How do I get one of those cool MR340 paddles for the 2010 race?

Also,

On the MR340 web page, are there results for the race in previous years?  There seems to be a link, but I can not find any results.

Thanks!

Wally

I can't make the race now.  Can I get a refund? 

The registration everyone clicked through explains a refund policy of 50% up until April 15th.  After April 15th, there are no refunds.   Entries are non-transferable.

Here's the entry form for review:

http://rivermiles.com/?page_id=8

Here is 2009...(I'm looking for 2008, if anybody wants it)

Thanks for getting me on track.

Scott,

I have a question?

We recently lost one team member to a bad wing.

Can we substitute?

If we cannot find a third can we do the race as a team of two.

Thanks

Thanks for the info on the results.

I guess I should have clarified myself on the paddle request.  Is there a link or a place where I can buy one of those little paddles with the laser engraving of the race emblem and a place where you can put the members of your team and so on?

Thanks

Los Humungos wrote on 04/28/11 at 18:15:51:


Found it. Sorry, I could not find it off the merchandise page of the new website. Easy to find off the 2010 Merchandise thread on the forum
Thanks!

Our three man team is now a two man team. Any big deal to substitute another team member or change to the tandem division?

Hey Scott?  Something I have meant to tell you about from last year.  I was continuing past Cooper's Landing at dusk and by myself paddling along.  Suddenly I was surrounded by a lot of gunfire.   I had no idea what was going on, or if I would be seen well-enough by whoever was firing.  In my home state, we do paddle during hunting season but we take care to wear the right colors to be seen.  What I did was turn on my headlamp strobe and boat spotlight to make sure if the shots were from hunters they'd know boats were going past.

Later I caught up to some locals, who explained there was a shooting range around that point.  Is there a way we could find out where that is and let people here know?

Nope. --West

If you stick with the river and follow the channel from the mouth of the chute to the confluence where it re-joins the river, you've traveled about 3.4 miles.  If you decide to take the chute, an "optimal" path takes you about 2.2 miles if you start and end from identical points.

Let's say you average 8mph on the river.  So the river path will take you 25.5 minutes.  Yes, that's all, meaning that's the maximum possible time you can save at 8mph (if you have a teleporter).  Taking the chute at 8mph, on the other hand, will take you 16.5 minutes.  You may think that means you can save 9 minutes by taking the chute.

However...

You have to survive the waterfall and stay upright while keeping your supplies (such as the light you'll be using if you're near the head of the pack) inside of your boat.  You really don't want to lose your light in the Bottoms.

You have to find a "channel" that is deep enough to take you continuously through the chute.  The chute isn't managed like the river is, so there's no guarantee of a channel.  On the contrary, you're likely to find sandbars, mud, overturned trees, logjams, boulders, or whatever other hazards might find their way into the chute.  And Asian carp love low, shallow, slow-moving water.

In the chute, you have to maintain 8mph in dead water (i.e., there's no Missouri River current in the chute, it flows more slowly than the river).  If it costs you even 1mph to take the chute, it will cost you much of your advantage...  It's 19 minutes to get through it at 7mph, so your 9-minute advantage has been cut to 6.5 minutes.

In order to save 15 minutes going equal speeds through either route, you'd have to average 4.8mph, yielding 42.5 minutes the "slow" way and 27.5 minutes the "fast" way - Which in today's river means you'd have to paddle upstream to go that slow in the channel.

If you get stuck, getting out of your boat will land you in a swampy marsh that will surely suck away any advantage you may gain.  And if your boat is disabled by any of the hazards, you should bank on NO ONE finding you.  In fact, one of the people who got stuck couldn't even figure out what direction to go to get out.

If anyone tells you that they've saved a significant amount of time by taking the chute, I would be willing to bet they're exaggerating.  Regardless, I personally don't think the risks are worth it.  If you're one of the top 5% boats in your division, you're not saving time by "shooting the chute".  You can save just as much time by reducing each checkpoint by about 60 seconds.  It may be an interesting weekend adventure, but probably not something to try if you're near the lead.

Hope that helps...