First Event?

Maybe you haven't been to a Bright Orange Events Endurance Cycling Event before. Read on below for a full walk-through, it's just like being there, without the sweat!

• Arrival & Setup   
• Registration & Briefing
• Race Start
• Race Conduct, Timing & Transition
• Finish & Presentation
• Packing List

	Arrival & Setup Arriving People arrive very early (ok, to be honest, we wish people would arrive earlier than they did!). Some people really do arrive early, in fact – as some choose to camp the night before (check the individual race website to be sure camping is available at that location), and the option is always there to arrive and register the day before too. Registering the day before generally means you don’t have to arrive until the race briefing. If you do need to register yourself on race-day, we ask you do this as soon as you arrive, as we do cut the line off when registration closes to keep things running on time!		These riders have well and truly arrived, in fact it looks like they're waiting to race!
			Setup Space will be available for riders and teams to setup a “team area”. It is common practice for teams to bring small tents, pop-tents, tables, chairs, bike-work-stands, and in reality, anything else that they choose to lug along to make the day easier!. A solo-area will be allocated specifically for, you guessed it, solo riders. This area will, wherever possible, be on the edge of the track to allow for quick pit-stops for the solo riders.
	It's not about how pretty it looks, it's all about whether it works for you!

Registration & Briefing

	Registration Anyways – either way, people must register for the race. This is currently an individual process, each person being required to attend the registration desks and sign the disclaimer form, and in return for handing in a disclaimer for, riders are issued with a number plate. This plate will come with zip ties or twist-ties, and is to be attached to the front of your bike. Ideally, it’s attached to the handlebars over the front of the cables, as straight and flat as is possible. The “team captain” (nominally the rider registered as “Rider 1” for each team) will be issued with a team baton at registration. This baton is to be carried by any rider who is racing, and is to be exchanged in the transition area between team members.		Rego is never, ever this quiet - well except at 5:45am that is! Arrive early and avoid the queues.
	The masses awaiting the rider briefing at the 2005 Nzo 12 Hour at WSMTB Club		Rider Briefing Rider briefing generally occurs 30 mins before race-start, and the Race Director will explain all of the rules & conduct for the day, as well as any location-specific factors. There is always time for questions at the end of the briefing, and occasionally (but rarely) someone will ask something that falls into the category of “useful and informative”!  NB. At most races, we will head straight from the rider-briefing to the race start. All solo riders and the first rider for each team are to attend the rider briefing ready-to-race, ie. with bike, helmet, drinks, etc. Often the start may be up to 500m (or more) from the briefing area, so it is important for these riders to be completely ready to go.

 

Race Start   Race Start A start may or may not be a ‘le mans’ start. Endurance racing in Australia has traditionally been a Le Mans start, which involves starting off-the-bike and running to-the-bike. Bright Orange Events has been proud to instigate a change in this policy, and wherever possible our races are 100% mountain-bike! Occasionally local track conditions may force us to use a le mans start, usually in locations where the non-track area is quite small and the first sections of track are narrow. In these cases we’ll go with le mans to ensure that riders are appropriately separated before getting into the track.    Riders looking for their team-mates in a Le Mans start      You'll probably pass more people - or be passed by more people - in the first laps of the day     Le Mans Starts: Riders will line up their bikes behind the “Bikes go here onwards” sign, usually (but not always) on both sides of the track. It is customary for starting riders to arrange for someone from their team (solos usually find or make a friend quickly at this time) to hold their bike. Riders then head back to the start line, line up and await the starter’s instructions.    On-the-Bike Starts: Riders take their bikes and head to the designated start line, and await the starters orders. Please note: The start line, be it run or ride, is a hectic place to be. These races are not won or lost at the start, but you’d never know that from the way things always go!. We strongly advise that any new riders start towards the middle or back of the pack, which will give you an easier start and will mean a less hectic first lap. We always require junior riders to start at the back of the pack.

Race Conduct, Timing & Transition   Race Conduct The first lap, and maybe the first 2 laps, will always be more crowded than the rest of the race. Play nice with your fellow riders, and use common sense wherever possible.    Timing The timing tent will be located next to the track, just before the transition area. Traditionally, Australian Endurance Mountain-Bike events would force riders off their bikes, to walk through the timing area…. Some events still do!. We’ve changed the trend, and in a classic Bright Orange innovation, you will only be required to ride through the barricades which will slow you down anyways.   Please note: If the timing-staff call out to you – there’s something wrong – PLEASE stop and listen. At worst you’ll lose a few seconds if you stop – if you don’t – well you could lose a whole lap!    Timing is harder work than it looks, really!      Lisa Mathison, Olympian & dual Junior World Champion , has to wait for her team mates in transition with the rest of us   Transition After you've headed through the timing area, you have a choice: Continue riding and thus start another lap Transition to another rider in your team (assuming you're not a solo, of course!).  The transition area is where everything happens. There'll usually be dozens of riders "waiting for their rider to come in". At most of our events, we have music playing, and often an event MC keeping you up to date and giving away prizes too. To transition to your next rider, you simply find them, and hand them the baton. After they have the baton, they can start their lap.

The Finish & The Presentation   The Finish This is really, really simple, but we always manage to confuse people with this. Here’s the three things to remember: As soon as your team completes 1 lap, you will feature in the results. DNFs are only awarded to teams who fail to complete a single lap. You may, therefore, choose to stop at any stage after completing your first lap and still feature in the results. Your team IS ALLOWED to complete the lap in progress when the time ticks over to 8 (or 12, or 24) hours, and it will count towards your results. The team with the most laps wins. Should many teams finish on the same number of laps, the team finishing in the least time wins. Eg. If two teams finished an 8 hour with 14 laps, the team finishing first of those two teams will win.         The Presentation The presentation will occur approximately “one very long lap” after the finish of the race, to allow all riders to finish.

Sample "Packing List"   What to take? We've seen people bring everything from unicycles to satellite weather stations to our events, but in reality you'll be able to have plenty of fun without going to either of these extremes. Below is a list of things we feel may help you prepare for your event a little easier, feel free to let us know any tips, tricks or goodies we've forgotten to add to our list at info@brightorangeevents.com .         Absolutely Mandatory: Bike (don't laugh, we've seen people forget bikes) All bits you've removed from it to put it in the car (things like wheels and skewers often get left at home) Water Bottles or Hydration Pack (bring them full even though water will be available at the event) Helmet (Australian Standards Approved, of course) Bike Clothing (whatever you intend to ride in) Bike Shoes (as above) Bike Gloves (if you wear them) A pump and a spare tube or 3, tyre levers if required         Optional: A tent or pop-tent or shelter of some description Chairs A table Anything from a Multi-tool to a Full Toolkit Chain Lube & Bike Grease (perhaps with some Bike Wash or Degreaser too) Spare parts - if it can move it can break! A "track-pump" (much easier to use at the campsite than a hand-pump) A "workstand" or "bikestand" often comes in handy Food, food & more food Drinks Money - there's always food & drink on sale at the events, and often the bike shop will have some tempting specials too! Riding food (energy bars or gels, muesli bars) Zip-Ties (almost everything can be fixed with a zip-tie!) Baby Wipes (most mountain bike races are in dirty places, and while you may laugh, we never go anywhere without a good stock of baby wipes) Cooking equipment (camping-style equipment is common) A generator (quite common at events thesedays, depressingly enough!) The latest copy of your favourite mountain bike magazine Lights - for the 12 & 24 hour events, anyways. A minimum of 5w white front, a red flashing rear, and a backup white light of *any* kind.