News – Page 15 – Cross on the Rock

Mazda – COTR – Newsletter 2017 #2 – Cleaned and prepped by Muc Off. #COTR2017

A few new things happening with the newsletter. We have consolidated our mailing list to Mailchimp which will make things a bit smoother (eventually) on our end. It will also make it (eventually) easier to subscribe and unsubscribe. IF you are reading this on the web site and did not get the e-mail….and you want the e-mail. You are not on the mailing list and you should sign up for it!

Just a WARNING. This e-mail is HUGE. But it is because there is a LOT of information!!

Also if you are a cyclist or knows a cyclist that is NOT racing COTR (you might be getting this because you are a super-fan) There is the ALS ride on Sunday in the Cowichan Valley. Poster is attached at the end.

A MAJOR thanks to MAZDA for continuing their title sponsorship of the COTR series. They will have the CX-3 out at the venue on Sunday for people to check out. Through the season they will be displaying different CX series vehicles at different races. Check them out.

Newsletter #2

54 people out for cross practice in the Comox Valley yesterday. 54!
35 out for the Rock City Cycles team welcome night.

Um…..things are getting S-E-R-I-O-U-S!

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

1. Pro City GP Preview

2. Are you a YOUTH rider and do you want to race for FREE in 2017?

3. What you need to get used to doing to race COTR in 2017

4. Weekly cross happenings on the island.

5. Registration.

1. Pro City GP Preview

First of all. Do you want to AVOID all registration line ups on Sunday morning? Do you want to pre-pin your race number and have it PERFECT before you leave the house for the race? Do you just want to chat CX with like minded people for a while while you enjoy a BEER?

For the FIRST TIME EVER!!

For all that have PRE-REGISTERED (by NOON on Saturday) and don’t want to wait in line Sunday morning. Stop by the Trek Bicycle Store, PRO CITY RACING headquarters 338 Catherine St in Victoria on Saturday from 5:30-8:00pm and pick up your number and timing chip. We will also have some complimentary beverages to help you pre-hydrate for the race on Sunday. Join us for the Season Kick off Party. Hang out with fellow Cross Fiends and and chat tactics, brag about your new cross bike, and talk tire pressure.

Second of all. Tessa and Tycho would like you to pop by their Freezie stand to buy a pre or post race freezie. $1. They tried to do this at the MIVA Diver lake race….but their were technical difficulties. Make their day. Buy a freezie!

Course Description:
The City of Victora has allowed the use of Topaz park again for 2017.
The course will be very similar to last year. Some corners will change a bit but the layout will be the same. Taking advantage of Topaz park’s varied terrain including grass, wood chip trails, rocks, and more grass. The 2017 race course is fast, fun, and flowing with a mix of high/low speed riding, wide open power sections, technical cornering, and fluid long radius turns over varied surfaces. Race your file tread tires, bring your horsepower and your cornering skills.

Venue:
Topaz Park is located at the corner of Finlayson Street and Blanshard Street in Victoria. Parking is available on the north end of the park off of Finlayson Street or on the East side of the park by taking Spruce St off of Quadra Street. Additional parking is available at Mayfair Centre and SJ Willis School, a short walking distance to the park.

Please be courteous to other park users during race day and keep off the sports fields.
The park is still open to the public so please be respectful.
KEEP OFF THE SPORTS FIELDS!

Team tents:
Please send scott@trekbikesvictoria.com if you would like a reserved parking spot and area for your team tent. We will be setting up tents similar to last year, a bit closer to the parking area off Spruce St. Your spot will only be reserved until 9:30 am.

Shout outs:
Race sponsors: Shimano Pro and Trek Bikes Victoria
Big thanks to Shimano for stepping up big time to help with prizes, course marking, and making great products!

Directions to Topaz Park
From the Mainland:
• Please check www.bcferries.com for up to date sailing times

From the Swartz Bay ferry terminal
1. Follow the Patricia Bay Hwy/BC‐17 S toward Victoria.
2. Head southwest on Patricia Bay Hwy/BC‐17 S (go 28.3 km)
3. Take left onto Finlayson St (go 260m) and look for parking lot entrance to Topaz Park on your right hand side.
OR
4. Additional parking also available by continuing straight on Finlayson another 250m
5. Turn right onto Quadra St (go 200m)
6. Take the 1st right onto Spruce St and follow for 110m to parking lot.

From Nanaimo / Up-Island (Incl. both mid-island ferries)
1. Follow Island Hwy/BC-19A South (go 106km)
2. Continue to follow Island Hwy onto Trans-Canada Hwy/BC-1 S (go 6.8km)
3. Turn left onto Finlayson St go 450m head straight through lights at Blanshard and look for parking lot entrance to Topaz Park on your right hand side.
OR
4. Additional parking also available by continuing straight on Finlayson another 250m
5. Turn right onto Quadra St (go 200m)
6. Take the 1st right onto Spruce St and follow for 110m to parking lot.

From Victoria
1. Take Blanshard St/Patricia Bay Hwy/BC‐17 N towards Yates St (go 2.3 km)
2. Turn right onto Finlayson St (go 260m) and look for parking lot entrance to Topaz Park on your right hand side.
OR
3. Additional parking also available by continuing straight on Finlayson another 250m
4. Turn right onto Quadra St (go 200m)
5. Take the 1st right onto Spruce St and follow for 110m to parking lot.

Volunteers needed!!!
We are currently looking for volunteers to help make the event Crosstastic!! Volunteers are key to COTR events and we are keen to get some new people out to help us set up, take down and run these awesome events!!
If you are in Victoria and would like to learn more about volunteering for Victoria based COTR events send me an email at scott@trekbikesvictoria.com I will gladly sign you up for sweet volunteer position.
We need help with:
Course Construction: Sunday Morning prior to the race, 7:30-10:00
Timers: 1 person for every race to help out…so sign up for a race you are not racing in 🙂
Kids Course Official: kids races are at 11:30am and 12:10.
Course Take down: If everyone pitches in it does not take long at all!

Food Truck

Indecent Risotto Food Truck is confirmed for the race. Cash always works best. https://www.facebook.com/IndecentRisotto/

Schedule

Please note that the schedule for this race is STRETCHED a bit more to allow for registration and data input as this is the first race and there will be a LOT of people and new systems in place. Number and chip pick up during the day will be restricted to those with the next event coming up. Ie. if you are an expert or a masters men….don’t try to get your number before the beginners. Even more reason to pick it up the night before at the Trek Bicycle Store, PRO CITY RACING headquarters 338 Catherine St in Victoria on Saturday from 5:30-8:00pm

2. Are you a YOUTH rider and do you want to race for FREE in 2017?

After amazing participation and response last year with their support of youth races. Quadra Island based Study-Build will again be supporting and paying for YOUTH racers (up to 19 year old) for COTR this year.

Here are the requirements:

The racer must participate in 7 or 8 of the eight races this year to qualify for free entries.
For the reimbursement at end of season the racer (NOT the PARENTS) will need to submit a request, (might be a simple google form)
Then we’ll mail them a cheque

While we LOVED the “enthusiasm” of the money mosh pit last year at Saanich. This will be a more reasonable way to do this and take a bit of pressure off the final awards.

3. What you need to get used to doing to race COTR in 2017

Just some fun bullet point information for you all!

ENCOURAGEMENT for your fellow racers.
Heckle your friends (if they can take it). Encourage all others ESPECIALLY the kids!
Bringing your race number to EVERY RACE
Making sure your Timing chip is on YOUR bike (not your buddies or your girlfriends)
Making sure your YOUR PIT BIKE timing chip is on the bike you are going to use as a back up.
Bring your license to EVERY RACE….or bring $10
Bring money for a freezie to the first race $1
Pre-register
Be responsible
Should not have to say this…..but no smoking at races by racers
Always wear your helmet when you are on your bike
If you are too-agro at a race. You get one warning. The second time you are done for the year.
This is grassroots…..NOT a Euro-World Cup. We are all here to have fun and do some racing.
You can’t take a random person’s bike if your’s breaks!
PLEASE…..please….SIGN UP A HEAD OF TIME. It makes it WAY easier for everyone.
Don’t but the timers when they are timing. It is hard enough.
Don’t linger at the finish line…..you will mess up the results.
If you DNF go to the finish line….but leave your bike AWAY from the finish.
Most importantly…..if you sandbag…..we will call you on it!!

Looking forward to a GREAT COTR 2017!!

4. OTHER CROSS HAPPENINGS ON THE ISLAND

Cross on the Rock is not the only thing happening on Vancouver Island for Cross over the next few months…..there is a LOT going on (at least until the days get too short to make any of this possible)

VICTORIA
In Victoria there is the Cross Club. 7 training “rides”.
Cross Club 2017, Victoria’s Underground Cyclocross Series Returns

Rain we need rain…. regardless it’s Cyclocross Season, so time to sharpen your CX skills!

B’s ride at 5:30pm

A’s at 6:00pm.

Details on locations will be emailed to the registered riders list each week.

Ride #1 and Kickoff is September 13
Ride#2 is September 20
Ride#3 is September 27
Ride#4 is October 4
Ride#5 is October 18
Ride#6 is October 25
Ride#7 is November 1
www.crossclubvictoria.com

COWICHAN VALLEY
First CX practice is a go for this Wednesday (tonight. August 30th) behind Quamichan high school (on Beverley) starting at 6:30pm. See you there – first race is in two weeks!! #crossiscoming”
cowichancx@gmail.com and Cowichan Cyclocross on Facebook

NANAIMO
Wednesday nights at Rock City Cycles. Cross ride starting at 6:00. Will adjust length based on daylight.

Thursday nights starting September 7th. Cross practices hosted by MIVA and run by Carey Mark. Carey3221@gmail.com . 6:00pm at Bowen Park off Wall Street. 5 weeks and re-asses based on light.

COMOX VALLEY
Wednesday Night cross practices. 5:30pm. Location will vary each week in either Cumberland/Courtenay/Comox. FB group for more info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/457383181299940/

ALSO IMPORTANT
Put October 15th on your calendar for the second year of the Cross Fondo hosted and organized by Tripleshot. 40km of backcountry trails. www.Tripleshotcrossfondo.ca Everyone that did this event last year said it was AWESOME!! They will have a table promoting the event at the race this Sunday. Stop by for more information!

5. REGISTRATION.

Remember….we are not “hand holders” at the races or before/after. Take some responsibility for yourself, your information and accuracy in what you are doing.

IF you e-mail us about the race day schedule even though it was on the page that you registered…..and on the web site…..we will not be happy.

If you register in the wrong category. FIX IT. Don’t e-mail us….go in and fix it.

In the meantime we will focus on the million details it takes to put on this race series!!

Here are the registration links.

2017 Series Page – https://raceroster.com/events/2017/14156/2017-cross-on-the-rock-series
When you sign up for the first 7 races you get the 8th race for FREE!!

We are looking forward to the first COTR race of the season and the series a head.

Check your in-box next week for Newsletter #3 with a Pro-City GP re-cap and a Tugboat preview.

the Council of cross signing off until Sunday (we will still be live on FB though).

Mazda – COTR – Newsletter 2017 #1 – Cleaned and prepped by Muc Off. #COTR2017

The main thing you want to know is what is our MAIN hashtag for the year…..and it is…….#COTR2017 So tag away!!

Welcome to the 2017 season of Cross on the Rock. It is our 11th season for this race series and our 14th year of organizing cyclocross races on Vancouver Island.

FIRST OFF: IF YOU WANT OUT. NOW IS THE TIME. DON’T WANT THE COTR NEWSLETTERS ANYMORE….NO PROBLEM. FIRE ME A NOTE. LIFE CHANGES. WE WON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY. This goes for any time over the next 3 months.

The first COTR newsletter of 2017!!

Are you ready? Is your bike ready? Does not matter you have until November 18th to get it all dialled in and put it all together.

We have a lot of information BUT I have been accused of having the LONGEST e-mails so I will try to restrict it to ONLY 5 things this week. Next week we will fire up the 1st race preview for The Pro City Grand Prix and give you a bit more information.

There has been a lot of cyclocross related action since we last left you at Saanich Fairgrounds last November. Every week I hear a new COTR rumour. On STRAVA I see lots of riders TRAINING HARD and early. We have been jostling the schedule and events around a bit. Earlier this month we hosted the MIVA Mid-Summer Night race at Diver Lake for the 2nd year. It has been a busy “off season”. We can’t wait for the real season to start up.

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

Series Overview.
Some of the changes this year.
Outlining license requirements.
Other cross happenings on the island.
Registration.

1. SERIES OVERVIEW.

If you have not been checking the website, or FB page and have been eagerly anticipating this e-mail…..here is the schedule for the year. If you have the promo card on your fridge or in your car already and the dates marked on your calendar. You will want to make a few adjustments to what you have.

2017 Cross on the Rock Race Schedule

2017 Locations:
Race #1. September 10th: Victoria. Topaz Park.
Race #2. September 17th: Ladysmith. Transfer Beach.
Race #3. October 1st: Cumberland. Village Park.
Race #4. October 9th: Nanaimo. Bowen Park.
Race #5. October 22nd: Qualicum Beach. Civic Park.
Race #6. November 4th: Victoria. Western Speedway.
Race #7. November 5th : Central Saanich. Saanich Fairgrounds.
Race #8. November 18th: Nanaimo. Bowen Park.

2017 Events:
Race #1. September 10th: Pro City Cyclocross Grand Prix
Race #2. September 17th: Tugboat Cross
Race #3. October 1st: Coal Cross
Race #4. October 9th: Kona Kup
Race #5. October 22nd: Cross on the Commons
Race #6. November 4th: Day of Thunder
Race #7. November 5th: De Grote Prijs van Fairgrounds
Race #8. November 18th: Hot Crossed Bunnies.

A few things of note:

8 races again this year.
5 Returning Venues from 2016: Topaz Park. Transfer Beach. Bowen Park. Saanich Fairgrounds. Beban Park.
2 Returning Venues from previous years. Western Speedway and Village Park.
1 Totally New Venues: Civic Park in Qualicum Beach.
3 races in Greater Victoria. 3 races mid island. 2 races up island. Same as 2016
5 Sundays. 2 Saturdays. 1 Monday

If you have the 2016 Promo Card or made notes when we published the schedule at the end of 2016 you will note the following changes:

We are not hosting the Provincial Championships.
Ladysmith and Cumberland have changed dates.

2. SOME OF THE CHANGES TO COTR THIS YEAR.

We made quite a few changes last year to the series which will carry over into the 2017 season. A couple more things that will change this year:

Continuing with electronic timing.
Last year we started working with chip timing to get overall times and lap splits. There were some bugs to work out but everything progressed in the right direction. For this season we are continuing to develop this. There will be number tags for your bike and cloth numbers for your body issued at your first race of the year with your registration. These will be yours for the season and you are expected and required to bring these to EVERY event you race in. The bike number tag is easy to attach on the seat tube with a zap strap. The race numbers go on your back as usual and you will need to wash them with your race kit after each event.

If you are racing with an extra bike (or using someone else’s bike in the pit) you will NEED to get an extra bike chip for that bike. IF it is someone else’s bike you need to make sure YOUR chip is on that bike when it goes into the pit.

If you lose your bike timing chip or your race number the replacement cost is $5. We want you to hold onto these and be responsible for them.
If you need a second timing chip for your second bike it will be $3 for the race season.

The timing chips and race numbers are YOUR responsibility to manage and take care of!

Registration Fees.
The race registration fees for this year remain the same for 6 of the 8 events. $25 Adult $15 for youth (under 19) for PRE-REGISTRATION.
For Western Speedway and Saanich Fairgrounds the registration fees will be $5 more to cover the larger expense of those two race sites.

If you want to roll the dice. Lose your call up. Check the weather etc. and register on the day of the race it will cost you an additional $10.

Pre-Registration VS. Day of race registration.

PRE-REGISTRATION IS PRETTY MUCH MANDATORY._

Again given the changes with electronic timing and the preparations that are needed for that and to make sure our call up lists are as accurate as possible we need to have time to do this work. Race morning 10 minutes before the start is not the time! So pre-registration is “pretty much” mandatory. By “Pretty Much” we mean if you delay, procrastinate, hedge your bets on weather etc. you can still come and race BUT it will cost you and extra $10 and you will NOT receive a call up. All day of race registrations will be
started at the back. After the people with points and the people without points that pre-registered. We really want people to pre-register.

3. LICENSE REQUIREMENTS FOR COTR THIS YEAR.

Once again the Cross on the Rock’s series is sanctioned and supported by Cycling BC. As always everyone that races a series race needs to have either a UCI license from Cycling BC (or another province). A Cycling BC “iRide” License for local events. OR fill out your 1,000,000 form and purchase yet another day of race license ($10).

Masters cycling. Triathlon BC. ABA. Your library card. None of those count or will help you out.

Here is a link to the Cycling BC page on licenses: https://cyclingbc.net/membership/registration-2017/

What we need to see is:

a) UCI Racing License. A.K.A. a “BC Race License”. This license used to be late season discounted to $99 for the cross season but that is no longer the case. You have to pay full-pop. This will allow you to race any cross
race any place any category any where until the end of the year. This will also allow you to race Elite at Provincials and if you win provincials you will get the provincial champion jersey.

b) A Provincial Ride License. $60. This will allow you to do all our races and is VERY economical. With this license you can also race the Provincial Championships…..but not in Elite….and if you win Provincials you will NOT be crowned the Provincial Champion….even if you are from this province and race here. You can also use this license to race the Cross Club Victoria races or do the cross clinics in Nanaimo and Cowichan.

c) Day of race license. Fill out a form at the event…..yes…..a PAPER form. Pony up $10. Good to go.

As has been for the last 10 year…..EVERYONE needs to have their license WITH them at check in at EVERY COTR race to race. If not you will be required to pay the $10 day of race insurance to participate. No exceptions so don’t even ask.

4. OTHER CROSS HAPPENINGS ON THE ISLAND

VICTORIA
In Victoria there is the Cross Club. 7 training “rides”.
Cross Club 2017, Victoria’s Underground Cyclocross Series Returns

Rain we need rain…. regardless it’s Cyclocross Season, so time to sharpen your CX skills!

B’s ride at 5:30pm

A’s at 6:00pm.

Details on locations will be emailed to the registered riders list each week.

Ride #1 and Kickoff is September 13
Ride#2 is September 20
Ride#3 is September 27
Ride#4 is October 4
Ride#5 is October 18
Ride#6 is October 25
Ride#7 is November 1
www.crossclubvictoria.com

NANAIMO
Wednesday nights at Rock City Cycles. Cross ride starting at 6:00. Will adjust length based on daylight.

Thursday nights starting September 7th. Cross practices hosted by MIVA and run by Carey Mark. Carey3221@gmail.com . 6:00pm at Bowen Park off Wall Street. 5 weeks and re-asses based on light.

COMOX VALLEY
Wednesday Night cross practices. 5:30pm. Location will vary each week in either Cumberland/Courtenay/Comox. FB group for more info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/457383181299940/

ALSO IMPORTANT
Put October 15th on your calendar for the second year of the Cross Fondo hosted and organized by Tripleshot. 40km of backcountry trails. www.Tripleshotcrossfondo.ca Everyone that did this event last year said it was AWESOME!!

5. REGISTRATION.

So…..are you ready to get registered?

BEFORE YOU DO…..If you are racing with a TEAM this year. Make sure that EVERYONE is on the same “page” about what the Team name should be and what it is registered as. With the prestige of the team rankings….we had a lot of teams that could have done a lot better if they would just organize their team names (not mentioning any specific ones Broad Street Cycles).

And remember that men’s intermediate and men’s masters categories are limited …..so don’t be disappointed.

Here are the registration links.

2017 Series Page – https://raceroster.com/events/2017/14156/2017-cross-on-the-rock-series
When you sign up for the first 7 races you get the 8th race for FREE!!

Check your in-box next week for Newsletter #2 with more on the series our awesome sponsors and a preview of the Pro City Grand Prix.

Cross on the Rock

The Last Round………Mazda – COTR – Newsletter 2016 #16 – Put away prepped and prepped by Muc Off.

This is the LAST newsletter for 2016. Keep in touch with us through Facebook or just by good old fashion W.O.M. Go for a ride with a COTR buddy and just talk about all the latest COTR news, gossip, rumours and smack talk. Thanks for a great season and we will talk to you in 2017 #COTR2017

We are READY with our post 2016 Survey!! Hit the link. Answer a few questions. Leave me your info and I will put you in for a draw for some SWEET stuff!! Plus you get to shape COTR 2017 and beyond and give us VALUABLE feedback. We would love to get 200+ surveys back. There are 20 questions and it takes most people between 1:30-4:00 to complete. Piece of cake!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5T9QGBR

Christmas is coming!! I have a few COTR 2016 T-Shirts left. Would love to move them to a place or person that would wear and love them. $22. Let me know and I will work on getting it to you.

Some of the last stuff we love of the season

Edits from Luke Hubner. #2 for the season from the Kona Kup at Bowen Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_cvJYF2X8s and #3 for the season from the series final at Saanich: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmNsyrZXaGE
Pelle is still in the editing phase of his Series Final Special Edition edit. Keep an eye on our FB page in the future for that one.

Last Chances for CX for 2016

Kris Cross at the Cowichan Fairgrounds on December 11th . We have looked at this venue for a few years so it will be a good chance to check it out. Registration for this one is on Webscorer with links from OBB and Cycle therapy pages.
Semiprestige CX Race: Dec 18th Likely the same excellent venue as last year, with fingers firmly crossed for SNOW. Keep an eye on Broad Street Cycles FB page for more information on this one.

In newsletter #16

Provincial Championships round up
The Naked 2016 Notes
Save some dates (now you will know….so don’t e-mail me like you don’t know!!)

1. Provincial Championships round up

Check out the Gallery from Patrick Burnham. Past COTR photo of the year winner….but has been TOO BUSY with timing this season to take any photos. He snapped a few in Squamish to finish the year off: https://www.flickr.com/photos/palleus/albums/72157677053382296

Results here: http://bcraceresults.wimsey.co/

Write Up here: http://pedalmag.com/bc-cx-2016-championships-full-results-dyck-and-richey-win-elite-titles/

PLEASE NOTE. CBC wrote that article and it was NOT “Richard Machhein” that won the SS Championships….it was our own Halldor Gunnarsson!!

We know you crew LOVE stats. Here is a few for you.

Number of people that raced BC Provincial CX Champs: 257
Percentage from Vancouver Island (or North Sunshine Coast): 63 or 24% of the field was COTR racers.
Number of podium places available at the event: 51
Number of podiums captured by COTR racers: 21
Percentage of podiums captured by the 24 % of the field that are COTR racers: 41%

COTR Racers sweeped the Master’s Men’s 50-59. If you count Andreas Hestler who races 1 COTR race this year we also sweeped the Men’s 40-49. The only categories we did not get a podium spot of the 17 categories were U13Men’s, and Women’s Masters 40-49 and 50-59.

If you look at top 5 we it is even more impressive!

By category here are our COTR podium placers.

Elite Men – Honestly all of the top three might be considered COTR’ers. Craig Ritchey in 1st got his cross start at our races. Kevin Calhoun comes over quite a bit and took 2nd and for CERTAIN we count Nicholas Kupiak who had a beast ride for 3rd.

Elite Women – Mical Dyck 1st and Carey Mark 3rd.
Single Speed – Halldor Gunnarsson 1st place. We can count Mark Karau as well from Stuckylife as he is over here racing enough. 3rd place.
Master Men 60+ – The master of super masters….Derek Steel in 3rd
Master Men 50+ – Ken Olson 1st, Peter Stevenson 2nd and David Opko in 3rd.
Master Men 40+ – Justin Mark 1st, Andreas Hestler 2nd and Normon Thibault 3rd
Master Men 30+ – Andy Pitre in 3rd place.

Master Women 30+ – Denise Mahon 1st place
Junior Men – Ethan Pauly 1st place.
U17 Boys – Carter Woods 1st place
U15 Boys – Griffin Hart 3rd place.
U17 Girls – Sarah Van Dam 1st place and Emilly Johnston 2nd place.
U15 Girls – Isla Walker 3rd place

U13 Girls – Brynn Johnston 2nd place and Sarah Roberts 3rd place

Even better than the results was seeing so many COTR’ers pull together at the race and help each other out. One great community!

2. The Naked 2016 Notes

From the one. The only….SAM WHITTINGHAM!!!!

“Is your old cross machine “done” after all the mud this year?

Bummed you missed out the Naked Frame draw prize?

Can’t wait 18 months for a new naked frame?

Fear not, I will be taking a VERY limited number of orders of Naked X17 machines exclusively for COTR riders,friends and family members. Prices and most options will be as you see at http://nakedbicycles.com/the-bikes/x but delivery will much sooner, in time for COTR17! ”

And for the first time EVER in COTR newsletter….Naked Notes:

“It is an absolute honour to be part of the cross mosh fiesta that is COTR. I can’t believe another season is in the bag. After missing most of the last TWO seasons due to separate “oh my god, not again” injuries, I was thrilled to pack in a full roster of races this time around.

Some Highlights for me:

· All the kids! The future is bright.
· All the kids racing for free. Elle and Dre of Study build making it work.
· The good will of EVERYONE. No jerks allowed.
· Course design. These just keep getting better and better.
· MUD! So much MUD! And still managed to get away with nearly no rain………
· Hayley Dominating her class on my original COTR bike I built 10 years ago as a polo bike.
· No SUPER serious injuries this year that I’m aware of. (Although Dre’s knee was pretty gross)
· Jack’s Hot chocolate, Coffee, Donuts and portable changing tent! So pro.
· Roland. Just. Roland.
· Seeing Phil Schum and Sean Lunny race MASTERS even though I still think they are 17 cuz’ thats the last time I remember racing with them.
· Crashing due to a perfectly executed Norm Heckle.
· Ritchie’s reaction to winning a new frame. So easy when the stoke is this high.
All the Naked Bikes and Jerseys! So much Love. So proud of Mical and Regan, Terry, Hal, Jamie, Dave, Dave, Dre, Elle, Hayley, Katie, James, JP, Beast, Roanne, Geoff, Mandy, Sylvia, Tom, Wade, Andrew, Roy and of course, Ben and Fyn. Who did I miss?”

Cheers!

3. Save some dates (now you will know….so don’t e-mail me like you don’t know!!)

As you know our race season is ALWAYS evolving. BUT we have been working on 2017 for a while now….and we want you to know what we are thinking and how it most likely will shape up.

Here is how it looks:

August.

Season Primer August 9th. Maybe in Victoria or back to Diver Lake.

Race #1: Season opener September 10th at Topaz again (start might depend on survey results). Pre-race day race number and chip pick up at Pro City from 3:00-5:00
Race #2: September 15th…..Comox Valley with the NIGHT pub/taco ride if possible?
Race #3: October 1st: Tugboat at Transfer Beach
Race #4: October 9th: Bowen Park Nanaimo
Race #5: October 22nd: Qualicum Beach.
Race #6 and #7: November 4th and 5th. Double Header in Victoria. Bear Mt, Saanich Fairgrounds, Speedway or another venue. Laritz, JDF,
Race #8 Series final. November 19th or 18th Beban park.

Race #8 MIGHT be Provincial Championships….if that happened then we would finish the COTR season with the double header. There is also a chance the double header might be back in Nanaimo which if that happens then October 9th and the last race of the year would be in Victoria.

That is where we are at for 2017!!

Have a great winter. It has been the best season of COTR to date. A total pleasure being a part of this community.

Signing off.

Normon Thibault

Mazda – COTR – Newsletter 2016 #15 – Cleaned and prepped by Muc Off.

This will be the second to last newsletter for 2016. In the LAST one we will give you :a photo gallery link, video link, the link to the 2016 Survey (where you get to give your direct feedback) and…….the schedule for #COTR2017. Keep an eye on your in box for the LAST e-mail of the season!!

A Community of Cyclocross. Our COTR community.

That is what we have built.

“We”

It is “We”……It is not me. It is not Drew. It is not the other race directors. Brett that does the web site. Roland and Katie. Patrick. Jamie Cameron and Paul. The bike shops that sponsor teams or organize rides. Megan for taking care of my kids so I can race. People that just randomly jump in to help when needed. Jack that organizes and sources prizes JUST for Super Masters. Parks and Rec. Departments……the list goes on and on and on…….

The point is it is all of us. From the event directors. The crews at the races. Registration volunteers. Sponsors. Sponsors that come out and power wash bikes. Those that race. Those that don’t race but they “get” us. Spectators. Fans. Family….and most of all the racers. This year 713 of us out there racing 2599 times.

Those are the facts. Cross on the Rock is the BIGGEST cyclocross series in Canada. On our little Vancouver Island!

I think I am up to 75-78ish cross races put on. I am not going to say it gets “easier” as it does not. It is a LOT of work on race days. Before and after is also a HUGE amount of work. What is amazing is that a LOT of people help out. Never because they are forced (that I know about) to or have to. It is because they want to.

This is the community that we have built.

We have grown our racer base 4.5X since we started in 2006. We grew almost 10% again this year for racers. Double that to 20% as to how many more times everyone raced this year!

As we grow (and judging from the size of the Zoom Zoom and ‘Lil Nutcase races we will still grow for years) we need to keep the same things that have made the series since the start.

Fun
Competitive (but not “agro”)
Hard/Challenging
But still Encouraging, Inclusive and supportive.
And hopefully more Wafels!

Keep these things in mind as we work towards our 12th COTR season in a short 9 months from now.

Hands up for the Champions

After an amazing season with TIGHT battles we gave away 45 awards at the Saanich Fairgrounds. These are the riders that rode the best race season in each category.

U13 Men: Remy Garrison
U13 Women: Eva Leikermoser
U15 Men: Nicholas Knight
U15 Women: Olivia Gribbon
U17 Men: Carter Woods
U17 Women: Talia Hill
Intermediate Men: Andy Pitre
Intermediate Women: Haley Lounsbury
Masters Men: Normon Thibault
Masters Women: Tracy Egan
Super Masters Men: Barry Beck
Super Masters Women: Joanna Fox
Expert Men: Parker Bloom
Expert Women: Carey Mark
Top Fastmers (40+ racer in Expert Men): Justin Mark
Top U19 Female: Emily Johnston
Top U19 Male: Max McCullock
Best Rookie Season: Felix Burke

And also for the first time Top Team: Coal City Cycles

This is the stuff we love
· Statistics! We love them! 23.235.211.7/~thehol19/crossontherock//results/statistics/

· First time winning last Sunday; Matthew Evans, Toria Kalyniuk, Andy Pitre and Kristen Kit!

· First time on the Podium!! Nik Kay!

· Special mention to Sarah Van Dam for her first Expert Women’s podium!!

· Monday morning e-mails, texts and FB messages mentioning how their kids slept with their ZOOM ZOOM/’Lil Nutcase Trophy and then brought it to school.

· Same as above but with photos.

· A sunny Monday with an actual block of time to (almost) unload the van and (almost) tidy up a bunch of COTR stuff.

· When an awesome racer like Mick http://www.crossontherock.com//php/racer/?racername=Mick+Egan Offers to clean your bike while you are busy organizing the awards, moving the PA, herding your kids. Thanks Mick

· OK this one is a “Don’t love”. When you walk out of the awards with your kids and one says, “How can it be dark out already when we have not had lunch”? Apparently 2 wafels are not considered “lunch”…….always more to do!!

· The “Hand up Zone” over by the parking lot on Sunday. I did not take anything as Ken Olson was hunting me down….but you guys made me want to!!

Warming it down
· As we head into winter on the Island and away from COTR there is still a few things to do….Are you missing anything….like a set of wheels, jackets etc? The lost and found box will be going to good will soon.

· PLEASE fill out our Survey when you get the link. We will do two draws for those that fill it out.

· Make sure you write all the dates for the 2017 season on your calendar and plan ahead!

· Take care of your bike before you pack it away. Bearings. BB. Wheels. Chain. Cables. Put it away in good shape. It will appreciate it.

· Apologies to Emmy Lan and one other person…..(no notes) who’s series awards we messed up on. We were using last year’s extraction which did not separate out that we had changed our points structure for youth categories this year. Sorry.

Don’t want to “Warmed Down” yet?
· BC Cyclocross Championships THIS Saturday in Squamish. NEXT year BC champs will be on Vancouver Island…..so this is a good way for you to check it out and see what it is all about. Check Cycling BC.net for more info or Steed Cycles Web page. Last chance to register is Wednesday.

· Kris Cross at the Cowichan Fairgrounds on December 11th . We have looked at this venue for a few years so it will be a good chance to check it out. Registration for this one is on Webscorer with links from OBB and Cycle therapy pages.

· Semiprestige CX Race: Dec 18th Likely the same excellent venue as last year, with fingers firmly crossed for SNOW. Keep an eye on Broad Street Cycles FB page for more information on this one.

In newsletter #15

The most important stuff…….Thanks to our Sponsors.
De Grote Prijs van Fairgrounds. The Last Round.

1. The most important stuff…….Thanks to our Series Sponsors.

We were privileged to have our MAZDA as our title sponsor again this year. Sean Voigt has been at every one of our events helping set up the finish area. Helping with the kids races. Taking photos and video and pretty much doing anything we have asked of him. We were able to start and support the Zoom Zoom Half Track races with their support which have become VERY popular. For gosh sakes….EVERYONE buy a MAZDA!

Our presenting sponsor this year was Muc Off. Muc Off is only part of the equation here. The real sponsor is Peter Creighton who works for Cycles Lambert. Peter has supported our series since before it was a series. He pulls in whoever he feels will be a good fit for us and helps us as much as he can. That includes power washing bikes. Dropping off hundreds of give away CO2 cartridges. Getting us an EVOC bike bag to give away. He looks through all his samples for give aways to see if he can make our events as cool as the old school MTB races of the mid 90’s. He is a great partner and supporter of COTR.

Another company that came in late to help us in a very unique way was Study-Build. This is through Danielle http://www.crossontherock.com//php/racer/?racername=Danielle+Hagen and Andreas Hagen http://www.crossontherock.com//php/racer/?racername=Andreas+Hagen. Their idea was to reduce the financial barrier for the families of youth riders by basically paying for their races. Any youth rider that did 6 or more events had their races paid for. This equated to 42 riders or around $4550 cash that they handed out in a youth-cash-mosh pit for about a minute and a half during the awards ceremony. I have NEVER heard of ANYTHING like this happening at any race series anywhere in all the years of doing sports. I hope that if your son or daughter benefited from this that it helps you and that you pass on a HUGE thanks to Danielle and Andreas.

Naked Bikes. Sam Wittingham. ALMOST won the Fastmers category this year…..a small 7 points. One more place…….anyways everyone knows that up on Quadra they make something amazing. We are the LUCKIEST series in the WORLD to get to give away a hand-built frame for the last 6 years to one of our awesome riders!!

Single Speeders don’t “like” beer. It is what fuels their huge legs to not NEED gears! Phillips Brewery Beer is the PERFECT sponsor for these maniacs. PLUS they also pitch in a tonne of growlers and fill tokens for the series awards AND for the U19 crew (on those days that you “need” it for recovery) the absolute BEST root beer from their Maltworks division.

We had 4 bike shop sponsors this year. These are shops that organize and support specific events. Ozzie’s Cycles in Port Alberni with Farmer Bills. Rock City Cycles for the KONA KUP. Pro City Cycles in Victoria for the ProCity GP. We also have Island Cycles on Quadra with Jack Mar who organizes all the prizing for the men’s Super Master’s Category.

Pearl Izumi, Shimano and Pro were the main prizing sponsor for the ProCity GP, Bear X-ing and De Grote Prijis van Fairgrounds. Not only did they supply a lot of the prizing for those events BUT they also provided around 21km’s of flagging tape or around 70 rolls of pro looking SHIMANO flagging.

Dr. Wade Luksay and the Luksay cx clan through Riverway Dental took care of the bulk of the kids race goodie bags this year as well as supported the youth prizing for the series.

KONA has been involved with the cross on the island since BEFORE it was COTR. With the KONA Kup one of the premier events in BC it is a perfect namesake for one of our own BC based bike companies. Home grown. Just like COTR.

NUTCASE Helmets. Great sponsors of the ‘Lil Nutty Kids races. Almost every kid in those races has a Nutcase Helmet which is PERFECT. We want to make sure their brains are protected as best as possible.

The Howard Johnston Harbourside Hotel and Elk Lake gave us CX racers a friendly place to stay AND gave us a bunch of free room stays for draw prizes that people were PUMPED to win at each event. We have not yet gotten Dan Brady out to a COTR race….but there is always 2017!!

Harbour Air was not a series sponsor this year with their super fun Harbour Air Hand up Zone BUT they did give us 4 certificates for the year end prizes that were a VERY Hot draw prize.

Blue Tuke up in Courtenay and Sew what I Sew in Cumberland also donated a box of prizing and a Filthy Taco respectively!

Lastly Frontrunners Nanaimo and NewBalance Nanaimo. Not only did they do racer numbers (prior to us getting the Mazda and Muc Off ones), custom 574’s for series and survey prizes and Lifestyle shoes for the Kona Kup. The most important part is how all the staff steps up during COTR season to help me and make it easier for me to do what I need to do for COTR. Sometimes it is loading and unloading wet tents, tables, gear. Receiving BIG Muc Off orders. Figuring out why we are getting more cyclists in than runners on some days…..just to chat about last weekends/this weekends race. An amazing crew of people at both these shops and I am lucky they have my back (which means our back).

2. De Grote Prijs van Fairgrounds. The Last Round wrap up.

From 2.5 X 2016 COTR race director Drew MacKenzie.

Wow what a great season! Even with 8 races this year, I’m still wishing it wasn’t over. Sad!

It’s an incredible thing we have going here and I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it. Every weekend there are so many great people out sharing the same passion and joy for racing and riding bikes.

Also one highlight that stuck out for me this past Sunday was watching the Zoom Zoom half lap kids. Seriously cute seriousness on display during that race!

A massive round of THANK YOUs to everyone who contributes to this great series by chipping in where you see a hand being needed or simply just by coming out being quality individuals.

Specifically thank you to the following folks:

– Norm, Katie and Roland for all of their hard work and tireless dedication.

– Sylvia for wrangling volunteers all the while being so positive, upbeat and easy to work with.

Course Set up and Tear down:
Amy Errington
Kyle Clark
Dave Podmoroff
Scott Mitchell
Andrew Barnes
Parker Bloom
Cam Mclellan
Clay Webb
Jack Mar
Halldor Gunnarsson
Terry McKall
Curtis Schlossberger
Ian Brown
Andy Achuff
Joele Guynup
Sam Willis

Beginner Clinic :
Mical Dyck

Registration team:
Sylvia Storry
Andréane Lanthier Nadeau
Lisa VanDame
Patricia Rooney
Lori Swantson

Timing team:
Patrick Burnham
Bruce Falk
Sherry Barnes
Rita
Laura Cook
Ros Penty
Lori

My sincerest apologies if I have missed anyone!

A very big thank you also to our event sponsors:

Please remember to vote with your dollars and your kind words the next time you’re out shopping or talking about cyclocross to friends and strangers alike.

The internet does not put on events or provide prizing for all the races in your local community. Make sure to support your local businesses/shops/distributors/representatives that work hard to support you!

Shimano (http://bike.shimano.com/)
Pearl Izumi (http://www.pearlizumi.com/)
Pro Components (http://www.pro-bikegear.com/en-gb)

Mazda – COTR – Newsletter 2016 #14 – Cleaned and prepped by Muc Off.

This is the stuff we love:

Epic Battles:

A young racer coming up to you away from a COTR event (Zone XC races) and saying, “Hey Norm. At Farmer Bills it was the first time I did not get lapped in Beginner”. Me thinking…..man that is awesome hearing that from a 10 year old!!
Giving away HUGE draw prizes on SUNDAY! (EVOC Bike Bag. Harbour Air Gift Certificates. A NAKED BIKE FRAME!!)
BRAND new venue and race course. After 70+ races….this still gets us fired up.
Getting an e-mail that says, “I’m a bit addicted on cross this year and sad that it might be almost over”.

Your Warm Up

Check out this first time edit for COTR from Luke Hubner from Hot Crossed Bunnies:

https://youtu.be/EQ3NBMJTBe8

Sean Voight from Mazda who has been at and helped at EVERY COTR race this year has sent us an UPDATED link to his photos. 2016 Cross-on-the-Rock Photos by Sean Voigt from Pacific Mazda This link will show all the Albums for the races and will be used for the last round as well.

COTR THINGS TO REMEMBER FOR SUNDAY

Register for the race: https://raceroster.com/events/2016/10092/2016-cross-on-the-rock-series-championships
Your race Number from the double header (And pins. No need to waste them every race)
Your race license (like always)
$$ for a wannawafel (I can’t wait…..yum…..yum)
Change of clothes so that you can be comfortable hanging around after your race
To buy a T Shirt. Inventory stands at: Kids: 1 Size 6 and 1 Size 8. Women’s: 2 Small, 2 Medium, 1 Large. Men’s: 4 Small, 19 Medium, 16 Large. LAST chance to get your COTR 2016 shirts will be at the Series Final.
CHECK THE LOST AND FOUND

Get Warmed Down and ready

You gotta be there to win (BIG DRAW PRIZES) on Sunday……so plan on being there.
Check out your series standings: http://www.crossontherock.com//php/series-results/?series=2016 Take your note pad and add up your top 6 spots so far. Do some calculations. Double points at the last race…..so who do you have to beat and by how much?
Check out your team standings: http://www.crossontherock.com//php/team-standings/?series=2016

In newsletter #14

Make the timers job easier.
De Grote Prijs van Fairgrounds. The Last Round.

1. Make the timers job easier.

We know that we ALL love accurate results……..but some people do NOT make it easy. Here is an example of some “fails”. Don’t be a number “fail’er”. (Recognize anyone in these photos?). Pack your pins. Pack a few extra that you have by your clothes drier. Make sure your number is in the RIGHT spot and secure.

De Grote Prijs van Fairgrounds. The Last Round.

1 Register for the race: https://raceroster.com/events/2016/10092/2016-cross-on-the-rock-series-championships

2 Check out the Venue Map: see below

3. Read the Course Description
This brand new 3.5 km course is a flat, but very diverse circuit. The course is designed roughly in a “U” formation to accomplish simple access to Registration/EVENT HQ and easy spectator flow while having as few crossings as possible. Each lap of the course will take riders through a varied mix of terrains including a paved start/finish straight, grassy meadows, hardpack dirt/gravel, 2 sets of man-made barriers/planks, sawdust sectors, double-sided pits, a barn, stone dust sections and sandy loam. Oh and there will be mud.

4. Parking: There is plenty of parking at Saanich Fairgrounds and signage will be clearly posted directing vehicles where to go.

5. Registration: Registration and post race awards ceremonies will be located in the RCMP barn. Signage will be posted directing foot traffic the 200m from the parking lot to the entrance of the RCMP barn.

6. Team Tent Area:
There will be a designated tent set up area close to the registration and start/finish area of the course. If you want to reserve a team tent spot fire Drew a note (drew.mackenzie@triathloncanada.com).

7. 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.

Shimano (http://bike.shimano.com/)
Pearl Izumi (http://www.pearlizumi.com/)
Pro Components (http://www.pro-bikegear.com/en-gb)

As well as more gear from Muc Off, Howard Johnston. Series Prizes from Cycles Lambert (EVOC Bag), Harbour Air…and NAKED

8. Food and Expo: The best waffles in the business, Wannawafel will be on site serving up tasty Belgian inspired goodness.

PowerPlant Whole Foods (www.powerplantwholefoods.com) will have a tent set up and will be doing live demos as well as providing the championship race with some prizing as well.
endūr socks (www.endurofficial.com) will also be out at the COTR finals showing off their wares.

OK……time to finish off your training and get ready for the last round. It is going to be AWESOME!!