2011 NVDC & Howell Mountain Dates Announced

The dates for the 2011 Howell Mountain / Napa county cross country races have been announced:

• Napa Valley Dirt Classic will be April 10th, 2011
• Howell Mountain Classic will be August 7th, 2011

You can find out more information about these races at their website or in the archives (NVDC and Howell Mountain).

2010 Howell Mountain Results

Congrats to Menso De Jong, Paul Janney and Sarah Maile who won the Men's Open, Singlespeed and Women's Open categories at yesterday's Howell Mountain Challenge.

Full results are posted at http://web2.puc.edu/Pioneers/HMC/.

Catering at Howell Mountain Classic This Year

If you are heading down to the Howell Mountain Challenge this weekend in Angwin, bring some extra money as Fork Catering will be providing healthy organic meals to athletes:

The menu we will have in addition to various beverages is:

• Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on Whole Wheat Sourdough with avocado. sun dried tomato aioli  and thick cut potato chips $7
• Sesame Ginger Baked Tofu and Tempeh Salad: Rice Noodles, Asparagus, Napa and Purple Cabbage, Carrots, Sugar Snap    Peas, Lime and Ginger Soy Dressing $7
• Bowl of Organic Pinto Beans and Brown Rice with guac, salsa, sour cream and cheddar $5

Remember to bring cash for food.

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: August 7-8, 2010

Whew ... that was a good nap. Sorry for not posting something, but I've been on vacation. Expect a flurry of posts today but first, for those of you making your weekend plans, here is quick rundown of this weekend's MTB racing schedule for NorCal:

1. Howell Mountain Classic (08/08/10)
2. Northstar DH Series (08/08/10)

 

Full 2009 Giant NorCal MTB Series Detailed

I've posted bits and pieces of this before, but this is the compete 2009 Giant NorCal MTB series press release (with scoring rules):

With the sport of mountain biking having such deep roots in Northern California it is no wonder that the upper half of the state is so rich with grass-roots events. Known for epic “old-school” courses the heart and soul of mountain bike racing is still beating strong, thanks in part to Giant Bicycles, title sponsor of the 2009 Northern California Mountain Bike Series, consisting of nine cross-country events, five Super-D events, four downhill events and two short-track events.

This season long points series will culminate at the finals at the LaGrange Fall Classic in Weaverville. Champions in each category will be awarded with a 1st place medal, special Nor-Cal Series Socks from Sock Guy, and will be eligible to purchase a championship jersey. Medals will also be presented to those racers whose points have earned them second and third place.

Coordinated by Team Bigfoot, points tallies throughout the season will be posted at www.teambigfoot.net. Full details on the series are also at that website.

CROSS COUNTRY (Best 4 finishes + finals at LaGrange Fall Classic)
04/05: Napa Valley Dirt Classic
04/25: Lemurian Classic
05/02: CCCX
06/09: Skyline Park
06/28: CCCX (XC)
08/09: Howell Mountain Classic (XC)
09/25: Whiskeytown Classic
10/16: Lagrange Fall Classic

DOWNHILL (Best 2 finishes + finals at LaGrange Fall Classic)
03/22: CCCX
05/24: Gravity Day
06/21: CCCX
10/16: Lagrange Fall Classic

SUPER-D (Best 2 finishes + finals at LaGrange Fall Classic)
03/22: CCCX
05/24: Gravity Day
06/21: CCCX
09/25: Whiskeytown Classic
10/16: Lagrange Fall Classic

SHORT-TRACK (Both events count)
09/25: Whiskeytown Classic
10/16: Lagrange Fall Classic

The points structure will be a descending scale based on finishing place.

Team Bigfoot Finalizes 2009 Giant NorCal Series

Team Bigfoot has posted their 2009 race schedule along with this year's NorCal series events. It appears that this year's series will be sponsored by Giant Bicycles and will encompass 11 races stretching from Monterey/Salinas thru Weaverville, CA. Here are the dates for this year's races:

Giant 2009 Northern California Series
03/22: CCCX (DH/SuperD)
04/05: Napa Valley Dirt Classic (XC)
04/25: Lemurian Classic (XC)
05/02: CCCX (XC)
05/24: Gravity Day* (SuperD, DH)
06/14: Skyline Park (XC)
06/21: CCCX (XC but I think this is actually a DH/Super D)
06/28: CCCX (XC)
08/09: Howell Mountain Classic (XC)
09/25: Whiskeytown Classic* (XC, ST, SuperD)
10/16: Lagrange Fall Classic* (DH, XC, ST, SuperD)

* the asterisk denotes Team Bigfoot events.

You can find all these listed under the tag "2009 norcal series" over on mtbcalendar.com.

I'll have Team Bigfoot's 2009 Endurance series dates tomorrow.

NorCal Championship Series Returns for 2009

It looks like Team Bigfoot will organizing the NorCal Championship series again this year. While they are still settling a few dates, the races appear to be locked in:

2009 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Napa Valley Dirt Classic, April 5, Angwin, Cross Country
Lemurian Classic, Whiskeytown Lake, April 25, Cross Country
Gravity Day, Weaverville, (Date TBD). Super-D, Downhill
Skyline Park Mountain Bike Race, June 14, Napa, Cross Country
Howell Mountain Classic, August 9, Angwin, XC, Cross Country
Whiskeytown Classic, (Date TBD) Whiskeytown Lake, Sept. Cross Country, Short-Track, Super D
CCCX, (2 dates TBD), Fort Ord, Cross Country
CCCX, (2 dates TBD), Toro Park, Downhill
CCCX, (2 dates TBD), Toro Park, Super-D
Lagrange Fall Classic, Weaverville, Oct. 16-18, Cross Country, Downhill, Short-Track, Super-D

The Team Bigfoot Solo Cup endurance series will be back with the following events:
12 Hours of Weaverville, Weaverville
12 Hours of Humboldt, Arcata
Clikapudi Six to Midnight, Shasta Lake
Whiskeytown 9 to 5, Whiskeytown Lake
24 Hours of Whiskeytown , Whiskeytown Lake

Via Team Bigfoot.

I'll add these to the schedule as soon as they get dates.

Preliminary 2009 NorCal MTB Calendar

While it is only the beginning of October, next year's NorCal MTB calendar is already starting to fill up. Here are the events scheduled for 2009 (I'll update with the new USA Cycling events soon):

• 01/25/09: MTB Kickstart (CA)
• 02/08/09: MTB Challenge #1 (CA)
• 02/22/09: MTB Challenge #2 (CA)
• 03/08/09: MTB Challenge #3 (CA)
• 03/15/09: Cool MTB Race (CA)
• 04/04/09: Big Sandy Race (CA)
• 04/04/09: Boggs IV (CA)
• 04/05/09: Napa Valley Dirt Classic (CA)
• 04/16/09: Sea Otter Classic (CA)
• 08/09/09: Howell Mountain Classic (CA)

You can access the up to date list for next year at the 2009 Event on the MTB Calendar site as well as by the "2009 MTB Races" sidebar on the right (below the "2008 MTB races").

2008 Howell Mountain Results

Results from this weekend's Howell Mountain Challenge have been posted.

Jason Moeschler took the Men's Open, Rich Maile captured the Singlespeed Open and Jamie Stamps won the Women's Open.

There is some video and a few race reports over at MTBR.

2008 NorCal Series

The 2008 NorCal Series schedule has been announced. Series champions will be crowned in every category at the finals in Weaverville on October 17th, 2008. Champions will be awarded with a 1st place medal, special Nor-Cal Series from Sock Guy, and will be eligible to purchase a championship jersey.

CROSS COUNTRY (Best 3 finishes + finals at Weaverville)
April 13: Napa Valley Dirt Classic (Angwin, CA)
April 26: Shasta Lemurian (Whiskeytown Lake)
June 1: CCCX (Toro Park near Monterey)
June 29: CCCX (Toro Park near Monterey)
August 10: Howell Mountain Challenge (Angwin, CA)
September 27: Whiskeytown Classic (Whiskeytown Lake)
October 18: Lagrange Fall Classic (Weaverville, CA)

DOWNHILL (Best 2 finishes + finals at Weaverville)
May 3: CCCX (Toro Park near Monterey)
May 25: Gravity Day (Weaverville, CA)
June 22: CCCX (Toro Park near Monterey)
October 19: Lagrange Fall Classic (Weaverville, CA)

SUPER-D (Best 2 finishes + finals at Weavervile)
May 10: CCCX (Toro Park near Monterey)
May 25: Gravity Day (Weaverville, CA)
June 8: CCCX (Toro Park near Monterey)
October 17: Lagrange Fall Classic (Weaverville, CA)

Points tallies will be kept current at the Team Bigfoot website.

NVDC and Howell Mountain Announce 2008 Dates

The Napa Valley Dirt Classic and Howell Mountain Challenge events have announced their 2008 dates:

• Napa Valley Dirt Classic (website): April 13, 2008
• Howell Mountain Challenge (website): August 10, 2008

From their websites, it doesn't look like much has changed for this year (which is good). These events are probably the best Bay Area (Napa) XC races. For more information, see the archives (links at the top of the article).

2007 Howell Mountain Challenge Results

The 2007 Howell Mountain Challenge results have been posted.

Congratulations to Michael Andres, who bested the Men's Pro field by 00:02:19, and Christy Murphy, who won the Women's Pro. Other winners:
Open Semi Pro Male : Jim Hewett
16&under Junior Expert Male : Devin Masterson
17-18 Junior Expert Male : Charlie Carrol
19-29 Expert Male : Brent Carkeet
30-39 Expert Male : Philip Hynes
40-49 Expert Male : James Coats
50-59 Expert Male : Rex Lierly
60+ Expert Male : Joseph Pritchard
19-29 Expert Female : Teshia Cordia
30-39 Expert Female : Sharon Hill
40-49 Expert Female : Deborah Levine
Open Pro Single Speed Male : Paul Janney
Open Expert Single Speed Male : Andrew Hall
Open Sport Single Speed Male : Allan Sherlock
14&under Junior Sport Male : Colby Pastore
15-16 Junior Sport Male : Matt Dion
17-18 Junior Sport Male : Marcelo Quiroz
19-29 Sport Male : Todd Stoehr
30-39 Sport Male : Erik Berggren
40-49 Sport Male : Tim Simanski
50-59 Sport Male : Scott Calley
60+ Sport Male : Glenn Moore
Open Clydesdale Male : Morgan Fletcher
14&under Junior Sport Female : Katherine Pollard
19-29 Sport Female : Shannon Sobeck
30-39 Sport Female : Andrea Reier
40-49 Sport Female : Elke MacGregor
50+ Sport Female : Penny Elliot
11-12 Junior Beginner Male : Nicholas Quiroz
13-14 Junior Beginner Male : Anthony Scheller
15-16 Junior Beginner Male : Tristan Cole
17-18 Junior Beginner Male : Ian Sterk
19-29 Beginner Male : Bruce Fowles
30-39 Beginner Male : John Clark
40-49 Beginner Male : Joe Miller
50-59 Beginner Male : Rick Gauld
19-29 Beginner Female : Mary Whitney
30-39 Beginner Female : Sara Desmond
40-49 Beginner Female : Lisa Johnson

2007 Howell Mountain Challenge

The 2007 Howell Mountain Challenge has also been announced. The event, organized by the same people that bring us the Napa Valley Dirt Classic, is billed as a "10 mile circuit, hilly, smooth to medium-rough trails, service roads, double track and single track, lots of trees.... fun course." It is also located in Angwin, CA and will operate under NORBA rules.

This XC race will consist of multiple laps, depending on your racing category. Beginners will do one lap, Sport will two laps and Expert/Pros will do three laps.

You can see last year's course map, elevation plot and race report in the archives.

Event: Howell Mountain Challenge
Dates: August 12th, 2007 (10:30 AM)
Location: Angwin, CA (Near Calistoga, CA)
Competition: XC
Cost: $30 ($35 after Aug 6th)
URL: http://www.puc.edu/Pioneers/HMC/
Registration: TBD (probably active.com)
License: NORBA

RACE REPORT: Howell Mountain Challenge

After missing this spring's Napa Valley Classic, I had circled today on the calendar to make sure that I got down to the Howell Mountain Challenge. From what people had told me, this was a slightly smaller, shorter and less strenous race. And with this morning's weather it looked cool and dry. So everything was good: nice ride down with Zon, easy parking, hassle-free registration and even some free swag (Clif bars and Cytomax if you must know). And shockingly, the race started exactly on time with military precision.

I got out fast in my group and soon found myself with another guy off the front by the first climb. The course was great: swooping, tricky singletrack, a few fireroads, switchbacks here and there, even some tough hills. And I was riding well. So well, that by time I got out of the second set of singletrack, I was well up on everyone in my class. And then it all came completely f***king apart. Literally.


On the uphill near the 6.5 mile mark, I downshifted and heard a crack. And a rattle. Like spokes being torn. As I skidded to a stop, it was obvious that my race was over. My rear derailleur was resting on the ground, attached to the bike by only the shifter cable. I had snapped my derailleur hanger completely in half. So I did what anyone would do: I swore for a minute, threw my helmet a few times and then tried to triage my wounded steed. No luck -- I didn't have my chain tool so all I could do was strap broken bits to my bike with twist ties.



So I walked my bike out of the forest, all 5 miles to the finish. It sucked. On the brightside, I did get a great GPS map of the course -- moving at 3 MPH really helps the accuracy.

My carpooler, Zon, had much better luck. He caught me around mile 7 on the way in from his second lap and powered to 2nd place in his class. I guess he was only 30 seconds behind the winner. Below is a picture of him getting his medal.


Even with my bad luck, this was one of the best races that I went to all year. Great course, top notch organization, low price and a good vibe. I haven't seen Here are the official race results (they promised to have them up tonight), and I posted my pictures over on Google Albums:

2006 Howell Mountain Classic

Aug 13, 2006 - 26 Photos

SCOUTING REPORT: Howell Mountain Challenge

So I am planning on heading up to Napa this weekend for the Howell Mountain Challenge (since I missed the Napa Valley Dirt Classic) and I thought I would post as much scouting information as I could find. Now, most of this information is based on last year's race, but I have on good authority that the course is substantially the same this year.

First up is the GPS data from last year's race. While the overall data isn't the greatest (probably due to the tree coverage), it does show that it's about 1500' of climbing and 10 miles per lap

The complete GPS data is available over at Motionbased.

Other data points are race reports. I think the best ones are Team WrongWay's 2005 coverage. Multiple people talk about their race in great detail.

Finally, for those visual learners, check out the photos from last year.

2006 Howell Mountain Challenge

The 2006 Howell Mountain Challenge is now open for registration (yeah, I'm a little late on this). The event, organized by the same people that bring us the Dirt Valley Classic, is billed as a "10 mile circuit, hilly, smooth to medium-rough trails, service roads, double track and single track, lots of trees.... fun course." It is also located in Angwin, CA and will operate under NORBA rules.

This XC race will consist of multiple laps, depending on your racing category. Beginners will do one lap, Sport will two laps and Expert/Pros will do three laps.

Event: Howell Mountain Challenge
Dates: August 13th, 2006 (10:30 AM)
Location: Angwin, CA (Near Calistoga, CA)
Competition: XC
Cost: $30 ($35 after Aug 6th)
URL: http://www.puc.edu/Pioneers/HMC/
Registration: http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1174589
License: NORBA

UPDATE (08/13/06): Here's my race report.
UPDATE (08/14/06): Here are the official results.

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