terms loosely) of the voting contest will be required to submit a handful or prerace articles, then one article for each day of racing. These articles will receive online publication from some of the industry's best mags. Why? Because so much race coverage is from the outside looking in. Some of the very best race coverage comes from the racers themselves, and with a deliciously cruel torture device like a 6-day mountain bike stage race in place there's sure to be tops popping off everywhere. We're hoping to catch some of that agony and ecstasy in print. For your enjoyment. Sorta like crisping up an ant with a magnifying glass when you were a kid. Or maybe that was just us.
The entrants are all posted under the "Blog City" link at BreckEpic.com (our shiny new website.) We have two more entrants to add, Brandon Dwight of "Chocolate, Waffles and 'Cross" fame and Sarah Uhl. She's sort of a big deal. You can go check it out and vote right now if you'd like. Voting ends on March 15th. One vote per computer, please.
New Patrons:
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We'd like to welcome the folks from Hammer Nutrition, Topofusion, Yakima, KuhlUSA and Shimano to the Breck Epic fold.
Hammer is the official supplier of energy drinks and gels to the event. They'll be loading you up on HammerGel and Heed before, during and after the race. Their approach to athletic nutrition is best-in-class and they offer a complete range of products designed to work independently or together as a system.
Topofusion is the brainiac product of the Morris brothers, two long-distance MTB guys who didn't like the products available to them in the GPS world. Their creation is an inspired amalgamation of products and platforms that features the best aspects of things like Motionbased and Google Earth and combines them with an easy-to-understand interface, the ability to create 'blended' maps with photographic and topographical elements and the ability to upload user data like heartrate, cadence, power output, etc. In short, an amazing tool created by mountain bikers for mountain bikers.
Yakima - have you checked out the latest Yakima site? It's pretty cool and does a great job of featuring their comprehensive offerings from rooftop cargo boxes to hitch mount racks to the usual slate of well-thought-out rooftop products, all designed to work with your existing or factory rack. The Yakima folks will be outfitting our Subaru shuttle vehicles so that both you and your ride will travel in safety and style.
KuhlUSA - based in Murray, Utah, Kuhl is at the leading edge of mountain culture and style. One of the official outfitters of the Breck Epic and Greenspeed staff, their offerings are funky, stylish and functional - all necessary elements up here where warmth and steez are prerequisites.
Shimano - you may have heard of these guys. As the official tech provider of the event they'll be on-site assisting with our mechanical efforts and probably lugging along a product or two that won't be hitting the shelves for a while. They make this stuff called "XTR"...
These guys join an already loaded murderer's row of partners including Subaru, Santa Cruz Bikes, Crank Brothers, Fox Racing Shox, Marmot, JettMTB. Mountain Bike Magazine, Squirt Lube, The Aplineer, Ergon, Great Western Lodging, Ground Apparel and the United States Forest Service.
Pricing Finalized:
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As of January 3rd, our pricing has been set. We're happy to announce that we're the least expensive of the North American mountain bike stage race offerings especially when considering the ease with which most of you can get yourselves and your gear to Colorado. Even better? Once you get here you don't even need a car! If you've already placed your deposit you can head to SportsBaseOnline and select you're a la carte items - camping, meal plans, additional banquet tickets, etc. Once you've dialed it in, the SBO folks will invoice you in two separate payments for your balance. The first is due on March 15th, the second on May 31st. There is a processing surcharge for your initial deposit of $250/rider, but after that we're picking up the tab on credit card fees. On a separate note, we're filling up fast and once we fill our field limit, we're done. No ifs, ands or buts. At this point, deposits are not refundable, but they are 100% transferrable AND deferrable to 2010.
Course Maps and Elevation Profiles
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I'd bet that this may interest some of you. The final tally is just over 200 miles and about 40,000 feet of vertical. While that may seem short to some, we'd like to point out that the majority of the course is over 10,000 feet and that road sections are few and far between. The Breck Epic is a true mountain bike race and the majority of our terrain is primo quality Summit County riding. We'll be posting maps, elevation profiles and GPS data to the site shortly. If you just can't wait, send me a note and I'll email you the data you need in your preferred format (thanks to the cross-platform beauty of TopFusion!)
Upcoming Events ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We've got a few of our own to tell you about and a handful of others that are close to our hearts.
Coming up first is the "12 Hours of Crested Butte" Nordic ski race. This one is promoted and produced by The Alpineer, one of the very first promotional partners of The Breck Epic. If you're not familiar with Travis and his crew you should head to their website and check 'em out - or better yet, sign up for his race - it's a benefit for the CB Nordic Center. They've also got all the backcountry goodies that make nerds like us drool...and they're having a massive sale.
The Breck Epic a bit too much? Didn't get into Leadville? You can also check out The Breck 100 (or it's little sisters, the B68 or B32). Thane and his Warriors Cycling crew have put together some pretty stiff challenges for those of you that only have a day or two to spend here. The B100 courses are, in a word, 'amazing.' Check 'em out at http://www.warriorscycling.com/
The Firecracker 50: like you didn't know about this one. Word from on high is that there will be a stricter field limit in place for 2009. Our advice? Register early. The F50 is one of the very best races in North America...and you get wool socks. www.mavsports.com
...and our stuff.
You were dying to know what else we're cooking up, right? We've got a 50-mile backcountry ballbusting cyclocross affair we've dubbed "Crossifixion: Hell on Wheels". Debuting in September 20th, 2009 (alongside Breck's annual Oktoberfest bacchanale,) it's a direct rip-off of one of the toughest races in the world, "The 3 Peaks" cyclocross race in Wales. At the suggestion of Jasen Thorpe, Editor in Chief of Mountain Bike Magazine, we'll also be placing barriers on course. Blame him. More info? Contact us.
We'll also be producing a ski mountaineering race called "The 5 Peaks" that will be held in Breckenridge in the spring of 2010. We can promise a long day in the AT gear, your tele stuff, your splitboard or your snowshoes. There'll be fantastic scenery and ripping skiing. There will also be beer. And grilled meat. Contact us for more info.
About The Greenspeed Project & The Breck Epic
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The Greenspeed Project, Inc. was established in the fall of 2008 with the sole intent of funding backcountry initiatives, trail maintenance and trail system improvements through the medium of slightly left-of-center backcountry events. In addition to producing 'greener' events than then norm, we're committed to aligning ourselves with likeminded partners in the outdoor industry. A significant portion of the proceeds from our events and races is donated directly back to local and regional land managers with the intention that it be earmarked for the items mentioned above.
The Breck Epic MTB Stage Race (July 5-10, 2009) is a 6-day ultra-endurance backcountry affair to be held in the massive tangle of backcountry surrounding Breckenridge, CO. As a race its mission is to showcase the incredible work that visionary land managers here have accomplished by pairing an ambitious and shared vision with a 'let's roll our sleeves up and get this thing done together' mentality. It is one of a small few such races in US, and certainly among the most difficult.
If you'd like to find out more we'll happily fire a mind-bullet your way stuffed with an ungodly amount of sleep-inducing propaganda. No need to send us a note, we'll know that you want it. We can also email it.
Contact Information
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P 970.485.5847
E MikeMac@BreckEpic.com
W www.breckepic.com
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Thursday, February 5, 2009
The website's up. Big props to Dave Rossi for patiently putting up with my incessant whining and badgering without walking over here and slapping me like in the movie "Airplane". I stand in awe of his reserve.
There are a few errors in there - all of them mine. We'll get 'em ironed out over the next few days. In the interim, enjoy to beauty and spectacle of www.breckepic.com!
MM
There are a few errors in there - all of them mine. We'll get 'em ironed out over the next few days. In the interim, enjoy to beauty and spectacle of www.breckepic.com!
MM
Saturday, January 17, 2009
- PRICING AND WEBSITE
Greetings Breck Epic'ers. Just a quick update - we know that many of you have been eagerly awaiting the finalization of the pricing structure and the launch of the website. As coincidence would have it, our SanDiego-based webhost took about 1000 of their servers offline today, so if you're trying to access the site and notice that it's not working, don't get too upset - we'll be back online later today. That also means that the BreckEpic.com email addy that many of you have for me won't work either. If you absolutely need to get a message through please send it to: mikemac01@gmail.com. My gut says that we'll launch the new site this week and that the online voting for blogger's grants will go live within a few days after that. Voting will last for as month or so - I'll fill in the blanks once the site goes live.
We're finally zeroing in on pricing - we've got a few pieces left to nail down, but I'm comfortable throwing some numbers out there that are going to be pretty close to final. I'll send out the usual annoying mass email once they're written in stone, but here's what you should expect to see:
We're finally zeroing in on pricing - we've got a few pieces left to nail down, but I'm comfortable throwing some numbers out there that are going to be pretty close to final. I'll send out the usual annoying mass email once they're written in stone, but here's what you should expect to see:
- The RACE: just under $1000/person. This actually includes quite a bit - swag, on-course support, bike storage, banquet tickie and on-course food...the usual suspects.
- Camping: around $200 for solos (2-person tent plus one pad) and $250 for teams (4-person tent and 2 pads). Only our tents will be allowed for camping. Absolutely no exceptions. We'll work out a different rate for RV's, but we're not likely to have hook-ups or power available for the jet-set camping crew. That's not to suggest that you can't bring them - you can. We'll have great spots for you, but it's also not a KOA campground. Camping fees include parking for your car, garbage and recycling service and a handful of other goodies.
- Meal Plan: just over $300. If you haven't seen the menu you should absolutely check it out (there's a link to the right where you can access it.) The food is over the top.
- Additional banquet tickets: @ $4o
Do you get a number plate? YES! That is included. Professional timing and scoring? Again, yes. I don't think that we need to beat that stuff to death. Within a few days I'll publish a full list of what each line item includes and send it out to everyone. For now, you guys have a pretty accurate idea of what the event is going to cost. For the record, we're a bit less than The Tran-Rockies and substantially less than the BC Bike Race. I thought that we'd fall somewhere in-between, so I'm happy that we're the least expensive out of those options. I also think that for a lot of folks we're just plain easier to get to (which translates into less expense), but I guess that really depends upon where you're coming from.
We WILL finalize pricing on Monday. See ya -
MM
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
- FROM THE LAND OF CHEESE AND BEER
'Cuz it ain't exactly the land of milk and honey. As many of you know, I've been in Wisconsin over the past week making a long-overdue pilgrimage to see 'my people'. Honestly, 15 degrees here feels like -15 in Breckenridge. Also, when you say "thank-you" to the person who makes your coffee, instead of "you're welcome," they almost all say "yup" with a lifeless deadpan expression, like they've just punched another brick out of the factory or something, your expression of thanks an entitlement, their acknowledgement a supreme effort on their part. You can also only travel about 3.5 miles from the center of Madison before you're deep into some bizarre amalgamation of Mayberry, the boonies and Green Acres. I don't mean to be a snob - i really don't, but if you've witnessed the cultural and geographical naivete that I have this past week you'd be a little shell shocked too.
Anyway, a little more detail about why pricing is delayed; we've got a few significant line items in the budget, two of them being school rental (or an alternative) and food. The food plan is a reasonably fixed line item...if you know where you're serving the food. We have two options; a field outside of the Breck Rec Center, or the cafeteria of Upper Blue Elementary, which is one block north. The school folks lit out for the holidays and just as they were returning, I was headed out here, so the long-anticipated sit-down-and-hammer-it-out session with them is delayed. If we serve at the BRC we have one set of costs for the vittles, plus what we'll call "site fee A" and if we serve at the school we'll have a slightly different set of costs, plus "site fee B". Each site fee comes with a different prerequisite in terms of rental equipment like tables, tents, simmering potpourri centerpieces and all that happy horseshit. I'll be back in the saddle on Monday and it shouldn't bee too long after that before we have final pricing out to you guys.
If anyone needs anything from 'Sconnie, just drop me a line and I'll throw it in with the 17 bags of miscellaneous crap that seem to be standard traveling issue when you have 2 kids under the age of three. What's one more thing? Curds, anyone? Nueske sausage? Some Michael's Frozen Custard ('cuz regular ice cream doesn't have quite enough fat, thank you very much!)
Til next week,
MM
Anyway, a little more detail about why pricing is delayed; we've got a few significant line items in the budget, two of them being school rental (or an alternative) and food. The food plan is a reasonably fixed line item...if you know where you're serving the food. We have two options; a field outside of the Breck Rec Center, or the cafeteria of Upper Blue Elementary, which is one block north. The school folks lit out for the holidays and just as they were returning, I was headed out here, so the long-anticipated sit-down-and-hammer-it-out session with them is delayed. If we serve at the BRC we have one set of costs for the vittles, plus what we'll call "site fee A" and if we serve at the school we'll have a slightly different set of costs, plus "site fee B". Each site fee comes with a different prerequisite in terms of rental equipment like tables, tents, simmering potpourri centerpieces and all that happy horseshit. I'll be back in the saddle on Monday and it shouldn't bee too long after that before we have final pricing out to you guys.
If anyone needs anything from 'Sconnie, just drop me a line and I'll throw it in with the 17 bags of miscellaneous crap that seem to be standard traveling issue when you have 2 kids under the age of three. What's one more thing? Curds, anyone? Nueske sausage? Some Michael's Frozen Custard ('cuz regular ice cream doesn't have quite enough fat, thank you very much!)
Til next week,
MM
Thursday, January 1, 2009
- MORE BLOGGER'S GRANT APPLICATIONS POSTED
...and some of them are fuggin funny. Cheggemout at the bottom of the page. The web-sitey-site was supposed to have gone live on Saturday. The holidays and all are wreaking havoc on our 3rd world internet sweatshop (bah humbug!) so you're not going to get to see the site in all of its exploitative glory until later in the week...which means voting for blogger's applicants also won't start until then. Sorry about that. To make matters worse, I'll be in Wisconsin all week visiting my parents and trying to get a sit-down with Coach Bielema. Since I'll have minion #1 and minion #2 while my snoop-wifey-wife jets off to NYC on some fancy-pants press junket I don't anticipate being very productive...or in a good mood. At all. So hang in there, BreckEpic-o-philes. Stuff's coming together, I promise. Look for a fully self-serving newsletter update with lots of new news within a week.
Now go read those blogs and gird your voting loins!
MM
Now go read those blogs and gird your voting loins!
MM
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