2009 Public Service
2009 Statistics
Hours Served: 63 hours 50 minutes
Distance Driven: 612.9 miles
Distance Walked: 2.9 miles
Distance Biked: miles
Events
Make-A-Wish Ride 23
Date: September 27, 2009
Time: 5:45 - 14:30 (8 hours 45 minutes)
Location: Percival, IA
Another year, another Make-A-Wish Ride. I was at the same place I was last year (Water Stop 4), with the same set of boy scouts out of Nebraska City. Our ride was complicated due to some construction on one of the roads. Some riders rode through the construction, even though they weren't supposed to. Once the last riders passed my location (WS4 has riders coming from 2 directions and multiple distances. When they leave, they all go the same way) I was to follow the last riders to WS7, then on to Sydney, and then on to WS5. After we left WS5, we came across a brush fire. I didn't have my phone handy, it was charging in the back seat. I called on radio with priority traffic, and wasn't acknowledged immediately -- another ham had to chime in and tell the guy I was trying to call him. But eventually we got the fire department called and they raced to the scene. I didn't stop. I had to stay behind the riders and make sure they were okay. After a little bit, one of the riders (there was a group of 5) flagged me down, and explained to me that he was a "very experienced rider" and he was with his family and that he didn't need our support. He likely didn't have any idea at all why we were even out there. So I said goodbye to him, and zipped right on by. I caught up to Dar, W9HZC after a short detour in Sydney. Dar was following another pair of riders who were our last ones. Since he had that covered, I zipped on by him. I called net control and asked if he had another assignment for me or if I could release from the net. I released from the net and went home. Long day!
Distance Driven: 163.7 miles
Distance Walked: Not Recorded
Distance Biked: Not Recorded
Cornhusker State Games Bike Tour 2009
Date: July 25, 2009
Time: 6:00 - 16:30 (10 hours 30 minutes)
Location: Elkhorn, NE
Looking at my logs, I've worked this event before. Well, not really. They moved it this year, to Elkhorn, using many of the same roads used by other events I've worked. I'm starting to know this area! We (the Ak-Sar-Ben Amateur Radio Club) heard about this event kind of late. I guess the Lincoln club was covering every other CSG event but didn't want to do this one. Anyway. I was coming up from Lincoln because I was dog-sitting. This meant an extra-early morning for me, as I was scheduled to arrive at the event between 7:30 and 8:00. I left the house in Lincoln around 6, got some McDonald's, and some fuel, and got on the road. I radioed ahead to let net control know that I was leaving and that I had forgotten my map so I'd need a talk-in as I got closer. I was quite surprised being able to hit our 146.94 K0USA repeater from 56th and Hwy 2 in Lincoln! I had an uneventful drive through Lincoln, Hwy 6, I-80, and Hwy 31. I turned on to Maple and with a bit of direction found where I was supposed to be. Mary N0TRK was net control back at the start/finish. She directed me to stay at the corner of Maple and Elkhorn to watch the bikes as they turn on to Maple. After a little of that, she directed me to head back to the start/finish and hang out there. I was a floater which means I'm around to help NCS do things. I'm a runner, and can take off to go handle things if needed. Well, the need never arose. I stayed and talked with Mary, and the president of the Omaha Peddlers the entire afternoon. It was a quiet net. No issues. A quiet radio means the event was well organized and going smoothly. But this was fine. I'd rather be out there and not needed than not be out there and needed. Maybe next year, I'll do this event on my bike.
Distance Driven: 106.7 miles
Distance Walked: Not Recorded
Distance Biked: Not Recorded
Babcook Memorial Bike Race - Day 2
Date: July 12, 2009
Time: 8:20 - 13:30 (5 hours 10 minutes)
Location: Elkhorn, NE
This was the actual race of the event. And what's this? I'm early!? I had thought that we were to be on our assigned points the same time as the previous day, but I was wrong. We were supposed to be there an hour later. So I was an hour early! No big deal -- I read some things for class and waited for the net to get started. I was at a point I had not been before, at 225th and State Street. It's at the bottom of a big hill that the racers come down, and when they do, they FLY! It's a really cool sight to see a pack of racers coming down the hill, and turn the corner right in front of you -- all without wiping out! A few laps went by, and clouds started to build. There was chatter on the repeater about a severe thunderstorm warning in Washington County, the one directly north of us. National Weather Service told us that it would slide off past us, but we'd get some wind and a little bit of rain. With the threat of things more severe, the organizers called off the event and brought everyone in. We were free to go back to the finish line after some time without any bikes going by, and a run of the course to make sure nobody was left out there. A few racers decided to finish the race, knowing that there wouldn't be any support for them out on the route. A majority of riders seemed to be okay with the event being called, especially with how windy it got.
Distance Driven: 48 miles
Distance Walked: Not Recorded
Distance Biked: Not Recorded
Babcook Memorial Bike Race - Day 1
Date: July 11, 2009
Time: 8:40 - 12:45 (4 hours 05 minutes)
Location: Elkhorn, NE
Was late getting out the door, and consequently, to my spot. The time trials had already started. I arrived late, but did get in position in time to see plenty of bikes. My only excitement was having to chase down a rider who was actually riding the route backwards. I don't know how he got to my point without getting turned around, as I was at more-or-less the half way point. I ran the route after a long time went by without any bikes, and caught up to the last rider. We started a convoy of about 4 hams following the last rider to the finish.
Distance Driven: 50.2 miles
Distance Walked: Not Recorded
Distance Biked: Not Recorded
MS Bike Ride 2009 - Day 2
Date: May 31, 2009
Time: 6:00 - 14:40 (8 hours 40 minutes)
Location: Lancaster, Saunders, and , NE
This day was much shorter than the previous day! This day was all about getting back home. There was to be a mass-start, and I'd catch up with any stragglers and bring up the rear. Well, more confusion of who the last rider was. This happened because I passed a guy who was sitting in the grass (with a bike) wearing an MS shirt just like I had on. I heard someone on the repeater chime in as bike mobile, and since we weren't far from the start, I thought that maybe he was a ham just on the route watching that corner. So I went by him and caught up to the last person on a bike. Nope. Had to turn around and follow the other guy for a while, who kept getting off his bike to walk. I knew he wasn't going to make it to the water stop, let alone Omaha. I radio'ed ahead and asked someone if they could offer him a lift to the water stop, or maybe even to Omaha. Bruce KY0Z pulled up along side him, and the guy took the offer. I followed Bruce to the water stop, and picked up my next "last rider" there, and followed her for a few miles until she got picked up by a friend who pulled up along side her. Found another rider, followed him into the last water stop, and then for a few miles after that until he got to the next water stop and decided to take the bus back to the finish. The next two riders who were the "last riders" at the next water stop (this would be water stop 2 on the route, out of a total of about 7 or so..) reported that they'd be leaving the course to bike to thier home in Elkhorn, and so they wouldn't be needing MS support... Okay.. pass them up, and find the next one. Found a determined female biker who rode on in to the finish. I was kind of proud of her... she got really tired there towards the end, but stuck with it and didn't give up. She came in to a bunch of cheering MS staff and volunteers. Someday, maybe that'll be me.
Distance Driven: 92 miles
Distance Walked: Not Recorded
Distance Biked: Not Recorded
MS Bike Ride 2009 - Day 1
Date: May 30, 2009
Time: 5:30 - 14:50 (9 hours 20 minutes)
Location: Douglas, Saunders, and La, NE
My first time doing the MS ride. I was to follow the last rider from the school to the 4th water stop. Well, before we even got to the first water stop, someone from the MS organization pulled along side the rider and picked him up and took him to water stop 1. Then there was some concerns from one of the hams on the route that there were two riders behind me. Uh, what? I followed the last rider permitted on the route, and didn't pass anyone, where'd those two come from? Eventually, things got sorted out and the last rider was deemed to be one of the Team Blue members. She was lagging behind the rest of her team, and they went ahead of her. After pedaling for a while, she came to a stop and I pulled up along side to see what's up. She said her bike was having issues. I got out and took a look at it. Her front brakes were engaged, and the lever didn't do anything. I called for help from The Bike Rack truck, which came along a few minutes later. After a few minutes, Kelly from The Bike Rack had not only the brakes fixed, but got the front set of gears working, too! We got back on the road at this point... this girl pedaling along, and me following behind in my car. We caught up to her team at water stop 2. I followed the whole team to water stop 3. One of the team members (I'm fairly certain it was the one with the misbehaving bike) broke away from the other two in the hilly part of the route. They pulled off to the side of the road after a few hills and asked if I could get a SAG vehicle to move them ahead as they were getting exhausted. I called ahead, and The Bike Rack truck was moving in our direction but was a ways away. I told them it was going to take a while for them to get there and thought that maybe I could go ahead and see how far water stop 3 is from where they are. It could be right over the next hill! Eventually, the consensus was to move forward to water stop 3. If we found the SAG vehicle before we got there, cool. If we got to the water stop first, cool, we can wait for the SAG vehicle there. Turns out we were only about a mile from the water stop, and it was mostly down hill! We got there the same time the SAG vehicle did. It was The Bike Rack truck, again. And after some encouragement from Kelly, the team pressed on to water stop 4 with me trailing behind. We got there after a short while, it was only 8 miles away. From there I went to Ceresco to await further assignment. After our last riders went through Ceresco, there was no further assignment for me with the riders heading on to Lincoln to get picked up by their radio club volunteers. With that, I went to my parents house to rest for the next day.
Distance Driven: 92 miles
Distance Walked: Not Recorded
Distance Biked: Not Recorded
Nebraska State Track Meet 2009
Date: May 23, 2009
Time: 6:50 - 17:30 (10 hours 40 minutes)
Location: Omaha, NE
Boy. This edition of the state track meet seemed REALLY HOT! It was about 90 or so, which in and of itself wouldn't be so bad, but it was slightly muggy, very few clouds, and no breeze. The beat down of the sun was only interrupted by the occasional cloud, and there's no place for shade out at discus where I like to be. It's even hotter inside Burke Stadium, and hotter still inside the press box where our net control sits. This event went rather well, though. I participated only on Saturday as I worked Friday morning and getting there mid-day isn't easy. During the middle of our second class of discus, our battery box started beeping. The 12v battery in a box that has an inverter that's used to power the Daktronics score board and controller. We tried to charge it up a little during a couple of the breaks between classes, and we did get some more life out of it, but not much. I think either the battery or the onboard charger is shot, if not both. This year had NO pages for Dave Dostal, who the discus event director (John Backus) usually has me try to page. In previous years, he's been mobile on a golf cart, with a cell phone that he can't hear ring when the cart is running, so he's been impossible to track down some years. But this year went really smoothly. A good event as always.
Distance Driven: 7.3 miles
Distance Walked: 2.9 miles
Distance Biked: Not Recorded
MS Walk 2009
Date: April 19, 2009
Time: 11:00 - 15:00 (4 hours 00 minutes)
Location: Omaha, NE
This is a backdated event. Why? Because the MS Walk occurred on a weekend I had a Crap Ton (tm) of things to do for school, so I didn't get a chance to come in here and write right away, and then forgot about it until KD0HCE who was with me on the event, reminded me that I still hadn't updated it! But it's not like much happened. Once you've done one MS Walk, you've done them all. I was stationed at a water stop this year -- just across from UNO on Dodge Street. I'm not normally put at water stops for the MS Walk, so it different having things to actually do for a change! KD0HCE was stationed just down the sidewalk from me at the pedestrian bridge. Being a new ham (and using my equipment) we thought having assignments close to each other would be a good thing, and it was. One thing the organizers did differently this year is that supplies were distributed to all water stops in advance. Once those supplies were gone, there weren't any more supplies back at the start/finish to restock with. If you needed more stuff, you'd have to get it from another water stop. I don't know who we have donating/purchasing the supplies, but man, it wasn't enough! Before my water stop got any traffic, there were previous water stops calling net control saying they were already burning through some of their supplies. I guess that's the big thing with these walks though. People expect there to be water along the way. This walk also has things like bananas and things at the water stops for people to eat. And of course, when they want water, they want a cup, too. Sometimes we can have plenty of water, and not enough cups! We eve had to tell people to hold on to their cups, not throw them away! Maybe someone needs to get MS Walk water bottles next year, or encourage people to bring their own. Seriously. I bring my own water when I work these events, why don't you? It's easy enough just throwing a few things into a backpack, and you're good to go. All in all, it was a good event, and I think KD0HCE got a good feel for how nets function. Public service events are good practice because there's not the same amount of pressure you can find on more structured/formal nets. Hey, learn by doing!
Distance Driven: 4 miles
Distance Walked: Not Recorded
Distance Biked: Not Recorded
Siren Test 2009
Date: April 11, 2009
Time: 9:00 - 11:40 (2 hours 40 minutes)
Location: Douglas County, NE
Headed out with Travis, KD0HCE, to sirens 407 and 408 in Douglas County, near Elkhorn, NE. It took me about 30 minutes to get from my dorm to 407, and we were plenty early. Travis and I chatted and listened to the net as we waited for the sirens to start. We had talked about me dropping him off at the second siren, so that we could get them both at the same time. I later decided that since I didn't know the area (and a safe place to watch from) that it'd be a bad idea since these things are so loud. So we did them one-at-a-time. Siren 407 went off as planned at 10 am, and everything looked good. I headed directly to 408 from 407, using the directions I had printed out the night before. We got into the neighborhood my map said I should be at, and there wasn't a siren to be found! We looked around for a good 20 minutes, and couldn't find it. We stopped and asked someone who was out in their yard if there was a siren any where near by, and she told us that there was one near a cemetery, and that we'd have to go around the neighborhood to get there. So we went out, and I found a way around, but didn't see a cemetery. I called net control and told them what was going on. They had no idea where this one was either. On my map, the siren didn't have GPS coordinates, so I brought my handheld GPS along so I could get them. Lot of good it did me now! After another search around the neighborhood, and another trek outside it, we found the cemetery, and a dark-painted siren! I walked up to it and the number painted on the box was indeed 408! We waited for the 11 am sounding to make sure it worked, even though we asked some visitors in the cemetery and they said the siren worked quite well! In the down time, I took the GPS coordinates and e-mailed them to net control to put into the database. The siren went off at 11 am, and everything checked out, so we were on our way home! KD0HCE even got some air-time today, and some valuable experience operating in a net! Not a bad first event!
Distance Driven: 49 miles
Distance Walked: Not Recorded
Distance Biked: Not Recorded