At This University this afternoon.

Cyclocross came to Medfield State Hospital last Saturday, thanks to Medfield resident Greg Bonnette, and apparently it went well.  See the ton of photos of the races, the costumes, and the sport at this site –

https://www.facebook.com/pg/IceWeaselsCometh/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1942072672557566

This email  to Kristine Trierweiler and John Thompson (Chair of the MSH Blds & Grounds Committee) came today from the organizers –

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Hi Kristine and John,

On behalf of the entire event team I wanted to express our thanks and gratitude to the town for your support (and patience). We’re pleased to report that there were no major issues and the event was an overwhelming success. We saw nearly 700 pre-registrations which translated to 550 starts (with some overlap between racers who participated in multiple categories) and we estimate that at any given point throughout the day there were several hundred racers and spectators on the grounds. This made the event the largest in it’s 11 year history, and we attribute much of that success to the venue.

We had no reported issues with dog walkers, no one came in contact with any of the structures, racers kept clear of both the overlook and the water tower, and there were no issues enforcing the 12PM tailgating rule. We were also pleased to encounter so many members of the local community that came out to spectate, even on such a chilly day. The feedback that we have solicited from residents, dog walkers and participants has been overwhelmingly positive.

We were fortunate to have cold temperatures and frozen ground following this abnormally wet fall season. This vastly diminished the potential for turf impact from the event. There is a short southern-exposed section in the front which saw full sun and became a little muddy, but in speaking with John Thompson during the event he felt this should recover very quickly with a little re-seeding in the spring. We will coordinate with John on that front to ensure we uphold our commitments to restoration.

We have also made several passes of the property over the last couple of days to make sure we caught every last thing, and we think it would be difficult to tell that a bike race happened there on Saturday.

During pre-registration Colin observed a an above-average volume of early commitment and felt comfortable in estimating that the event would turn a modest profit. Given that this is not the intent of the production, he suggested we make a donation to a local cause. After discussion we’ve selected the Medfield Foundation, and more specifically, the recently added rail trail campaign. We are still awaiting all expenses to come in, but hope to be able to donate somewhere between $1500 and $3000 to the MFi. In addition we’ve promoted the online donation page to the broader New England cycling community following the event and have observed a ~$9K increase in the donation counter since doing so on Sunday AM (this could also be coincidence – but we hope we had something to do with it).

In closing I would encourage the group here to provide us with feedback. If there is anything that needs further attention please let us know. Also, if the town supports it, we would like to inquire about reserving the grounds for Saturday 12/7/19.

Thank You,

Greg, Chip and Colin

This is an article my Dad wrote for The Atlantic in 1960, before the USA had Medicare and Medicaid, and the government was thinking of getting into health care for the elderly.  Lots of the same issues. –

How Good is Government Medical Care?