2006 Races 54 Entries. Pretty slim. That was the number of PV entries from Spokane in 2006. Ed came over to say how disappointing it all was, and I had to agree.

But there is a reason for everything- partly Spokane is off the I-5 corridor, partly there are plenty of races in the Pacific NW now, thanks to Hammer & Tongs. It bears noting here that I wasn't sure that ANY of this was a good idea originally. H&T had already solved the problem caused by the great frustration with Ahrma Organizers here back in 2000-2004.

So us now trying to run a competing series to one that we were already running meant that as the coordinator and the webmaster I had to try to make it attractive to riders. Over and over I had guys say WHY? Why should we do ANYTHING with Ahrma? And then I'd say well- remember we ARE Ahrma now- it's a new day. (now, of course it just seems foolish) And they'd say I don't know man- and I'd say I know I know- having to buy a license is annoying- but we can make it cool the way it should have been all along- without all the attitude at signup because you don't have an older race machine.

And I would stack the results page to try to make it look full rather than slim, by adding photographs. All this to encourage riders to come out to the Ahrma Races. But it is a long uphill battle. H&T is easier, cheaper, friendlier, without the weird rules like required yellow number plates. Who thought up that rule anyway? It smacks of divisiveness- the sort of thing which make NW Riders say back to me Dude- my number plates are white- I'm not gonna change them JUST to go to 2 races. Then I'd sort of say I know- but we're going to Washougal -as soon as we can get it on the table, and their expression would change and they'd say

really? Cool! When?

A-Team members sat in the darkness at a picnic table at Spokane. I felt more than ever that my original notion might be true. That Ahrma PV was a package we would have a hard time selling to Pacific NW Riders. It's like we're running a hardware store with Home Depot® across the street. But we agreed that it was worth not giving up.

Part of what I struggle with personally is that great deal of the appeal is in MY hands- use what sway I have here in the Northwest to coax people out - make the website look cool- Riders are always thrilled to see themselves online- and that's an important aspect- which encourages people to show their friends, and this leads to new recruits....

That's a great deal of responsibility for a self-employed Artist who is constantly struggling to make ends meet. I'm not whining, or bragging- anyone who has tried to be in the profession knows it's true.

Anyone reading this might point to the decent turnout at Klamath Falls- keep in mind that race is far closer to the PV Crowd in California- Washington is a LONG way for those riders and we have seen that we may not rely on them to come so far out of the way, especially when they have a multitude of races in California. \



Washougal: the BIG PRIZE

 

or use this map

THE STATE OF VINTAGE - Map of Issues
1 the Legitimacy of Critics Keeping Regionals Alive

2 PACIFIC NW MESS - the Short Version

3 How things fell apart for Post Vintage Stats: the Actual Percentage
4 Graph of Northwest Entries Northwest Riders

5 Klamath Falls Race called off The Advent of the New PNW Region
6 the A-Team Ahrma at Hammer & Tongs
7 the Region the Big Meeting
8 Philosophy of Vintage Approach to Criticism
9 2006 races my own Responsibility
10 madness the last straw

 

©2007 SIEGE