Whiskeytown Threatened By Govt Shutdown

For those of you looking to race up North this weekend, best be following the national news:

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN & WHISKEYTOWN NINE TO FIVE / 24 HOURS OF WHISKEYTOWN
Well folks, here's the sitch, the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is subject to the current government shutdown, so at this moment our permit for this coming weekend has been suspended. However, if the shutdown is lifted prior to Friday morning, we'll still have time to get the course marked and run the events as planned.
Keep watching your favorite news for updates.

More news when posted …

2012 Humbug HurryUp

The most northern NorCal race is on for 2012:

Classic mountain bike race returns to the State of Jefferson’s Greenhorn Park in Yreka. SINGLE TRACK! SINGLE TRACK! The “Monster Mile.” The “Chute.” The “Hike-a Bike.” Challenging expert course ~ 24 miles. Fun sport course ~ 15 miles. Friendly beginner course ~ 7 miles. Free kids race ~ 1 mile. Free overnight camping in Greenhorn Park. Cash prizes and goodies. Sponsored by Yreka Rotary and the Siskiyou Family YMCA.

More details at http://www.humbughurryup.com/.

12 Hours of Humboldt Returns for 2011

It looks like I've been completely asleep at the wheel in covering our way NorCal friends up in Humboldt. It's this weekend (7/23/11), but well worth the trek:

With temperatures throughout California reaching into the 90s and beyond, many mountain bike endurance racers are looking forward to visiting Arcata for the Adventure’s Edge 12 Hours of Humboldt, July 23, as a means of getting in some great racing while also escaping the sweltering heat-wave. The average July daily temperature in this corner of the north coast is in the high 60s! Factor in a course that is almost entirely under the shade of giant redwood trees and it’s no wonder that most of the riders in this popular event come from out of the area.

The 12 hour long event runs from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. While a number of the riders will go it solo, there will also be relay teams of 2, 3 or 4 riders competing in several different categories based on age and rider ability. And new this year is the 6 Hours of Humboldt; a kinder, gentler option for riders who want the satisfaction of a solo experience, but aren’t up for a full 12 hours. The 6 hour event will go from 8:00am to 2:00pm.

The course weaves through the Arcata Community Forest using a variety of trails. The 7.4-mile course is a fun mix of fire road and flowing single-track, boasting 1112’ of elevation gain per lap. Mountain bike endurance hero Tinker Juarez has called the course “One of the best I’ve ridden.”

The main venue is in Arcata’s Redwood Park. The pit area will be on the upper lawn where riders and teams will be able to put up tents, awnings, etc. Riders with children will be pleased to know that there’s a playground adjacent to the start/finish/transition.

Team Bigfoot, an Arcata-based event promotions company, is organizing this event and has pledged a portion of each rider entry fee to the new Ridge Trail, a large addition to the Arcata Community Forest, and to the Humboldt County Search and Rescue Team. For information on the race visit Adventure’s Edge in Arcata or Eureka, or go to the website at www.teambigfoot.net, or call (707) 845-3095.

2011 Humbug Hurry-Up Announced

The Humbug Hurry-Up is back for another year on May 21, 2011 in (way) NorCal (Yreka, CA):

Classic mountain bike race returns to the State of Jefferson’s Greenhorn Park in Yreka. SINGLE TRACK! SINGLE TRACK! The “Monster Mile.” The “Chute.” The “Hike-a Bike.” Challenging expert course ~ 24 miles. Fun sport course ~ 15 miles. Friendly beginner course ~ 9 miles. Free kids race ~ 1 mile. Free overnight camping in Greenhorn Park. Cash prizes and goodies. Sponsored by Yreka Rotary and the Siskiyou Family YMCA. Postmark by May 14: $35. Postmark after May 14: $45.

Registration and flyer info are located at http://www.humbughurryup.com/

MTB Racing This Weekend: October 2-3, 2010

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

1. Race For Tara 4 (10/02/10)
2. Whiskeytown 9-5 / 24 (10/02/10)
3. UC Berkeley MTB Race (10/02/10)
4. CCCX CX (10/03/10)
5. UC Berkeley MTB Race (10/03/10)
6. Private Locust (10/03/10)

2010 Race for the Ridge Trail Announced

Thanks to Rocky for the heads up on a new late season MTB race festival for those of you in far northern Cali (specifically Arcata/Eureka):

Mark your calendars for Halloween weekend, Oct. 30 and 31, 2010. The ghosts and goblins will spook us all for the Race for the Ridge Festival in the Arcata Community Forest.

Race for the Ridge Trail Festival is a two day fund raising event supporting new trails in Arcata Community Forest. The long range goal is to join Sunny Brae Forest to West End road through a series of connected trails. The festival will feature a cross country mountain bike race, short track mountain bike races, Super D mountain bike race, kids bike races, a 5k running race, family fun ride, tricks, treats, ghosts, goblins, food, music, entertainment, and maybe special guest appearances from Ichabod Crane and the Headless Bikeman.

Funds from the event will support the City of Arcata’s Ridge Trail Project, a hiking, biking and equestrian trail from Sunny Brea to West End Road.

Via Race for the Ridge Trail blog.

2010 Caspar Classic

I'm a little late on adding this, but the Caspar Classic is back for 2010:

Mendocino Coast Cyclists will once again host this year’s Caspar Classic Mountain Bike Race held on Sunday, September 5th. A new and exciting race course has been designed to challenge all participants. The official start of the race course will be in the same location as in the past on the Caspar Logging Rd (Road 500) and junction of Road 600. Registration will open at 9:00am with the race commencing at 10:30am. Come and enjoy a great day at the Mendocino coast while racing or just watching some of the best riders in Northern California when past winners Brain Astell and Mary Allen take to the trail. A great way to round out the Labor Day weekend!

Entry Fee: $25 $12.50 Juniors (17 and under with parental consent)

Directions: From Hwy 1 at Caspar go east on Fern Creek road ¼ of a mile to Caspar Orchard road turn right and proceed to dirt road (Road 500), continue on road 500 for one mile to junction of Road 600 and staging area. Be aware of large speed bumps on Road 500.

For further information please contact Stan Miklose at (707) 964-4661 or email miklose@mcn.org

Via 2010 Caspar Classic Mountain Bike Race.

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: June 18-20, 2010

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

1. TBF Friday Night MTB Series (Friday - TONIGHT): Second installment of Friday night racing at Folsom Lake.
2. Humbug Hurry-Up (Saturday): Technically part of the OBRA schedule, this is the northern most race on the calendar  (Yreka, CA).
3. CCCX XC (Sunday): Monterey/South Bay XC race. Course schedule and preview later tonight.
4. Northstar DH Series (Sunday): The first DH race in Northstar at Tahoe's summer series.
5. MCBC Fun Ride (Sunday): Fun ride (not race) to benefit the Marin County Bike Coalition.

Preliminary 2010 Team Bigfoot Schedule

Team Bigfoot posted a Christmas present for far Northern California MTB racers with a preliminary 2010 schedule:

OUR 2010 SCHEDULE WILL BE POSTED IN EARLY JANUARY
The Northern California Mountain Bike Championship Series will be back, with a few new venues in the series!

The Team Bigfoot Endurance Series will be back, with a few new venues there too! Check back for details.

HERE ARE A FEW EVENTS THAT ARE ALREADY SCHEDULED

• KIRKWOOD 9 TO 5 #1, August 28
• 24 HOURS OF KIRKWOOD, August 28-29
• KIRKWOOD 9 TO 5 #2, September 18
• KIRKWOOD SIX HOUR SUPER-D, Sept. 19

Good to see that the Kirkwood event(s) will be continued and expanded.

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: Oct 24 - 25, 2009

Sorry about the lack of updates this week, I've been laid out with the H1N1 (or is it just the flu ? how do I know the difference ? should I care ?) since Monday morning. As I still don't feel that well, I'll keep it short and sweet:

• CCCX Fall DH #1 (Near Monterey on Saturday): consistently one of the best attended series in Northern California, this is the kickoff for the fall 2009 series. The course is described as "It is going to be a super fast course for the CCCX Fall/Winter DH Series opener. Speeds will be extremely high as recent rains have helped improve the traction on most of the trails. There will be some tricky turns added and some break check spots where tire traction will be tested. This course has some screaming fast spots in it where gravity takes over and it feels like your riding at freeway speed. Plus some slow sections of trail where line choice and rider control will dictate who is best. Most of all it is going to be fun!" Peruse the archives for extensive pics and past race results.
• DAWN OF THE SHRED!!! (Yreka, CA/Mt Shasta, CA on Saturday): I've read the website for this three times and I am still not sure exactly what all is going on here. But I think you will have a good time. I looks like there may be bacon involved.
• TBF 50-Mile MTB Challenge (Granite Bay near Sacramento on Sunday): TBF Racing (organizers of the early season XC races) branches out with the looong course race to close out there 2009 schedule.
• BASP CX #2 (CX race in San Mateo, CA on Sunday): A cyclocross race in the Bay Area at Coyote Point.
• Homegrown Cyclocross #1 (Woodward Park in Fresno on Sunday): More CX, Central Valley style. They have the best flyer of the week and a sweet deal for the willing.

Stay well.

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: Oct 3 -4, 2009

Racing is starting to wind down for the year, so for this weekend's calendar I am opening it up nationwide. In case, you are looking for a serious roadtrip:

10/03/09: Whiskeytown 9-5 / 24 (NorCal, near Redding)
10/03/09: Parkfield Classic (Central CA, near nothing [ed: kidding])
10/03/09: Road Apple Rally (NM)
10/03/09: Bryan Texas Utilities Power Pedal (TX)
10/03/09: Fall Tilt in Telluride (CO)
10/03/09: SoCal Fat Tire Epic 50 (SoCal)
10/04/09: Northstar DH (Live Wire Classic) (Truckee, CA)
10/04/09: Wolf River Rendezvous (WI)
10/04/09: Leaf Blower (NJ)
10/04/09: North Texas XC #3 Rowlett Creek (TX)
10/04/09: BASP CX #1 (Bay Area Cyclocross)

Redding Bike Park

It looks like Redding, CA may be on their way to getting their own bike park:

We have blessings from the City to get started with the planning phase. Unfortunately, in the current economy all they can offer is blessings, so we're applying for grants and working hard to get donations. And since we're now a 510c3 nonprofit, you can now donate via Paypal at the website above (here). The city can't help us with anything so we will have to find the money to pay for everything starting from the environmental review, through permits, construction, you name it.

The site is flat with a slight slope in one direction. It will have a start hill, sets of dirt jumps of all sizes, a more freeride oriented section, and some singletrack with lots of technical trail features. It will also connect to the Sacramento River Trail via the new bike path they are building from Hilltop to Turtle Bay.

Via Redding Bike Park. This park would join the already popular parks at Northstar, Folsom and Fresno.

2009 12 Hours of Humboldt Results

Results for Saturday's 12 Hours of Humboldt have been posted over at Team Bigfoot's website. Congratulations to Mark Osborn and Chris Horton who both recorded 13 laps (although I think Chris won on time), and Elizabeth Crocker, who recorded the most solo female laps.

There's a thread on MTBR with pictures and a race report at Tri-Sports Racing.

2009 12Hrs of Humboldt Update

A quick update about next weekend's 12 Hours of Humboldt up in Arcata:

With temperatures throughout California reaching into the 90s and beyond, many endurance racers are looking forward to visiting Arcata for the 12 Hours of Humboldt, August 22, as a means of getting in some good racing while also escaping the sweltering heat-wave. The average August daily temperature in this corner of the north coast is in the high 60s! Factor in a course that almost entirely under the shade of giant redwood trees and it’s no wonder that most of the riders in this popular event come from out of the area.

The main venue is in Arcata’s Redwood Park. The pit area will be on the upper lawn where riders and teams will be able to put up tents, awnings, etc. Riders with children will be pleased to know that there’s a playground adjacent to the start/finish/transition The course will run through the Arcata Community Forest using a variety of trails. The 8-mile course is a fun mix of fireroad and flowing singletrakc, boasting 1400’ of elevation gain per lap. Mountain bike endurance hero Tinker Juarez has called the course “One of the best I’ve ridden.”

The event is not just for elite riders. Along with the elite solo riders there will also be relay teams of 2, 3 or 4 riders competing in several different categories based on age and rider ability.

Check out all the details at Team Bigfoot.

2009 Clikapudi Nine To Five Cancelled

Bad news ...

One of the biggest challenges for putting on an event is getting the permits. Unfortunately the permit for the Clikapudi Six to Midnight at Shasta Lake is STILL in process. So with less than a month before the scheduled date of Sept. 5 I gotta pull the plug.

The USFS staff says that the permit is likely to be approved, so when we get that (eventually) we'll apply it to a 2010 date.

Via Mtbr.com Forums

2009 Kirkwood 9-5 Results

The Kirkwood Nine to Five results have been posted over at Team Bigfoot. Congrats to Dezmin Wilder, who clocked 12 solo laps on the challenging course.

Team Bigfoot's next race is the 12 Hours of Humboldt in Arcata, CA on August 22nd.

2009 Caspar Classic

Details for this year's Caspar Classic up in Mendocino County have surfaced:

Mendocino Coast Cyclists are proud to host the Caspar Classic Mountain Bike Race to be held Sunday, September 6th 2009 on Labor Day weekend.

The course is the same as last year, a 7-mile loop with 500ft of climbing, about 1/3 dirt road, 1/3 double-track trail, and 1/3 single-track trail.

Racer groups will be,

• Beginning racers 1-loop/7 miles/500ft climb
• Intermediate racers 2-loops/14 miles/1000ft climb
• Advanced racers 3-loops/21 miles/1500ft climb

Groups for woman, single speeders and others may also be formed.

Race fee is $25.

Via Mendocino Coast Cyclists.

2009 12 Hours of Weaverville Results

The 2009 12 hours of Weaverville results have been posted.

Congrats to Kevin Speacht and Yvette Crockell, who appear to have taken the top male and female honors.

Pictures and race reports are posted over at MTBR.

Shastarama Added To 2009 Giant Bicycles NorCal Series

I know that many of you will be heading north this weekend to compete in the 12 Hours of Weaverville or Gravity Day races near Redding, so I thought I would finally get off my ass and post the newest race in the series -- the Shastarama DH and XC:

The Giant Bicycles Northern California Mountain Bike Championship Series continues to gain in popularity. The addition of a cross-country and a downhill to be held at Mt. Shasta Ski Park, July 18 and 19, increases the series to nine cross-country events, six downhill events, five Super-D races, and two short-track races. For information on the Mt. Shasta events visit www.shastabasecamp.com or call (530)926-2539.

“We had all the events in this year’s series all set back in February,” says Vic Armijo of Team Bigfoot, coordinator of the series, “but then the folks at Mt. Shasta decided to hold an event and approached us about being in the series,” he added. “When they told me that the downhill would have chair-lift service and that the timing would be done by their ski racing crew, well, it just made perfect sense!”

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 1ST Place Socks from Sock Guy, and will be eligible to purchase a championship jersey. Medals will also be presented for second and third place in the series.

Online registration is available at bikereg.com and the downhill course map is available.

Weeknight Racing Comes To Redding: Blazing Saddles

Redding is the latest city to get their very own homegrown weeknight MTB racing series with S.O.A.R.'s Blazing Saddles MTB Race Series:

• Outdoor Fun, Food and Music
• 1st - 3rd place awards in every category & every race.
• Free dinner for riders ($5 for fans)
• Raffle giveaways
• Awards for series winners (Top 10 places to be awarded points to be totaled at the end of series )

The races will be held every Thursday evening from May 21st (May 21st, May 28th, June 4th, June 11th & June 18) at Swasey Recreation Area starting at 5:00 PM for registration. Online registration is available at Active.com. Racing starts at 6:00 PM.