The Back of the Pack Championship series v2015 concluded with the arrival of CY2016. (That’s Calendar Year 2016. Dude.)

And although the 2016 race season is now rage’n, at the Tuscobia 150 , we must honor the CHAMPIONS of the year past.

Yes my dear friend (?) you are correct. There can be only one CHAMPION. There is only one CHAMPION at the back of the pack. But we MUST and WILL honor (honour?) all championship caliber efforts. AND honor we will.

Uh. 1st. Just a word of caution. This is how I a) write The History…as I’m The BPR Hustorian. that’s Hu-storian. b) this is how I create THE ALGORITHM that is the foundation for The BPR Championship Series.

So… no warranties. no guarantees. no F’N insurance policy. Yeah. This is all driven by Ludacracy and fueled by Modus Hoperandi. Just Say’n.

Ok. Here We Go. BPR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES v2015:

So, should I 1st Spill the Beans or should I explain the championship tactics – the tactics that unfolded throughout the year?

TACTICS & STRATEGY IT IS… The Fundamentals of THE ALGORITHM were stressed from all directions in v2015. As a few individuals dove into the details to maximize the point total. And of course, there were instances where The Algorithm was challenged by Ludacracy, i,e., ludicrous maneuvers in executed strategies. You confused yet? You should be.

THE ALGORITHM is SIMPLE:

1. Big Points: Big Miles on Big Bikes… reward The Big Effort
2. Multiplication Factors: generate points based on the quality of the effort.
   • Big Points are generated by a series of good decisions:
     • racing in appropriate attire (cotton & plaid)
     • configuring the SS machine for stylish racing: flat pedals
     • strategy to maximize all three elements of The Taz Factor. (Yeah, you don’t have a need to know.)
     • racing in championship events – such as Single Speed World Championship events
     • racing on your GrandPa’s 1937 Schwinn
     • contributing to a wicked race ‘pit’
     • contributing to The History by writing a story for the BPR History Book
   • Big Points are awarded for
     • The Podium
     • Busted Bikes and Busted Bones
     • Racing across the country in bikepacking events
   • Big Points are subtracted by BAD DECISIONS
     • racing with gears (yeah, one freak made that bad decision – once.)
     • racing with suspension
     • racing with functional clothing
     • executing a handoff with a team member…
       • because we don’t promote handoffs. we promote & reward solo efforts.

Yep. THE ALGORITHM is that simple.

And therefore the implementation of the algorithm is simple – in the world of ‘flops‘, i.e., the computational stuff.

THE ALGORITHM: TotalPts = (ElevationGainPts +DistancePts)*MultFactor + BonusPts +TheTazFactorPts + PodiumPts.

Check out the code below.

*NOTE. This is not the entire code set for THE ALGORITHM. This is just the code sums up all the final point total… like you care.

Simple. Like I said. (? or not.) Yeah. The details can be a bit confusing. So follow this link if you want to do some research into THE ALGORITHM.

So. Two basic strategies were executed for the 2015 Championship.

1. Big Miles
2. Big ‘k’… the summation thing

A strategy based on Big Miles: A dude / dudette would maximize:

(ElevationGainPts +DistancePts)*MultFactor

A strategy based on the Big ‘k’: A dude / dudette would maximize the ‘k’

And believe it or not. Two dudes at opposite ends of The Spectrum devoted the 2015 race season to a chosen strategy. A strategy forged in The Lifestyle.

Steve, aka The Ti-Machine, went for Big Miles on Big Bikes with a focus on the Multiplication Factor.

Jolly, aka Jolly Rogers, took a different approach. Jolly hit up the ‘k’, the summation thing, and hit up every race possible with the goal of amassing big time pts – bonus pts, taz factor pts and podium pts. And Jolly gave the Ti-Machine a battle, a big time battle.

2015 Champion

Steve, The Ti-Machine, earned 2434 pts. Steve a) spent long nights researching THE ALGORITHM and spent a few long nights on the trail. The Ti-Machine decoded the secrets of THE ALGORITHM and the power of The Multiplication Factor. The dude had a focus on (ElevationGainPts +DistancePts)*MultFactor. Specifically:

• Fat Bikes
• Flat Pedals
• Distance

which reduces to ((x + y)*2.75)*N

Jolly came in a close second with 2041 pts. Jolly focused on:

• Fat Bikes
• Flat Pedals
• Podiums
• The ‘k’… the summation thing.

which reduces to summation over ‘k’ of [(2.75X + 2.765Y])* N + BonusPts +TheTazFactorPts + PodiumPts]

Damn. You confused now? You should be. And if you don’t know why you should be confused… then bring me some beer and I’ll educate you.

Anyway. It’s clear that if a dude focused on Y (the Y*N thing) then the dude will earn crazy points. If a dude focuses on ‘k’ but not so much on ‘y’, the summation over ‘k’ of little(Y)*N forces a dude to push ‘k’ to a very large number. Yeah. Steve had a ‘k’ of 3. Jolly had a ‘k’ of 31. Steve won the championship by 392.59 points. Get it? Probably not. But it’s “numbers based in The Alternate Reality”.

I could dig deeper into the execution of The Strategies. But I already lost you. So let’s look at the 2015 Championship Pts and move on:

So one may ask: “What the HELL does The Champion get for a Championship Effort”. Easy Neophyte. I’m working on it. I’m a one man wrecking crew and it ain’t easy. Oh wait. I’m supposed to say “Stay Tuned. The Founding Fathers are working on something BIG”

So that is that. But let’s look deeper into The BPR Championship Series v2015… just because

THE GREAT CONTROVERSY:

Let it be know. The algorithm was ‘initially’ implemented based on a WHILE LOOP

While MILES ~= 0

    …..

End

And the only way MILE ~= 0 (~= : does not equal) was a completed race. In effect, no mile, no points. And DNFs only count if there is a) Busted Body b) Busted Bike.

But there was a significant zero mile victory in 2015. A VICTORY THAT WE HAD TO REWARD. That’s right. Jolly Rogers earned the SSUT Championship. Brought the SSUT Championship to the BPR AZ Chapter House. This victory was a zero mile victory due to a weather related race cancellation… race cancelled from a 100 year rain. I think. (How did the dude win The Title if there was no race. Hell. I don’t know. It was a weekend of chaos and somehow points were awarded for ‘chaos’.)

So. To reward Jolly and his victory I removed the WHILE LOOP from THE ALGORITHM. And podium points were awarded for a zero mile effort.

But, believe it or not, this update to THE ALGORITHM benefitted all of the BPR CREW, as it opened up the door for all DNFs… all efforts that resulted in miles… miles earned EVEN IF the the effort fell short and a DNF was logged. Yep. Everyone gained from the update to THE ALGORITHM. Yeah. Jolly Roger’s zero mile podium benefitted all. What a weird set of circumstances.

Are you still following me? Are you still with me? Probably not.

So. The results, as produced the original algorithm, THE ALGORITHM implemented in January 2015, still put The Ti-Machine at the top. But Mad Rhino was in 2nd. Jolly in 3rd. I think.

So what is The Great Controversy? Hell. I don’t know. Well. I do know. Implementing a Zero Mile Podium in effect put Jolly at the top. But removing the ‘complete’ race requirement pulled The Ti-Machine in The Lead due to his partial, but huge, effort in the DK200. Yeah. That’s the way it goes. I can’t rig THE ALGORITHM for one dude and not expect it to benefit another dude. That’s not how The Alternate Reality works. I think.

And then there is… Tuscobia.

The Ti-Machine crushed out 150 miles last January, January 2nd / 3rd 2015. Tuscobia 150, Dude. I didn’t include The Ti-Machine’s points in the 2015 results because The Founding Fathers were still ‘sitting on’ the BPR Iowa Chapter application / installation. (Yeah. we drink too much Modus and don’t really have productive BPR Supreme Council Meetings.)

That’s just the way it goes…. BPR GRIDLOCK. Just like the Federal Government.

But if the 2015 Tuscobia 150 was included in the 2015 results then The Ti-Machine would’ve run away with The Championship.

The results would be… but aren’t:

This set of Fictional Results gives a good look into BPR Championship Series v2016 and a hint of what Point Total could be / will be required to take the 2016 Championship.

So…. a few pointer for 2016…. for the Racers Racing

• Boost the Multiplication Factor by:
  • Flat Pedals – cuz you are tough, I think
  • Bike Packing Gear – which forces your participation in bikepacking events. (bike packing? bike packing? single speed? signalspeed? F’n grammar. Like I care.)
  • SnowBike Racing – or SandBike Racing for the desert freaks
  • Very Old Klunkers
• Boost the Bonus Points by
  • Blog Postings. Help The Hustorian write The History, BPR Style
    • Dudes, like The Mad Rhino, earned big points for contributing to The History.
    • Get’n The Word out is important. important for the ONE & ONLY ONE GOAL of BPR…. securing the elusive Beer Sponsorship.
  • Documenting The Taz Factor… enough said
  • Contributing to a wicked awesome BPR Pit

And the final pointer is… figure out YOUR strategy. Miles or Races. Both will work. I think.

And… And. For the Record.

JB of BPR Iowa, aka The FrontMan, could’ve taken The Victory… but didn’t. That Super Freak showed up at The Arrowhead v2015 with a 1×9 or a 1×10 or a 3×9 setup. Something like that. Who counts past ONE?. So his monster performance was reduced to 75 points because the algorithm divides total points by number of gears. Yeah. The Alternate Reality. So leave those f’n gears at home. Better yet. Leave The Gears at the LBS for that ROADIE that lives in comfort.

So. Now that the 2015 BPR Championship Series is in the books. (Totally. It’s in The Books.) I expect the 2016 BPR Championship Series to be all about strategy and destruction, i..e, one dude’s strategy may lead to destruction of another’s. Just a prediction.

And I expect the 2016 Champion to earn over 5000 points. That’s my prediction. As I will easily earn over 5000 points – although I, The Leader, do not participate in The Championship Series. Cuz Leaders Lead. Leaders don’t compete. Ok. I’m making no sense at all.

So that is that. Set YOUR GOALS. Find your INNER ATHLETE. And… get your A$$ ON YOUR BIKE.

Respectfully.

Judd….  aka The Philosofizer  aka The Leader aka The Hustorian

And… just for all my buddies that remember the 90s. Damn. The 90s were great! Especially if you spent the 90s in The Bars… like us freak at the back of the pack.