RACE REPORT: Humbug Hurry Up

It took a little detective work, but I located the 2006 Humbug Hurry-Up results. They were hiding them over on the Breakaway Events page for the Hurry-Up. They have also posted pictures of the event over at Outdoor Exposure Photography.

Congratulations to Jason Moeschler (WTB) who beat Mark Weir (also WTB) by 00:00:16 for the Pro Men's win. Sarah Maile (Ventana USA) took the Women's top honors.

UPDATE (06/09/06): It looks like Mark Weir updated his GPS trail for this race. Below are the course map:
and elevation readings from his ride:

MTB Racing at the BMX Track

So our friends at dhReno have again come through for us with an alternative racing opportunity: BMX Cruiser at Carson City BMX park:

Night racing begins this Friday June 2nd! Sign ups and practice 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Racing ASAP. Cost is only $5 and you need an ABA license.

For details, see the Carson City BMX website.

Mountain bikes can be raced in the cruiser class.

RACE REPORT: PCRS #9

It was a little bit hotter than most races this year, but we had another good turn out for PCRS #9 last night. And as a bonus, it was kiddie racing night. Woo hoo.
New course layout tonight. They started us going north into the "badlands" (as opposed to south through the "valley") which was about 2 miles of rocky, sandy whoops. It then brought us back by the starting point to race us down into the usual valley and around the the big downhill (haven't seen that this year) before climbing us back into the parking lot for the lap / finish line.
I didn't start my GPS at the start (damn gloves) but I think we did about 3.2 mile laps with 300 feet of climbing. Personally, my race sucked it. I started with the lead group in my category, but the combination of my new tires (Specialized Fast Tracks, excuse #1) and poor rear shock settings (excuse #2), dropped me off the edge by the entrance to the valley. My second lap was even worse, but I managed to bring a little shred of dignity to my day in the final lap. By then, I was really just looking to beat my personal rivals -- not worrying about where I ended in the standings. A least it was mission accomplished in that respect (I dropped him somewhere near the first climb of the second half of the last lap).

Pictures will be posted here and the results should be over here sometime tonight.

Qualifying For UCI Masters Worlds

Just to add a little more confusion to those of you competing for the USA Cycling / NORBA MTB championships, they've posted the UCI World Masters qualifying information:

Qualification procedures are now available for the 2006 UCI Mountain Bike Masters World Championships at Sun Peaks Resort in British Columbia Aug. 30-Sept. 3.

The top-five finishers in each of the master age classes in expert cross country and expert downhill events at each of the 2006 National Mountain Bike Series events and the 2006 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships brought to you by X-Fusion will be named to the team as qualified riders.

Qualified riders will receive an official letter from USA Cycling along with an order form to purchase an official Team USA jersey. A list of automatic qualifiers will also be announced on www.usacycling.org.

Any rider is eligible to compete in the UCI Masters Mountain Bike World Championships provided that his or her racing age is 30 or older and he or she holds a USA Cycling international license.

The full press release can be viewed here.

ROAD TRIP: 12 Mile Super D

Since there isn't anything on the NorCal schedule for this weekend, I am highlighting a few out of area races. And apparently, this weekend is the "official" roadtrip enduro / Super D weekend.

Breakaway Events Presents the 12 Mile Super D
We are proud to announce that we are presenting the first Super D race in Southern Oregon! What is a Super D? A super D is best described as a downhill cross country race. Any bike will do for a Super D race, but this category of racing is where the all-mountain/trail bikes with 4, 5, and 6 inches of travel can really excel.

The 12 Mile Super D race will be held in Ashland, Oregon [ MAP ] on June 11th, 2006 (this Sunday). The course looks an inviting mix of downhill with a little bit of pedaling thrown in: 4,550' descent and 600' climbing over 12 miles. A course map is located here. The actual race will be held at the Mount Ashland Ski Resort and requires pre-registration. Register over at active.com before midnight on June 8th, 2006 (Thursday midnight). It costs $55 per rider plus a ORBA (not NORBA) license (an additional $5).

Why can't NorCal have Super D races ?

Norcal Racing This Week: June 7 - June 8, 2006

It's a full slate weeknight racing:

Tonight (WEDNESDAY) marks another Prairie City Race (PCRS#9). Riders do a varying amount of 4 mile laps (course varies weekly) depending on category. Registration starts at 4:15 PM and costs $25 (subsequent races cost $10). Make sure to come out to Prairie City (near Folsom, CA) for your midweek XC races.

Also on Wedneday is the premiere of the Howarth Park Dirt Crits in Santa Rosa, CA. Short (1 mile) course races that are fun for the entire family. Racing starts at 5:30 PM and costs $9 for adults ($4 juniors).

Tomorrow (THURSDAY) the racing shifts to Northern Nevada and the Twilight MTB Series (TMTB#6). This week's edition of the race series is moving south of Reno to Centennial Park in Carson City, NV [ MAP ]. Registration and racing begins at 6:30 PM. Registration costs $5 at the race.

There isn't anything on the NorCal calendar for this weekend, so get your racing in during the week.

RACE REPORT: CCCX #5

This weekend marked the return of the CCCX cross country (XC) series in Seaside, CA and the results have been posted. I couldn't make the drive down to the coast, but luckily a few MotionBased users logged their races. You can see the details (times, maps, heart rates, etc.) here (mcengen), here (amutzinger) and here (morganfletcher).

More US MTB Nationals Commentary . . .

Today's Lee Likes Bikes commentary on the NORBA / US MTB Nationals / Infineion rescheduling is priceless...

Race Face Opens 2006 UXC II Contest

Okay, I am not sure if winning this is actually a Really Good Thing (RGT):

After a successful inaugural Ultimate XC Challenge in 2005, Race Face is now open for application and registrations to the Ultimate XC Challenge II (UXC II) - an online, peer-judged contest that will send two teams of two riders to compete in the 2006 TransRockies with all expenses paid.

Riders who believe they are up to the challenge should have a strong race resume, and, more importantly, a Really Good Story (RGS) as to why they should be one of the chosen. The RGS portion needs to be submitted as a 90 second video explaining why they want to take part in one of the most punishing XC races in the world. Submissions must be received by June 15, 2006.

Similar to Ultimate Freeride Challenge, Race Face will take the top team submissions and post them online June 24th, 2005 for their online community to view and vote for which TWO teams should ride for Race Face at the 2006 Trans Rockies Challenge. Once selected - the two teams will be flown to the TransRockies race with all entry fees paid by Race Face. They will be outfitted in Race Face components and clothing and be given Race Face team support throughout the 7 day epic race.

For more information on the Race Face UXC II and to download your application form, click through to: www.raceface.com/uxc.

Entries are due June 15th.

RACE RESULTS: 2006 12 Hrs of Weaverville

Here are the results for this year's 12 Hours of Weaverville. However, I will warn you, they are a little strange. For some reason, they list the rider number, rider hometown and laps, but not the rider's name. They also have some pictures over at Trailtime.

RACE RESULTS: 2006 Peavine Challenge

The results are in from this weekend's 14th Annual Peavine Challenge. Congratulations to Scott Phillips (Content) who won the Pro competition by covering the 26 miles in 2:09:56. He edged out Peter Graf by almost 2 minutes. The Reno Wheelmen have also posted some podium pictures.

RACE REPORT: 2006 Tish Tang Television DH

So the results are in from this weekend's 2006 Tish Tang Television Downhill. Congratulations to Scott Fellers who posted a race best 2:06 time, edging out Matt Cipes by 10 seconds. Scott also won March's Red Tail Hawk race. Full results are available at the Trinity River Pirates website, along with pictures and some video. (Thanks to Patrick for the photo link).

Oakland Scrape Alleycat Race

The folks at RideSFO tipped us off to the Oakland Scrape Alleycat Race, a checkpoint race around Oakland. Not your usual NorCal MTB Racing fare, but it is open to all bikes and and proceeds go to Cycles of Change, an Oakland based charity educating kids about bikes, so we decided to feature it anyway.

The race will be Saturday, June 24th at noon at Lakeside Park in Lake Merritt, near Lake Merritt BART [ MAP ]. The course is described as a 20 to 25 mile trip through "the East Bay, Oakland and Berkeley. They're all legally accessible and that's all were saying." Upon registering, you'll be given a checklist, to be stamped at each checkpoint, and a clue to the first checkpoint. From there you need to visit each checkpoint (possibly completing a challenge) to move onto the next leg.

The race costs $5 and you may need a bag and/or a lock for some of the challenges.

ROADTRIP: Santa Barbara Bicycle Festival

For those of you still looking to qualify for the US MTB Nationals in downhill (DH), there's another (somewhat) close shot at it this weekend in Southern / Central California at the 2006 Santa Barbara Bicycle Festival. Held on June 3rd in Elings Park, the festival will feature cross country (XC) and downhill (DH) races as well as live music and some BMX. The downhill course is described as "The downhill course winds down a 400 vertical foot. . . This years course has been redesigned with multiple table tops, singletrack, bermed switchbacks that drop into a meadow that continue with tabletop jumps and berms to the finish. The race format is a combined two run time." There is minimal information on the XC course, other than it is a five mile loop. There is a satellite photo of the course available here.

Event: Santa Barbara Bicycle Festival
Dates: June 3rd, 2006
Location: Santa Barbara, CA [ MAP ]
Competition: DH, XC
Cost: $35 - $45 depending on category/race
URL: http://santabarbarabikefest.com/#
License: NORBA
Registration: onsite

RACE REPORT: PCRS #8

With the temperature finally getting back to normal, about a hundred and fifty or so people came out to Prairie City OHV for PCRS #8 last night.

We ran a short course (3.1 miles) last night, which was pretty flat (only 300' climbing) but fast and mostly singletrack. There were less sustained downhills (probably to cut down on accidents) but also a lot less climbing. The course went out into parts of the park that I hadn't ever been on before - it even crossed the road at one point by the motocross track.

Myself, I felt like I raced pretty well. I may have snuck into the top 10 in the my category, but most of all I had a good ride with decent lap splits. I hung with the lead group until getting separated at the end of lap 1, then rode alone for most of lap 2. It was nice not having anyone in front of me, making it much easier to read the lines. I was pretty lucky though - I saw a lot of people crash and walking there bikes into the finish line. Not sure if these were all mechanicals or what.

Pictures are posted here. Results will be are posted here later tonight.