General Discussion Triathlon Talk » TinFoil Man Cancelled Rss Feed  
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2014-09-16 6:51 AM

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Subject: TinFoil Man Cancelled
I just received an email saying that the Tinfoil Man was cancelled due to safety concerns. Apparently there was a new bike course laid out because of the street car and now the new route has been declared unsafe. Score another one for the City of Tucson.
I know the obvious answer to this is money but I find it hard to believe that Austin TX can put on a Tri for 1300 people using a 2 & 3 lap, 16 and 24 mile course through the downtown area of the Texas Capital but Tucson can't accommodate a 3 lap course for 12 miles.
So much for the gold and/or platinum ratings that Tucson has received for it's cycling infrastructure.


2014-09-16 11:55 AM
in reply to: dloehrs

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Subject: RE: TinFoil Man Cancelled
This is very sad. I agree that it seems odd that the city of Tucson can't make this happen. I sure hate to see this triathlon series canceled with all the history behind it. Let's hope something can be worked out.
2014-09-17 9:37 AM
in reply to: dloehrs

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Subject: RE: TinFoil Man Cancelled
Here is a bit of an email that went through the city after my inquiry. According to the city, if everything that follows is true, it is the organizers fault that the TinFoil Man didn't happen. Quite a different perspective from the original cancellation announcement.


Albert,

There are a number of reasons that this has been canceled:
1) The promoter has delayed developing a new route until the last minute which has not given ample time to work on getting the costs down
2) They moved the date to the same day that the A Mountain half marathon has historically been held - this has cut into their registration (registration for this event was also started several months later than normal)
3) The promoter was recently hit by a pick up truck while riding his bike, which has also complicated his ability to work out details of the new route.

This triathlon has historically held the bicycle portion of the race on the right lane of Campbell, Broadway, Euclid, and Speedway in a clockwise direction. We have been talking with the organizer for over a year about the need to relocate that portion of the route because it crosses that street car tracks at Euclid and University. We have indicated that we are willing to use the old route with the understanding that bicycles would have to yield to the streetcar when it was in that intersection.

The event actually happens twice a year, and while the promoter was aware of the need to change the route, he has not been willing to do so - to the point that he moved the date up this summer to beat the Street car testing phase in order to keep the old route. He then applied in August for the October event, but did not confirm a new route until late August. The barricade quote came in yesterday and he announced cancellation before discussing other options that could be considered.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Chris

>>> Albert Elias 9/16/2014 3:07 PM >>>
Chris,

Please provide some background information on this event and how it was impacted by the streetcar. Thanks

Albert
2014-09-17 9:58 AM
in reply to: dloehrs

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Subject: RE: TinFoil Man Cancelled
Two sides to every story. I assume this was Jim Stites that was hit while on a bike ride? I hope he is OK and does not have long term injuries. All very sad. The city idea of having bikes yield to the street cars during the race does not sound like a good idea at all. I don't know how often those cars run but that just sounds dangerous. I really hope things can work out for next year.Thanks for posting this! I was curious what the city had to say about all of this.
2014-09-28 10:27 PM
in reply to: desertchica

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Subject: RE: TinFoil Man Cancelled
Can't they move the event to another area of Tucson? I've never done the event, but most areas of Tucson seem very bike friendly (lots of bike lanes or wide shoulders).
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