Saturday and Sunday are great temperatures with Saturday being a little cooler for a high of 81 degrees.
Sunday is currently forecasting strong North Winds 15-20 mph for the initial miles and tailwinds for the latter half of the race.
Will monitor to see if Saturday is any better -
Some breeders are still contending with cherry picking birds to pay for entry fees even after they told me they had the entry fees sent on 15th April -
Simply put: ALL ENTRY FEES MUST BE PAID 10 DAYS PRIOR TO THE FINAL.
This means any bird in the loft as of April 14th MUST HAVD ENTRY FEES PAID - regardless of status on the ACD 240.
That's all I am going to say on Entry Fees at this point - we will have MUCH less talk and more ACTIONS to take after the race completes. This race is a registered business and A debt will be treated as such ~~!!!
Best regards
Steve F>
Message me for a list : 4802154255
I am not going to embarass anyone - participating in our race is optional and courtesy is the right thing to do especially you got to see your birds perform for 3 races (120-140-180). Activation fees has always been on the honor system - they were due "10 days before the Final" (not after the 240, not 5 days before the Final, not after the Final, etc) If for some reason, you did not want to activate - a courtesy message would have been nice. We have been very laid back on running down people for perch fees, etc - that is not our style. Due to the toughness of this Arizona desert environment, we allow folks to send an extra bird at no perch fee if a replacement is needed. We have not charged either for replacements sent after later missing birds returned. The big races will hound you down and make threatening demands for those extra perch fees.
Grant it, the ACD 240 was a tough one - but all birds that were basketed for that race needs to be paid. Some were playing games, saying funds sent, etc.... waiting to see their birds perform in the ACD 240 - never actually sending funds...
This is a hobby for me that I make affordable due to the fact that I am racing locally on the same course and training my own team heavily in the same timeframe (Feb - April) - means that training costs are reduced expenses and I can afford to offer low perch fees. I also get feed in at wholesale prices as I sell feed and supplies - even trimming costs more for the OLR. We will continue with this model - low key, low cost, no frills race ~!
Well - this is not how we envisioned that the ACD 240 would go ~! This almost seemed like a final race - with separation. These birds definitely got the wing time today - and have gone down for water and due to heat. Congrats to the two birds on the 1st drop and the next 2-birds that were right behind. In retro, we should have shortened this race to 200 miles based on the rapid warm up from 61 to 87 and winds that offered no help. A lot of the birds flew off the line of flight to the south of us behind the mountains - as witnessed by our visitors that saw birds coming from the South East.
The birds were in great shape - so hopefully we should see the majority of them back once it cools down and early in the morning. We will sign off here shortly to attend to Easter family committments - and will upload the later arrivals tonight after dark.
ACD 240 will pay by clocking order:
1. 300
2. 300
3. 300
4. 300
5. 300
Final Race payout and Average Speed payout will be posted when all entry fees are in physically.
We will decide what to do with the unpaid entries shortly and those who have not communicated that entry fees are on the way !!
At this time (looking at forecast as of Friday evening), Monday will be the hottest day of the week at 97 for a high - so the best option is to have the next race on Sunday where the birds will arrive into 80 degree temperatures - this seems to be the best scenario especially with the faster speed and wingtime of the last race.
Following that, It will warm up next week starting Monday to 97 and then cool down by the weekend for a high of 81 - which should be perfect timing for the Final Race.
Keep those entry fees coming in - or communication that they are on the way! I cannot publish a prize list without guarantee of funds in ~~!!!
Best decision to move race from Sunday to Today - from temperature abnormal highs of 97 over the weekend to a release into light winds and 48 degrees and on arrival calmer winds and temp 62 today - the birds went up high and came high. The overnight lows were 41 in the Valley - makes a big difference ~!
The 1st group of 50 came on-line way up high from the West - the next big group was a couple minutes behind from the opposite direction SouthEast and behind the mountains - they clearly overflew to the South of us and joined with the 1st group and made their way down to the boards. That 2nd group clearly had faster speeds to overfly and come from the opposite direction at roughly the same time. Most of the birds are home - expect the stragglers to trickle in.
We will rest up tomorrow and start the prep routine all over again- and get one or possibly two short conditioning tosses (40 miles or less) before the next race.
Aside: The winds have calmed down from yesterday where we did fly the delayed Federation race (from Saturday -> Tuesday) from 535 miles - blessed to have 1st Club, possibly 1st Federation, and hopefully 1st Ace In the Hole Money Race and 8 home so far. These birds are on the same regimen/loft flying/training as the OLR - and serve as a way for me to gauge/compare/tweek the conditioning of both lofts.
We cancelled today's toss due to strong NW winds at the release point - and have decided to basket later for the ACD 180.
ACD180 will probably be fast - we don't like but it has been 8 days since last race.
Tentative schedule based on current wind situation.
ACD 180 - Wed April 13th
ACD 240 - Sunday 17th or Monday 18th (depends on how easy or tough for the delayed ACD 180)
ACD Final - Sunday 24th.
Entry fees of $325 are due this week. Entry fees are due 10 days before the Final Race.
Paypal: stephenfurlonge@yahoo.com
Zelle: 480-215-4255 (Arizona Classic Derby - Stephen Furlonge)
Mail: Stephen Furlonge 965 E Desert Lane, Gilbert AZ 85234
We cancelled basketing last night due to the strong winds overnight and supposed to pick up again mid-morning.
Wind Forecast seems to be wrong as it is currently less than 10 mph SouthWest right now. We will loft fly today and pick the next best day.
Tentative schedule (dates can move depending on weather and next race)
ACD 180 - next best day
ACD 240 - Saturday 16th/Sunday 17th
Final - Saturday 23.
Entry fees of $325 are due this week. Let me simplify it - Entry fees are due 10 days before the Final Race.
Zelle: 480-215-4255
Well - we are 12 degrees above normal pushing to 95 degrees. Typically this time of year is perfect pigeon racing weather with highs in low 80's. So we are holding for the ACD 180 mile race. The choices are Sunday or Wednesday and we will update Saturday evening. The cooldown starts Sunday but with that comes the winds....
Sunday - we have a 50% chance for racing due to temperatures and winds at 11 am that are not ideal.
Monday - no chance of racing with extremely high winds when the birds are due home.
Tuesday - 20+ mph tailwinds
Wednesday - light tailwinds - may be our best chance even though it will be fast.
In the meantime - we will continue with the short tossing and loft flying.
Birds did well today - no surprises - as expected with the light tailwinds SW and West winds around 5-8 mph under cool temperatures from 59 at release to about 68 when the first group showed up. The real challenges start with the ACD 180 as we cross the river -
Considerations for next race: the weather for upcoming Friday-Saturday is above normal with expected mid 90's and following with very windy conditions Sunday-Monday for the cool down. At this point, the only sane choice is next week Tuesday and Wednesday with REALLY NICE temperature ranges 48 to 68. We like to keep maximum 7 days between races - But we will monitor daily and continue our short training regimen 40-55 miles to keep the birds tuned up. Lately with Arizona weather you never know - it's only Monday and by Friday we will make the decision ~!
