[conspire] OT: What I wanted to do but was prohibited to do, is now cancelled

[Rick Moen]

As some know, I had a quite signficant medical thing done at the end of
January, during the run-up to which my doctors said 'Absolutely no' when
I said I nonetheless hope I'd surely be able to do my annual 100 km
bicycle ride on Saturday, March 14th as part of the Solvang Century
(an event that starts in the quaint Danish town of Solvang in the Santa
Ynez Valley[1]).

Well, look here:



 PLEASE READ THIS EMAIL

   2020 SOLVANG CENTURY, METRIC, HALF & QUARTER CENTURY CANCELLED
   Despite our vigorous protests and objections, the Santa Barbara County
   Health Department Chief cancelled our permit at 6:05 pm this evening to
   host this event

   We are most sorry to make this announcement and for any inconvenience
   this may cause you.

   If you ordered any merchandise this year, it will be mailed to you in
   the next 2 - 3 weeks.

   We will send out another email in a few weeks once we figure out what
   we will do next.


   BBQ Luncheon, Cold Beer Garden and DJ Music with Raffles and Cycling
   Expo  [RM: This is down-converted from HTML, so foregoing is probably
   captions of some images.]

   Stay well!

   Randy Ice PT, CCS
   Ride Director
   2020 Solvang Century, Metric, Half & Quarter Century
   BikeSCOR.com
   (800) 548-4447 (SCOR Office)


They're kind of hoppin' mad, to have their major annual event canceled 
by county authorities 1.5 days before show time.

There's nothing about a large recreational bicycle ride that requires
people grouping in limited spaces, and to a large degree the whole 
idea is to _not_ do that.  So, one might imagine Santa Barbara County 
imposing strict rules about management of the ride's start and stop zone
in downtown Solvang -- but evidently the county couldn't be bothered and
just said 'Denied'.

http://www.bikescor.com/


I'm feeling... conflicted?  I was a bit put out about missing the fun,
and now nobody having that fun doesn't make things better except in the
'If I must suffer loss, then others should, too' sense.

Anyway, reset your clocks for Solvang Century 2021.



[1] Best known to general audiences as the setting for the movie
'Sideways', FWIW.  Ronald Reagan's ranch was nearby.