Just received three dozen photos taken during the 2009 BikeMS Valero Alamo Ride to the River event on October 3rd, from Joe KA1MZY, the guy who helped provide us with some of the video footage that we incorporated into the long feature length video (33 minutes). His YouTube.com ID is “Texas700″ and I encourage you to check out his videos…
Here are his photos, mostly from BP#2, BP#4 and Lunch BP…
I’ve finally completed the promised full length video that covers both days of the 2009 Valero Alamo Ride to the River, from start to finish.
This video includes footage from 1 other ham, Joe KA1MZY, used to fill in some gaps where I was unable to be in two places at one time. It contains “live, unedited” audio tracks from the ham radio featuring traffic between SAG vans and with Net Control.
I also knew that I had “skipped” taking photos at BP #1 and BP #3 for some reason. So I found some photos from the LaVernia United Methodist Church’s website for BP #3 (they were the host location for the BP) and have included a few of them in the video.
By Milton Johnson – N5HMJ
The structure of the BikeMS Amateur Radio volunteers has changed over the last two years, without really changing. What does that mean?
In 2008, the final year of the Bike to the Beach, we had 81 Amateur Radio Volunteers not counting the Motor Marshalls who have their own organizational structure. This year we had 64 volunteers. Any school of management will tell you that a group that big is too large to effectively manage.
Fortunately, the group has informally functioned around teams, and beginning last year we formalized the teams with team leaders which this year broke down as follows:
Coordinating and organizing these teams was the task of KG5QW, K5SUZ and N5HMJ.
I did a quick search on YouTube.com for MS150 and 2009 Valero Ride to the River, 2009 BikeMS, etc. and found lots of videos shot during our event by hams and participants. Below are a collection of some of the better ones I found.
Search for videos by Texas700, 33Chuey, and MrRamosDesigns. These three seemed to have lots of videos from our event. 
Enjoy!
This video (4:52) was shot by Texas700 from BP #3 on Day 1
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More videos follow….
Some of the crazier hams like to be Motorcycle Marshals on the BikeMS events, and Don W5DK, found a way to mount a camera on his helmet while he rode his Honda Goldwing during the event. This 5 1/2 minute bit of footage was taken during the storm toward the end of the course on Saturday. You can see the rain coming down hitting him and the camera, and see the lightening strikes zapping the camera. The first minute or so has no sound, but the rest of it has the sound of the rain and motorcycle noise.
Thanks Don and the rest of the M&M’s for being out there with us making the event safer for all the participants!
Here is Don’s original version…
…and here is the version I “fixed up” for him afterward…
Here is the video you’ve all be waiting for. The video is about 9 minutes in length, with some narration and sound tracks left untouched. Some titles added to explain what is going on, or to inform the viewer about all the work the ham radio operators are doing. Would have liked to have included some photos or video of the ground to air lightening strikes at the Finish line, but we’re working with what I shot myself.
I inserted only a few still photos in the video, but not many, so if you want to see the photos, please visit the earlier posting made to this blog. I’m willing to post more photos taken by other hams, if they send them to me. <hint, hint>
Here is the video, courtesy of YouTube.com where it is hosted.
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In the beginning there was a plan, and the plan was deemed good! Then Mother Nature decided to change the plans, and that’s where the flexibility and training of the BikeMS ham radio operators came into play.
My original assignment was to be SAG7 and supervise 3 other SAG vans (SAG #2, #14 & #25) for special duty between the Day 1 Start Line at the Alamo Dome and the entrance to Ft. Sam Houston base. When that was done, we were to pop up to Sattler, TX and get staged for the River Road segment of the route.
I was not originally supposed to be the “Turtle” bringing up the rear, but due to last minute changes on the route, the ham (Lyle KB5BSU) who was supposed be “Turtle” after marking the course with signs, got busy relocating signs to mark the new route and never made it back to the Alamo Dome in time for the start. Then the Safety Officer declared River Road to be unsafe due to flooding in the area, and closed that segment of the route completely, shutting down BP6, 7 and 8 in the process. (BP6 and 8 were actually the same BP, but rider were to pass thru twice.)
So that is how SAG 7 became the defacto “Turtle” to bring up the rear of the bike riders. We had quite a few riders ride past the Alamo itself, only to decide they really didn’t want to ride in the rain all that much. So they poised for photos of themselves in front of the Alamo, called their friends to come pick them up, and the Turtle moved on, looking for more riders needing help. SAG #14 found a rider under the bridge at Broadway and IH-35 needing a flat changed, and SAG #25 picked up a couple of riders asking to be taking direct to BP1 for bike repairs. SAG #2 decided to turn left into the base, instead of right to go around the base, but fortunately for him, the guard decided to let him and his wife drive their SAG van thru the base instead of shooting them instead.
The first BikeMS: Ride to the River is over and it was quite the event. As you all know, Saturday started with rain and it continued all day. The weather deteriorated all day forcing a multitude of changes such as the closure of the River Road Century Extension, the move of the Lunch location, the move of Breakpoint 4, and the re-routing of the course into New Braunfels.
All of these major changes were forced after the start of the ride and all of them were made very smoothly. These changes went smoothly in no small part to you, the Amateur Radio operators. You reported to your locations on-time and prepared to provide communications.
The flexibility of the Amateur Radio community is it’s hallmark and you proved that again this weekend. My thanks to the Breakpoint Operators, the Shadows for the officials, the medical team and safety team. By providing essential communications under adverse conditions you helped to make this ride both successful and safe.
As Saturday’s weather continued to worsen with extreme rain, fog and ground lighting strikes, the ride was cut short. The SAG and Motor Marshal Teams were fantastic, getting hundreds of riders off the course in these extreme conditions. Read the rest of this entry »
I thought that might get your attention!
BikeMS Valero 2009 Ride To The River is needing a few more reliable hams to serve as police shadows during the upcoming BikeMS event on October 3rd and 4th. You get to ride in the front (passenger) seat of a police patrol car for this 2 day event, operating your ham radio and passing instructions to/from the officer via Ham Radio Net Control.
All BikeMS volunteers must pass a background check for criminal and driving records, but you won’t want to volunteer to get in your assigned patrol car if you have outstanding warrants, or the 2 day trip might get longer. Fortunately for us, the majority of hams in our area don’t generally worrry about warrants, since they tend to keep their noses clean (legal wise at least). I don’t personally know of any hams that would be affected by this background check.
What would you need in order to volunteer?
During their April 24, 2009 meeting of the members, the San Antonio Repeater Organization (SARO) was presented a plaque in recognition of the club’s service in support of the BikeMS Bike to the Beach event held last October.
Tony Ralf KE5ZT (National MS Society) presented the plaque to SARO club president Erik Olsen WB5ZJQ during a special presentation at Martha’s Mexican Restaurant.
© 2008 Lee Besing N5NTG - San Antonio, TX
Contact us at 210-771-7075 or send your questions to e-mail info@sanantoniohams.org.
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N5NTG | 
10 19th, 2009| 
