I spent the morning taking part in a public service event. The French Creek Iron Tour is an annual cycling event that benefits the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust. This year was the 20th running of the event.
Chester County ARES-RACES provides communications support for the event, and it’s one of our larger public service events. Besides providing a crew at the start/finish line, we have operators at five rest stops and in seven roving support vehicles. APRS is used to track the locations of the support vehicles, allowing Net Control to dispatch them efficiently to assist riders experiencing problems.
This year, my assignment was at a rest stop in historic Yellow Springs, Pennsylvania. I’ve been at this location for the past several years, and it’s become my favorite assignment. This rest stop is the first one to open for the event, so after a quick stop for coffee and a breakfast sandwich, I was onsite bright and early.
The day started off with some heavy downpours. I hunkered down in my truck, and the rain pounding on the roof made it hard to hear the radio. Fortunately for the riders, the rain stopped by mid-morning. Despite the initial rain and the wet road conditions, I didn’t encounter any downed riders or other major issues during my shift.
Although the weather could have been better, it was nice to work with the friendly volunteers at the Yellow Springs rest stop again this year. Kudos to my ARES-RACES colleagues who put in a long day supporting this event.
73, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 