Admittedly I always am at the back of my group but I thought the race was fantastic. If that course was any bumpier than the most recent years Local Ride "pumpkin cross" races in the equestrian park I would be surprised (and that is a great race as well). Again maybe things are different if you are going way faster.
Years ago I came out to race cyclo-cross after racing triathlons. Two different worlds in terms of organization. It seems many people would have a better time if they lowered their expectations. For a bunch of people willing to ride around and possibly wreck multiple thousand dollar bikes cyclocross races are cheap (compared to many other forms of entry level organized racing) and the cost effectiveness shows.
Races are usually club organized (and many times only one person in a club) with help from multiple volunteers and/or low paid staff that have never done their tasks before creates an environment that is bound to be slow and some what disorganized. In my mind this is what $35 races are like and likely always will be like.
Everyone Saturday that spoke to me that was pissed off seemed to want to show up last minute as in their mind the drive out was "too far", not wait in line, have bathrooms closer, and race on a muddy technical course. Sunny, difficult, different, and new seemed to be lost on everyone.
Maybe the hidden message of showcasing the sport through this race could have been spelled out better. I hope someone else noticed two older Redline shirt wearing guys wandering around. You think they possibly worked for Redline bikes and wanted to check out what cyclocross was like in BC while they were 1000 feet away with their BMX team trailer at the UCI BMX Worldcup race?
They were likely not the only manufacturer people who took a look. I have to guess that some additional exposure to our sport was some of the race promoters reasoning to race in grass under the powerlines next to the BMX race. Thanks Cycling BC for that.
That being said Cycling BC seems to have an odd internal working that I don't understand except to think must be budget related. Race promoter Erich seemed to be busting his ass. Commissionaires always do the liability limited role I expect them to (There must be a big rule book that structures their fun level as well as the decision making process from going outside of their limits). From the outside looking in the rest of the organization seems very cumbersome. It seems someone else always is needed to get a task done and I am unsure if that person even exists.
Jeff that is a sad story as your race in Aldergrove was wicked fun and was well done.