The Big Sandy Returns for 2012

The Big Sandy, an epic Central Cali point to point race, is back for 2012:

The race starts at the base of the San Joaquin River Gorge, five miles northwest of Auberry, CA and follows 15 miles of mostly singletrack along the contours of the river valley, finishing at Finegold Bay on Millerton Lake. Long course riders go 23 miles, starting with a climb to the top of the ridge followed by one of the best singletrack downhills in the area before joining the remainder of the course. Soar past wildflowers and the sparkling river to finish under shady trees for something to eat and drink.

Full details on their site at http://bigsandyrace.com/.

Tip of the hat to Richard for the heads up.

Big Sandy Returns for 2011

This is a little late (sorry Chris), but registration is open for this year's Big Sandy, NorCal's only point to point race:

Its time to sign up. Registration for the Third Annual Big Sandy Point to Point Mountain Bike Race is now open. Register online Now. We love online registration so much, we are paying the service fee.

Or visit the udated website to download a registration form.

Our little race is starting to get recongnized as a must do California Race. In order to maintain the level of quality the event is know for, we have decided to limit the field size to 300. Register early and secure your place in one of the best mountain bike events you will race this year.

We are Proud to be a part of the Northern California State Championship Series this year.

The Big Sandy is a point to point XC race held northeast of Fresno. See full details at bigsandyrace.com.

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)

Big Sandy Registration Open

Registration is now open for late March's Big Sandy race:

Its time to sign up. Registration for the Third Annual Big Sandy Point to Point Mountain Bike Race is now open. Register online Now. We love online registration so much, we are paying the service fee. Register before March 1st when the price goes up $5.00.

Our little race is starting to get recognized as a must do California Race. In order to maintain the level of quality the event is know for, we have decided to limit the field size to 300. Register early and secure your place in one of the best mountain bike events you will race this year.

The Big Sandy is a point to point XC race held Northeast of Fresno on March 28th.

The Big Sandy Returns for 2010

The Big Sandy, Central California's point to point race, is back for 2010:

Well we are at it again for our third year. Up to 23 miles of singletrack through the river valley with the wildflowers. We are in the process of getting everything together. Courses are the same as last year. Pro/Cat 1 do a loop on the Ridge before heading down river. We will be capping the number of riders this year. We are growing pretty fast and we want to make sure its still fun for volunteers and racers. Pre-register to make sure you get in. All the info will be updated soon and registration will open as soon as I have signed permits in my hands. Don't miss our trail work days, starting in late January. Check ccorc.com for trail work days

The race will be March 28th near New Auberry, CA. Check out previous year's coverage for more details.

2009 Big Sandy Results

Sorry for the blackout ... been deathly sick AND traveling for the past few days. I'll try and clear the backlog today and tonight if the Nyquil doesn't put me back to sleep.

Last weekend's second annual Big Sandy Race got some love from the mainstream media:

Steve Ray of Fresno outpedaled the field at Saturday's Big Sandy mountain bike race, covering the hilly 23-mile course in 2 hours, 1 minute, 58 seconds.
John Parson of Palmdale placed second in the men's pro/expert division in 2:04.23.
"I knew John would close the gap on every climb, so I had to make the downhills count," said the 34-year-old Ray. "Plus, I've been riding this trail half my life. That kind of helps, too."

Clovis' Kristi Eastin, a Fresno State classics professor who used to be a pro mountain bike and road racer, won the women's pro/expert division in 2:35:55, followed by Amber Finch of Truckee in 2:36.51.

Read the whole story at the Fresnobee.com.

Full results are posted up at USA Cycling but the main site has the photo links .

2009 Big Sandy Registration Open

Registration is now open for the 2009 Big Sandy:

Registration is $40.00 this year, $30.00 for Juniors. There will be a $5.00 fee to sign up on race day ... No stamps, no envelope, just sign in and sign up: ONLINE REGISTRATION ... We are selling Commemorative T-Shirts this year. If you order one with registration its only $5.00, but you have to order it by March 20th ... MORE SINGLETRACK: That is the only way to describe this year’s race. Everyone will get more. For Pro and Cat 1 (expert) racers, we are adding the Pa’San Ridge Loop at Squaw Leap. We even added a special Long Course cat for Cat 2 (sport). this trail is too fun. starting off with a mile down to the river valley cross the bridge, well then you climb for about 3 miles and the top is kind of rocky, but you race mountain bikes so this is fun to you. Then you get 3-4 miles of the best singletrack you may find.

The Big Sandy is a point to point XC race (23 or 15 miles) on April 4th, 2009 that celebrates the completion of the the Big Sandy bridge just North of Fresno [COURSE MAP].

Read more over on their website at http://bigsandyrace.com/.

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").

Big Sandy Returns For 2009

The central valley's best new XC race is back for 2009: Big Sandy Returns 4/4/09. Not any details yet, but the site is up.

2008 Big Sandy Results

Results from yesterday's Big Sandy race have been posted.

Congratulations to top finisher Jerimiah Root and Rebecca Gross (VelaBella - sp?).

Pre-registration Last Day for Big Sandy

Tomorrow is the last day to pre-register for next weekend's Big Sandy race. If you a lazy-ass like me and think there's no reason to click over, you'd be wrong. Pre-regs get a free t-shirt (depicted on the right):

Nothing better than a free T shirt. it has so many uses. Like a seat cover for a pre-68 vw beetle, an emergency dress shirt for the trunk in case of job interview or cut the sleeves for a free all-day Gun Show. And don't forget what wearing a Big Sandy Race shirt says about you.
"Yeah, I race mountain bikes, even though I spend more time at Home Depot."
"I don't buy my clothes at the mall, I shop at bike shops."
"I eat right all week and go to bed at 9:00 pm before race day and still come in DFL."
"My wife has no say in what I wear."
"I won a medal too, but I feel like a tool when I wear it to Starbucks."
"I registered early and race promoters love me."

The Big Sandy race is a 15 mile point to point XC race that will be held April 6th, 2008 near Auberry, CA.

Big Sandy Registration Open

Registration is open for the Big Sandy Race, which will be held on April 6th, 2008 near Fresno (actually 5 miles northwest of Auberry, CA). Pre-registration closes on April 1st, but if you register today you can save $5.

There are also some course pictures up over at the CCORC website.

You can find more information about the race in the archives.

Big Sandy Race

The folks behind the Big Sandy Race dropped me a line to let us know that they have opened online registration and added some more information to their website. Register before March 21st and pay only $35 for this point to point XC race.

The Big Sandy XC Race

Wow. Another Fresno-area MTB race this Spring:

"Mountain bike racers get ready to ride some of the best single-track in North America on April 6th, 2008. Central California Off Road Cyclists is hosting the Big Sandy Race.

The race starts at San Joaquin River Gorge (formerly known as Squaw Leap) and will finish 15 miles down river Finegold Bay. The race is a celebration of over 11 years of work by the club building the San Joaquin Trail and the bridge at Big Sandy to create over 50 miles of single track. The race consists of rolling hills followed by a massive climb and downhill to the finish."

It looks like the course is about 15 miles with 2990' of climbing (map courtesy of CCORC):


View Larger Map

The race will be held April 6th, 2008 outside Fresno, CA (nearest town looks to be New Auberry, CA -- see the website for details).

Complete details are available at the race website or MTB Calendar.