2009 Sea Otter Classic Registration Open Nov 1st

Athlete and camping registration for next year's Sea Otter Classic open on November 1st, 2008. While racing rarely fills up, the same can't be said for camping spots -- especially choice locations.

Carter and Buhl Take Jeep 48Straight Series Titles

It looks like some good racing down in San Luis Obispo from the writeup over at Decline Magazine:

"The title winners at San Luis Obispo received $5,000, with cash earnings for each finisher through 16th place. The season champion received additional sponsor bonuses from Paul Mitchell and the keys to a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Overall, the prize purse for Jeep 48STRAIGHT topped $100,000, making it one of the highest cash payouts in the sport.

The podium standings for San Luis Obispo included:

Men
1. Brian Lopes - Laguna Beach, Calif.
2. Eric Carter - Temecula, Calif.
3. Greg Minnaar - South Africa

Women
1. Fionn Griffiths - Great Britain
2. Melissa Buhl, Chandler, Ariz.
3. Kathy Pruitt - Santa Cruz, California


The Jeep 48STRAIGHT event from San Luis Obispo will air on CBS Sports on November 1."

See the full article over at Decline Magazine.

UK High School Gets Mountain Bike Track

Yes, this is cool:

"How cool is this: Bannerman High in Baillieston, Scotland just opened a $65K mountain bike track for students to hone their skills on campus. I don’t know about you but at my high school it was a big deal just to get a 1/4 mile paved jogging track put in around the soccer field. A mountain bike track would have been out of the question in the old days but as the sport gets more participation and mainstream media coverage perhaps we’ll start to see mountain bike tracks popping up in the US…"

Via UK High School Gets Mountain Bike Track.

Boggs IV Registration Opening

Registration for the always packed Boggs IV (aka Boggs for Africa aka Boggs 8 Hour) is opening soon:

"Grandfather Registration for Boggs IV starts at Midnight on October 25th (late Friday night). This is for all racers who participated in last year’s event. If you were registered for last year’s race you will be e-mailed a PASSWORD to log into the registration page.

If you did not sign up ONLINE last year, you MUST e-mail us so we can give you your registration password.

On November 1st at midnight, registration opens to everyone."

Via BikeMonkey.

2008 Lagrange Fall Classic Results

I'm a bit late on this, but here are the results from last weekend's Lagrange Fall Classic:

• Super-D Results
• XC Results
• DH Results

Via Team Bigfoot website.

2008 Cal Cycling Classic Added to Calendar

The Cal Bears have stepped in the gaping hole in the Fall NorCal MTB race schedule and opened their race to everyone:

"It's that time of year again! The Cal Cycling Classic is our annual Western Collegiate Cycling Conference home race...but this year with a twist. We have secured two of the best venues in the Bay Area (Tamarancho XC and Sandhill Dual Slalom), and will be running NORBA/USAC categories in addition to collegiate!

Schedule
Saturday 11/8: Tamarancho XC
Sunday 11/9: Sandhill DS (and STXC for collegiate racers)

Entry Fees
NORBA/USAC: $30 per event, or $50 for both (XC and DS)
Collegiate: $15 for your first event of the day, $5 for your second
NorCal High School Racers: $25 per event, $40 for both (XC and DS)
All registration is ON SITE ONLY."

Via Cal Cycling website. This is pretty awesome and I'll have more information as it gets posted.

Fall Downieville Status

The folks up the mountain at Downieville Outfitters wrote to share the current Sierra conditions:

Fall is upon the Downieville Downhill, and some of the best conditions of the season are upon us. The fall rains pack down the dust, the trails get tacky like velcro and the fall colors entertain the eyes.

Riders will be able to check the Downieville conditions web page for trail conditions at: http://www.downievilleoutfitters.com/conditions.php

The Condition Reports are to help inform riders just how deep into the season we can ride the high country - and how great the dirt conditions can be. Riders usually think Downieville trails are shut down after the first significant storm, when it is sometimes rideable through Thanksgiving. A few years ago, rideable even into December.

We will be updating the conditions reports bi-weekly and/or after any storm rolls through.

So squeeze every last day of the high country adventure riding in before we are hemmed in to the repetitive local ride all winter.

They'll be updating the conditions every other week.

Lake Sonoma Final Results

Results from this weekend's Lake Sonoma Finale have been posted.

2009 24 Hours National Point Series Schedule

Granny Gear Productions has announced their 2009 schedule hot on the heels of last weekend's 24 Hours of Moab:

2009 Race Series Dates & Locations

• June 13th - 14th, 2009: 24 Hours of Big Bear (Hazelton, WV)


• July 25th - 26th, 2009: 24 Hours of 9 Mile (Nine Mile Park, WI)


• October 10th - 11th, 2009: 24 Hours of Moab (Behind-the-Rocks, Moab, UT)

It looks like they've slightly downsized the schedule this year (dropping the Vail Lake, Landahl, Conyers and Killington events) but they have added the 24 Hours of 9 Mile.

2009 World MTB Tandem Championship Rumor

Rumors have it that the Worlds MTB Tandem championships and unicycle worlds will be in Cool, CA in October of 2009. Things appear to be shaping up:

• Three classes (Men's, Women's and Coed) with "winners take all" in each category
• $100 entry fee
• 150 racer (team ?) limit
• Payouts for each class winner
• Unicycle race two laps 22 miles and Tandem three laps 36 miles
• The course will change from the Coolest 24 to be more Tandem friendly

More when I hear it.

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: 10/18 - 10/19

The 2008 race list is rapidly dwindling and this weekend is really the last big endurance race weekend for (maybe) the year. But it's a good weekend:

• This afternoon, Team Bigfoot's Lagrange Fall Classic begins up north in Weaverville, CA. And I say "begins" because it's a full weekend of racing: Super D, Downhill, Cross Country and Short Track. Check over on the website for the full schedule of events and course descriptions. Team Bigfoot always puts on a great event, so if you haven't made it up yet this season, you really owe it to yourself.
  
• Tomorrow is the Lake Sonoma Classic finale. Held out at Lake Sonoma Recreation Area (North of San Francisco near Healdsburg), it's your last chance for XC singletrack racing.

For those looking for a road trip, the Fall Classic is going on down south.

And if you didn't get the message, "The Quick and the Dead" and the "Shanon Ridge Showdown" were both canceled a ways back.

2009 SingleSpeed World Championships Date

With two sentence, the single speed MTB world has set the date for next year's hootenany world championship:

"Yes it is true, a date has made itself present. August 6-9th, 2009. That is all for now."

Via SingleSpeed World Championships Durango 2009 blog.

BikeMonkey has some more details also.

Jeep 48STRAIGHT Finale: San Luis Obispo

The Jeep 48STRAIGHT will wind up in California (San Luis Obispo) later this month and you could be racing (on TV no less!):

"The Grand Finale for the Jeep 48STRAIGHT Mountain Biking Series will end in SLO as the world's best mountain bikers converge for the ultimate showdown in dual-slalom racing.

Attention All Professional & Semi-Pro Dual Slalom Riders
An open qualifier competition will take place at The Madonna In at San Luis Obispo on Oct. 24, with fields capped at 75 men and 25 women. This event is not NORBA sanctioned, so an annual license is not necessary, Participation is restricted to PROFESSIONAL and SEMI-PRO riders only.

Each event of the Jeep 48STRAIGHT summer season will receive national broadcast coverage on CBS Sports, representing the most visibility of any mountain biking event in the sport. The event at The Madonna Inn will air on CBS Sports on November 1."

You can register for the race (Pro and Semi-Pro Dual Slalomers only) at Sports Basement.

2009 Sea Otter Classic Schedule Published

The Sea Otter folks have published the schedule (PDF) for next year's kickoff down in Monterey, CA.

No major surprises but they have continued with the "let's get the slow amateurs off the course early" scheduling on the XC races again this year. Beginners (which I think are cat 3 now) are on a weekend-warrior friendly Friday afternoon at 1 pm and Sport (cat 2) start at 7:30 AM on Saturday. Super D is also on Friday.

Jeep 48Straight on TV Today

For those of you who like to watch, the second stop on the Jeep 48Straight competition (dual slalom at Park City, Utah) will be on CBS at 2 PM today (October 12th, 2008).

Don't go here to get more information if you don't want to spoil who won the race.

2009 "Leave No Trace" Ultra Endurance Series

This is big. Global Biorhythms and Bike Monkey have teamed up to produce a NorCal Endurance series for 2009:

"THE "LEAVE NO TRACE" MTB ULTRA ENDURANCE SERIES
Global Biorhythm Events is presenting the Leave No Trace ultra endurance mountain bike series in Northern California for the 2009 season.

The 2009 LNT Ultra Series:

• Boggs Mountain 8Hr, Cobb CA March 28th (BikeMonkey)
• Coolest 8 & 24 hr race against cancer. Cool CA,May 2-3 (Global Biorhythm Events)
• Lake Sonoma 100, Wine Country May 16th, (Global Biorhythm Events & Bike Monkey)
• Coolest II 8 & 24hr race, Cobb CA, June 20-21st (Global Biorhythm Events)
• This will be a '100'race. Site yet to be decided--Sly Park Placerville CA or Jackson State Park, Fort Bragg CA(Global Biorhythm events)
• Tahoe Sierra 100, Soda Springs CA. Will not be held at French Meadows CA.(Global Biorhythm events)"

Visit Global BioRythm Events for more details.

I am putting my vote in for Sly Park for the '100' race.

Race4Tara Update: Raffle & More Race Details

The folks from Sand Hill Racing has posted some more info on the November 8th, 2008 Race4Tara fundraiser/race:

It will be a Mtn Cross (aka 4-X) race with the usual USA Cycling categories (age break-outs in beginner, sport, expert, Pro/semi pro, plus a category for the Industry people.) Pro's need to show a pro license. For the Industry Cup, based on how many entries we receive we will either have the industry folks ride with the regular categories and keep track of over-all points, or we will let them have their own race. USA Cycling One-Day licenses ($5) will be available at sign-ups. $35 pre-reg $40 race day, Free Parking, HUGE RAFFLE ($1 and $5 tickets).

Registration for the race has already opened over at BikeReg.

In addition, the people over at Pinned.com have started a raffle to help out:

"Now that InterBike is over, it's time to gather all that money you won in Vegas, check your couch for loose change, & break out your check books!  The highly anticipated Tara Llanes Fundraiser is ready to rock! 

There are some great prizes offered by our friends in the cycling industry!   Specialized donated a complete bicycle, Fox Shox donated a few bad-ass forks, Anneke Beerten donated her World Cup 4X leader's jersey, Andrew Neethling donated his ’06 4X race machine & there is so much more!   Check out that awesome drawing by industry legend BOB HARO!  Yep, it’s that Bob Haro - who founded Haro Bikes!  This is the first time that he’s donated one of his drawings for auction!

Cost to enter is $5 per ticket.  All proceeds will go directly to the Tara Llanes 'Road to Recovery' Fund!"

Via PINNED MTB.

New Date for 2009 Boggs IV

Boggs IV moved up their date to avoid clashing with the Napa Valley Dirt Classic. The new date is March 28th, 2009. Full details over at BikeMonkey.

There is also a new race from the BikeMonkey / Global Biorhythm Events (Tahoe 100, 24 hours of Cool) team:

This year, Bike Monkey will partner with Global Biorhythm Events to produce a new Northern California Ultra Endurance Points series–The Leave No Trace Ultra MTB series. Bike Monkey will produce two endurance events - Boggs 8 Hour on March 28th, and the Sonoma 100 on May 16th. Details on the Sonoma 100 will be coming shortly. It very well may become one of the toughest 100 mile endurance races on record with as much as 15,000′ or more of climbing. and nearly 80+% of the course competed on singletrack.

2008 Parkfield Classic Results

Results from the 2008 Parkfield Classic have been posted (PDF):

• Cross Country
• Dual Slalom
• Short Track
• Downhill

Photos are posted around the internets but these and these are pretty choice.

USA Cycling Mountain Bike Promoters Summit

For the race promoters out there:

"USA Cycling, the national governing body for competitive cycling in the United States, will be conducting its first annual Mountain Bike Promoters Summit, November 14-16 in Colorado Springs. The summit is open to all promoters, team managers, industry stakeholders and officials and will offer informational sessions, as well as the opportunity to share best practices.

With the goal of the summit to collectively discuss direction and changes within the sport, share best practices and develop initiatives to advance the sport of mountain bike racing in the U.S., the summit’s agenda is currently under development by the NORBA Board of Trustees and USA Cycling staff with input from attendees. Participants are encouraged to submit topic requests and/or suggestions to Kelli Lusk at klusk@usacycling.org no later than October 20.
 
To find out more about the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Promoters Summit, visit the event’s webpage here or contact Kelli Lusk, USA Cycling’s Mountain Bike Events and Program Director at 719-866-4668. "

Via USA Cycling.

2008 Northstar Live Wire Classic Results

Northstar at Tahoe has posted the results for yesterday's Live Wire Classic (PDF).

Congrats to Female Open winner Asa Salas and Pro Men's winner Tim Krentz.

Robert Lowe has posted some great photos on his smugmug site. The photo below is just one of dozens.

Weekend Pics and Results

Results are slow to surface for this weekend's Live Wire Classic, Parkfield Classic and Whiskeytown 9-5/24, but there are some Parkfield pictures starting to show up on MTBR: Parkfield Classic Pics.

Biketobertfest 2008

Mmmmm, beer

" Access4Bikes (A4B), Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC) and the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce presents … Biketoberfest 2008. A celebration of the bicycle, Biketoberfest 2008 is an event for all cyclists of all ages, combined with a brewfest of over a dozen handcrafted beers from premier Northern California brewers.

Highlights include...
Over 12 NorCal Bike Companies and 40+ demo bikes to try on the local trails!
16 Beers from 11 Northern California Brewers and Great Food!
Live music by MONOPHONICS, Mad Maggies and Ross Shafer
Group rides led by Marin Cyclists, Joe Breeze, Charlie Kelly & Luna Chix

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, October 18, 2008
LOCATION: FairAnselm Plaza Parking lots, 765 Center Blvd (next to Iron Springs Pub), downtown Fairfax
COST: Free - $20 per person for beer tasting"

Via Biketoberfest.

Live Wire Classic Weather Update

For those of you heading up the mountain for Sunday's Northstar at Tahoe Live Wire Classic, you take a look at the weather update before you leave. There is talk of snow at higher elevations.

Check out http://tahoemountainbiking.ning.com/ or call 530.562.2268 for the most current and up to date information.

UPDATE (11:45AM): Northstar has closed the MTB Park today: "Due to environmental concerns we have decided to not open today. When it rains and we create mud we have the chance of that mud being washed into the sensitive drianages that surround the bike park. Protecting our environment is our number 1 priority. We all do our very best to try and have the park open and be able to provide a top quality riding experience. We hope to be open tomorrow and still hold the 2nd annual Live Wire Classic. A decision on opening will be made by 8:30 am."

2009 Specialized Demo Day

If you are stuck in the Bay Area this weekend (and don't feel like racing your CX bike), maybe you should check this out:

"You can be the first kid on your block to test ride brand new 2009 Specialized Bikes at our Demo Day at Passion Trail Bikes and Waterdog Park for FREE on Sunday October 5th!!!"

Via Passion Trail Bikes.

Dirt Rag To Launch Commuting Mag

Something else to look for at the magazine rack:

"Dirt Rag Magazine is launching a new magazine called Bicycle Times.

This new magazine will focus on the pavement side of the bicycle experience—from commuting, to touring, to riding with family, to just pedaling around.

The inaugural issue of Bicycle Times is slated for April of 2009, which is also the 20th Anniversary of Dirt Rag. In its first year, Bicycle Times will be published quarterly."

Via Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.

2009 UCI MTB World Cup Calendar

Since we've spent most of the week previewing the US MTB calendar for next year, it seemed only fair to give some press to the World Cup schedule too:

UCI 2009 Calendar
April 11-12: Round 1 (XC/DH/4X), Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
April 25-26: Round 2 (XC), Offenburg, Germany
May 2-3: Round 2 (4X) / 3 (XC), Houffalize, Belgium
May 9-10: Round 2 (DH), La Bresse, France
May 16-17: Round 3 (DH/4X), Vallnord, Andorra
May 23-24: Round 4 (XC), Madrid, Spain
June 6-7: Round 4 (DH/4X), Fort William, Great Britain
June 20-21: Round 5 (DH/4X), Maribor, Slovenia
July 25-26: Round 5 (XC) / 6 (DH/4X), Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada
August 1-2: Round 6 (XC) / 7 (DH/4X), Bromont, Canada
September 12-13: Round 7 (XC), Champery, Switzerland
September 19-20: Round 8 (XC/DHI/4X), Schladming, Austria

The Championships will be held:
UCI Marathon World Championships, August 23, Graz, Austria
UCI XC/4X/DH World Championships, September 1-6, Canberra, Australia

You can see this on their website also.

NMBS Morphs Into US Cup For 2009

Here is a really good and in-depth article from The Cycling News about the death of the long running NORBA Nationals / NMBS series and the new US Cup series that hopes to take it's place:

"With the demise of the National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS) held annually in the United States, North American mountain bikers were left wondering 'What's next?'. Going into the 2009 season, Team Sho-Air's Scott Tedro has stepped up to lead an effort to create a new national-level series: the US Cup.

The proposed US Cup would include races in Fontana, Laguna Seca and Los Olivos, California; Fountain Hills, Arizona; Angel Fire, New Mexico; Windham, New York; and Mt. Snow, Vermont, many of which were popular NMBS venues. Nearly all of the races, running from late March through early August, would award UCI points. Furthermore, the series would pay equal prize money to elite men and women and aim to provide a 'very rewarding' experience for amateur racers."

The only NorCal events on this year's US Cup schedule are the Sea Otter Classic (Monterey, CA) and the Santa Ynez Cup (Los Olivos, CA).