Dear Rouleurs and Graveleurs,
It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the postponement of this year’s (November 8) Canyon Belgian Waffle Ride to May 2, 2021.
We know that this will come as an enormous disappointment, not only to the 4,000 riders who have signed up for the original event in May, but also the brands, industry professionals and local community who were due to attend the event. We also hope that this doesn't come as a big surprise, given the current situation in CA.
We have been working diligently with local health practitioners, city managers and state government officials to create safe ways for the event to be conducted, albeit in a much different way than in the past, with the Wafer being run on Saturday, the Waffle on Sunday, and a start window of two hours, which would have kept groups in small numbers. We spent a great deal of time and money developing a blueprint for conducting an event in this current environment. Alas, we share two overriding concerns with San Diego County, which have caused us to make this decision at this time.
First is the uncertainty caused by the fact that the case rate of Covid-19 in the county has been on the increase since schools opened up and currently is sitting at 7.9 (per 100,000). With such a high rate the ban on events of 50 people or more seems likely to be indefinitely in place.
Second, our primary concern is always the responsibility we feel towards the community; both riders coming from all over and the locals who reside here in San Diego. The event is simply too big -- even with our safety provisions and best practices in place -- to conduct safely.
Whilst only a short time ago we felt optimistic that November was far enough away to confidently proceed with the event, as it stands today we cannot wait any longer for more positive news. We will be deferring everyone’s registration to the May 2, 2021 date or riders can opt to participate in the Canyon Belgian Waffle Ride Cedar City on October 17, 2020...
For the Cedar City event, the situation is much different, for myriad reasons, which is why the City is so enthusiastic about the event. We are capping the event to a much smaller number, the plan we have developed with health Officials for San Diego is being implemented here with a blueprint for safety that transcends the mandates of the local health officials. We will not be hosting any indoor gatherings, registration/check-in will be touchless and socially distanced, riders will be spread out on the start in groups smaller than 50 and everyone must wear masks through the initial neutral zone and at all feed zones, as well as post event. We will be checking temperatures at registration and will be tracking riders for contact tracing purposes. All food will be individually packaged and feed zones will have self-serve options for hydration with race staff on hand to clean at every turn. Lastly, the nature of the course and its ruggedness will separate the already small start field into self-selected groupings of less than 10 riders almost immediately.
For riders who wish to transfer their registration to Cedar City 2020 or CC 2021, please follow the steps below. Note: Do this now to ensure you get in!
- Log in to Events.com by using the same email address used to register with its accompanying password.
- Click on the "Manage Registration" dropdown menu to "Edit the information".
We are just as disappointed as you regarding this development, but it is our hope that come next May for San Diego we will have a different reality; cases will be minimal, a vaccine will be readily available and the environment for large outdoor gatherings will be not only acceptable but truly safe for all the usual aspects of the Canyon Belgian Waffle Ride.
Riders can reach out to help@events.com if they are not able to transfer their registration and they need further help.
Dank U,
The BWR Crew