Cool items for race organizers.

[John Gilmour]

http://www.blueflamelighters.com/

about $40

This can be an indispensibe tool. You can solder things in a jiffy with this. No power supply needed like for a regular soldering iron and so compact it fits in your pocket. The lighter has a base so you can stand it on the ground and solder without needing a third hand.

If wires get ripped off a tape switch you can solder them back on in seconds without having to remove the strip from the ground and drag it up the hill or having to get a power supply for an electric solder iron...or the embarassing extra minutes you have to wait while the electric iron heats up.

One caveat- the flame in bright sunlight is nearly invisible so you will have to shade the area while soldering- any box will do though. Also have a portable voltmeter for testing continuity and the resistance of your connections to ensure you've got a good connection.

I have used these lighters for installing car audio systems and I prefer these to the gas powered soldering pencils because these have higher output and can stand upright by themselves. Also the small size insures it is always in your pocket and not at the other end of the hill. I can't bring mine when traveling though as airlines aren't hip to flammable items. They are strong- I've used them to blowtorch cut beer cans in half.

Also regular duct tape gets "gooey" when sitting in the hot sun and loses its adhesion. (at July 4th last year it was so hot we could have used Muffler tape) I don't reccommend regular duct tape for taping down timing strips- you can get away with it on cooler days and good clean surfaces (old smooth pavement)- but you run the risk of timing strips gets caught under competitiors wheels if they peel up. This happened once up at Terence's in New Hampshire resulting in a spectacular fall.

The stuff to use is called 100mph tape or Military spec duct tape.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?p=WX2&i=1372

here is a place that sells it for cheap.

When marking courses choose a chalk based compound. Chalk grips. You'll see freeclimbers chalking their hands- pool players chalking pool cues etc. Try not to use wax- particularly pastel crayons , crayons, or wax carpenter pencils. If you are only slaloming alone they should be fine- but when you get a group of 60 slalomers together and they are hitting cones and running over the wax marks the wax gets "Roller printed" all over the road surface and is eventually absorbed by the wheels- as Urethane wheels absorb wax. The result is sudden unexpected loss of traction. I used wax markers at The Catalina Classic and as the day went on the course got very slippery and many people fell and left skin on the course. I had used wax markers before when practicing with a few people- but when tons of cones are hit- chalk should be used instead.

A good set of walkie talkies. One other thing that can be useful is a baby monitor. The officals at the top can get the monitor and then the people at the bottom can hear through the speaker that the race is starting and get one way communication from the to without having to wear the walkie tallkie. Simple commands like "Step on the timing strip" can be conveyed quickly. For courses that the people at teh bottom can not see where the racers start....ie courses around curves, it can be helpful to make sure everything is clear and that the people at the bottom always know when the racers are coming.




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: John Gilmour on 2003-05-28 10:21 ]</font>

[Rick Stanziale]

Great tips, John.

Those lighters can be had rather inexpensively at some convenience stores and most tobacco stores.

I might add I like to keep a Sharpie in my toolbox.

[John Gilmour]

They do make an imitation lighter...but it isn't the same and there have been some accidents with the imitations as the plastics used on some of the knockoff lighters aren't meant to withstand high temps. I would not reccommend using them for soldering tasks- though is suppose you could try one using safety goggles.

I also like having the sharpies around- good for writing on nearly anything- even for marking courses and handy for little autograph seekers.

I use paint pens for marking courses as well- they dry instantly- but the tips don't last for long.

I may consider selling some aerosol spray chalk for racers.

[Rick Stanziale]

I try to shy away from using anything permanent to mark a skate spot, but yes, paint pens come in very handy.

Another thing I'd like to see added to the types of grass roots racing I've seen here in the east - benches behind the start ramps so the racers that are waiting can be seated close right where they need to be (and golf carts to shuttle us up the hill.....I know...I know.......).

[Wesley Tucker]

On 2003-05-28 11:10, Rick Stanziale wrote:
(and golf carts to shuttle us up the hill.....I know...I know.......).

I like the idea of a little Vespa with handles on it like in the original "Rollerball" movie. Gas powered, probably cheaper and certainly easier to throw in a pick up truck to get from race to race.

Maybe Geezer could figure out a way to make those stirrup-style handles, one for each side of the bike?

[Wes Eastridge]

John, I don’t know whether these are “imitation”, but stores like Lowes and Home Dumpo stock non-pensil-style mini torches that use cigg lighters as fuel cells. Surely they would not be available there if they weren’t safe for their intended purpose.

I agree with you about grease pencils and crayons not being a good idea for course marking. Chalk is just as easy to obtain, so I don’t see a reason to go with a grease pencil or crayon instead of it. Someone told me that FCR usually uses a grease pencil to mark the courses and that because of this, it would be good enough for anyone else. I had to disagree with them for the same reason that you stated.


Tucker,
A scooter would be a great idea. If you hadn’t known, they used a motorcycle at LaCosta 02 for towing racers back up the hill. I seem to remember seeing on the DVD, something like six racers being towed at one time. If the motorcycle has a rack on the back, you wouldn’t even need to make anything for this purpose.

[John Gilmour]

I agree with you about grease pencils and crayons not being a good idea for course marking. Chalk is just as easy to obtain, so I don’t see a reason to go with a grease pencil or crayon instead of it. Someone told me that FCR usually uses a grease pencil to mark the courses and that because of this, it would be good enough for anyone else. I had to disagree with them for the same reason that you stated.

Well we should really find a better substitute- chalk seems to be good a it is semi permanent. it also seems like the courses get remarked with crayon- so it shouldn't be any more difficult to remark with chalk. Perhaps there is a more enduring type of chalk we could use- yet still not permanent. I'm thinking the spray chalk might be our best bet. I still have crayon absorbed into my wheels from the last contest.

[Paul Keleher]

Instead of regular school "stick chalk", this stuff may be a good solution..Its what they use to mark up "blackboard" menu's in some Restaurants.

have a look

http://www.rainbowchalk.com/

Paul K

[Paul Keleher]

A while back at the Eastbourne race ( UK ) our timer had problems, so we ran a "first man to the line" but ran it as double elimination.

as i had never experienced this before, and was curious about how it worked i looked it up.

i found a usuful resource for setting up these sort of elimation brackets

http://www.racingnationonline.com/filem ... ?op=&cid=1

Paul K