Promoting - 2013 Bethel Spring Series Permits/Numbers

It's now getting to the nitty gritty for the 2013 Bethel Spring Series. When I think of the races I start thinking of all the deadlines, backwards. Meaning I think about by when I have to get things done.

The biggest things are race numbers and permits. Both require a minimum of 6 weeks lead time, with relatively heavy monetary penalties for violating them. I want to have the first race be on March 3 so that means mid January for permits and race numbers.

To get permits and race numbers I need more things. Permits (plural - one permit for each week of racing) implies permission from the town to hold the race. Due to some crossed communications, the town of Bethel won't be making a decision on their side until January 2, 2013. That puts me at only about two weeks before my 6 week deadline for permits.

Now, understand, I can start my permits with USAC without completing them, and I may do that shortly. By starting all the permits at the same time I can usually get consecutive permit numbers, like 2012-538 to 2012-543 for last year's Bethel Spring Series. If you look closely though I screwed up - I permitted the second week first, and ended up adding the first week last.

To start the permits (yes, still working backward) I have to renew the club's membership. Carpe Diem Racing is a club that promotes races. There are old members of CDR scattered around the country and I want them to be able to put down "Carpe Diem Racing" as a club if they want to. In fact, I don't mind if anyone that wants to lend moral support puts down Carpe Diem Racing as their club. Remember, though, if you put down Carpe Diem Racing you should either race in a non-kit or be a Cat 3-5. I think it's against the rules to race wearing one team's kit while writing down you race for another team, and I have no Carpe Diem Racing kits.

Or Sprinter Della Casa kits for that matter.

So, renew the club membership. In order to do that I have to be current with all paperwork and fees for 2012. If not then USAC will not allow a club to renew its membership. Believe it or not I have yet to submit the rider list from the Markus Bohler Memorial Ride. I'll be doing that shortly, then I can proceed with the various steps I laid out above.

That's the permit stuff.

Then there's the race numbers.

I use Rainbow Racing and buy the custom imprint cycling hip numbers. These are by far the best numbers I've ever used, and I've been ordering from them for maybe 15 years. The numbers are large, absolutely water- and smudge-proof, and they allow me to put words at the top and bottom of the number. My default line at the bottom is the year and Bethel Spring Series, so like "2013 Bethel Spring Series".

The top line is trickier. I usually put the sponsor up there or Carpe Diem. For many years it was not a heavy duty thing, meaning I didn't ask much for the top line. A couple years ago though, when the race was floundering fiscally, three potential sponsors popped up.

Now that top line is quite valuable. However this means renewing said sponsorship each year, and that is something I have yet to do.

Of course, if I don't have town permission yet, I can't get a permit, and if I don't have a permit, I don't have a race. This would make sponsor talks a bit premature, kind of like planning out in exquisite detail what you're going to do with lottery winnings before you ever win the lottery.

On the other hand I'm lucky in that we've had an enthusiastic supporter in the last couple years. I hope that they'll sign up for the 2013 Series.

Remember the 6 weeks though. I have to have everything squared away by mid January.

Once they get done then I can focus on other things like portapotties (from Chatfield Rental). We started using them a long time ago when one of the racers at the Series mentioned that he worked at a place that rented out portapotties. As he was (and is) a bike racer I decided to patronize their business. They've been excellent and we've used them for something like 10 or 15 years now.

But for now I have to focus on the two things preoccupying me - permits and numbers, and the things associated with them.