COTR 2013: Save the Dates.

We have already been getting quite a few e-mails asking for information and dates for our 8th Cross on the Rock Season. While I can’t give you too many details as we are working on a “Top Secret” series unveiling what I can tell you is that you should mark the following dates off on your calendar, lap top, smart phone, write on your hand or just quit your job for the fall.

COTR Dates for our 8th Season, 2013

  • September 29th .
  • October 14th . (Thanksgiving Monday)
  • October 20th.
  • October 27th
  • November 9th.
  • November 10th .
  • November 24th .

While you are at it you should probably mark off November 30th and December 1st on your Calendar as well as this will most likely be National Championships in South Surrey’s dates. Since it might be a few more years before it makes it back to the West Coast….you should plan on closing out your season at that event.

We have a few changes to venues and courses this year and are also working on…..well we are always working on something….can’t give too much away just yet.

In the meantime there is plenty of racing to keep you busy. Check out the Island Cup MTB series starting this Sunday in Victoria http://www.islandcupseries.com . A lot of the clubs are starting up their events as well for both road and mtb. Make it a goal to try to race a non-local club race this year. It is always fun to check out the grass roots in another town or area.

In addition if you are looking for one of the coolest train RUN races (yes cross racers should RUN year round!) on the Island. Point to Point. Around 13k. a LOT of cookies. Famous Easter Egg hunt for kids. You should check out the Fletchers Challenge run in Nanaimo on Good Friday (March 29th this year). http://rocnanaimo.com/running.html

RUMBLE!!!!

After Rumble (http://www.drinkrumble.com) came out and supported the Binab GP at Western Speedway last fall we talked to Kim about coming on board as a series sponsor….and they said “YES”. So we look forward to working with Rumble for the upcoming season. I will give you more details about what exactly they are sponsoring in upcoming newsletters.

Up for SALE.

Many of you know we have a classified section on our web site if you are ever selling anything CROSS or bike related feel free to pop it up there. Quite a few people have sold things there over the years.

Wendy and I also have quite a few things for sale right now. Feel free to fire us an e-mail if you are interested in any.

Here is a list:

1) Kona Major Jake Cyclocross/Road Bike 55cm. Carbon Frame and Fork. Full Custom Build. Shimano Dura Ace Shifters and rear DR. Mixture of FSA, Spookey, Easton parts. Retail on this bike would be over $4000. Selling for $1700.00

2) Kona Major Jake Cyclocross/Road Bike. 53cm. Team Only Race Issued. Full Custom Build with Sram Force and Easton parts. Easton Carbon Race Wheels or Aluminum Clincher wheels available. Retail on this bike would be over $5500. Selling for $2500 (with Easton tubular Carbon Race Wheels) or $2000 (with Easton Aluminum clincher wheels). (2 of these)

3) Kona Custom TT Bike. Only 9 in the world. Built for H&R Block Cycling Team. For Time Trials or Triathlons. 53cm Top Tube. Shimano Dura Ace components. Vision Tech bars. Will sell with everything but wheels for $1500

4) Kona Hei Hei 100 Full suspension Scandium Mountain bike. 18″ frame set. The LIGHT Easton EC90XC Wheelset alone retails for $2500 by itself! Add Sram X1 components. 2 X 10 drivetrain…..and more Easton and Sram components and you have a bike that won BCBR by over 2 hours last year. The retail price on this bike would be Astronomical…..probably over $6000. Wendy is selling it for $3200. Has basically been ridden less than 15 days total. In amazing shape.

5) Several sets of Carbon cross race wheels: Zipp, Easton, FSA. If you are looking for some fire us a separate note and we can send you the wheels+tires and $$ breakdown.

6) Giro CODE MTB Shoes. NEW. White/Black Size 40EU. Never been worn. No cleats ever attached. Comes with the arch supports as well. $100

7) Shimano WM80 Women’s MTB Shoes. NEW. EU40. $80

8) ) Another–Kona Major Jake Cyclocross/Road Bike 55cm. Carbon Frame and Fork. Full Custom Build. Shimano Dura Ace Shifter (single front ring) and rear DR. Mixture of FSA, Avid, Easton parts. Retail on this bike would be over $4000. Selling for $1700.00

Thanks again to our 2012 sponsors. We hope to see them back again this year.

COTR #5: Crosstoberfest….was……AWESOME!!!!! (and other COTR News!)

How about a weekend in BC where there were 413 people racing Cross on the same day. (Crosstoberfest 208 + Kids, Pumpkin Cross 160 + Kids, Interior Cross 44) Our sport is GROWING!!

RANDOMS

Pelle’s Edit from Crosstoberfest (Sponsored by Oak Bay Bikes) Check it out

 One Gallery from COTR#5 from Patrick Burnham: 

Second time COTR racer Owen Wood, “Great race, kick ass course and the beer/brat was soooo good”

Have you checked out the series standings?

With 2 races to go. One being double points….AND the “drop”….things are getting VERY Interesting!!

Don’t forget about the Photo Contest. Rolland will set up the Gallery and we will start taking submissions after the next event.

Check out your results, Stats, Battle stats and series stats.

NEXT RACE: COTR#6 The Binab GP at Western Speedway. November 11th.

CROSSTOBERFEST COTR #5 at Transfer Beach, Ladysmith. SECOND LARGEST EVER!

Tara and Mike Pollock (with the Cowichan Valley Cycling Club) did an amazing job with this event (again).

(Some of) My Highlights:

  • There was one kid that was doing lap after lap of the kids course prior to their race. Wendy said he even did a bunch running….to “Warm up”. Wendy reported that at one point he stopped and looked over at another kid on the side of the course and said, “Oh #499. We have met before…..at the race in Victoria……” the challenge was ON!
  • The number of Intermediate Women.
  • The overall number of people both racers and spectators.
  • Sue Glenn from the City of Ladysmith
  • The number of kids racing.
  • The amazing luck with weather. I don’t mind racing in the rain but I know not everyone shares my passion on this.
  • A lot of first time podium finishers!

Lowlights

  • Hitting an immovable pole at a high rate of speed.

Random

  • I think if Adam DeVos could ride the first lap at 85% he would finish on the podium. Too much POWER!!

Unanswered questions: What happened to Nigel Ellsay in the Expert Race. Where is Steve Bachop?

From Tara:

Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped out at Crosstoberfest Ladysmith!!!! This event would not have been as successful if it was not for the commitment, creativity, and tenacity of this fantastic group of individuals!!! The rain and wind were intense for the set up crew that attended on Saturday night! They all came back for more, expecting the same on Sunday! Thank you! Thank you to each of you for giving up the sunniest day of the week to help make this event as good as it was! Thanks to Wolf Brewing Company for your generosity and for making history in the Cross on the Rock series…first beer garden!!

More specifically, thank you to…

Kevin Knock
Gracie Knock (and friend for the scary pumpkin)
Trevor Jones
Mr. and Mrs. Dutton
Sue Glenn (amazing advocate and organizer)
Tiffany Chapman (and Finnegan)
Jen and Chris Day
Tom Rozendaal
Natalie Jones
Sarah Chapman
Rhiannon Biotini
Lindsay and Paul Ellis
Garry Robinson
Brian Kuhn
Ron and Rhea Hewittson
Sandra Beggs
Andrea Robson
Barbara Altimas
Dean and Jen Lewis
Hilary Grant
Mike (whirly whirl creator extraordinaire!)
Roland and Katie
Norm

Thanks to our sponsors and their amazing support!!

The Town of Ladysmith
Cowichan Cycles
Wolf Brewing Company
Bouma Meats
The Drumroaster
Cycle Therapy
Experience Cycling
Bring a FEW extra BUCKS to the next race.

We collected about $160 at Crosstoberfest (Pumpkin Cross collected about $260 + We must beat them at our next event!!) for this and have private donations as well as more $ coming from the other events as well. If you cannot make it to our events but would like to donate please fire me an e-mail.

At our next event, the Binab GP COTR#6, on November 11th we will be collecting money as part of a BC Cross Community Collective Effort. Our next two events combined with the Last Victoria Underground race tonight, the Pumpkin Cross this Sunday put on by Local Ride, Jak New’s EV Grand Prix on November 10th as well a few of the bike clubs are organizing an effort to pump up and benefit our cross racers that come to the National Championships on November 17th and the UCI race on November 18th.

Our goals are FIRST to ensure that there is equal prize money for men and women to 15th place at the UCI race on November 18th in South Surrey. (I think we have already achieved this with our “public Pressure”)

Our SECOND Goal is that if the first goal is reached we want to put our remaining funds towards offering a prize purse for the National Champs on November 17th (Equal men and women of course).

Currently there is no prize purse required by regulations for Nationals, and so cash prizing is not currently being offered. (It is an expensive race weekend to put on with the UCI event etc. so we understand the budget constraints) BUT we would also like help to change that for the National Champs this year as they are being hosted in our Province.

The Cross Community feels that it benefits everyone; the racers, the event, cycling and specifically cross to make these things happen.

SO our events along with the events listed above will all have a bucket for donations at registration. Bring an extra few bucks and throw it in there. We are a strong part of the cross community in BC and we want to show our support for these events as best we can.

We have already had support and donations from both the provincial championships last weekend with the Atomic Cycling Club and West Coast Racing through the Vanier Park Cross race so the ball is rolling on this and we are going to make it happen!!

ARE YOU AN ELITE MALE/FEMALE, U23 or JR MALE that wants to race at the WORLD CHAMPS being held for the first time outside of EUROPE!

Then this is the man that you want to talk to and/or meet at the National Champs.
ccc signature Matthew KNIGHT
Cycling CANADA Cyclisme
Road & Cyclo-Cross Coordinator
Coordonnateur – Route et Cyclo-Cross
Tel: +1 (613) 248-1353 x2602
matthew.knight@cyclingcanada.ca
www.cyclingcanada.ca

Educate yourself to what YOU need to do and what the requirements are to make the team for Kentucky 2013 here:

http://www.cyclingcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SELECTION-CRITERIA-CX-2013-Sept-14.pdf

There are 5 spots per group: Elite Male, ALL FEMALES, U23 and JR Male….lets get some COTR racers on these teams!!

Wanna go to the MASTERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS?

Louisville, KY – October 30, 2012. Online registration for the 2013 UCI Masters Cyclo-cross World Championships powered by Exergy, scheduled for January 29th – February 1st, 2013 in Louisville, KY, will open on November 1st on USACycling.org.

Participants can register for the following age groups: M / W 30-34; M / W 35-39; M / W 40-44; M / W 45-49; M / W 50-54; M /W 55-59; M / W 60-64; Women 65+; Men 65-69; Men 70-74 and Men 75+; see below for schedule. Registration opens with early pricing at $75 per rider through January 4th, 2013. On January 5th, 2013 the entry fee moves to $100 per rider and closes on January 25th. On-site registration will be available for $125.

Raced on the new Masters World Championship venue at at Champions Park in Louisville, the course will features elevation and speed changes, dirt, sand, grass, off-camber technical sections and enough natural terrain change to challenge riders.

The Galt House is the Official Host Hotel of the 2013 Masters and 2013 Elite World Championships, and is located at 140 N. 4th Street, Louisville, KY. Visit www.louisville2013.com to make reservations.

This is how you recovery from doing a two-and-a-half-gainer-with-twist-dismount at the steel pole/rock downhill.

COTR #5: Crosstoberfest Preview (And as always…..lots of other important INFORMATION)

Usually in these e-mails you try to start with the “Good Stuff”….this week there is SO MUCH “Good Stuff”….I don’t know WHERE TO START??

RANDOMS

OK will start with Pelle’s Edit from Farmer Bills…..cause that will get you FIRED UP! Check it out.

And a Gallery from COTR#4 from Patrick Burnham

Liked this note from Rob Parkin: “Been having so much fun racing cyclocross, I think it’s as close to proper head to head racing like formula one you can get on a bicycle, definitely underrated as a sport!”

Last thing for our “Randoms” section this week is an update from Danielle Stevens:

Thanks for thinking of me. Finally got surgery on Saturday and ball got plated back together, Just in time to get in done and out so that Jamie could get last ferry 9 pm with Peter Wellsman to go to provincials! We got to hospital at 5:45am and left at 5 pm. Had to be bright and chirpy to get discharged :) Jenn dosil and Sylvia Storry didn’t race, they stayed at ours and nursed me through the night and all Sunday so Jamie could go. That combined with Peter Wellsman shows what an awesome bike community of friends we have. Jamie got some catchup sleep on the way to Vancouver in Peter’s van :)

Pain is brutal but surgeon said would be awful and worse for a few days, just glad it’s done though and now I can start recovery. Not so mobile yet but maybe I’ll get out to the last race to cheer. Got short term disability from wrk so 4 mths recovery to get good physio and get fixed :)

CROSSTOBERFEST COTR #5 at Transfer Beach, Ladysmith….THIS SUNDAY!

Race/Course Preview
Crosstoberfest is taking things up a notch this year!!! More grass, more beach, a road climb (to make the start more favorable), more twists and turns, more bratwurst and beer! We have shortened the course a bit from last year and used some different terrain. The course swings right by the beer garden… several times!

Numbers
ON THE LEFT!

Costumes
The cute timing chicks, (and Norm), will be voting on best costume!! Dress to impress and WIN!!

Food
You will get a bratwurst and a beverage, (a beer if you are over 19), with your entry fee of $15 beginner/$25 other. Bring some extra change if you are wanting seconds! Bring cash please! Email me if you have certain diet preferences ie vegetarian, we will do our best to accommodate if we know before Saturday (tealtimas@hotmail.com)

Parking
Please follow the signs for race parking. There will be other park users coming to the park to use the playground, walk dogs etc and I would like to keep the in park parking for them.

ALSO
Treats for all the kids that participate in the kids race!!

There will be other park users (but not the geocachers) and the mayor on site so let’s put on a good show for them with some great racing and good times!!

Rock Star Registration always available up until 6:00pm the day before the event. 

With the Beer Garden please remember to drink responsibly and plan a head. Sorry riding a bike home drunk is NOT a responsible way to get home from this event!

Bring a FEW extra BUCKS to the next two races.
At our next two events: Crosstoberfest COTR #5 this weekend and Binab GP COTR#6 on November 11th we will be collecting money as part of a BC Cross Community Collective Effort. Our next two events combined with the Last Victoria Underground race tonight, the Pumpkin Cross this Sunday put on by Local Ride, Jak New’s EV Grand Prix on November 10th and Catharine Pendrel’s Interior Cross races this weekend and November 4th as well a few of the bike clubs are organizing an effort to pump up and benefit our cross racers that come to the National Championships on November 17th and the UCI race on November 18th.

Our goals are FIRST to ensure that there is equal prize money for men and women to 15th place at the UCI race on November 18th in South Surrey.

Our SECOND Goal is that if the first goal is reached we want to put our remaining funds towards offering a prize purse for the National Champs on November 17th (Equal men and women of course).

Currently there is no prize purse required by regulations for Nationals, and so cash prizing is not currently being offered. We would like to change that for the National Champs this year as they are being hosted in our Province.

The Cross Community feels that it benefits everyone; the racers, the event, cycling and specifically cross to make these things happen.

SO our events along with the events listed above will all have a bucket for donations at registration. Bring an extra few bucks and throw it in there. We are a strong part of the cross community in BC and we want to show our support for these events as best we can.

We have already had support and donations from both the provincial championships last weekend with the Atomic Cycling Club and West Coast Racing through the Vanier Park Cross race so the ball is rolling on this and we are going to make it happen!!

Provincial Cross Champs Last Weekend.

Jeff Van Mulligen, Speed Theory and the Atomic Cycling club did a great and WORTHY job of hosting the Provincial Champs last weekend at Mahon Park in North Vancouver. Not only was the course MUDDY but it also had some great technical elements to it. A good rider was off their bike 5 times a lap. An awesome rider like Ian Smith reported being off his bike only 3 times per lap. A less skilled rider could have been off their bike up to 8 times per lap….the way a CHAMPIONSHIP should be!!

Results posted at: http://www.atomicracing.com/race/

We had a great turn out of regular and part time COTR racers. 5 of the top 5 racers in the Elite Category have done our races. All the podium spots for Masters 40-49….full time or part time COTR racers. 2 spots in the 50+ masters, 3 in the 30+ masters women, a couple in the JR men’s….you get the idea….we pretty well ruled!! Really happy with the islanders that headed over and supported this event.

Ride of the day? It would be a tough call. Pelle actually was lined up at the back of the Cat ¾ race and watched them start….not realizing that he needed to start with them for a few moments as he stood with the JR’s watching the action in front of him….finally he figured it out….got going….worked his way through almost the whole group to finish 2nd in his category.

Run of the day? Wendy Simms who rolled her tubular on lap 4 or so (check the splits…you will figure it out) only about 1000m into the 3 k course. Rather than retire from the race….she knew the kids were being watched….gotta get the workout in….she ran the 2 k to the pits with her bike shouldered and continued on for 5th.

Domination of the day? Jordan Duncan in the JR Men’s category.

ARE YOU AN ELITE MALE/FEMALE, U23 or JR MALE that wants to race at the WORLD CHAMPS?

Then this is the man that you want to talk to and/or meet at the National Champs.

Matthew KNIGHT
Cycling CANADA Cyclisme
Road & Cyclo-Cross Coordinator
Coordonnateur – Route et Cyclo-Cross
Tel: +1 (613) 248-1353 x2602
matthew.knight@cyclingcanada.ca
www.cyclingcanada.ca

Educate yourself to what YOU need to do and what the requirements are to make the team for Kentucky 2013 here:

http://www.cyclingcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SELECTION-CRITERIA-CX-2013-Sept-14.pdf

There are 5 spots per group: Elite Male, ALL FEMALES, U23 and JR Male….lets get some COTR racers on these teams!!

(REPEAT BUT STILL IMPORTANT) EQUITY IN SPORT–PLEASE SEND THESE GUYS A MESSAGE FROM YOU

Back I the early 1900’s Women were not allowed to vote. They sometimes had separate entrances into buildings. They were basically second class people. The world has made HUGE progress since then BUT some people still want to keep women down. One group of Neanderthals lives in Luddite-ville in Switzerland and go by the name the “UCI”. They dictate all sorts of oppressive rules that keep women’s sports from growing. Unfortunately our governing bodies in the CCA and CBC for some reason….even though they don’t live near Luddite-Ville decide to follow these outdated and restrictive group of rules. The most recent have to do with prize money and number of categories at the National Cyclocross champs and the Category 2 race being held the day after on November 17th and 18th in South Surrey.

For the National Championships there are 2 Categories for women. Open Women and Masters women 30+. BOTH of the WOMEN’S categories have to race with men on the course….not a clear course for either of them.

There should be a women’s 19 and Under category and a women’s 40+ masters category or switch masters to 35-44 and 44+.

And they wonder why they get poor turn outs?

Just 20 minutes South of where Nationals will be held this year in the USA there are EQUAL # of Categories for MEN and WOMEN…..What is the problem here?

For the Category 2 race on Sunday the 18th the men’s winner will get $350. The women’s $185. Second Place. $179 for the male. $130 for the female. You get the picture. REGARDLESS WE ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE THE WOMEN HAVE EQUAL CASH…..BUT THIS POLICY NEEDS TO CHANGE!!

How is this right in 2012….the answer is it is NOT and it is offensive.

Send a message. LOUD AND CLEAR:
keith@cyclingbc.net Current CEO of Cycling BC Keith Ryan
kevin@cyclingbc.net Organizer of the event Kevin MacCuish
greg.mathieu@canadian-cycling.com CEO of Cycling Canada
jacques.landry@canadian-cycling.com High Performance Cycling Canada
Matthew Knight CCA head of Cyclocross Matthew.Knight@cyclingcanada.ca

Funny looking through the CCA directory Cyclocross is not important enough to them to have a director or a coach or a manager……ACTUALLY UPDATE ON THIS!! Matt Knight got back to us and got his information updated on the CCA Directory….PROGRESS and thanks MATT!

SEND THEM A NOTE PLEASE. Take 3 minutes to do it. BCC me while you are at it.

While you are at it ask why there is no Cadet Men’s category. Why a guy in his 60’s has to race someone 50…..lets get Nationals sorted out and made better. Pressure will do it!

Should be noted that when we held CX Nationals in 2006 we had EQUAL prize money AND Prize money at Nationals…..they are not even offering prize money for winning the national championships.

CYCLING BC AGM

There are lots of “theories” on why the Cycling BC AGM was moved/delayed/stalled to December 2nd. The most important part of it all though is that nothing has changed yet……well not entirely true. There are a LOT of people working VERY-HARD on change right now….but nothing will happened on the front lines until after the AGM.

ALSO In my last e-mail I wrote some stuff about CBC and our experiences with that organization. While they are true I should be clear that there are two people at CBC that we have a great relationship with and always are VERY-HELPFUL.

Tara Mowat who helps us with our sanctioning and calendar/web stuff.

Diana Hardie who takes care of our insurance.

Also in the past Tanya Camposano who was super supportive and came to a few of our races each year to make sure everything was on-track.

Weekly Cross Rides on the Island (Please keep me updated on these and others)

Courtenay: WENESDAY NIGHTS.

Trail Bicycle Eatmore Sprouts Team

We will be hosting a weekly Wednesday night cross ride from Trail Bicycles, meet there ready to ride for 6pm and please bring lights and warm clothes as we will be out there until dusk.

Victoria: WEDNESDAY NIGHTS

Wednesday Nights:

- CROSS CLUB 2012 -
$20 cash money for the 8 event training series
October 24th

E-Mail: crossclub@gmail.com

Victoria: FRIDAY NIGHTS.

Cross season is on, so starting this Friday: CX ride leaving from Broad Street Cycles after work (6ish). Everyone welcome, bring lights.

 

COTR #4: Race Summary and LOTS of IMPORANT OTHER BUSINESS!!

We will give you the highlights from the weekend’s action first. Be sure to scroll through EVERYTHING as there is IMPORTANT information that we need your support from in this update e-mail.

Cross on the Rock Race #4: Farmer Bills at McCoy Lake Farm, Port Alberni

The most WESTERN Cross race in Canada of all time. It did not disappoint. Great racing. Great Course. Great Turn out.

Quotes:

“I go home from the race. Go through my regular routine and jobs. Get ready for bed. Put my head on the pillow. Close my eyes. Do a lap or two of the course in my head. Then fall asleep with a smile on my face” First year Cross racer XY

“I know such statements as “today was the best day of my life” are grossly over used, which in turn reduces their validity…. so instad, I will say that today was easily one of the 10 best days of my life…. great people, great scenery, great racing, and no shortage of mud!! So much fun it was almost stupid…” Long time Cross Racer XY

I was supposed to announce this at the race BUT forgot. Joele wanted everyone to know that Drew was not there BECAUSE he was working in New Zealand as manager of the National Triathlon team….so you can stop asking her now!

Norm’s Highlights

  • First off all the turn out. Having that many racers come out to Port Alberni in the eye of the “perfect” storm was incredible.
  • Doughnuts. Two people (Seana and Russell) helped me out with this….I benefited…and just under 2 dozen of you benefitted too!
  • Heckling. For some reason people really turned it up at this event. There was a lot more heckling and some GOOD QUALITY hecking!!
  • I wondered how Sam Whittingham carried all his prizes from two races home?
  • Mud

Norm’s Questions

  • With the mid point of the season now over WHO is going to get rookie of the year this year? We have Parker in Intermediate. We have Ian in Masters. Will someone else come out to impress? Can someone on a MTB get cross racer rookie of the year??
  • We gave out prizes at this event. CASH at the last race. Neither races did I get a peep…..should we even bother with prizes and just give out purple ribbons?
  • Where is Steve Bachop?

If you want to fire a note out to Farmer Bill’s Place you can send it to Bill Jr. (Hint: it is worth your minute to do so!) Farmer Bill Jr. (Billy, his son) 71bronco.ss@gmail.com)

Ozzies Cycle, Alberni Valley Riders and ASS would like to thank:

  • Sheri Wong & Krush smoothies for the amazing energy balls
  • Billy Leech and Tracy Chester of Totally Board Surf Co. for the sweet longboard and apparel
  • Alberni Kiwanis Club for the hot food
  • Our beloved friends Brad and Mike for their tireless support – you guys came through once again!!
  • To the Thompson Farmer’s, Bill, Billy and Taylor for sharing their beautiful farm and for their hours of hard work.
  • Finally, we want to thank the COTR crew, all the racers and their fans for braving the elements and removing some of the cow poop from our valley!

Event highlights from Lee and Seana:

  • sausage hand-ups (Lee took one!)
  • seeing Sam Whittingham actually suffer
  • a cameo by Armand and Lea from Squamish’s Republic Bikes
  • happy kids cheering on giant marshmallows
  • Halldor grinning through his entire race
  • 11 year old first time racer singlespeeding through 2 laps and finishing with a smile
  • Ron Hewitson finishing 2 laps on a chick’s bike
  • Witnessing Norm in a doughnut feeding frenzy

Cool Edit Hansel

Have not seen anything from Intermediate CHAMPION Pelle YET…apparently it will be posted Tuesday afternoon. There is usually a link on the Island Cross Face Book Page….he is a bit slower this week because he is basking in his victory.

So in the meantime you can check this one out from Russell Berg (who also brought me donughts…..THANKS RUSSELL!!)

Provincials THIS WEEKEND. IF YOU ARE RACING….READ THIS AND GET IT DONE ASAP!!!!

IMPORTANT NOTE: We are sending our series standings to Jeff for call up at the provincial champs. Obviously our series does not follow the categories EXACTLY that are used at Provincials. SO it is UP TO YOU IF YOU WANT A CALL UP. If you are going….we need to know and we need to know what category you are racing. EXPECIALLY if you currently race Expert or Intermediate and are racing Masters 30-39 at provincials. We can ONLY DO SO MUCH….so it is up to you to help yourself on this. Let me know normont@islandnet.com (you can just respond to this e-mail!) (but not until Monday and not AFTER Tuesday)

The Provincial Championships this year are being held at Mahon Park in North Vancouver on October 21st. This is a course that has been used before for Provincials. You could even double down and do the Wooley Cross across the line on October 20th if you wanted to.

http://www.atomicracing.com/race/

Jeff Van Mulligen the race director has dedicated spots for our COTR series riders based on our rankings after 4 races. This will apply for Elite, Women and Masters at Provincials and I will work with him to make sure those riders are called up correctly.

You do need a proper license for this event and can not buy a day-of-race license so keep that in mind.
AND YOU HAVE TO PRE-REGISTER if you want to take advantage of your COTR Status for call up.

LIVING IN THE EARLY 1900’s
Back I the early 1900’s Women were not allowed to vote. They sometimes had separate entrances into buildings. They were basically second class people. The world has made HUGE progress since then BUT some people still want to keep women down. One group of Neanderthals lives in Luddite-ville in Switzerland and go by the name the “UCI”. They dictate all sorts of oppressive rules that keep women’s sports from growing. Unfortunately our governing bodies in the CCA and CBC for some reason….even though they don’t live near Luddite-Ville decide to follow these outdated and restrictive group of rules. The most recent have to do with prize money and number of categories at the National Cyclocross champs and the Category 2 race being held the day after on November 17th and 18th in South Surrey.

For the National Championships there are 2 Categories for women. Open Women and Masters women 30+.

And they wonder why they get poor turn outs?

Just 20 minutes South of where Nationals will be held this year in the USA there are EQUAL # of Categories for MEN and WOMEN…..What is the problem here?

For the Category 2 race on Sunday the 18th the men’s winner will get $350. The women’s $185. Second Place. $179 for the male. $130 for the female. You get the picture.

How is this right in 2012….the answer is it is NOT and it is offensive.

Send a message. LOUD AND CLEAR:

keith@cyclingbc.net Current CEO of Cycling BC Keith Ryan
kevin@cyclingbc.net Organizer of the event Kevin MacCuish
greg.mathieu@canadian-cycling.com CEO of Cycling Canada
jacques.landry@canadian-cycling.com High Performance Cycling Canada

Funny looking through the CCA directory Cyclocross is not important enough to them to have a director or a coach or a manager…..I guess we are just a pain for them to “deal with”?

SEND THEM A NOTE PLEASE. Take 3 minutes to do it. BCC me while you are at it.

While you are at it ask why there is no Cadet Men’s category. Why a guy in his 60’s has to race someone 50…..lets get Nationals sorted out and made better. Pressure will do it!

Should be noted that when we held CX Nationals in 2006 we had EQUAL prize money AND Prize money at Nationals…..they are not even offering prize money for winning the national championships.

CYCLING BC AGM
You may notice that we don’t get much if any recognition from Cycling BC for our efforts over here on the Island. Despite having grown the sport of Cyclocross in the province, built one of the best series in the country, developed world class athletes, fostered positive club relationships etc. etc…..they don’t even mention us in their newsletter and we have never had a write up on their Cyclocross home page. For the most part this is political. For some reason they don’t like us. They don’t like Cyclocross. They don’t like the Island ‘cause we are too far away from Broadway street…..I have no clue. But the AGM is this weekend. Saturday to be precise. Change can happen. BUT they need bums in the seat to make it happen! IF there is ANY CHANCE YOU CAN MAKE IT TO Abbotsford (why do you think they moved so far from the island?) on Saturday…PLEASE DO.

The cross organizers around the province are in support of Matt Klymson in taking on the VP of CX position.

At the same time we hope for some MAJOR changes in the board and at all levels in Cycling BC to happen in the next couple of months.

Something has to change. I started racing bikes at the Tour D White rock in 1988 and honestly I have never seen the state of cycling in the province at the administration/governing body level so bad.

CHANGE IS NEEDED.

IF there is any chance you can make it to the meeting here is the information:

Notice of 2012 Annual General Meeting
10am Saturday, October 20 2012 – Sandman Hotel & Suites 32720 Simon Ave
Abbotsford BC V2T 4V1

Weekly Cross Rides on the Island (Please keep me updated on these and others)

Courtenay: WENESDAY NIGHTS.
Trail Bicycle Eatmore Sprouts Team
We will be hosting a weekly Wednesday night cross ride from Trail Bicycles, meet there ready to ride for 6pm and please bring lights and warm clothes as we will be out there until dusk.

Victoria: WEDNESDAY NIGHTS
Wednesday Nights:
– CROSS CLUB 2012 -
$20 cash money for the 8 event training series
October 17th, 24th
E-Mail: crossclub@gmail.com

Victoria: FRIDAY NIGHTS.
Cross season is on, so starting this Friday: CX ride leaving from Broad Street Cycles after work (6ish). Everyone welcome, bring lights.

Nanaimo: Done for the season.

Cross on the Rock Race #2: Another Dodgey Cross Race (Formerly Coal Cross)

Cross on the Rock Race #2: Another Dodgey Cross Race(Formerly Coal Cross)

As the Friendly Giant says….”Look Up….WAY UP”…’cause we are heading up island to Cumberland on Sunday for COTR #2. We have heard some rumours of course changes, DJ’s, Advanced heckling…..Powsey is already sharpening his wit…..the BMX track concession will be OPEN AGAIN and their food was GOOD last year!!

Car Pool if you can!!

OK we are always trying NEW THINGS at COTR. This weekend will be something different again.

YOUTH
We are going to run a YOUTH ONLY race start. Please get the word out to your clubs and friends. This will be run at the 11:00am Start time and on the course at the same time as the Beginners. We will be giving the YOUTH about a half lap head start and the race will be about the same time as the beginners so around 30-35 minutes.

This will be open for any YOUTH that are what is considered U17 which really means they are 16 or younger for the entire 2012 year. All the youth that want to race in this category are free to do so. Girls and Boys will be started at the same time. We will score: 15/16 year olds. 13/14 year olds and 12 and Under.

If you are already racing Intermediate as a U17…..you can choose to continue to do that and get your series points OR race the Youth race….or race both. Your choice.

If you are registering in ADVANCE just register for Beginner and we will put you into the YOUTH category based on your age.

This is a TEST EVENT so we hope to see a good turn out for it and we will see how it goes.

KIDS
We will ALSO have our ‘Lil Nutcase kids races for any kids that do want to race the youth race or are not old enough; push bikers, trikers, training wheel’ers, new riders….2 years old and up? This will be on a separate kids course and will be held after the Intermediate and before the Masters/Open Women races so around 12:45.

Pre-Race Clinic
We will start the clinic a bit earlier this Sunday (10am) to give those in the first race a bit more time to practice. We hope to have Drew MacKenzie and Steve Lund helping out with it and a few of the Trail Bikes team as well.

Pre-Register
Save yourself some paper work on race day. Save yourself some time on race day. Save us some paperwork on race day. Allow us to plan better. Help us get your call up correctly…..Pre-Register. You don’t have to….but it is much-much better!

$$$$$$$
Hey junior rippers!!! Fastest junior in the Expert category gets $100 courtesy of Comox Valley Nissan. Oh…and it’s for the guys and gals.

Will we see Nigel Ellsay out there this weekend fresh off the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS for Road?? Check out his post race interview.

BIG NEWS (SCHEDULE-VENUE CHANGE)
We know that pretty much all the COTR news is BIG and you guys read every word of these newletters…but this one is really BIG.

The COTR Race #6 scheduled for PISE in Victoria is having a venue change. We are heading back to Western Speedway on that date (November 11th) for the Binab Property Group GP organized by the Pro City Cycles team. Western Speedway was a LOT of fun last year and it is nice to not have to worry about tour busses with 100’s of tourists…..like at the Gorge during the Masters race……!

While PISE was supportive of our event and have had a Wednesday nighter there we needed a bit more property and their neighbors were not as receptive. We will keep working on it and if anyone in our community has an in with that community (you know who the “neighbors” are and can help us out) we would love to try for that venue again in the future.

Photo’s and Contest.

We are going to do our Photo Contest again this year. We will ask for you best submissions close to the end of the series. Post them on the site. Get our panel of judges to vote on them. Award something to the winner at the series final and it will be cool!

In the meantime feel free to fire us your gallery links and we will post them in our newsletter and on our site.

This one comes from COTR #1 from Scott Mitchell from Trek Bikes/Pro City Victoria:

here’s some of my better Condo cross shots:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bicyclepuller/sets/72157631555097031/

Here are some shots from Dave Morrison:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jam1ec/sets/72157631625477275/

Edited
The Complete Master Blaster Guide to the 2012 Cross on the Rock Race Season has been edited and reposted. Download NOW!

  • Forgot to mention the “DROP” of one race if you do 7 events. Only 6 races score per person.
  • Updated schedule with the Kids races included.
  • Updated Bike shop supporters to include Ozzie’s Cycle in Port…not sure how we forgot them
  • Updated Club/Organizers to include ASS and AVR….also from PORT…..not sure how we forgot them too!!
  • And a few other things. All EDITS will be highlighted and in a different colour FONT.

Number Placement: We can (and have to) do better!
We CAN DO BETTER……The first race of year saw some awesome number placements….and some not so awesome. We aim for 100% on this. If you want your results to be close to accurate using our state-of-the-art-non-chip-timing system then help us out. Get your number in the right spot. Check at registration as to how it should be pinned. Makes sure it is pinned well, visible and not going to fall over during your race or after you SQUEEEEZZZE yourself into your skin suit. You don’t want to be the person holding up the start and getting the people around you to re-pin your number. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! While you are at it….keep your pins and bring them again to your next race. Just throw them into your race kit etc. No need to go through 40 pins each this season. We don’t want your numbers back as it makes our job harder….but we can at least save the pins.

Have you looked at YOUR STATS LATELY?
I was browsing our web site after Condo Cross. Looking at my personal stats. Talking e-mail smack with Scott Mitchell when I noticed at the bottom of my stats page something called “EPIC BATTLES”….have you checked it out yet?

Roland added this after last season to his feature full web site and it shows some of your closest nemesis(s) out on the race course….check it out.

Clinic Coming up this SATURDAY
Clinic: Cyclocross 101 – CX Fundamentals

Date: September 29th, 2012
Time: 9:30-12:30pm
Location: Victoria, BC
More info
Clinic Topics and Drills Include:
Bike Set-up Basics

  • Equipment selection and set up.
  • Understanding and selecting clincher and tubular tires, and the importance of tire pressure.

Bike Handling and Cornering

  • With many cross courses contain over 30 corners per lap, cornering skill and ability is one of the most crucial elements in cyclocross.
  • Shifting and braking, weight shifts/body positioning, line choice and techniques for tricky terrain and challenging conditions such as sand, off-cambers, steep drops, and mud, snow, loose gravel, etc.

Dismounting and remounting skills

  • Carrying and shouldering the bike.
  • Techniques for barriers and stairs.

Race Preparation

  • Pre-race routines, race day nutrition and racing strategy,
  • What to expect in your first season, keys to being prepared,

Skillz drillz

  • Practice race starts and holding position.
  • Clipping in, weighting, surface assessment for traction and other drills to develop cx skills.

Thinking Ahead……Provincials and Nationals
The ferry is SUPER EXPENSIVE. That is part of the reason why we are developing this series and helping us all limit our travel. However once in a while you have to EXPAND your horizons and see what is happening over the sea. Two reasons to get on the boat this year are Provincials and Nationals.

The Provincial Championships this year are being held at Mahon Park in North Vancouver on October 21st. This is a course that has been used before for Provincials. You could even double down and do the Wooley Cross across the line on October 20th if you wanted to.

http://www.atomicracing.com/race/

Jeff Van Mulligen the race director has dedicated spots for our COTR series riders based on our rankings after 4 races. This will apply for Elite, Women and Masters at Provincials and I will work with him to make sure those riders are called up correctly.

You do need a proper license for this event and can not buy a day-of-race license so keep that in mind.
AND YOU HAVE TO PRE-REGISTER if you want to take advantage of your COTR Status for call up.

Weekly Cross Rides on the Island (IF you know of more please let us know)

NOTES:
Nanaimo’s ride night changes to Thursday this week and going forward. Possibly some track time to get ready for Cumberland?

Courtenay is planning on riding at the Village Park tonight to get some time on the course.

Courtenay
Trail Bicycle Eatmore Sprouts Team
We will be hosting a weekly Wednesday night cross ride from Trail Bicycles, meet there ready to ride for 6pm and please bring lights and warm clothes as we will be out there until dusk.

Victoria
Wednesday Nights:
- CROSS CLUB 2012 -
$20 cash money for the 8 event training series
September 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th and October 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
E-Mail: crossclub@gmail.com

Victoria
Cross season is on, so starting this Friday: CX ride leaving from Broad Street Cycles after work (6ish). Everyone welcome, bring lights.

Nanaimo
To give a gentle introduction to cyclo-cross, MIVA (Mid Island Velo Association) is holding its second year of CX clinics where participants can learn and improve their skills at dealing with all kinds of obstacles, dismounting and remounting, cornering, riding cross camber sections, and even what to look for in their pre-riding of CX courses. Each clinic ends with a short race where riders can practise their skills and techniques and have a qualified coach offer constructive advice. Last year, a number of the more experienced competitors found the clinics invaluable in improving their performance.
Some participants use mountain bikes for the clinics and even for the Cross on the Rock races but, if you have a cyclo-cross bike or a road bike that can be modified, most of the courses favour these. One of the clinics will have a section dealing with bike modification.
Clinics are held at Beban Park and dates and times can be found on the Cross on the Rock web site and also on MIVA’s web site – www.bikeracing.ca. If you need further information email info@bikeracing.ca

Series is Organized by the Cross Council:
With the following cycling clubs: MIVA, VICC, Trail Bicycles-Eatmore Sprouts Cycling Team, The Cowichan Cycle Cartel, ASS and AVR

Supported by:
Oak Bay Bikes in Victoria, Westshore and Nanaimo
Trail Bikes in Courtenay
Experience cycles in Duncan
Cowichan Cycles in Duncan
Cycle Therapy in Duncan
Frontrunners in Nanaimo
Straight Up Cycles in Victoria
Dodge City Cycles in Cumberland
Ozzie’s Cycles in Port Alberni

Sanctioned by:
Cycling BC

Normon Thibault
E-Mail: normont@islandnet.com

Frontrunners-Nanaimo
www.frontrunners.ca

Did you hear there will be a world wide shortage of Bacon….what are we going to do about the Bacon Hand Ups??