NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: March 27 & 28

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, I've been traveling again.

Big news (and I'm a bit late on this) is that CCCX #4 is being postponed due to scheduling issues.

For those of you making your weekend plans, here is quick rundown of the remaining MTB racing schedule for NorCal:

1. SB Racing Winter XC MTB Series, Round 3 Henry Coe State Park (03/27/10)
2. Big Sandy Race (03/28/10)
3. Stone's Throw Short Track (03/28/10)

2010 CCCX DH #2 Results

Results from yesterday's CCCX DH #2 (which is really #1 due to the rainout) are posted.

Congrats to John Hauer (X-Fusion) who took the Men's Pro/Semi-Pro, Jimmy Amaral (Point 1) who won the Chainless competition and Rosie Bernard (ABS) who claimed the Women's Pro division.

Photos are available from Scott Mosher Photography and Rick R.

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: March 20 & 21, 2010

For those of you making your weekend plans, here is quick rundown of this weekend's MTB racing schedule for Norcal:

1. Keyesville Classic (Saturday): sure, it's a long way down south to to Bakersfield but Keyesville is a classic MTB festival
2. CCCX Summer DH #2 (Saturday): A quick preview - "Recent rain has left many of the Toro Park trails in unridable conditions. Many of the inner canyon trails are now marsh like & filled with moisture seeping out of the hills. For race #2 (ed: race #1 was postponed) of the CCCX DH Series 2010 version, the course will use the ripping fast dry routes available. The race route will be super fast and riders will be on the gas the entire duration of the run. Traction will be awesome and it is sure to be a DH race to remember. Do not miss the chance to have at it going downhill on epic trail conditions that only happen in the Spring time in NorCal."
3. Stone's Throw Short Track (03/21/10)

Prairie City Race Series #1 Full

Did you get around to registering for the first race of the Prairie City Race Series? No ? Get in line for race #2:

NOTE: The first race on March 31 is FULL and registration for that race is now closed.
Check back Thursday April 1st to see what the availability is for race #2.

Via Prairie City Race Series website.

$10 Off Sea Otter Registration

If you're heading down to Sea Otter next month:

BikeRadar.com is proud to offer, for a limited time, a $10 discount off your Sea Otter registration. Follow these instructions for great savings:

Go to http://www.seaotterclassic.com/index.cfm/athlete_registration.htm and decide which event to register for.

Enter coupon code SOCBIKERADAR at checkout

*This offer is good until Mar 21st at Midnight Pacific time.

Via Sea Otter Classic website.

2010 Cool MTB Race Pics

I haven't seen any results yet, but there are some great pictures on MTBR from this weekend's Cool MTB Race (here, here and here).

And yes, they all involve significant mud and water.

UPDATE: Ron from Team MadCat has posted his race report.

2010 CCCX XC #3 Result

Results for CCCX XC #3 are posted and there lots of pictures from both Scott Mosher and Steve Anderson.

Congrats to Bryan Duke (VOS Racing) who took the Men's Pro/Semi-Pro race and Erik Ebberoth (Turbobricks.com) who took the Pro/Expert Singlespeed.

The course map was posted on Garmin Connect via msoldano.


View Larger Map

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: March 13-14, 2010

For those of you making your weekend plans, here is quick rundown of this weekend's MTB racing schedule for NorCal:

1. Cool MTB Race (03/14/10)
2. CCCX XC (03/14/10)

Just the two races on tap, but both are big.

Santa Cruz (Re)Buys Swobo

NorCal bike builder Santa Cruz Bikes has purchased NorCal bike fashion and builder Swobo:

Santa Cruz Bicycles has purchased Swobo outright, buying out Tim Parr’s minority interest in the company.

Santa Cruz Bicycles originally bought the company in 2001 from Parr. Swobo’s original founder Parr stepped back into the picture in 2004 as a minority owner. Swobo was founded in 1991 by Parr.

Swobo, originally built on its popular bike apparel, really came into its own when Sky Yaeger came on board as managing director in 2006, launching the company’s first bike line. The Northern California company’s single speeds and fixies became an instant hit with the urban crowd.

Last September Swobo consolidated operations and opened up a new sales office in Santa Cruz, California, near its warehouse. In conjunction with the new office opening, the Sausalito, California office closed.

Via Santa Cruz Buys Swobo

More 24 Hr Race Cancellations

On the heels of Andrenalin's cancellation of the 24 Hours of Laguna Seca, Granny Gear has thrown in the towel on two of their National races (including what was supposed to be this year's National Championship):

For the first time in 19 years Granny Gear Productions will not be organizing a 24 hour race in West Virginia, the birthplace of 24 hour mountain bike racing. Granny Gear's Laird Knight has decided not to hold the 2010 edition of the 24 Hours of Big Bear but hopes to hold the event again in 2011.

The 24 Hours of Moab will go on but Knight has also decided to idle the 24 Hours of 9-Mile for this year. "These races still have huge potential and I'm still game for making these events successful" Knight told SPOKES. He said he sees this as an opportunity to "hit the reset button and start now to build a marketing plan now for 2011."

The race, which had previously been known as the 24 hours of Canaan and the 24 Hours of Snowshoe moved to Big Bear in 2005 but hadn't been able to reach the number of teams that it needed to make it sustainable since the move. The decision was "extremely painful", said Knight, but "the finances won't allow" the race to happen this year. In addition to lower than needed participation, the economic slump has made finding sponsors for this year's race very difficult.

Via Spokes Magazine.

I am assuming that USA Cycling will move the National Championship to the 24 Hours of Moab, but nothings official yet.

SF Enduro

I get lots of emails. Not many are this brief:

Start and end in central San Francisco.

Ride is ~90 miles give or take. Rocks, roads and dirt. Wind, trees and ruts. Hills ... lots of hills. Not for the faint of heart.

Bring a bag with dry clothes to the start. It will be transported to the finish for you. Finish is very near the start. Full-on BBQ / beer bash and post ride sports massage included!

All proceeds go to Matt Peterson's memorial fund.

And not many are for a better cause. Full details will be posted at SFEnduro.

I am thinking my

2010 SBracing.org Winter Series #2 Results

The results for 2nd round of the SBracing.org Winter Series have been posted:

Kevin Smallman – Overall Winner Riding For Cannondale Racing
Shelly Monroe - Overall Female Winner Riding from SBRacing.org / Buy-Cell.com
John Carr – Cat 2 Winner Riding For Team Dynamic
Dianne Zinchini – Cat 2 Female Winner
Ted Thomas – Cat 3 Winner
Jennifer Grifall – Cat 3 Female Winner Riding for SBRacing.org / Grifall Family Chiropractic

Full results are available here. Photos are here.

For a writeup on the event, see the SB RACING website.

SB Winter Series #2 Preview

At least one of the races this weekend is definitely on...

The Race Is A Go..

As the morning rain clears we are still committed to running the event Saturday. We will be out marking tomorrow and Friday and will let you know of more developments as we learn them. At this point, all we can do is to provide a great course and control as much as we can without worrying about the weather. That means we will be making every effort to do speedy results so you can race, win, podium and leave as quickly as possible. Beginners, Sports, and Experts podiums will be done as soon as we have enough finishers from each category to do so.

We will be providing little packets of hand warmers/work well on the feet too, to those who would like them at sign ups until we run out! Hoping for a break in the rain Saturday by 10 am for a great start to the race!

via SB Racing website.

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: March 6-7, 2010

For those of you making your weekend plans, here is quick rundown of this weekend's MTB racing schedule for NorCal (for races that haven't been cancelled):

1. SB Racing, Winter XC MTB Series, Round 2 Fort Ord (Saturday)
2. MTB Challenge #3 (Sunday)
3. Stone's Throw Short Track (Sunday)

Dirty Gears XC #2 Postponed

More bad news for this weekend's racing:

Well as many of you have suspected we are going to postpone the duathlon and mountain bike race (Dirty Gears #2) scheduled this weekend at Santa Teresa. We went out and ran the courses yesterday and even if the rangers decided to let us ride (only if there was no rain all week), I believe it’s too wet. We would cause too much damage and we do not want to burn bridges with the rangers. The wetness will turn sticky making it nearly impossible in sections.

Hopefully you have noticed on your email receipts and the event page we have had a backup date scheduled for the last 6 weeks. The new date will be Sunday 5-23-10.

Via South Valley Endurance.

2010 CCCX DH #1 Postponed

The winter rains have claimed another race:

I am sorry to report that due to heavy rain this week, and the constant rain over the past few weeks, Race #1 this Sunday March 7 has to be postponed. I was hoping to have a great track set for the Sunday DH race, however the Park Rangers made the recommendation to postpone the competition due to some flooding that has occurred at Toro Park. I will work to make out a new date for this event, so please check back next Wednesday for an update on the new dates for the CCCX 2010 DH Series.

Via CCCX website.

2010 Downieville Classic Registration - Take 3

Okay, it looks like we have a date for the third try on registering for this year's Downieville Classic:

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING 2010 EVENT!!!!!
2010 Cross Country and All-Mountain entries will be available on Active.com, starting April 1st at 8:00pm

So, here’s how things are going to work for All-Mountain.
1. Starting in 2011, you must “qualify” for the All-Mountain to be eligible for an entry.
2. For the 2010 All-Mountain, we’re qualifying top finishers from the following 2009 Downieville Classic races: the top 2 finishers in each category from Saturday’s combined XC and All-Mountain classes; the top 2 finishers in each category from Sunday’s Downieville Downhill race; and the top 2 finishers in each category from the All-Mountain overall. (In some cases the same person qualifies multiple times. These riders will only receive 1 All-Mountain entry).
3. There will no longer be All-Mountain categories for Sport or One Speed. Sport and One Speed riders that qualified by making the podium in 2009 will need to bump to an appropriate Expert category for 2010. See the All-Mountain page on this web site for a detailed 2010 category breakdown.
4. The remaining 2010 All-Mountain entries will be available on Active.com, starting April 1st at 8:00pm.
5. The 2010 Cross Country race will be a qualifier for the 2011 All-Mountain. There will be other “qualifying” events, which are to be determined by race promotor.
6. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.

Here is the list of riders that are qualified for the 2010 Downieville Classic All-Mountain World Championships. Congratulations! If your name is on this list, please contact Heather Williams at heather@yubaexpeditions.com to secure your All-Mountain entry for 2010. Once you have made contact and have verified that you indeed want to compete, you will receive a Passcode. This Passcode will allow you to register and pay through the Active.com site. Passcodes will be given out after April 1st, 2010.

Via Downieville Classic website.

Loma Rica Benefit Race Scheduled

The folks from YONC and Loma Rica Ranch are teaming to bring a benefit MTB race to Grass Valley before their summer series:

The Youth Bicyclists of Nevada County Foundation is excited to present 2010 Loma Rica Ranch Mountain Bike Race to the Northern California and Nevada. A ride or race benefit (just be on your bike!) to ensure that kids have safe roads and great trails. Proceeds from this event will go towards support for school bike club programs in Nevada County. This event offers both recreational and competitive cyclists the opportunity to participate in a fun and well organized event.

Via YBONC - Loma Rica MTB Race.

2010 Prairie City Race Series Registration Opens

In about 15 minutes, registration for the hugely popular Prairie City Race Series begins. With the growth of the series over the past few years (now topping 400 racers on some days), they've made a few changes:

• On-line registration deposit. In years past you could register your info and then if you never showed up no big deal. The problem is that we are reaching the max allowable number of racers for our races (500 max) and if you registered and do not show up then others that could have raced could not. This year you will need to put forth a $10 NON REFUNDABLE deposit (plus $1.25 processing fee) to hold your space at the first race on March 31. The $15 racing fee is then due at the race day check in on March 28.
• RACE DAY CHECK IN and schwag pick up will be on Sunday March 28th at Bikes Plus in Folsom from noon until 5:30. Unless you are sick or dying you will need to come pick up your number plate, t-shirt and goody bag. This will speed up the race day check in at the first race.
• "CHIP" TIMING. Yes, chip timing for PCRS this year. If you raced at the Folsom RodeoCross you saw our system in action. You should know that although very accurate, it is not 100% accurate 100% of the time. We will still run a video or bar code scanning for back up. For this reason, after you finish under the Lap/Finish timing arch you will continue like in years past through the "corral" past the video camera. You MUST STAY IN ORDER AFTER YOU CROSS UNDER THE TIMING ARCH.
• MEDALS! We have grown by leaps and bounds over the last three years and starting in 2010 we will award 1st through 3rd place "medals" in each class.

Full details at Prairie City Race Series website.