Longmont Amateur Radio Club - Colorado

Tour de Cure

Thanks to everyone who volunteered:

 Here are some pictures and the report from SAG 1.

From Peter (SAG 1 driver): "...In case the statistics have not made it back to you yet, I found them quite interesting.  These figures rank the Denver ADA Tour de Cure to the fourth largest this year!  More than 1200 riders (630 last year) MORE than $400,000 collected ($262,000 last year)."

	Ron (KC0NEV) Net control and LARC coordinator for the event
	CB vertical with 2 meter yagi
	Ron and 2 meter yagi
	SAG 1 with CBS sound and cameramen
	Ben the anchorman
	Out the window - live interview with a cyclist.
	The rest of the pack during the interview

SAG 1 was converted to a media vehicle for a CBS news crew. SAG 1 drove the complete 100 mile course chasing Joe, the professional cyclist who has type 1 diabetes. At rest stop 6 we ran into Greg LeMond (Tour de France winner), and the CBS crew interviewed him. But, Joe was so fast that SAG 1 had to race him back to be at the finish line when he crossed it and measured his blood sugar level (he really didn't need to, he was wearing a "beta test" device that continued to monitor his blood and inject as required - the monitor was taped to the back of one arm while the injector was on the other). FYI, when Joe finished the race, he looked as fresh as when he started.

BTW, Ben the anchorman, specifically chose to cover the Colorado event (he's from New York), because the race was sufficiently long, the scenery spectacular and he has a personal interest being a type 1 diabetic. Further, Peter, the SAG 1 driver is type 1 diabetic too. They were comparing their monitors, injectors and swapping stories of low blood sugar levels and younger reckless days.

Overall, it was quite an interesting day for me. I'm going to rank it up there with opportunities like the ISS contact LARC participated in a few years ago. Ray (W9LQM)

The following pictures from Rick Huebner (W0RCY) tell the story from the repeater location on Storm Mountain:

	Here is the setup. Repeater and cans in the truck, tower and antenna on the little point.
	Ah, my nemesis. This was the hardest spot to get up. Shoot to the right, to get around the rock on the left, hard left before the hole, then hard right to continue on the road.
	This is just below my nemesis. I have no idea how I got up this, other than it bounced me around a lot.
	Same hill, but from below.
	I even fell down just taking this picture. All in all this road is scary coming down, and terrifying going up at night. :-) It was all fun, though.
	Bobcat Gulch, just above Drake.
	Storm Mountain, looking toward Horsetooth. You can see the lake and the south dam.

The trip up the mountain was fine until dark, when I reached Pine Forest Road, which goes to the top of Storm Mountain.  The road started ascending and at several places, I had to get out and survey the situation with a flashlight to help with the headlights.  My truck bounced over what I would describe as a difficult road.  I wish the pictures looked as scary as the terrain actually appears.  It helps to hold your monitor over your head and imagine looking up to see these obstacles.  I arrived at the top close to 9:30pm, set up the repeater, then tested it out with N7MR for a while.

On Saturday, the coverage proved to be unbeatable, as the Yaesu Vertex Standard always delivers.  This radio is great as either a permanent or portable repeater.  I burned mostly through two deep-cycle batteries during the time it was in use, over night and all day.  Many people came to the top of the mountain, curious what was going on when they saw all of the equipment, so I got to explain to them what we were doing and how it is practice for emergency communication during disasters.  It was a good propaganda day for ham radio.  The trip down was a little easier than the trip up.  The truck will slide down whatever there is.  The only concern is breaking something.  I thought to take pictures of the road this time.  I also took a picture of Bobcat Gulch, where the fire started a few years ago that kept many of us busy during that summer.

There were many adventures, but all came out alright, and with great coordination and communication done by the hams in the sags, rest stops, and the net controllers, this event was a success. Rick (W0RCY)