Tilden Regional Park
Date: (Sun.) Feb. 27, 2011
Location: Berkeley, CA
Event Director: 
Course Setters: Jonas Kjall, Jim Fish, Angela Hunter
Type: B; Standard seven courses, beginner through advanced
Event Director's Notes
By
Come out to the first B-meet BAOC has had in over 4 months (our last B-meet was Briones in October) next Sunday, February 27, at Tilden Park in Berkeley. Jonas, Jim, and Angela have designed some excellent, challenging courses that have a nice mixture of long legs with route choice, shorter more technical legs, and multiple changes in direction. The map is excellent, and the terrain, is, well, let's say, challenging. That's BAOCese for steep. But the ground should be soft with the recent rains, and the nasty vegetation with stickers and burrs is still dormant. Even the poison oak is still fairly dormant, but the stalks can still cause a rash, so take the usual precautions.
Jay Hann is doing a trial run on the type of food he plans to offer at the Interscholastic Champs at Pacheco Pass in April. Free food, including hot dogs, are always a big draw, so come on out and pig out. He is also going to set up his TV that runs a short video for beginners, similar to what he did at Bayfront Park.
Because we have to use OE2010 for electronic punching (EP) at the Interscholastic Champs A-meet in April, we will need some practice using it. OE2003 was the software that we used for electronic punching for years until we started exploring easier methods of using EP. However, OE2010 is a new version. So true to our modus operandi for the last 2 years with EP, we will be using still another different format. Please go to the EP tent after registering and get entered in the EP database before you go out on your course. It is not absolutely essential, but it makes the download process run much smoother (particularly since this is a new version of the software, and we may be hunting for the right button to push), and also we have a better idea who is still out in the field at course closing time.
The course setters and vetter have said that there are a lot of ticks in Tilden. Wear long-sleeved pants and shirts, and do a careful tick search before or after showering. The tick that carries Lyme disease, the Western black-legged tick (Ixodes pacificus) is endemic in Tilden. It is a small tick, about the size of the head of a pin. If a tick has embedded itself in your skin, use a thin tweezers and pull it straight out. The earlier the tick is removed, the less likely you will be infected with the causative bacterium. You may want to place the tick in a small vial for identification later if desired. If you are a resident of Contra Costa County, Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control (http://www.ccmvcd.dst.ca.us/ticks.htm) will identify the tick for you free of charge if brought or mailed in. However, even if it is the species of tick that carries Lyme disease, only a small percentage of ticks are infected with the bacterium that causes the disease. More information about ticks and Lyme disease can be found in this file (PDF/48KB) (http://www.ccmvcd.dst.ca.us/PDF/TickTestQandA.pdf).
If you should develop a target-shaped rash over the next couple of weeks, that is generally considered to indicate that you have contracted Lyme disease, and should see a physician for appropriate treatment with antibiotics.