MAZDA-COTR. Newsletter #10. Season #14. Day of Thunder

MAZDA-COTR. Newsletter #10. Season #14. Day of Thunder.

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Bikes washed, lubed and ready to race COTR #6 this Sunday at Western Speedway..

Newsletter #9.

  1. Day of Thunder Preview
  2. Crosstoberfest Review
  3. Provincial Cyclocross Championships Information

Newsletter formatting: A long time reader and sometime racer sent me a note about the BIG left hand margin on our newsletters when they come by e-mail (Mobile formatting is a totally different issue we will get to in the off season). Our publishers have been working on this issue within the Mail Chimp platform but even though everything is clicked “Align Left” we still have that margin happening. Our apologies for making you scroll over. We will keep working on improving that situation.

The Warm Ups.

  • A lot of photos from Crosstoberfest this week. With the amazing weather the cameras came out. Look for the links down below.
  • A special thanks from Jade Blouin-Comeau’s mom to Chad Grice for coming to the aid after her crash at Bowen Park. It is always feels great to be a part of this community when people are so helpful and caring.
  • Repeat: We have been pumped on the increase in riders in OPEN with The FREE JUMP up for Women at Cross on the Rock. Lets keep that rolling for the last two race. Make sure you keep your normal race number and timing chip but let the registration crew know you are doing a second race. Guys this option is also open to you but…..it is $10 (still a great deal). (Also note this is good for someone racing Launch that wants to try a second race as well)
  • Pre-Registration for Day of Thunder (and your only chance for getting a call up) closes at 6:00 on Saturday night.
  • Keep an eye on our Facebook page leading into the race for all the updates and the latest news.

1. Day of Thunder Preview

Norm’s Notes.
The use of Western Speedway at Cross on the Rock goes back to 2011 and the Ricky Bobby Cameron (for Cameron Law) Cross. Check out the results here: http://www.crossontherock.com/php/race-results/?raceid=36

Since that amazing day of racing with the Dilly Bar Hand Ups this venue has been used every year. We love it!! Check out the Elite Men’s podium from our very first year. We sure hope Tyler Trace is coming back again (and Russell Anderson)

Location:
Western Speedway is located just outside of Victoria in Langford @ 2207 Millstream Rd, Victoria, BC V9B 0J7. Pretty straight forward to locate using your preferred map service and lots of parking in the main lot near the Speedway. Once you turn off Millstream Road into the venue follow the signs for the Speedway which is located in the back right corner of the massive parking lot. See map below for where to park.

Venue Facilities:
See Venue Map for more details
Registration – located indoors under the grandstand.
Washrooms – there is a smaller washroom facility available on the infield near the team tent area as well as massive indoor washrooms under the grandstand near registration.

Parking – IMPORTANT NOTE – a portion of the massive parking lot is booked for Ambulance driver training, so please be courteous when pulling into the complex. Overflow parking is available should it be needed. See venue map for more details.

Food:
The best waffles in the business, Wannawafel (https://wannawafel.com/ ) will be on site serving up tasty Belgian inspired goodness.
Saltchuck Pie Company (https://saltchuckpies.com/ ) will also be on site for the race, serving up a variety of different pies… meat and sweet!

Team Tent Area:
There will be a designated tent set up area close to food trucks and finish line area on the infield of the race track. See venue map for exact location.
Team tent space is limited. First come first serve. No parking in the Team Tent area.
Arrive before 9:30 AM if you want to drive onto race track, drop off tent, and then return to main lot to park. There will be no racer parking spaces available on the infield.

Event Sponsors:
A massive thanks to our extraordinary event sponsors for supplying all the race tape (so much race tape!) and a huge amount of prizing.
Lazer Helmets (https://www.lazersport.com/en)
Shimano (http://www.bike.shimano.com/)
Pearl Izumi (http://www.www.pearlizumi.com/)
Pro Components (http://www.www.pro-bikegear.com/en-gb)

Course Description:
To keep things exciting and fresh, this year’s COTR course will feature a slightly adapted version of past COTR events at Western Speedway and 2015’s SSCXWC (Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships) course. Probably with less boats, snow, or shortcuts, but ya never know!

With a wide motocross style start on dirt, a paved finish line straight away, and every other type of surface in between, the course will be a fun but technically challenging mix of slow, fast, and really slow with a number of potential on-off bike sections thrown in for good measure.

Venue Map

Awesome Event Poster

2. Crosstoberfest Review

Norm’s notes
It was so great to be greeted with an amazing sun rise over Transfer Beach on Sunday as we previewed the course and put the final touches on set up. I know we ALL LOVE the mud but in cases when we are running a race so late in October and it is a beautiful public venue it is much better all around to have good weather. Ladysmith has always been super supportive of this event and this year was no different. They went out of their way to make sure we were well taken care of. Thanks to everyone for coming up. We know that the weekend before Halloween can sometimes be a busy one socially so to have such a great turn out for the series is great!

Photos and Photos and Photos Links!!

Photos from Sean Voigt (One of Mazda representatives). Some great shots of the Lil’Nutcase race.

Photos from Patrick Burnham.

Photos from Luke Hubner of the OPEN races (more of the Masters coming later)

Photos from Chad Grice

Review from the race directors Mike and Tara
Hi everyone!! Crosstoberfest 2019 is in the books and you guys and gals made it happen!!

Mike and I wanted to send an enormous THANK YOU to you!!

Thanks to the hard working crew on Saturday night of David, Ethan, Shawn, Manny, Heather, Michael and Jack, Evelyn, Shannon, Sue, Tiffany, Todd and Trevor. Little Jack Gregory will go on record for being the youngest volunteer in the history of Crosstoberfest!!! Ethan set a strong example of what Jack can aspire to be at the ripe old age of 7!! Everyone just jumped in and designed the course!

It seemed like all the racers enjoyed it, there were several challenging and tricky bits and such a beautiful palette of a park to work with!!!

That leads into the next special THANKS! This one is to the Ladysmith Parks and Recreation department and the Town of Ladysmith. This race could not have happened without their support. They were also so keen about this that several of their top notch staff even came and volunteered! Thanks to all of you… Sue, Shannon, Clayton, Tiffany and Ryan!

And now, the main event!!
Manny, Heather, Todd, Tiffany, Helen, Suilven, Jenna, John, Ryan, Jen, Edric, Kristin, Clayton, Sue, Shannon, Ryan… i can safely say, for most volunteer positions there were moments of laughs, multi tasking, dealing with challenging issues, appreciation for how tough standing all day can be as a volunteer… all of these things! Thank you for working through all of these things to help make this event happen!! All of you took on many different jobs and just rolled with it! YOU, each of you, made this day what it was!

This was an especially wonderful crew of versatile people !!

Much appreciation to Tycho and Tessa for taking over course design for the kids course!
Thanks to Medix, Wannawafel, TacoMania, and the Ladysmith Bakery for safety, food and prizes!!

And… to Norm and Wendy (and Patrick)… thank you for all you put into the series.

Ok… before I get too sappy…
THANKS.

If you have any feedback please do not hesitate to give it.
(I will have more safety vests next year).

Sincerely,
Tara and Mike

3. Provincial Championships Information

If you are planning on racing the BC Provincial Championships in Kelowna on November 10th they have published the tech guide. This has all the information you need.

https://cyclingbc.net/news/2019/10/18/school-of-hard-knox-2019-bc-cyclocross-championships-pb-chainline-cycle/

Registration CLOSES on November 7th.

Cross on the Rock is an ISLAND series and the past support we have received from our island community is awesome. Lets keep it up in the future as it is what drives this series and makes it special. PLEASE SUPPORT THE SPONSORS. These are local businesses and companies that support local businesses. On-line companies, amazon, big business (besides Shimano and local dealers of MAZDA) do NOT support community events.

Cross on the Rock is organized by the council of cross and supported by a lot of bike shops and awesome people.

The kids these days can jump anything! While most of the racers were barely making it over this rise Carter was getting some serious air! Good luck to Sean Lunny, Carter, Emily and Sam at the National Championships this weekend in Peterborough. (Not sure if anyone else is going).

MAZDA-COTR. Newsletter #9. Season #14. The return of Crosstoberfest

Newsletter #9 for 2019. MAZDA-COTR. Season #14.

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Bikes washed, lubed and ready to race Sunday at Crosstoberfest at Transfer Beach, Ladysmith..

Newsletter #9.

  1. Crosstoberfest Preview
  2. Muc Off Cup Review
  3. Crossfondo Wrap Up

The Warm Up.

  • To get this warmed up Patrick Burnham sent me the links to his last two COTR photo albums Muc Off Cup https://www.flickr.com/photos/palleus/albums/72157711348730661
    Cross on the Commons
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/palleus/albums/72157711242050142
  • We have been pumped on the increase in riders in OPEN with The FREE JUMP up for Women at Cross on the Commons was GREAT. Lets keep that rolling at the Crosstoberfest. Make sure you keep your normal race number and timing chip but let the registration crew know you are doing a second race. Guys this option is also open to you but…..it is $10 (still a great deal). (Also note this is good for someone racing Launch that wants to try a second race as well)
  • Pre-Registration (and your only chance for getting a call up) closes at 6:00 on Saturday night.
  • If you are moving up a category you CAN retain 50% of your points. This does NOT work for the JUMP UP. Only if you are moving up for the remainder of the season. BUT you need to let us know AHEAD OF registration closing (call up lists are made about 10 minutes after reg. closes)

This is a re-print from Newsletter #3 Season #12:

The word “Sandbagger” is tossed around at cross races as much as the word “Bully” is around the school yard. Both words are probably over and miss used. Someone winning their first time or their first race is not a “Sandbagger”. An Elite rider riding down a category….yes….that is. Someone lapping all but 2 riders in an intermediate race….yeah….you can probably in a joke call them that. Just be careful about how you use the word. Give racers the chance to be in the winning circle every once in a while. If they are killing everyone in their category EVERY race (and they are not racing OPEN)……then we will give them the “gentle nudge” as it is known. If it is their first time winning and they have never been top 5 in the series. This might be their year to shine in Beginners or intermediates. We keep an eye on it……and remember……we can joke with our friends only if they can take it! Most of all we are trying to get people racing and having fun. Adding in for this year: The GOAL of the race series is for people to be challenged, develop skills and #1 to RACE people. If someone is WAY ahead on a regular basis then they would probably be more challenged racing up a category (aside from Carter and Emily). We hope people make the right choices but more importantly we want people to come out, race and be a part of this awesome community.

1. Crosstoberfest Preview

We have not been at Transfer Beach Park in Ladysmith for a couple of years now. It is an amazing venue that is enjoyed by a lot of people. Be aware. The park is BUSY. There will be other park users. Remember….it is their park too!

IMPORTANT NOTE: The main road through the park is an active road ALL DAY LONG. We really need to emphasize that traffic flows through the park and anyone warming up, going to and from your cars, with small children, dogs etc. should be very conscious of the traffic and road rules. We can not have any racer/bike/car conflicts in this park. Thank you in advance.

COSTUMES ARE ENCOURAGED!

Norm’s Notes:
The race at Transfer beach (Tugboat CX, Crosstoberfest. The great pumpkin cross…. What ever name it has) in Ladysmith has been voted the most popular event by racers the in 2017 and 2016. Racers LOVE this venue and this race.
The 2015 version of Tugboat ranks as the 8th tamest (least DNF’s) race in COTR History.
Ladysmith is also one of the easiest races to get to by both UP and DOWN Islanders.

From the Race Directors:

Course Description:
The course will be similar to previous years with all the good characteristics; sand, stairs; and lots of fast grass.
Currently the forecast is NOT for rain…..so it might be time for your FAST sand tires to get mounted up.

Venue:
Transfer beach is located on the water side of Ladysmith right under (east) of the town of Ladysmith. It is SUPER-EASY to find.

Parking will be challenging, so please car pool with friends/frenemies/teammates.

Food.
Wanna Wafel will be on site for the second time this year. (We can’t wait). As well making their first COTR appearance will be Taco Mania (We had a chance to sample these at the Frontrunners – Nanaimo anniversary run and they were SO GOOD).

Team tents:
Team tents are welcome and there will be an area set aside for them on the lawn near the volleyball court. First come…..first up.

Crosstoberfest Race Day Schedule

Note this will be the LAST time for the season that this schedule is used. We will move to a slightly more condensed schedule for the last two races of the 2019 COTR season.

Registration and Sign-in Open 9:15 am
Beginner Clinic 10:00 am
Launch Men (Including Youth U13 and U15) 10:45 am
Launch Women (Including Youth U13 and U15) 10:46 am
Zoom Zoom Goblins (Kids) 11:40
Intermediate Men (Including U17) 12:10 noon
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
Expert Men 2:30 pm
Expert Women 2:31 pm
Awards 4:00ish

2. Muc Off Cup Review

Notes from Race Directors Corey Piket and Sean Lunny from Rock City Cycles:

Photos from Chad Grice

Biggest Race Ever in Cross on the Rock history!
Second “tamest” race in COTR history!
Pretty impressive stats for Season #14

Thank you everyone who came out to Race, spectate, and volunteer. As stoked that we are to achieve it at the Muc-Off Cup, I’m hoping we can beat that number in the last few races of the year.

A big thank you to the City of Nanaimo for their continued support of cyclocross. We love checking out new venues but we also love the tradition of coming back to epic courses.

Thank you all the members of the Rock City cyclocross team, Mid Island Velo and the staff at Rock City Cycles who came out early to set up, time keep, race and tear down. Thank you also to all the other racers and spectators who pitch in even though it’s not their home course. You guys Rock!

Every year we are amazed how smooth the Cross on the Rock races go, thank you Norm and Wendy for all the pre race prep you do, the day of race work, the kids races, and letting us continue to host a race.

This year it was awesome that Muc-Off stepped up to be the title sponsor of our race. Muc-Off also does so much for the whole series. This is all due to the work of Pete Creighton. Thanks Pete! And thanks to Jamie and Brad for coming out to our race to fix and wash bikes.

Thank you to Patrick for doing such a great job of timing. Roland for all his results and stats and also Sheri from Cycling BC.

We had a few incidents at this years race but all were taken care of by Medix. Thank you for being a part of our race, it keeps my stress levels down knowing we have a great team to take care off any medical emergencies.

Lastly thank you to Sip and Sliders for coming out and making the best burger I’ve ever had! If you have an event and need a food truck contact Brooke at sipandslidersfoodtruck@gmail.com

A super big thank you to Mike at Kestral Helicopters for the flight prize and to Modo Yoga Nanaimo for the two, month pass prizes.

3. Crossfondo Wrap Up.

Thank you from the 4th Annual Tripleshot CrossFondo

Big shout out to all the COTR friends who rode the Tripleshot CrossFondo Sunday. This fundraiser for the youth program, SIMBS and The Nature Trail Society featured 25 and 43 km options.

The much feared rain turned out to be a feature, filling creeks and producing Flanders caliber mud on the Slugget Farm. This years route used some of previous routes in the Highlands, but then swung north through the farms of central saanich across private woodlots. pastures, ravines, vineyards and fields, before cruising back to the start along Elk Lake. Men’s winner was Dave Vunic, and the women’s Holly Henry.

A big feature of the crossfondo is access for one day to over 40 private properties. Please respect their support of our sport, and don’t try to cross them again until next year.

Holly Henry at the “wet crossing”.

Cross on the Rock is an ISLAND series and the past support we have received from our island community is awesome. Lets keep it up in the future as it is what drives this series and makes it special. PLEASE SUPPORT THE SPONSORS. These are local businesses and companies that support local businesses. On-line companies, amazon, big business (besides Shimano and local dealers of MAZDA) do NOT support community events.

Cross on the Rock is organized by the council of cross and supported by a lot of bike shops and awesome people.

Flashback Old-School. MASSIVE Whirly Whirl at Coal Cross.

MAZDA-COTR. Newsletter #8. Season #14. Weekend Plan: Fill with Turkey Sunday. Race it off Monday.

Newsletter #8 for 2019. MAZDA-COTR. Season #14.

Powered by MAZDA

Bikes washed, lubed and ready to race Monday at the Muc Off Cup.

Newsletter #8.

  1. Muc Off Cup Preview
  2. Cross on the Commons in Qualicum Beach. The rear view.
  3. SIMBS need your help

The Warm Up.

  • We tried out a different award at Cross on the Commons last Sunday sponsored by Eleven Speed Coffee. The award was for the person that passed the highest number of people from the start of the race to the finish. Qualicum’s course allowed us to measure this because of the layout of the finish line that you pass 30 seconds or so after the start. The council has named it the “Moving on up” award. We won’t be able to substitute it for the Last not Lapped award at every race because of course lay out but look for it at some of the races in the future.

Winning the Moving on up at Cross on the Commons were:
Peter Veasey (+36) Katie Slater (+17) Alen Fazlagic (+37) Adele Lay (+18) David Opko (+41) Howie Adams (+11) Tara Miller (+10) Emily Unterberger (+11) Drew MacKenzie (+30)

  • If you are interested in watching the sinister video of our web site hack here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzhgXlaf878&feature=youtu.be
  • The FREE JUMP up for Women at Cross on the Commons was GREAT. Lets keep that rolling at the Muc Off Cup. Make sure you keep your normal race number and timing chip but let the registration crew know you are doing a second race. Guys this option is also open to you but…..it is $10 (still a great deal).
  • From the timing crews: Women if you are rocking a pony tail at the races or have long hair please put your race number a bit lower on your back. Thanks!!

1. Muc Off Cup Preview
The Muc Off Cup is held at Bowen Park which is a public park. It is CRUCIAL to our event-parks and recreation relationship that all racers and fans act in an appropriate manner while using this park. We had an issue a couple of years ago in which one racer had an altercation with someone driving on the upper park road. This one altercation put our event in jeopardy. It is up to everyone. Keep the good vibes going at our series!

From Rock City Cycles:
We are super stoked to have Muc-Off as a title sponsor this year. The Bowen park course is a classic and even with the predicted sunshine this weekend it will hurt!! The parcours will be similar to previous years starting with a road section into a wooded climb, followed by some open chances to pass. It then gets technical for a short stretch before coming to the twists and turns, sand and stairs, and through the start/finish.

Course Hazards
Please be cautious of the downhill after the pool. There are roots and trees with uneven ground.
Please stay within the cones by the Tennis Courts. This is very important, we are sharing the road with other park users
The last hazard is the downhill after the long stair run up. Please use caution, it is steep and can be loose

Parking
Parking will be in the lot besides the Volleyball court. Overflow parking can be had at the Curling club across the street. Registration will be near the volleyball courts. Please be courteous to other park users.

Team Tents
One row on the grass in front of parking, one row on the dirt. Please do not park in the tent area.

Muc-Off/HawleyLambert will have a bike wash station, these are volunteers please be patient and helpful.

Sip and Sliders food truck will be on site. Handcrafted milkshakes, sliders and hand cut fries.

Make sure you stay for the draw prizes, Lots of Muc-Off prizes and something from our friends at Kestral Helicopters and Moksha Yoga.

Rock City Cycles

2. Cross on the Commons in Qualicum Beach. The rear view.

Link to photos from Petra Knight.
Link to photos from Chad Grice

Cross on the Commons (COTC) – The Rear View

Thanks everyone for coming out in record numbers to have fun and shred more sand and grass and pump some BMX track in Qualicum Beach. I bet the town officials and residents never envisioned an event like this taking place. Each year it just keeps getting a little better! Well played all!

And another thank you to everyone for observing the ‘no shoes’ policy in the Civic Centre. The facilities are pretty ideal so we want to keep them that way. [Next year (?) we will try not to run out of cardboard for the floor]

A special shout-out goes to the many volunteers that come out to make this race really happen. By my count, 28 volunteers doing multiple jobs and putting in many hours of service. Starting with course set-up (Dean, Tam, Rod, Val, Garth, Howie, Laurie, Petra, Sandi, Kebble, Andrew, Georgia, Owen and Paul) the day before (which always leaves me wondering how much will still be standing come Sunday morning at 7 a.m. But three for three, so thank you Qualicum Beach); a great team (Liz, Roxanne, Pearl, Val and Sandi) for registration; the timing crew (Garth, Rod, Jeff and James) hanging in there for the full day. And not to forget the course marshalls (Alan, Tam, Teresa, Andrew, Georgia, Bill and Petra) looking out for racer safety and track issues. Thanks to Laz and Nicholas for running the Beginners Clinic and Paul and Howie for trying to keep the parking lot, sort of, organized and Bertrand for hanging around and doing what needed to be done. And then, course take-down, with a lot of thanks to those that helped out. I think Norm’s trailer went away a little more organized.

Did anyone try to get a special, overnight rate at the Sand Pebbles Inn? Well, if you tried but failed then I apologize. The special rate that was outlined in newsletter #7 was from 2018 and not valid for 2019. My mistake, sorry about that!

And far from last, is the awesome support we received from a large number of businesses in Qualicum Beach and Parksville that donated product, gift certificates and a whole lot more to a great event!

And congratulations to Wendy Simms for winning the grand, draw prize of a free tandem sky dive from SkyDive Vancouver Island here in Qualicum Beach. The whole family was pretty pumped about that!

Onwards and upwards for #2019COTR!

Thanks one and all,
Roy

3. SIMBS need your help

Please take 30 seconds to sign the petition here.

Recent Developments: Landfill Expansion

While most of the Hartland Biking Area is within Mt Work Regional Park, some of the trails – including Who’s Your Daddy and Night Shift – are on landfill property. The Capital Region District (CRD) is developing a new Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) to extend the life of the landfill to the year 2100. This will most likely result in the landfill expanding to the edge of the property line.
Permanent trail closures will not happen for several years
temporary closures for blasting will begin this winter,
public consultation is beginning this month!
SIMBS is a key stakeholder in the consultation and we’re advocating hard for new MTB access to offset the impacts of the landfill expansion. We need all members to participate in the consultation by attending public meetings and submitting written feedback. We’ll share important dates and info throughout the process. Please share this email widely!

Mt Work Management Plan

We’re circulating a petition to CRD asking for a Management Plan for Mount Work Regional Park. This would create an opportunity to address various issues in and around Hartland, including the need to authorize existing trails outside of the authorized biking area – such as Bubble Wrap and Legends, as well as of course the SWMP. We’ll present the petition at the next CRD Parks and Environment Committee meeting on October 23 (see below).

Cross on the Rock is an ISLAND series and the past support we have received from our island community is awesome. Lets keep it up in the future as it is what drives this series and makes it special. PLEASE SUPPORT THE SPONSORS. These are local businesses and companies that support local businesses. On-line companies, amazon, big business (besides Shimano and local dealers of MAZDA) do NOT support community events.

Cross on the Rock is organized by the council of cross and supported by a lot of bike shops and awesome people.

Newsletter #7 for 2019. MAZDA-COTR. Season #14.

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Bikes washed, lubed and ready to race this weekend in Qualicum Beach with Muc Off.

Newsletter #7.

  1. From the sidelines
  2. Cross on the Commons in Qualicum Beach. This Sunday.

Listening to the rain come down and wondering about tire selection for this Sunday…..while recalling Naked Bike’s recent post about cush-core tire insert experimentation.

Note: A reminder to our cross riders. PLEASE stay off the courses we have used after we have used them. I KNOW they look like awesome practice areas but we need to leave them alone! Thanks.

1. From the sidelines

The “From the sidelines” section is normally where we have random notes that are directly or indirectly related to Cyclocross and or Cross on the Rock.

1) We were hacked.
I am not sure where to be mad, annoyed or laugh….but Roland let me know this week that our site was hacked. The hacker demanded ransom. He sent a video (I will ask Roland if we can link it) of him hacking our site. The video has sinister music dubbed on it. He demand ransom. The ransom amount. $30. American $$.

We did not pay. Roland has the site backed up. If it is ever hacked we would just re-set it and use the back up. $30. $30 US $!

2) Nicole Nordli did NOT DNF at the PRo City GP! She appeared as a DNF on the original uploaded results when she did finish (12th) because of a finish line chip read block. We had it all sorted out on the web scorer files (where the results are preliminarily posted) but because of the hacker they were not uploaded onto the COTR race and series files until we had that sorted. Sorry to Nicole (and anyone else) for making you worry about your points and placings!!

3) Last Not Lapped award is swapping out for a while to most passes.
We tried this at Pro City GP for the first time where we were calculating passes being made on the second lap and awarded a prize for this. At Cross on the Commons we are confident we can do this award for the most passes for the race. Roland’s program should calculate who passed the most people from the first pass through the finish line (at Qualicum this is about 400m in) until the finish. Get your pass on!! If it does not work we will revert back to our Last Not Lapped which is also a major accomplishment!

2. Cross on the Commons in Qualicum Beach. This Sunday

Poster. Articles. Map. Posted Below.

Pre-Registration (and chance for a call up) closes as always at 6:00pm on Saturday Night.

2019 Cross on the Commons Preview

For the third year, will the race be run clockwise or counter-clockwise or a combination of both? Hot and dry or wet and muddy, who knows. So you better come and ride to find out.

You do know though that there will be many of the features you like at Qualicum Beach. Staging and start section still the same, check! Grass and sand, check! BMX track, check! A bit of single track, check! Smooth grass sections, check! Food Trucks, Check! Same place, same great QB Civic Centre facilities.

NOTE: Absolutely NO riding on the playing fields! The marked course is the only place to be!

NOTE *2: The Town of QB is still insisting on a cardboard down and ‘No Shoes’ policy in the Civic Centre. This means the registration area as well as the washrooms. Please follow for everyone’s benefit!!!

Team Tents

Team tents located next to the Skateboard Park. First Come, First Served. No parking in the Team Tent area. Unload, setup then park.

Location

At the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre. Good access from all highways:

  1. From Hwy 19, take the only off-ramp into Qualicum Beach, follow the traffic circle around to Rupert Rd, drive 1 block and turn right onto Jones St.
  2. Coming from north Island on Hwy 19A, turn right onto Laburnum Rd and continue until a left turn on Jones St.
  3. If coming from down Island on Hwy 19A, turn left at Bennett Rd (also goes to airport), it will change to Rupert Rd, go around the traffic circle then one more block to a right turn on Jones St.
  4. From the west (Port Alberni, Hwy 4) drive towards town and follow the traffic circle around to Rupert Rd, drive 1 block and turn right onto Jones St.

Parking
Parking is available at the Civic Centre. A lot of other people use the facilities at the Civic Centre so share and share alike. NO PARKING in the Ravensong Pool parking area, that is for pool patrons only.

FYI: A great place for additional parking is at the BMX track parking lot on Park Rd. Quiet, lots of room and quick access to registration area, etc. To get there, continue down Jones St to First Ave W, turn left for 1 block then turn left again on Park Rd. Parking dead ahead.

Of Special Note

A special rate at http://sandpebbles.bc.ca/ has been setup for racers that want to come early or stay late. A great spot with lovely grounds and ocean views!

  • $79.95 per night
  • A ‘run of house’ rate which means guests choose whether they want one bed or two!
  • Promo code: Cross On The Commons

Cross on the Rock is an ISLAND series and the past support we have received from our island community is awesome. Lets keep it up in the future as it is what drives this series and makes it special. PLEASE SUPPORT THE SPONSORS. These are local businesses and companies that support local businesses. On-line companies, amazon, big business (besides Shimano and local dealers of MAZDA) do NOT support community events.

Cross on the Rock is organized by the council of cross and supported by a lot of bike shops and awesome people.

Newsletter #6 for 2019. MAZDA-COTR. Season #14.- Pro City GP. A Great Day for CX.

Newsletter #6 for 2019. MAZDA-COTR.
Season #14.

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Bikes washed, lubed and protected for a week of training and preparations with Muc Off.

Newsletter #6.

  1. Pro City GP Review
  2. Review of the 5 races left in Season #14 of COTR
  3. Lost and Found.

A reminder to our cross riders. PLEASE stay off the courses we have used after we have used them. I KNOW they look like awesome practice areas but we need to leave them alone! Thanks.

1. Pro City GP Review

“Great set up today—definitely a bit trickier than in the past”

Patrick Burnham’s Photo link from the Pro City GP

From Race Director Scott Mitchell:

What and awesome day for Cyclocross. Another record turnout and the weather was pretty perfect for racing.

A lot of riders mentioned that they really liked the “flow” of the course, myself included.
Can’t believe how fast the course came down, that was such a relief after a long day of directing and racing. Thanks to all that helped clean up!

There were several key volunteers that deserve a BIG THANK YOU!
Polly, Rob, Chelsea, Leasa, Chrys, Cheekwan, for their dedication to the registration table, keeping the line-ups reasonable considering the massive amount of racers.
The course setup crew, Dave Pod, Kyle, James, Andrew, Roland, Kelly, Gabor, Doug, Sam, Wendy, Tycho, Tessa,There were more….sorry if I missed ya.
Also the critical number trackers in the timing tent, Patrick, Bruce, Sherry, JJ, Ros, Kim, not an easy job but a job well done.
I’m sure there were several more that pitched in in all aspects of the day and I’m sorry if I missed you.

The City of Victoria Parks Department hasn’t complained…… fingers crossed….. so please respect the area and keep away with your cross bike until next year. Yes, there may be a next year…..

As always Norm is the super industrial glue that holds these events together. He is always calm and collected, organized, and deserves so much credit for the success of this event and the entire series. Thanks Norm!

Event sponsors: Shimano Pro and Trek Bikes Victoria
Extra prizing sponsors: Muc Off. 11 Speed Coffee. Phillips Beer and Island Cycles (Super Masters)
Big thanks to Shimano for stepping up big time to help with prizes, course marking, and making great products!
Support your local bike shop, they are the reason that these races happen!

Norm’s Notes from Pro City GP

  • No rain for set up. Rain for pre-ride. No rain for races. Amazing
  • Breakfast Pies from Saltchuck Pie Company.
  • First time I did NOT get a wanna wafel when they were at at COTR race. BIG SAD FACE
  • Missed having music and a bike wash…..but did not have the keys needed this year. Sorry!
  • Check out the results and the ages of the young guns drilling it out there. So good to see.
  • Rob Britton!
  • Hearing that Tycho rode that first greasy hill (bummed I did not actually see it)
  • The clean up and pack up was VERY FAST. 5:10 pulling out of parking lot. A record for that event!
  • Once again people were very respectful and nice with regards to letting other racers by and passing. This has been a GREAT theme this year! Thank you from everyone that races!

2. Review of what races are left in Cross on the Rock Season #14

All registration pages are live and linked on the Cross on the Rock web page.

October 6th. COTR #3. Cross on the Commons. Qualicum Beach

  • Qualicum Beach returns for the 3rd time. Clockwise or Counter clockwise? Something entirely new? We don’t know! We can tell you that the ice cream in the village tastes great after a day of racing.

October 14th. COTR #4. Muc Off Cup. Nanaimo

  • Thanksgiving Monday classic! Name change for this year but one of the best courses (and polarizing) courses around. This event has had the highest DNF rate and the lowest!
    October 27th. COTR #5. Crosstoberfest (The return of). Ladysmith
  • After a couple of years off COTR will return to Transfer Beach. This time for “Crosstoberfest”. Some park changes will mean some course changes. The venue and view can not be beat!

November 3rd. COTR #6. Day of Thunder. Victoria

  • Back to Western Speedway for the second to last event for the 2019 season at Western Speedway. This venue has probably hosted the 3rd most cyclocross races on Vancouver Island. Lots of space. Lots of “knarly”.

November 16th. COTR #7. Hot Crossed Bunnies. Nanaimo

  • Nanaimo’s Beban park will host the last race for 2019 with it’s Hot Crossed Bunnies race. Double points will be up for grabs which normally means a shake up in some of the standings right before the awards for the season are given out.

5 races left
3 Sundays
1 Monday
1 Saturday

3. Lost and Found
Simple notice here. We are gathering an amazing amount of “stuff” for only 2 races. UNFORTUNATELY we can not spend hours after each event responding to questions and coordinating pick up of your items. We need to get on our bikes! We have the bin at registration at each event. Check it out if you lost or think you might have lost anything. 1 week after the last race it all goes to the Salvation Army.

(Also someone found some Apple wireless ear buds at the Pro City GP) They are $$ so if you lost them they will bring them to Cross on the Commons.

Cross on the Rock is an ISLAND series and the past support we have received from our island community is awesome. Lets keep it up in the future as it is what drives this series and makes it special. PLEASE SUPPORT THE SPONSORS. These are local businesses and companies that support local businesses. On-line companies, amazon, big business (besides Shimano and local dealers of MAZDA) do NOT support community events.

Cross on the Rock is organized by the council of cross and supported by a lot of bike shops and awesome people.