The 2016 BikeMS ride starting from San Antonio on October 1st is less than a month away from us now.<\/p>\n
We still need hams on Saturday to fill a few rest stop positions. Help!<\/p>\n
Hams are used on this ride for lots of positions.\u00a0 Hams are the glue that holds the event together on the day of event, actually 2 days of the event.\u00a0\u00a0 If you have APRS capabilities, please plan on using APRS.\u00a0\u00a0 Frequencies will be all on 2 meter repeaters, other than perhaps medical.\u00a0 SAGs may be using dual band, with the Scooter Net simplex\u00a0frequency on 440mhz. (Same frequency as prior years, same as used for the BPMS150 ride.)<\/p>\n
Hams are\u00a0 used for driving rental SAG Vans and trucks on both days<\/strong>, picking up riders from the side of the road and taking them to the rest stops.\u00a0 SAGs also take riders from rest stops up the line, sometimes to the finish line, if the rider had unrepairable breakdown of their bicycle, or they were just too tired to finish on their own.\u00a0\u00a0Although we don’t emphasize it much, we have had some serious accidents or injuries in the past where the ham equipped SAGs and Motorcycle Safety Marshals have saved the day.\u00a0 It’s a serious business, but we try to have fun while doing it.\u00a0 SAG assignments are for a 2 day commitment due to the nature of the rental vehicles.<\/p>\n Hams are needed for Shadow Positions, riding with medical units, police cars, event officials (think Tour Directors, etc.) and for Rest Stop communications.\u00a0 While we prefer 2 day commitments for these positions, we understand that some folks are only available for 1 day at a time.<\/p>\n At present time,\u00a0 Charlie says we mostly need rest stop hams for Saturday, but I think some shadow positions are still available. Enough SAG drivers have been lined up, but backups are always appreciated in the event someone has to drop out suddenly.<\/p>\n