The best thing is the people! Getting to know people. Seeing kids grow up. Watching personal and athletic achievements for our community. Watching us all grow.
The people will always remain the standout in the 20 years of Cross on the Rock.
I hope everyone has enjoyed the look back on out first 19 years in our social media posts over the last two weeks. If you missed them Brett (The Holeshot) has posted them on our HISTORY page on the cross on the rock web site. You don’t get all the photos but you get all the stories.
We are excited to bring our people back for our 20th race season!
No License Required!
1. 2026 Season Preview
The scheduling for COTR is always tricky. Trickier that you might imagine.
We are juggling:
Venue availability
Are Roland and Patrick on the island?
Is the host club, shop or organization available?
Are there other conflicting events on that day?
Labour day…..late this year which eliminates another weekend in September
Halloween (Next year on a Saturday…..which means that weekend is OUT)
Number of races 6, 7 or 8? (Probably 7?)
The Farmers Almanac and our Magic Eight Ball.
After sorting through all the variables this is how the schedule looks for this year.
September.
September 12th is Dodge X – If you are racing this event AND in Qualicum…..god speed and we salute you!
September 13th is the return to Qualicum Beach for Qualicum Cross. This is race #1 for the season! We will be doing a mass party lap before race #1 so be ready to roll out.
MOMAR is September 19th. Doing a double with MOMAR is harder than Dodge X so the 20th there will be no race.
September 27th will be Race #2. Cumberland. Coal Cross at Village Park. One of the three venues we have used over the years in the Comox Valley. We love Cumberland!!
October
Race #3 will be Crosstoberfest on October 4th. This will be the EARLIEST ever race at the amazing venue of Transfer Beach.
Race #4. Normally our biggest race of the year will be the Muc Off Cup on Thanksgiving Monday. October 12th. If you are run the Marathon the day before we will move you up 10 grid places and have an ice pack for you at the finish line. Half Marathon gets 2 grid places backwards. We hope to have a fun Alumni race at this event
No race on the 17/18th weekend as we leave it open for the return of the Cross Fondo. One of our favorite non COTR races!
October 25th we will be heading to Port Alberni (Race #5) and praying for MUD. New Venue Alert! We will be at our 4th venue in the Alberni Valley at the Alberni Moto Cross center. This event will also have the Dog CX championships and/or the Single Speed Show down to start the day! One gear only….none of this zap strapped shifter nonsense! Who is the best SS racer out there?
November
Our past research as shown that a race after a Saturday Haloween is NOT great. So no race on November 1st! NO TIME CHANGE…..which might compress the set up for….
Race #6 on November 8th will be the Blue Bridge Cross , Jordie Lunn Bike Park. Langford!! A perfect spot for a potential bike shop challenge so think of who you might have on your team if you work at a bike shop.
AND Hot Crossed Bunnies on November 15 to finish off our 20th season. We will be having a PARTY at Beban park and finishing the year off with a NAKED Bikes Bike Frame!! Hand made by Sam Whittingham.
One huge disappointment is that Cycling BC has scheduled the Cyclocross Provincial Championships for the same day as our series final. Even though we posted our season outline last November with the dates that our events most likely would be…..this is a conflict. We were contacted August 27th asking us to change out date. By that point 16 days before the start of the season we were too far along in our processes and permitting to go backwards and try for another date. This was not our fault. We understand if you want to give up your chance to win a Naked bike, pay for a license, take an expensive ferry and take a chance that the event is similar to the messy provincials (not jon’s fault) that happened last year….we will miss you at the party!!!!!
WE CAN’T WAIT to get the season started!!
2. Qualicum Cross Preview
Registration is ALMOST open….we are just waiting to hear back from the formerly CCN crew to dial in one section…..but they are not responding! We will post on our socials and on the web page when it is OPEN. Registration closes as normal at 6:00pm before each of our races. Register early. Don’t forget. Don’t wait. Each time you race this year is also an entry for a Naked bike!
Location: Qualicum Beach playing fields
IMPORTANT Parking Information: Please park at: Oceanside BMX parking lot, Park Road and First ave,, No Parking at pool or civic centre please
Number pick up at the playground team tent area.
Team tents same as previous years which is parallel to the walking path. If you have to drop a tent off you can go on the NORTH path entrance for drop off.
Course description ,,, here we go!!!!
This year the Qualicum Cross returns with a super fast course to spin
up those pins!!!
We have to cut a bit of the original course because there is an event
at the civic centre which we will be co existing with,,, but coexist
we shall and we shall rise to the occasion!!!
This means more spectating and a few extra fast laps which also means
please pass and coexist kindly,,,
The course is wide open and very good for coexistence and we know and
love each other ,,,
Hot dogs will be a grilllin and cross racers will be a chillin,,,
Hot Dog guy will be there and he is several years into now it so even
better than ever and damn handsome too boot!
Bike wash at Big Grin Bikes rear parking lot
We will update this banner for Newsletter #2.
But in the meantime here is the logo for Naked Bikes
Parting Shot
IF you have not figured it out this year we have two different promo logos. One is in the theme of Strange Things…..which shows a bunch of friends riding their bikes around saving the world. SORT of like what we do with our friends at Cross on the Rock
The SECOND logo is a our classic skull theme but ALSO in a Stranger Thing theme from the Hellfire Club. Wendy also found a super cool Hellfire Font. Keep an eye out for our 2026 Y20 Hellfire Socks as well!!
We can’t believe it is over and we miss it already! Thanks to a few of you that took the time to send a note about the 19th COTR season. They were appreciated. We have not had a chance to respond to everyone yet as two days after the series wrapped we were on snow in Silver Star at a BC Biathlon Camp where we also ran into MORE COTR racers past and present!
What a race season it was. 6 events. Great participation. Amazing community. Positive vibes! A massive amount of butchered pronunciations of names (every year….no extra cost). We are looking forward to the off-cyclocross season and then onto our 20th Cross on the Rock Tour!!
Some Series Closers for the Season
A special season #19 thanks to John at Higgins Heavy Duty Mechanics. When the door hinge on the trailer failed days before Coal Cross he welded that thing back together and it is sill holding. He also fixed the wiring (again) so that the lights worked without fail for the season.
A special thanks to Tycho Thibault for all the extra hard work again this year. Tycho finished racing at each of the races and then jumped right into leading the Riverway Dental Hot Lap race. Then from there organizing the LITTLE racers with Tessa. Then cheered on his Mom. Then cheered on his dad. Short chill and helped with all the awards this year with Tessa and other buddies.
Where the prizes at? If you were 2nd or 3rd for the series in your category BUT are NOT on our social media accounts…..get on there and figure out where your prize is and how to pick it up. Kim Theriault WINS the fastest prize pick up with 33 minutes from when it was posted!
Are the bikes getting better? Are the courses getting too easy? Or are the riders getting more skilled and fit? We have not had a race in the top 10 for least DNF’s since 2014. This year we had 4 of our 6 events rank in the top 10 LEAST DNF’s/TAMEST races of all time….in 19 seasons. If you think about how many races we have put on at this point (129) over 19 seasons to have 4 races from one season rank in the top 10 is mind blowing!
After 6 seasons of being the runner up Rock City Cycles – Frontrunners won the team competition for the season!! Check out the final results!
Race directing is VERY-VERY difficult. It puts people under a microscope. We all LOVE racing and we want it to go PERFECT and when it does not there are “observations” like we made after the Provincial Championships. Some things are under the control of the race director and crew….and at provincials those were the positive things that we pointed out about the event. Other things at a Provincial Championships are under the control of officials and provincial organizations NOT the race director. Jon felt that we did not make as good a distinction from our post about provincials that we could have. Our observations were intended to draw attention to things that we felt were not great in the hope for change and improvement. The things that were not great at Provincials were NOT the responsibility of Jon and his race crew. Hopefully that clears things up and moves things forward and finally improve for the next Provincial Championships!
And finishing with a statistic. Number of steps taken the day before each of our COTR races for the season: 100,730. And on Race days: 103, 975 (does not include during the race) = 204, 705 steps or an average of 17,059/day which is 189km walked/run on those days. The highest of course was the series final at the Broad Street Cycles GP with 19, 794 steps which was close to a half marathon of walking that day.
The best thing is the people! Without Cross on the Rock I would not know cool things about cool people. Like David Pechter is a physiotherapist that knows Murray McKutchan that I raced triathlons with in the 90’s/00’s and have not seen in decades. Or that Sofia Donnecke is also a professional disc golfer. Or that if I need some storage in Comox to talk to John Van der Vliet. Amazing people. In the community. Coming together in the fall to race bikes and get dirty! 1. Broad Street Cycles GP Review. Photos from the series final from Ross Greenwood.
Norm’s Notes:
Special thanks to Cycling BC and Nolan Riding for the use of the BIG ROOM for the race and series awards! That was sweet!
Special thanks to Concept Photography for loaning a battery bank to Patrick for the last race so that we could get back to high-quality results!
Corey (Rock City Cycles) mentioned a small girl helping tidy up the course after the race carrying massive load of flagging tape. When asked if she wanted to put it in the garbage bag she simply said “NO I am taking this home to set up a course in my yard”. This is what we are promoting!
How many Coulters are there?
One BIG thing we noticed at this event that was different from all the other ones of the season was the number of racers hanging out after the finish at the finish area. Sure the weather helped and we were not soaked or muddy but honestly I think people were just stoked to be there and wanted to share the stories of the day. It was so cool!
Roland the Race director’s notes for the Broad Street Cycles GPAnother awesome day for Cyclocross in Victoria. For a course that has a reputation for causing a lot of flat tires, 98% of people finished the race, same percentage as last year. We did a few tweaks to the course to make it a big longer and have a bit wider start, we will continue improving the course, we already have ideas for next year. Huge thank you to everybody who made the day come together. Fabian who took charge of course design. They convinced Yari from Langford Parks to allow us to have the run up again, the defining feature of the course. And Renny from Broad Street Cycles who provided the prizing. My setup crew: Doug, James, Fabian, Matt, Kevin, another Matt, Ian, Christy & Hugh. My reg and timing crew: Laura, Rosalind, Jen, Lauren, Megan, Jill, Adina, Robin, Matt, Joanna, Christy. Clean up crew: Everybody! Everything was torn down and back at the trainer in record time! Parking: Frank Remediation crew: Liam & Fabian. Hopefully you’ve had time to check out the gravity zone at the Jordie Lunn Bike Park, there are some amazing trails. If not, rent a big bike from Broad Street and give them a rip. 2. So Many Thanks……because it takes a LOT of people and support! This is somewhere where EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU can make a BIG difference! Support these sponsors. NO EXCUSES. Just do it! These are the people that are helping make what you LOVE happen! No one else. Without the sponsor COTR does not happen. You won’t see box stores in this list. Or on-line discounters. These are ALL Island or Canadian companies operating on small margins with increased costs and pressures. HELP THEM OUT. Buy your stuff local. Support These Companies!!
MUC OFF – OUR MAIN PRIZING SPONSOR with Muc Off Cup, Prizing and support at three events Peter Creighton from HLC Bike. Peter also helped us out with some extra draw prizes for the final (those sweet advent tool calendars) and has been there since the START!
Coastal Community Credit Union who gave us a cash grant this year to help with venue expenses. If you want a financial institution to work with that is not a MASSIVE company and contributes and cares about the community they live and work in. CCCU is it! They even came out to our race and hung out!
Hotel ZED and Accent Innfor great draw prizes and our grand prizes. If you are traveling some place and you need a place to stay…….there is no cooler place than Hotel Zed!! PLUS they sponsor our events!
Wade LuksayfromRiverway Dental sponsoring the kids prizes! Eventually you are going to need some dental work…..do you live up island? Call Wade up! He races bikes AND is a dentist!
Super Masters Men’s Category Sponsors Jilland Simonfrom Cycles West in Victoria. Two more people from another community supporting bike shop! Show them some love.
Kyle Denny from 11 Speed Coffee covering the Last Not Lapped (AKA most in need of coffee) and some series draw prizes. Almost everyone that lives drinks coffee. You have to buy it some place. Why don’t you support someone that races bikes and supports our community. It is a WIN-WIN!
Nothing happens without Frontrunners-Nanaimo who let me race, take Saturdays off to organize and without knowing it pay for all the fuel for the series. Cyclocross is a sport that is biking AND running. You gotta practice the running…..and for that you need good shoes….and even if you don’t race cyclocross you need good shoes. Support Frontrunners!! They have been community focused since 1988 on Vancouver Island! Since 1988!!!
Barnside Brewing was not a sponsor this year but we kept their logo on our banner…….in the hope we would have them back again next year!
These are the shops that supported our series this year. NOT a single one is a DTC Website off Vancouver Island doing nothing in our community. Support your LOCAL bike shop! Pro City Cycles, Broad Street Cycles, Rock City Cycles, Cycle Therapy, Jumping Slug Cyclery, Trail Bikes, Cycles West and some prizes as well from Coal City Cycles.
Our race directors this year: Scott Mitchell, Brett and Tom, Corey and Sean, Roland, Matt, Patrick, Christine and Shep.
Our partner clubs: Trail Bikes Club, Rock City Cycles Team, Broad Street Cycles, Cycle Therapy, Jumping Slug Community and MIVA
Roland, Patrick and Brett who keep things running on the back end and between events. There is a lot of action that happens away from race weekends and MORE on race weekends. These three working away to make sure everything operates as it should when we get to the BIG DAYS of the race season!
Paul Brend (the man of Mol) has not been able to race for a couple of seasons BUT he still makes the unique and beautiful trophies each year that the series top 3 take home!
Medix……most of the time they are bored BUT sometimes we make them work pretty hard….and sometimes they have to run ALL THE WAY DOWN to the BMX track when people don’t take it easy! Thanks Lyle and the crew.
Also it might sound corny but a BIG thanks to EVERYONE that helped out this year. Setting up. Working registration. Pulling tape. Packing the trailer. Rounding up and supporting all the kids that race. Lending a hand or equipment. Taking photos. The courses go up and come down with so much speed which makes it SO MUCH easier every race day. Thank you all!
3. Save some Dates for 2026.
2026 will be our 20th season of Cross on the Rock. We have been bouncing around a few different ideas for some special events during and possibly before the races season next year.
ONE for sure will be an Alumni race…..so if you have raced COTR at any point in the last 19 seasons and have been on a podium or are just from the early days….well….we are going to race! We have a few other masterful ideas as well including a SS Show down.
The scheduling for COTR is always tricky. Trickier that you might imagine. We are juggling:
Venue availability
Are Roland and Patrick on the island?
Is the host club, shop or organization available?
Are there other conflicting events on that day?
Labour day…..late this year which eliminates another weekend in September
Halloween (Next year on a Saturday…..which means that weekend is OUT)
Number of races 6, 7 or 8? (Probably 7?)
The Farmers Almanac and our Magic Eight Ball.
After those considerations this is how the schedule MIGHT look for 2026
September. Labour day is the latest is can possibly be which messes up the first weekend of September. We HATE having a double header with other events that our racers MIGHT or DO do…..but it could be happening in 2026……September 12th is Dodge X……More likely than not Coal Cross OR the return to Qualicum Beach will be September 13th for Season #20 Race #1.
MOMAR is September 19th. Doing a double with MOMAR is harder than Dodge X so the 20th there will be no race.
September 27th will be Race #2. This MIGHT be the year that we FINALLY again get a second venue in Victoria for race #2!
October We will race again on the 4th (Race #3) More likely than not an earlier Ladysmith as Port Alberni has requested MUD! BUT it might be Victoria depending on how we do with dates and venues. The 12th (Race #4) will be the BIG ONE again. Thanksgiving Monday. The MUC OFF CUP. Beban Park. The Alumni race show down to start the day. No race on the 17/18th weekend……fingers crossed for the return of the Cross Fondo. One of our favorite non COTR races! October 25th we will be heading to Port Alberni (Race #5) and praying for MUD. The fire truck coming and filling the mud hole is always a highlight but I think we could use more of that course saturated. This event will also have the Dog CX championships and/or the Single Speed Show down to start the day! One gear only….none of this zap strapped shifter nonsense! Who is the best SS racer out there?
November Our past research as shown that a race after a Saturday Haloween is NOT great. So no race on November 1st! Is there a time change than night as well? The last two races will be The Broad Street Cycles GP and Hot Crossed Bunnies. We have not figured out the order for these two races yet BUT it would make sense to finish Cross on the Rock at the place that it all started which is Beban Park. This was our first underground race in 2002. Our first official races in 2003. Where we started the BC Cup in 2004 and where we hosted the first National Championships for cycling on Vancouver Island in 2005. Ideally we would finish this chapter with another National Championships…..but we know that that would involve…..so more likely than not we will stick with what we know works and try to have a bit of a party afterwards! MOST likely these will be November 8th and then 15th….but there is a small chance that it might be the 8th and then the 22nd….depending!
Keep an eye on the web site and social medial posts as we firm up the 20th Tour of COTR. (Special edition T shirts coming as well).
Parting Shot We would LOVE this shot more if Riverway Dental Hot Lap racer Abigail made it in there! How many events can you go to and three generations can race. Same track. Getting muddy! The Daradics crew of Chris, Todd and Gabriel (missing Abigail)
OK if you have made it this far you are wicked!! It has been a great race season but if you have any feedback. Good/bad etc send us a note. You can make a difference.
SOCKS. You might have seen them at Hot Crossed Bunnies or at Provincials! We are set up under the registration page to sell the socks when you register. Any socks that we have left after we allocate what was sold we will have at registration on Sunday. There are limited quantities! Size Small would be a prefect gift for a little COTR racer for Christmas stockings!
Openers:
CHECK YOUR POINTS!! We want few or no mess ups with our final awards BUT our data is only as good as what you have provided us with. If you have registered with 2 different names…..you will have points under 2 different names…..so you will not get credit. IF you TEAM name is spelled differently…..like the Slugs have done with 2-5 different variations or Triple Shot….you need to EDIT those to the correct one that is the most common one. Get it all together. Make sure ALL your team registers with the CORRECT team name for the finals. And check your points to make sure you have credit for all your hard laps this season!!
PHOTOS!!! Do you have any stand out photos from this season? Send them our way by Thursday night for the Photo Contest!! Don’t send ALL your photos. Maybe no more than your top 5 for each person…..that will be more than enough!
Need a realtor that will put your needs above their racing?……read below!
1. Provincial Championships Well…we have to admit it felt great to be at a cyclocross race to just be a racer family for once! It normally happens once or less per year so we savored it! Some interesting things to observe at Provincials this past Sunday. In 150+ Cyclocross races some things happened that we have never seen before:
The BEST thing we have never seen before was we have NEVER seen before a racer (in this case Brent McMahon) stop mid race. Pulled out his phone to talk to a client about a house that they had an offer in on. Finish the conversation and continue on with his race. If you want someone with 100% dedication to their clients……I think Brent is the person!
We have never seen 9 different age categories start at the exact same time with no stagger between them and no differentiation for length of race between a 9 year old and a masters racer…..what could go wrong?
We have never seen a U17 women racer do a race of 54+ minutes when the UCI dictate a 30-40 minute time limit for this category. The results only show 4 laps BUT they did 6.
We would love to say that we have never seen a Provincial champs ignore the call up protocol that they set up for this event for some categories but not others…..but we saw that last year and were told after last years race it would not happen again. BUT of course it did happen again.
We have never seen a provincial or national championship that has U17 and U19 men do the same number of lap times as the Elite category with no difference in race time. So a U17 man doing a 70 minute race when they are used to 30-40 minutes as dictated by the UCI.
We have never seen so many young racers leave a cyclocross course in tears….we hope we NEVER see this again.
I have never seen 3 categories of masters racers being started with one start so that it was impossible to know who was in what race and what position.
We have never seen Bob Welbourne roll a tubular.
On the flip side the weather was AMAZING. The mud was perfect. The course was fun. The PA system was crystal clear (envy), COTR was over-represented. The announcers were appreciated and there was some good racing to be had……and we just loaded our vehicle after the race and drove away in search of food……..
1. Hot Crossed Bunnies Review. HOT CROSSED BUNNIES RESULTS
Another amazing race day, going down without a hitch! The weather cooperated, with the atmospheric rivers taking a break just in time for course set up and holding off all through race day, we could hardly ask for better!
So much work goes into putting an event like this on, and we are so grateful for all those that made it happen: first to the City of Nanaimo, the V.I.E.X. and Nanaimo Equestrians, and BMX club for allowing us the use of their grounds and equipment for the course. Many thanks to Coal City Cycles and Rock City Cycles for sponsoring draw prizes, and Georgie’s Pies for the Podium pies, to our food trucks Sip and Sliders and Harbour City Donuts for keeping the masses fed. A giant high five to all our volunteers who came out this weekend, we just couldn’t do it without you, nor without Shep who this the mastermind behind our course designs year after year. And finally a big thank you to all that helped rake out the course after the race. It was certainly hard work, but well worth it to keep the groundskeepers happy so we can continue using this venue in future years.
Norm’s Notes:
Any race at Beban is always special as we had our first races EVER there. We hosted the first ever National Championship on Vancouver Island at Beban Park. We hosted the first BC CUP races WAY back when. We hosted the first ever sanctioned cyclocross race on Vancouver Island there…..We even set up an Island Championship race at Beban one year when Provincials was not happening or too far away. It has the biggest Cyclocross heritage of any place in the Province!
Too much garbage left in the team tent area……we can do better.
SOME people don’t listen to the warnings about the strider bike whoops on the BMX track.
During the Open race one of the Buttcat Racers, Emma Skaug, came running up with her pedal and crank arm in her hand. Paul Auton and I tried to get it back on BUT we did not have a 10mm allen wrench so we pulled my back up MTB out of the van for her. She continued on and Paul went to find a 10mm. Bike fixed we met her at the end of the MULCH ring with her bike again. Not only did she grab her bike…..but then she stopped for a shrimp on her way to Last Not Lapped for the women’s race!
2. Broad Street Cycles GP Preview
Just register NOW as you read this so that you don’t have to do the e-mail at 6:03pm on Saturday night:
This is the fifth year at the Jordie Lunn Bike Park located in Irwin Park (so confusing) in Langford. We’ve had all sorts of weather here: epic rain to dry and dusty. Forecast is currently calling for a bit of rain. Our title event sponsor for this event is in the title: Broad St Cycles! Rhino Coffee House is now open at the club house, enjoy a snack after your race.
We will have a little kids race again this year in the area near our starting area.
PAY ATTENTION TO THIS NOTE ABOUT PARKING!! (We do NOT want you to be towed away and you have to ride home all cold etc.) Parking this is the BIG issue so PAY attention!!Parking is going to be tight. Please carpool or ride out if you live in greater Victoria.Please follow the directions of the parking volunteers DO NOT PARK on any residential streets. (You will be towed and get us banned from the venue)Not annoying the neighbours is THE key to being allowed back to this venue.There are three places you CAN park. See the MAP.The main parking lot is at 2992 Irwin Road. Please only use this to drop off equipment and then park elsewhere.Continue on Irwin Rd and you can park in front of the Church. This parking will be marked with special event parking signs. The Creekside parking lot is closed for repaving.When both lots are full, there is overflow parking on Constellation Ave, only 500m away. I repeat: There is NO PARKING on the shoulder of Irwin Rd (other than in front of the church) or other nearby streets.Please use a parking lot or you will be towed.
Race Day ScheduleRace day schedule unless otherwise posted:
Registration Open
9:15 am
Beginner Clinic-Pre Ride
10:00 am
Launch Men(Including Youth U13 and U15)
10:45 am
Launch Women ((Including Youth U13 and U15)
10:46 am
Younglings (Bigger Kids). Full lap or almost a full lap
11:40
Intermediate Men (Including U17)
12:10 pm
Intermediate Women (Including U17 and Masters Women)
12:11 pm
Lil Nutcase Kids Race
12:15 pm
Masters Men (40-54)
1:15 pm
Super Master Men (55+)
1:16 pm
Open Men
2:30 pm
Open Women
2:31 pm
AWARDS will be as soon as we are finished tearing down the course and packing the trailer. More hands make it all go quick and lets us get to the race and series awards FAST!
COURSEExpect a 2.5km loop with a mix of fast hard packed surfaces, technical features, pump track, and a bit of mud. All set in a beautiful forested park with two mini lakes. We had positive reviews from last year where we ran the course in reverse, so we are doing it again, except making the start wider. Expect a course that’s easier on your bike and has some running.
Parting ShotWhere it ALL STARTED!! 19 years ago TODAY. Remembrance day in 2006 we hosted the National Championships at Beban Park. It would be amazing to book end this era of Vancouver Island Cyclocross with another National Champs at Beban in November of 2026. 20 years later.
Check out the results page from that race and spot the number of people who are still racing to this day!
TIME CHANGE THIS WEEKEND! An extra hour of sleep BUT don’t come earlier than you need to on Sunday! SOCKS should arrive by the weekend. We will post on our socials so that you can back a few bucks for a sweet pair of socks!
Openers:
Some records are NOT meant to be broken! This past weekend we had our most EVER late to register racers. 22 people! While we will not “reject” you it makes it much harder on our crew when they have to re-run all the reports we need for race day several time. We WANT you to race. We do love the baked goods that we sometimes get (Jasper Blake…..rootbeer?) We would also love if you make that 6:00pm cut off time! Registration for Hot Crossed Bunnies is already OPEN. Just register now. Save yourself the passcode request e-mail to us!
Other records are GREAT to be broken. Racer number UP this year at Transfer Beach over COWEX last year!
Timing system meltdown. We have not had too many glitches with the system over the years but last Sunday saw the main and back up batteries suddenly discharge during the OPEN races. This was a first. Roland and Patrick have been working on re-building the results from the manual back up sheets…..BUT many of the OPEN racers had their numbers on incorrectly OR they just did not have their body numbers on. SO…….if you don’t get your results for this one……it might be your own fault? Also if you see an error just follow the protocol on the results page. They will sort it out. BUT put your number on correctly for all our races. There is a REASON why we do things the way we do.
I think it was on my third lap of slogging through the mud at CowEx last year that I thought we should bring back Crosstoberfest at Transfer Beach. A quick email to the Town of Ladysmith and they were happy to have us back. Thanks to the Town of Ladysmith for allowing us to muddy up their fields and have a great day.
These events take a lot of effort from a lot of people and we are thankful for our Cowichan Valley and Island Cycling community.
Special thanks to the Crosstoberfest organizing committee of Doug Merrick and Peter Stevenson. Doug was able to find all the GPX data from Crosstoberfest 2015, 2017 and 2019 to come up with ideas for 2025! Maybe we will see a giant whirly next year?
The course setup went quick this year thanks to the help of Tim Winter, Darren Meiner, Evan Mcneely, Doug Merrick, Jarrad Wilhelm, Trevor Jones and Mike Sevcov. Every year we end up setting up the course in drenching rain and they keep coming back so it is appreciated. Maybe it was the Old Town Bakery Cinnamon Rolls.
Special thanks to Leigh Belton, Heather Cooke and Pete Stevenson for re-routing the beach section in the morning when we realized the Launch category was about to ride into the ocean. Will look at those tide charts more closely next year.
Special thanks to Mark Slotboom and Brooke for helping out my wife at registration and allowing her to come watch me go out WAY too hard on the first lap.
Thanks to JLA food truck for coming out again. If you haven’t tried their jerk chicken poutine you are missing out.
Thanks to Patrick for timing as always and the volunteers of Mike Sevcov and Brian Hartley who helped call out numbers ALL DAY!
Special thanks to Brian Hartley and Lydia Pedri for helping set up the short-lived smoke machine sand pit section. Will have more power for next year.
Currie Gillespie, Tim Van Der Hoek and Robin Camley controlled the road crossing at the top of the course all day and their time was truly appreciated. Thanks guys.
And thanks, as always to Norm, Roland and the rest of the Cross On The Rock crew for continuing to run the best cyclocross series in the country!
Norm’s Notes:
Transfer Beach. It was great to be back. We love the Cowichan Fairgrounds but the amazing view at this location can not be beat!
GREAT costumes this year. Cheese WITH the mouse. Springer. Top Gun! Some random bikini + hat combo? Still waiting for Patrick to have a costume…..
Our first TANDEM CX racers (with Cantis)
Amazing social media posts from a number of people. Thanks for tagging the series!
PACK A RAKE PLEASE. The VIEX folk have requested we rake out their property after the race. This normally includes the mulch and sand riding rings but this year they would also like any other super muddy/grooved sections to be raked. As we know MANY COTR racers make light work. Please pack a rake and give us a hand as soon as the OPEN racers are done so we can get it done fast as the course gets torn down. It is one of the BEST warm down exercises out there…..so it helps your recovery!
Parking: (Consult Map) Beban park is HUGE. But on any given weekend there is a LOT going on. The best place to park for the race is south of the race course in the gravel lot by the Steve Smith Jump park. This is accessed off the main road through the park by the golf course. This is the BEST parking spot for our event. PLEASE DO NOT PARK at the soccer club house parking which is the closest to the start. There is always soccer going on the weekends and they love their close parking lot. The lot by the BMX track is normally available BUT they are currently building the BIGGEST BMX track in Canada there so the space is VERY LIMITED.. The paved parking by the Pool and arena is also a good option. Parking on the roadways or grass is strictly forbidden and will get you towed and we will not like you. There is limited parking as well south of the course by the golf course. You will find a spot without parking like a…..you know…..starts with an “a”.
Team Tents: Will be in the same spot as the last couple of years by the sand riding ring, close to reg. food trucks and the pits. The Weather forecast calls for sun, maybe a touch of precipitation and gentle winds but still make sure your tent is staked and secured. It is drop and go (NO PARKING AT TEAM TENTS AREA) until we close and lock the gates around 9:30am. After that point you will have to carry your gear in. On the flip side the gate will be LOCKED until after the OPEN races so it will be carry out until that point. There will be no team vehicles inside the gate or we will run out of space for the team tents. This will be a GREAT spot to watch and central to all the action!
Registration: As it has been all season pre-registration only. This will close like normal at 6:00pm the night before the race. The call up sheets are literally done by 6:10pm the night before the race. So if you FORGET or put it off you are unlikely to get your earned call up spot.
For racers that have not raced this year race day number pick up and race central will be located in the Agriplex. Consult the map.
Washrooms: There will be porta johns located at the end of the opening straight away or somewhere in the general area. There are LOTS of other (Flush) washrooms located in Beban park. You can also locate washrooms in almost all buildings in the park. Both arenas. Down by the artificial turf field. In the Pool. NO DIRTY BIKE SHOES OR DIRTY PEOPLE INSIDE THE BUILDINGS OR WASHROOMS. Clean yourself up BEFORE going into a public area. We want to be able to use this venue again. MORE IMPORTANTLY if you are going IN a building LOCK YOUR BIKE (Bikes have been stolen at this event when left unattended. Don’t lose your bike)!!!
Awards: Awards location will be in the Agriplex. We would LOVE to start the awards as SOON as possible after the OPEN races so the MORE PEOPLE HELPING clean up the course, rake out the sand/mulch, bag course tape and pack the trailer the better. We can’t do it after the awards as it will be DARK! Many hands make it a LOT easier for everyone!
Race Course: .We’ll still have the classic elements that make this course great. MUD, SAND, WOOD CHIPS, PAVEMENT, GRAVEL. It will be be awesome.
One last reminder…..Post race: Please help us both tear down as well as RAKE out the course. With construction we won’t have to worry as much about the top section by the Arenas, but the hill by the BMX and the riding rings always need some work post race. Please bring a rake and work gloves. Many hands make light work and get the work done FAST. We will make an announcement when we are starting the awards….and…..well…..there will be no one left on course so you will notice that the awards have started! Ideally we would like to start as close to 4:00 as possible.
Race Day ScheduleRace day schedule unless otherwise posted:
Registration Open
9:15 am
Beginner Clinic-Pre Ride
10:00 am
Launch Men(Including Youth U13 and U15)
10:45 am
Launch Women ((Including Youth U13 and U15)
10:46 am
Younglings (Bigger Kids). Full lap or almost a full lap
11:40
Intermediate Men (Including U17)
12:10 pm
Intermediate Women (Including U17 and Masters Women)
We hope everyone had a productive and relaxing weekend away from Cross on the Rock. The “Mid Season Break” after 3 races and with 3 to go. It is a compact race season! We have the next two weekends. Then a weekend off OR Provincial Championships. Then our series final with the Broad Street Cycles GP. Time to check your points. Check your team points. But most of all check your bike and check that you are registered for this weekend!
Registration for Crosstoberfest is OPEN (until 6:00pm Saturday. Warm Ups.
Cameron De Vries-Johnson has been taking some wicked footage from Coal Cross and The Muc Off cup that includes some sweet drone footage. We have not found a great way to share this footage directly SO we will share his Instagram page HERE where you can check it out.
This might be a duplicate but Ari Robinson posted a bunch of photos from Coal Cross. I don’t think posted the link but here it is if you want a look back at Race #1
Annual reminder. Racing bikes is supposed to be FUN. It is a hobby. PLEASE think about it when you are about to start a race. Make friends. Not conflicts. Race hard but be respectful!
SOCKS We have socks coming for the first time in a LONG time. I will add it to the registration stores when I know they will be here. Hopefully for Hot Crossed Bunnies. Limited quantity. VERY nice. We have the same sock for Frontrunners Nanaimo and Cumberland and we love them!
We are beyond excited to be bringing back Cross On The Rock racing to Transfer Beach in Ladysmith. We have not raced at this legendary venue since 2019 and it has been too long. Expect another great course full of grass, stairs, sand, beach and maybe some seawater depending on the tides and the time of your race. We want to thank the Town of Ladysmith for allowing us to bring this race back to town.
COSTUMES! We will be racing the weekend before Halloween so bring your best costume with some special prizing for best dressed.
Parking There is ample parking at Transfer Beach but it will fill up fast. The small lot near the washrooms will be reserved and coned off for race organizers and volunteers. The bulk of race parking will be at the overflow parking area to the left of the park once you drive down the entrance of Transfer Beach Boulevard. Once this lot fills up, we will be directing people to park along the side of Transfer Beach Boulevard on the right-hand side as you exit the park.
Washrooms Transfer Beach has many washrooms at the center of the park so no lineups this time around.
Team Tents Please see map for Team Tent location. There will be plenty of ocean view spots. Please bring tent spikes as it may be windy.
Registration Registration will take place at the Kinsmen Shelter (Please see map-below)
Food Truck JLA food truck will be on site serving up jerk chicken poutine all day long.
Hey Everyone. Thanks for coming out in full force!! Great numbers at the Muc Off Cup this year. It sounded like the course was well received, it never changes too much. It is consistently challenging but fun! And what a day of weather! Thanks to all the volunteers that came out to set up and lay out the course, they did a great job! Thanks to everyone that helped tear down. Big thanks to Pete and Muc Off for prizes and for doing the bike wash. Thanks to Jamie and Brad for giving Pete a hand. Thanks to Patrick for timing and Roland for the results. Sip and Sliders did a great job of keeping everyone fed and Medix for taking care of injuries. I think we only had one. Special thanks to the City of Nanaimo for letting us use Bowen park year after year. As always, thanks to Norm for keeping the series going. There isn’t a lot of racing kids can do especially on the road, cx or gravel and without this series we wouldn’t see the younger riders go on to bigger careers in cycling. We are very fortunate to have Cross on the Rock. ThanksCorey and Sean Norm’s Muc Off Cup Notes
One more person in the Masters Men’s race and we would have broken the all time record for biggest field at at COTR race. With 87 starters we tied for 2nd place and our biggest field since 2017!
Amazing turn out for the Muc Off Cup!! Always the biggest race of the year and this year it was bigger than last year.
SO many people from the Lower Mainland. Thanks to everyone that popped on a ferry to come over!
Doughnuts delivery from Port Alberni. THANK YOU!
Cake delivery from my mysterious cake friend! Thank you as well!
Sip and Sliders!! Always great.
BIG thanks to Andrew and Airhouse for the Riverway Dental Kids prizes.
Special Thanks to Tycho for rabbiting the Hot Lap and organizing the little kids races after his Launch race!
We LOVE Bowen Park race. It is SO TOUGH. It exposes your weaknesses. It challenges your skills as a cyclocross racer!
Thanks to our local community and Rock City Cycles crew for coming out and making this a success as well as Pete and the extra special Muc Off LOVE that he gives this race!
Parting Shot
