Introduction

Welcome to the 26th Annual Maumee Valley Tri-Adventure Race. YOU MUST BE WEARING HELMETS & GLOVES AT ALL TIMES. Before setting out you should make sure your number is clearly visible on the front of your shirt. There is only one number per team because team members are supposed to stay together at all times, even if there is a bike break down. Relay teams pass numbers on after each event. Before setting out, you should also have your picture taken. John Rider will do this. You will be able to pick up the picture at the Information Table before you go home today. While you are biking, follow the green arrows that have been painted on the road. There are also small white signs posted at most turns, telling you how many miles you have gone. There are 3 check points on the bike route, where you must stop and initial a clip board after your team number. These locations are marked on your map with the letter "C". The first one is in front of the Florida Village Library. We also have a man posted at a dangerous corner to direct traffic. There will be water at checkpoint 2 and 3. When you finish, lock your bike in your vehicle, or lock it to tree. The free food table will be open when you return from the 36-mile biking loop. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU CHECK IN WITH THE TIME KEEPER AS SOON AS YOU RETURN FROM THE BIKING LOOP. Before you start the 6 mike canoe/kayak leg put on your old shoes in case you get them wet while in the water. As you leave with your canoe or kayak, Tim Hamlet will write down your team number and the number on your boat. Since the river is in flood stage, everyone will be required to use the canal today. There are a few fallen trees to steer around, but it is easy to get through. Everyone must wear a life jacket, and it must be fastened. Those who do not will be disqualified. The canoeing begins a quarter of a mile east of here at the other park entrance. Park Ranger Jim O'Brien will be there to direct traffic. The canoeing ends at Gessner Park in the Village of Florida. When you arrive at Gessner Park, a young woman will write down the time you arrive, and a man will write down your boat number. Rental boats will be picked up by River Lures. If you are using your own boat, show the team number on your shirt as a claim check when you pick up the boat after the race. We are requiring everyone to pick up one piece of litter in the canal. There is a lot of litter. The young woman who writes down your time at Gessner Park will have a trash bag for litter. We have never had a boat stolen, but we suggest locking you boat to a tree if it is extremely valuable. You will probably want to change shoes before you start the 8-mile hike. You hike east from Florida, up a hill on Rt. 424 for 1 mile. A woman with a red car, Pat Gooch, will meet you where the hiking trail starts, and she will write down the time you arrive at that point. Be sure to fill your water bottle, and use the restroom before you leave Gessner Park, because the next water and restroom will be near the end of the hike at the 6-mile point. Please do your best to keep the restroom at Gessner Park clean. We don't want to wear out our welcome. We hope to have many races in the future. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU CHECK IN WITH THE TIME KEEPER AS SOON AS YOU RETURN FROM THE HIKING LOOP. A young man will have you get on the scales for a final weigh in at the end of the hike. You should only weigh 2 lbs. less than you did at the start. Before you go home go to the information table and pick up your team or solo photo in a frame. The free food table will also be open, if you are hungry. The T-shirt table will have T-shirts in many colors for $8.00. Larry Lindsay's book "Across", the story of a boy who bikes across the U.S.A. is available at the T-shirt table for $10.00. We also have a limited number of gloves for sale at the T-shirt table for those who forgot them at home. We will have a special trashcan near the information table for plastic beverage bottles. Please put all plastic bottles in this trashcan, so we can recycle them. Have a great race!