Written by AD0UZ
On Sunday, September 6th, several members from ARESDEC, and one likely new member, helped provide communications and situational awareness for the Mad Gravel bike race officials. There were around 500 riders in three different races, with course lengths of 33, 55 and 84 miles, respectively. We provided a directed net for the operational period of 0700 – 1800.
The overarching goal of the operation was to provide situational awareness and communications support at the start/finish and along the course. The net helped support logistics, aid stations, SAG, participant updates (drops, transport, medical (to race staff, not 1st responders), progress), and sweeps.
Overall, the event ran well considering the heat and a few challenges over the course of the day. We had to find some workarounds due to repeater reach (lack thereof) at various locations, and with APRS tracking of the SAGs / sweeps. That said, everyone was flexible, helpful and did a great job with the tasks at hand.
Special thanks to the following members of the ARES R1D5 team who supported the event, staffing various positions, including MC, NCS, ANCS, Aid Stations, Rover, and SAGs.
- KF0PAY
- WB5PJB
- W6AUN
- K8ZTT
- AC0KQ
- KD0DPX
- W0GNW
- KE0KFB
- KF0CWS
- W0ARP
- KE0YSO
- KF0VPJ
- N0AER
Also, a special thanks to AB0WV for PinPoint APRS. It’s an incredibly useful piece of software that makes all the difference for the members at the ICP, and the race officials.
Overall, it was a beautiful day for the event and it was a success for everyone. We’ll see you next year!
