NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: June 5-6, 2010

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

1. Return On The Jedi (06/05/10)
2. Tamarancho Dirt Classic (06/06/10)
3. Peavine Challenge (06/06/10)

More Nevada Racing...

Two new Nor-Nevada races to add to the calendar:

• The Nevada Cup has added a fourth race to the end of their series. The Great Flume Race will take place on September 12, 2010 in Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park (Spooner Lake) and is sponsored by the Reno Wheelmen. More details as we get them (thanks to Scott P for the heads up).
• dhRENO has word of a race that's part of the Black Rock Rendezeous: "Great Basin Brewing Company Bicycle Race. Participants will convene at the Main Camp at 8 am on Sunday May 30th, 2010 to disembark to the starting line. Transportation will be provided for bicycles and riders. The race will start at 10 am at Sulphur near the old auto graveyard, and follows a dirt jeep trail along the railroad tracks for 7 miles before turning west along the scenic and historic Applegate Lassen Emigrant Trail. The route continues for an additional 10.7 miles, crossing the Quinn River, and finishing at the Black Rock Hot Spring. There is a $25 entry fee, and all participants will receive an event T-shirt. Cash prizes for the top three finishers will be a percentage of the total purse collected: 25% for 1st, 10% for 2nd, and 5% for 3rd place. Great Basin Brewing Company will provide a selection of their micro-brewed beers to be enjoyed by finishing participants of legal drinking age."

Both events have been added to the calendar.

NorCal MTB Racing This Week: May 20-23, 2010

It's a big week for MTB racing all across region - both weeknight and weekend. For those of you making your plans, here is a quick rundown of this week's MTB racing schedule for NorCal:

1. Blazing Saddles Mountain Bike Race Series (Thursday)
2. Paper Plate Races (Thursday)
3. 12 & 6 Hours of Weaverville (05/22/10)
4. SB Racing.org, Winter XC Series, Round 5 Final Round, Fort Ord (05/22/10)
5. Pine Nut Cracker (05/22/10)
6. South Valley Endurance Dirty Gears Series #2 (05/23/10)
7. Gravity Day (05/23/10)

Reno XC Races Scheduled

The Reno Wheelmen have announced their annual Twilight XC series as well as the dates for the Nevada Cup:

The dates are being entered onto the calendar and should be all up by the end of this week. More details at the Reno Wheelmen website.

2009 Galena Fest Hits Reno on Sept 27th

On September 27, 2009 Reno community members will be gathering at Galena Creek Regional Park for the outdoor fundraiser, Galena Fest. Galena Fest focuses on two major mountain bike races, The Bloody Rose and The Thorn. There are also several other family friendly events including mountain bike races for kids, a sand castle contest, beer provided by Buckbean Brewery and a barbecue.

The Bloody Rose provides mountain bikers with two of the hardest challenges in the western United States. 11.7 miles in length at an average of 6.5 percent gradient, the course throws in several sections steeper than 15 percent, mixing in single track, fire roads, and sections of pavement.

The first true test for riders is a 15 percent grade aptly named “Wall of Death”, knobby tires fighting for traction on the sandy surface. Continuing up the mountain, survivors will pass over the highest year-round road in the Sierras, get a brief downhill respite, then commence a death march up NFD 051.

The next four miles are as much about survival as they are about speed. Riders will be cursing the small downhill when they make the final hairpin for the last quarter mile climb. When “Funeral Hill” ramps up to 16 percent, riders have to dodge softball-sized rocks and sear their lungs at almost two miles above sea level. Many will be getting off to walk. Those that make it up almost 4,000 feet to the 10,128 ft summit will be treated to amazing views of Lake Tahoe and Washoe Valley and a special finisher’s T-shirt.

The Thorn is a shorter, 5 mile version of this hillclimb. For more information, visit www.renogalenafest.com.

Thanks to Brita from Social Media Associate for the heads up.

The 4th annual Fears Tears and Beers

I've covered this in year's past (even though it is quite a bit outside NorCal), but Decline Magazine beat me to it this year:

Have you ever wanted to ride a bike through a casino? Well here’s you chance. The Great Basin Trails Alliance, a non-profit organization, is holding the 4th annual Fears Tears and Beers Mountain Bike Race in Ely, Nevada on June 13th. The race is an Enduro format where only certain sections of the race are timed, making it the only mountain bike event of its kind in the nation, and starts off by riding through a casino!

Last year, mountain bike enthusiasts from all over Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and California came to Ely for the event. Many Ely locals also participated and brought with them their local knowledge of the race course. Professional rider, Mark Weir, won the Men’s Expert Class last year which was the first year that a professional mountain biker entered the race.

Sticking true to the event’s name, following the event there’s a brew fest with a BBQ and raffle followed by the award’s ceremony with a post party at the Jailhouse Casino.

If you would like to enter the race, you can pre-register online, register the night before at the Jailhouse Casino, or be at the start by 8am on race day. There are appropriate levels for men and women riders. The classes include a 14 mile Fun Ride, 17 miles for Beginner Class, 26.6 miles for Sport Class, and for the ultimate challenge 33.2 miles and 5,400’ of climbing for the Expert Class.

Via Decline Magazine.

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: 9/26 - 9/28

It's about the last BIG weekend of racing here in Norcal:

Today marks the start of the Whiskeytown Classic up north just west of Redding, CA. It's a full three days of racing, starting with this afternoon's short track race at 4PM. This is followed by cross country race on Saturday morning and a Super D on Sunday. The XC race features 10 mile laps with 1400' climbing/lap while the Super D is a three mile descent. The racing costs between $20 - $35 depending on the event.

Tomorrow is a full day of XC racing across Northern California:

• In the North Bay, the 5th edition of the Lake Sonoma Series starts at 10AM. Located just west of Healdsburg (in aptly named Lake Sonoma Recreational Area), this monthly race features tough singletrack and costs $20.


• In the Sacramento region, TBF Racing presents the first CLIF MTB Challenge at Folsom Lake. It's a six mile course that goes out to Doton's Point and back (looks similar to the MTB Challenge courses). Beginners will do one lap, Sport two laps and expert three laps. This race will set you back $50 on race day.
• Further east near Reno, the Sky Tavern Resort will host the Sky Tavern Classic. Starting on Saturday morning, the XC race will cover 6 miles laps (with one to four laps depending on class). Sunday will feature a downhill race through tight singletrack (somewhere around 2.5 minutes long).

The MTB racing schedule starts to get a bit thin after this weekend, so please take advantage ...

2008 Sky Tavern Classic

The folks up the hill at dhRENO have posted the details on the upcoming Sky Tavern Classic scheduled for September 27th & 28th near Reno, Nevada. Some of the details:

"Sky Tavern Race
September 27th & 28th, 2008
HOSTED BY NEVADA CYCLING
SKY TAVERN RESORT RENO, NEVADA

Racing: On Saturday will be XC and Sunday the dh with both collegiate and NORBA categories.

Cross Country: The course features a steady climb, followed by about 1.5 miles of up-and-down single track.  Then, a fast single-track descent with lots of dg, a short climb, and more mixed descending to lodge.  Each lap is ~6 miles.  XC will begin at 10am on Saturday.

Downhill: Technical dg single-track followed by short road section into final section of tight single-track through trees.  Course time is about 2.5 minutes.  Collegiate MC/WB and NORBA Beginners will skip upper single-track and use road instead."

Click over to Sky Tavern DH Race « dhRENO for the full details.

ROAD TRIP: Fears, Tears and Beers

Before you tell me that Ely is 7 hours away from NorCal and that gas is a hundred dollars a gallon, I am still going to post this because I think this is a cool race.

This weekend is the annual Fears, Tears and Beers enduro race in Ely, Nevada. What exactly is an enduro race, you ask ?

"There will be 3-5 timed sections or "special tests", mostly twisty downhills. The sum of the times on these special tests will determine the winner. So take your time on the uphills and enjoy the scenery and then let it all hang out in the special tests. Beer provided by White Pine Brewing Company based out of Ely!"

Lazy climbs AND BEER ? We could learn something from the Nevadans on this. We need to move this idea into NorCal pronto.

2008 Pine Nut Cracker Results

Results for last weekend's Pine Nut Cracker have been posted. I haven't seen any pictures or race reports yet, but Nevada Cup points should be updated over on RenoWheelmen.org soon.

Norcal MTB Racing This Weekend: Memorial Day

It's a big holiday weekend of MTB racing in NorCal:

Saturday (5/24): Going south towards the coast, you have the first CCCX Cross Country (XC) race since April. It's the last XC race of the series that will be held at Toro Park (instead of the usual Fort Ord). For those of you in the Sierras (and not at Northstar), the second leg of the Nevada Cup, Gardnerville's Pine Nut Cracker is also Saturday. Finally, for those of you looking for a longer ride, Team Bigfoot's 12 Hours of Weaverville will be the third race in the Silver Cup of the Solo series.

Sunday (5/25): Closer to the Bay Area, the 2008 Friends of Tamarancho headlines the Fairfax Fat Tire Festival. A cross country (XC) race held on Tamarancho Boy Scout Camp trails. Also on Sunday, the second day of CCCX racing brings the CCCX Spring DH #6 to Toro Park near Monterey. The course is described as:

"The race route for the May 25 DH will be fast and wide open in most sections, as well as tight and technical in others. Many of the technical corners are extremely challenging due to loose dirt combined with the off camber nature of the trails. Set up speed and braking into the corners will determine who can get thru the turns and onto the the speedy finishing portions of the route fastest. This race route will have possibly the highest overall speeds of all the courses used for the CCCX Series."

Finally, there is also another day of racing up North. Team Bigfoot presents the second race in the NorCal Super D and DH series in Weaverville with the 2008 Gravity Day.

2008 Alta Alpina Weeknight Series

The Alta Alpina Cycling Club, based in Gardnerville, NV (the folks who run the Pine Nut Cracker race) have announced their MTB XC series dates:

"Saddle up your your fat tire machine - the AACC MTB race series commences Tuesday, May 20th and ends June 24th. There are a total of 6 races scheduled. There is a change in this year's staring point, please meet at the west side of the Douglas County Fairgrounds (outside the chain link fence). The fairgrounds are located at the end of Pine Nut Road, across from the County Dump.

The race course will range in distance depending upon the race class you enter:
A Class: 12-14 miles, B's and women: 10-12 miles, C's and Single Speed: 8-10 miles.

Racer fees are as follows: junior racers $3.00, club members $5.00 and non-club member's 10.00."

Via Alta Alpina Cycling Club blog. Gardnerville is just down the mountain from South Lake Tahoe on the Nevada side.

2008 Rainbow Ridge Results

Race Results for last weekend's Jetway Chevrolet Rainbow Ridge Challenge in Fallon, NV have been posted over at USA Cycling. Rainbow Ridge is the first race in the Nevada Cup series (Northern Nevada State Championship Series).

Congrats to Men's Pro/Semi-Pro winner Kenny Burt.

2008 Nevada Cup Races

The Reno Wheelmen have announced the 2008 Nevada Cup schedule:

NORBA Northern Nevada State Championship Series

• May 4: Jetway Chevrolet Rainbow Ridge Challenge (Fallon, NV)
• May 24: Pine Nut Cracker (Gardnerville, NV)
• May 31: Peavine Challenge (Reno, NV)
• August 17: Sky Tavern Classic (Reno, NV)

This is a change of dates for the Rainbow Ridge Challenge.

Most of these races are XC-only races. However, I believe Sky Tavern and Peavine Challenge have also had DH races in the past.

You can see results and more information from last year's Nevada Cup races in the archives.

Thanks to Peter for the tip on this.

The Reno Wheelmen Announce 2008 Twilight Schedule

The Reno Wheelmen have announced their Twilight Mountain Schedule of races for 2008:

• 4/24: Hidden Valley 6:30 PM
• 5/8: Keystone Canyon 6:30 PM
• 5/15: Peavine Hill Climb 6:30 PM
• 6/5: River Banks 6:30 PM
• 6/12: Keystone Canyon 6:30 PM
• 6/19: River Banks 6:30 PM
• 6/26: Keystone Canyon 6:30 PM Final

These weeknight races cost $5 and are FREE for Women and Juniors. You can find more information about last year's races in the archives.

2008 Rainbow Ridge and FT&B Dates

BicycleNevada has the dates for of this year's Nevada events:

• April 27, 2008: Rainbow Ridge Challenge
• June 7-8, 2008: Fears, Tears and Beers

Rainbow Ridge is usually the first race in the Nevada Cup XC series and FT&B is an Enduro. I don't see their sites updated with details yet, but I post something when I do. For last year's information on Nor Nevada races, check the archives.

Sky Tavern Redux ?

So I am confused by this. The Reno Wheelmen announced the Sky Tavern race (part of the Nevada Cup) back in August, but now I see this on the University of Nevada Reno Cycling Team site:

"2007 WCCC MTB OPENER
Sky Tavern Resort, NV
Saturday, September 29th: Cross County & Downhill
Sunday, September 30th: Short Track & Super D"

with a race flyer that has all kinds of details on the race. It looks like it is both a collegiate race and NORBA race. I never saw the results to the August Sky Tavern XC race (although dhRENO had the scaled back DH results), so maybe this is legit. I'll email the organizers and ask.

2007 Sky Tavern Results

So I never saw the results for this posted on the Reno Wheelmen page for the 2007 Nevada Cup, but dhRENO had the scoop:

Sky Tavern DH ‘07: "Looks like the Sky Tavern downhill race did go off this year with 7 racers, each in a different category, so everyone was a winner!" (Via dhRENO)

Congrats to Jon Wilson and Heidi Kanayan who won the Men's and Women's Pro/Expert DH races. See the dhRENO link for full DH results and pictures.

I found the XC results after scouring the USA Cycling website. Congratulations to Michael Andres and Zephanie Blasi who won the Men's and Women's Pro XC race.

2007 Twilight MTB Final Results

The Reno Wheelmen have posted the results from the final race of their Twilight MTB series. The final series results have also been posted: 2007 Twilight MTB Series Final Results. Congratulations to the following series winners:

• Men's A: Scott Fifield (Bicycle Warehouse)
• Men's B: Tim Walker (Sierra Cyclesmith)
• Men's C: Josh Rennie (Reno Wheelmen)
• Women's A: Cody Clark (Ritchey)
• Women's B: Amber Broch (UNR)
• Women's C: Lucy Larsen

2007 Northstar DH #1 Results

The results for last weekend's long awaited return of downhill MTB racing at Northstar have been posted: Northstar DH Race #1 results (July 1, 2007).

Unfortunately, the results are a bit indecipherable. Taking my best guess, I think the following people won:

• Pro Men: Ameil Cavalier (03:31.6)
• Sport Women: Herndon Tasa (?) (05:24.5)
• Beginner Men: Matt Collins (05:26.7)
• Elite Men: Steven Ruud (04:00.4)
• Sport Men: Graeme Pitts (05:06.1)

I haven't seen a lot of pictures for this race. The folks over at dhRENO have a race report and some photos up at Flickr.