News

As cyclists start getting the word that they have secured a coveted spot in the LOTOJA classic bicycle race, another group starts gearing up for race in September. 

For 20 years now,  Amateur Radio operators from Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, have been providing safety communications, first aid, and neutral wheel support for the 206 mile LOTOJA bicycle race, deemed the longest single day bicycle in America that is USCF sanctioned.

They are all volunteers, most all of them with no ties to cycling, and they donate over 2000 man hours for LOTOJA every year.  Why do they do it?  Ask any one of the 130+ volunteers with this group and you will hear a variety of answers.  For most radio operators, LOTOJA is the best event to really practice emergency communications, something Amateur Radio operators are know for after a disaster strikes.  For others it is the ability to provide service to the many cyclists and their families.  A few of the radio operators are cyclists or friends of cyclists and it is their way of helping out.  Regardless of the reason, the main goal of this group is to help the cyclists, their support crews, and their families have a safe, fun event.  Of course there is the part about being associated with one of the most thrilling events in the rocky mountain area.

The LOTOJA Communications Network

Providing support to race officials, cyclist, their families and their support crews requires the ability to communicate consistently along the entire race route.  LOTOJA travels through several mountainous regions where regular communications, including cellphones and public safety frequencies just do not work.   Amateur Radio is not magic, and it’s success in LOTOJA can be attributed to the skill of the operators, specialized communication equipment, volunteer commitment to purchase and maintain radios,  and the dedication of many individuals.   Mountain top radio repeater systems installed by Amateur Radio Clubs in the areas LOTOJA travels, play a key role in communication backbone.  As the race has grown and the race route changed, the entire communications plan and infrastructure had to be re-designed to meet the needs of the race.

Today the LOTOJA communications network consists of:

• 6 mountain top repeater systems
• 14 different radio frequencies
• cellphones
• text messaging
• 4 radio network control points (Smithfield, Montpelier, Afton, Teton Village),
• A radio vehicle tracking system (APRS),
• Skype,
• online databases,
• and of course the Internet. 

Portable radio systems (called repeaters) are taken up to the tops of mountains to fill in dead spots for communication, or to temporarily replace systems permanently installed but not operational. 

The nerve center for all of this resides in Teton Village, where several radio operators monitor the entire race, and can hear all of the radio traffic.  The race is divided into 4 radio communication zones (Cache Valley – Strawberry Summit, Bear Lake Valley, Star Valley, and Jackson- Teton Village) where a team of radio operators in each zone work with mobile and stationary vehicles to get radio traffic to where it needs to go.  Messages can be passed from zone to zone as needed, and accidents and other critical information regarding the race are recorded in an online database. 

What communications happen during race day.

You name it, it has been communicated.  Most common are accidents involving cyclists, getting an ambulance to the scene,  helping support crews located their rider, road hazards, rules clarifications, finding a wheel with the correct number of gears, logistics issues,  and even animals on the road.  If a cyclist breakes down, a call can be made even out of the cellphone dead zones to find the support vehicle.  Communication with state transportation departments, public safety officials happen as well. The race director and lead race official have a radio operator ride with them so they know exactly what is going on anywhere in the race, and can jump in to solve problems.

One year, a child of a cyclists support crew was accidently left in Alpine, but the communications quickly got up the canyon, the support crew located, and the child and parents quickly united.  In fact there is so much radio traffic during LOTOJA, prioritizing it has become the key and a challenge.  All this is in addition to duties on the road to provide neutral wheel support, first aid, and information at FeedZones.   Another key has been the flexibility of the operators to adapt to various situations that have been thrown and the event on race day.  The start and finish points are known, along with the race route, but what happens between the start line and finish line is anyones guess and is never the same from year to year.

Neutral Wheel and First Aid support

With a 1000 cyclists, and their support crews and families, it is impossible to have support crews follow their cyclists.  That would be over 1000 vehicles on the same road as the cyclists.  LOTOJA provides neutral support, that is a support crew in a vehicle that leaves with each pack of riders from Logan, carrying wheels, tubes, tire pumps, first aide kits, blankets, and water to support the cyclists along the route.  The radio operators provide this support too, and the communication network is what makes it possible to provide the support needed for LOTOJA.

Planning for LOTOJA

Just like cyclists train for LOTOJA, Amateur Radio operators plan and train for LOTOJA all year long.  In addition to LOTOJA, Amateur Radio operators train with year long activities and by helping with events such as Bike the Bear, the Bear 100, Little Red Riding Hood, The Top of Utah Marathon, and many others.  Amateur Radio Operators also participate in weekly communication exercises called Nets, where they get on the air and "check-in."  Some train through a group called ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) to be able to assist their local communities during emergencies and disasters.  During the 2011 flood season in Cache Valley, Amateur Radio operators provided communications during sandbagging and round the clock flood watches, working hand-in-hand with CERT, along with City and County officials.

The real planning for LOTOJA starts around May of each year and involves a team of 12 individuals who work closely with Brent Chambers of LOTOJA to make sure the needs of the race are being properly met by the neutral and communication support vehicles.

Yes, they are all volunteers.  They are called Amateur Radio operators, but they are not amatuer by any means.  They are communication professionals with a radio and wireless network that rivals anything commercial.  They do it for fun, to be prepared, and as a service to their community. 

Here is hoping that all the cyclists and their families have a safe and enjoyable LOTOJA 2011.  We look forward to helping out.

Technical and other Information

Neutral wheel and communication support is organized and coordinated by Amateur Radio Operators belonging to the  Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club in Cache Valley Utah, and includes radio operators from the Bear Lake Emergency Amateur Radio Service in Montpelier Idaho,  Star Valley Wyoming, and the Jackson Hole Amateur Radio Club in Jackson Wyoming.   In addition a few radio operators from the Wasatch front and even Arizona assist.  BARC works closely with Brent Chambers of LOTOJA to plan the support for each year.

Mountain Top Repeaters and frequencies:

146.720 MHz  Mnt Logan, Utah

146.800 MHz  Sedwick Peak, Idaho

147.380 MHz  Monpelier, Idaho

145.250 MHz  Salt River summit, Wyoming

147.390 MHz Black Mountain, Wyoming

449.350 MHz BARC portable repeater (used as a backup as needed)

146.910 MHz  Jackson Hole, Wyoming (Snow King)

147.580 MHz Simplex

147.520 MHz Simplex

146.540 MHz Simplex

144.390 MHz,  APRS trackers and digipeaters  (Vehicle tracking and messaging system)

Other Techical information

The Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club would like to thank the owners, operators, and trustees of the mountain top repeaters along the LOTOJA Route.

Special thanks

Bear Lake Emergency Amateur Radio Club

Jackson Hole Amateur Radio Club & Mick Detmer

Teton County Sherrifs Office

Lincoln County Sherrifs Office and Amateur Radio club of Star Valley

Sedgwick Peak Amateur Radio Club

Brent Chambers, Race Director, LOTOJA Classic

For additional information contact Kevin Reeve, N7RXE    N7RXE@arrl.net or 435.770.0220

 some text

Introducing the BARC Ladies Net
 
Hello to all of the ladies of the Bridgerland Radio Club!

Today in club meeting I announced the start of a ladies' net to be held April 13th (Tuesday) at 8:00 p.m. (local time) using the Valley Floor Repeater 146.640 (minus 600 kHz with no PL tone). This net will be informal, so don't worry about making a mistake--we are all learning.

In the beginning, let's plan to meet on the air the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month to help us get used to using our radios regularly so we will be more comfortable if called on in an emergency. (This does NOT replace check-ins to the regular BARC Net held every Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. on the 146.720 repeater.) Please be thinking about other things you would like to do and learn. I have a few ideas (such as some activities we can do at the BARC Field Day), but want all of you to have input on what to do. 

I will be net control for the first few nets, but would like some of you to try doing it when you feel comfortable. I look forward to meeting all of you on the air, April 13th at 8:00 p.m.!

73 Shirley, AD7HL

One of our own Brent Yeates KA7FAP was intrumental in contacting Emergency Services durring a crash Wednesday December 2nd in Logan Canyon.
Here is a link to the story on the Herald Journal.
hjnews.townnews.com/articles/2009/12/06/news/news04-12-06-09.txt
Here is a link to the story on the Salt Lake Tribune.
www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13943897
And on the ARRL web site.
www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/07/11235/
 

Our November club meeting is the BARC Elections for officers and board members for 2010.  All positions are open:  President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Board member. Please consider running for a club office or serving on a committee.
All members of BARC are eligible to vote and run for office. Please keep an eye out for the November Ohm Town News for the ballots, club bylaws and instructions.
Kay Hargis, N7KH, will talk about his DXing experiences, QRP and minimal station requirements, QSL cards, Logbook of the World and other DX topics. He holds awards for #1 DXCC Honor Roll, DXCC Mixed, DXCC Phone, DXCC CW, WAS, WAC, 5BDXCC, and others. He operates on HF, VHF, and UHF, using CS, Phone and digital modes.
Be sure to attend our club meeting this Saturday to learn what DXing is all about.
As always, refreshments and visiting with friends.