Cross on the Rock Race #3: KONA KUP at Bowen Park, Nanaimo.
With The KONA Kup less than a day away we have a bit of information to pass on.
First. Pre-Registration (I like to call it Rock Star Reg.) will close at 3:00 today. If you are registering in Open Women…there seems to be no option for that on the sheet. Just register for “Expert”. We will figure it ou.
Second. There is no separate “Youth” race at this event. There has been a lot of interest with the young kids in racing Beginners…..the one daunting factor is hauling a HEAVY bike up 50 stairs most likely 3 times. We had a request from a parent if they can help their kid on the stairs with his bike. Of course to keep it fair we need to have this offer open to everyone…..and still keep it fair. So what we are going to say for this is anyone 12 or under can have someone help them with their bike up the stairs. HOWEVER you can not pass or impede anyone while helping. I hope that is OK with everyone.
Third. The sand section because of the dry summer/fall combined with an addition of some gravel in there is currently virtually un-ridable. To make it a challenge we are putting our Phillips Beer on the line. First one to ride the whole section CLEAN in each race gets BEER. If no one in your race rides it then the BEER goes to the next race etc. until someone does.
Draw PRIZES: Cross frame and fork from Oak Bay Bikes. Howard Johnston Gift Certificates. Parkside Victoria Gift Certificate. Lots of good stuff from our sponsors…..it will be AWESOME!
KONA KUP HISTORY
Cross on the Rock history at Bowen Park with the KONA KUP started in 2009.
That year Dylan Tremblay won the Intermediate. Graham Cocksedge took the Masters (before we changed masters to 40+). Kristen Magnusson the Open Women and John Fokkema (where has John been?) took the Expert race…..9 laps…..450 stairs.
The next year in 2010 Victoria’s Jeff Drew took the Intermediate. A young Justin Mark slayed the Masters (still had not changed it to 40+). The most winningest racer in COTR Dawn Anderson took the Open Women and Craig Richey (who is racing in Providence this weekend) took the Expert Men.
Last year in 2011 we saw Nigel Ellsay (who has just been signed to a European Road team!) win the Intermediate. Victoria Boyd won the new women’s Intermediate category. Canadian ex-pat Derek Shiers living in B-Ham came up and spanked the masters. Dawn Anderson took her 90th COTR win and Tyler Trace won the 10 lap (500 stairs) Expert men’s category!!
Who will win tomorrow??
KIDS RACES There is no “Youth” category at the Kona Kup (they can still race Beginners or another category of course) and initially we did not have a Kids race but we will set up a kids course for practice on the lower part of the park below the Parking Lot and fire up some kids competitions at the usual 12:45 time. You little rippers get out there!!
PARKING With the turn out expected to be a record breaker the lower parking lot will probably fill quite early. There is more parking at Bowen Park quite close by. At the top part of the course above registration and the first right on Bowen road past Wall Street there are a number of additional parking spots. Across Wall Street there is a HUGE parking lot at the curling rink (be careful crossing Wall Street). IF all three of these areas fill up there is additional parking at the second entrance past Wall Street in Bowen Park.
CASH MONEY
Equal prize money for Men and Women. Expert and Open Women 1st $125 2nd $ 75 3rd $ 50 4th $ 30 5th $20 (you basically get your entry fee back!!)
That is a $600 prize purse son!
Intermediate Men and Women as well as Masters….if you win….we will give you $25 towards your gas money/recovery food/beer. We love you guys too (well we love the beginners as well but to race for the $ you gotta move up categories….no one has cash for beginners!) Plus your usual prizes!
All the news that is IMPORTANT to Cross racers and Fans for this week…….
If you have not checked out Cycling Dirt.org before they have a weekly feature called who’s #1. It is funny and Colt does a great job with it. Some of our regular COTR racers regularly make the list. Mical did a huge jump last week. This week it was Wendy’s turn to get the JUMP OF THE WEEK. Craig Ritchie is also on the list. Check it out.
Cross on the Rock Race #2: Another Dodgey Cross Race RECAP
Thanks to everyone that helped make this year’s Dodgey Cross race such a success.
Frontrunners, Eatmore Sprouts Company, Coal Hills BMX, Seeds Market, Tarbell’s Deli, Waverley Hotel, Trail Bikes, Dodge City Cycles, Mt Washington Resort, Mountain City Cycles, Courtenay Nissan, Cumberland Chiropractic, Riding Fool Hostel, Blue Toque Sports Consignment. And of course, Matt Powsey and His Royal Band of DJs out of the back of the Titan.
And a special shout out to the many volunteers that made the day happen:
Downtown Andrew Brown, Jeff Beeston, Rurik Hubner, Nicole Rippel, Kristenn Magnusson, Sara Cherewaty, Jennie Aitken, Richard Ellsay, Tanya Berg and the talented Grants
The numerous people who made the course take down super quick = very appreciated!
Forever in your debt: Hilary Grant, Roland and Katie Rabien, and THE Glen Wakeling
And my lovely wife Lisa that took a leave from helping organize the Dodgey cross race this year to childmind. I look forward to having her back next year!
We saw a colossal 224 riders (including the kids’ race) that came out for a great day of racing.
Thanks again,
Curtis Saunders
VIDEO
OK…..these should go “Viral” within our little community of COTR for sure.
First a little video from Dean Dubyk of the opening straight crash at the start of the Masters race. I did not even know that a crash had happened….
Second a SWEET Handle Bar Cam of the first lap of the Expert Race from Russell Anderson. You seriously forget all the twists and turns that you do just in one lap. If you watch on the last straight of the BMX track you can see Dave S. Picking himself up from his first jump AIR on the BMX track.
Third the COTR unofficial-official Videographer (and Intermediate slayer) Pelle G.s Edit from footage from his NEW and even more DELUX camera.
If you are NOT PUMPED for this weekend after watching these…..they you might want to make a Dr. Appt!
Cross on the Rock Race #3: KONA KUP at Bowen Park. Nanaimo. PREVIEW.
There is a RUMOUR floating around that the LEGEND – Dik Cox from KONA BIKES will be making an appearance racing at this year’s Kona Kup……it would be his first Cross race………I hope this rumour is TRUE!
Records are MADE TO BE BROKEN. We have been doing a great job of that so far this season with an all-time COTR attendance record at Condo Cross. A HUGE turn out and record for Dodgey cross. Now we want to TAKE IT ALL…..we want the COTR Race at Bowen Park…the KONA KUP to have the LARGEST attendance for any Cross race in Canada West of Ontario (anyone can tell us what the biggest cross race in Canada has been?). Don’t you want to be a part of it? We won’t count the kids….we won’t count you twice if you race the Open Women and then slay also in the Experts…..we will have a Legit Count. We want to SHATTER the record. Drive up if you are down island. Drive Down if you are up Island. Jump on the BC Ferries and have a sunshine breakfast. Roll down Stewart Avenue to Bowen Park if you are from the mainland. This course is AWESOME. It is a HOLIDAY. You ate too much on Sunday…..Lets light it up for attendance!!
KIDS RACES
There is no “Youth” category at the Kona Kup (they can still race Beginners or another category of course) and initially we did not have a Kids race but we will set up a kids course for practice on the lower part of the park below the Parking Lot and fire up some kids competitions at the usual 12:45 time. You little rippers get out there!!
COURSE
Reminder for those pre-riding this week and on race day that this is a popular park in Nanaimo so please be cautious and courteous to other users all ALL TIME.
The course outline is in the Master Blaster Guide to the cross season found on our Website. If you have raced this course before there will be a couple of changes. First of all the opening road section which you do each lap will be about 70 meters longer. We are going to extend it up and over one more speed bump before making the left turn into the trails then up the hill. On the lower sections we are adding a couple of off camber turns right when you pop back into the open lower sections. The lower sections will be slightly changed/altered to extend the distance out a bit. Before the first steeper downhill from the upper road we are going to do a 180 turn into it to slow down the speed going into that downhill. The city added some gravel into the sand for the volley ball court so it will be interesting to see if anyone can ride it this year. Lastly we will be adding a set of double barriers right before the finish line to slow you down for the timers and add an element of” should I ride….or run from the volley ball court….the stairs are still in there!!
Speaking of the Stairs…..we want to make this the funnel of NOISE this year. So bring your noise makers, heckle machines get your best one-liners ready….pump up the racers.
PARKING
With the turn out expected to be a record breaker the lower parking lot will probably fill quite early. There is more parking at Bowen Park quite close by. At the top part of the course above registration and the first right on Bowen road past Wall Street there are a number of additional parking spots. Across Wall Street there is a HUGE parking lot at the curling rink (be careful crossing Wall Street). IF all three of these areas fill up there is additional parking at the second entrance past Wall Street in Bowen Park.
PRE-REGISTER
Save yourself some paper work on race day. Save yourself some time on race day. Save us some paperwork on race day. Allow us to plan better. Help us get your call up correctly…..Pre-Register. You don’t have to….but it is much-much better!
CASH MONEY
As you know we are always trying to do new things….exciting things……different things….mixing it up.
This Monday at the KONA KUP we will be “mixing it up” by NOT offering prizes for the Expert and Open Women Categories. No Prizes…..well we will still have BEER and Coffee cause our sponsors are AWESOME. But instead of all the other good stuff we normally have we will have CASH. Cold Hard Cash!
Keep in mind despite our recent successes we are still a club based grass roots series….so we are not talking mega-uci-C1-Bucks. Just a few dollars to help out those that are trying to make ends meet while racing at the top levels.
Equal prize money for Men and Women because we are NOT in the dark ages like the UCI is.
Expert and Open Women
1st $125
2nd $ 75
3rd $ 50
4th $ 30
5th $20 (you basically get your entry fee back!!)
That is a $600 prize purse son!
If you are a female that usually races the Expert Category (Mical, Dawn and Wendy…talking to you here) for the additional workout. Feel free to race for the cash and then get another number and try to get more cash in the Expert race….or just more training……
Not to be left out and to SHOW OUR SUPPORT.
Intermediate Men and Women as well as Masters….if you win….we will give you $25 towards your gas money/recovery food/beer. We love you guys too (well we love the beginners as well but to race for the $ you gotta move up categories….no one has cash for beginners!) Plus your usual prizes!
NEWS FROM OTHER RACES ON THE COTR SCHEDULE
OK there is one piece of information that almost everyone will want to know about to do with the LADYSMITH Crosstoberfest race on October 28th. This event will have a feature that has NEVER happened in the HISTORY of COTR. It has been approved by both Cycling BC as well as the City of Ladysmith. The Crosstoberfest race will have……an official……sanctioned……and properly staffed…..BEER GARDEN!!!!!!!!!!
Anything else I print in here will be lost so I am going to leave it at that for this week.
Number Placement: UPDATE
Much-Much better at Dodgey Cross. But still not 100%. If you see your fellow racer with a problem number before I spot it at the start line. Upside down. Backwards. Wrong side…..just take care of it with them before I stop and point them out….it will help everyone out ESPECIALLY the finish line and results crew. Thank you.
Think Ahead……Provincials and Nationals
The ferry is SUPER EXPENSIVE. That is part of the reason why we are developing this series and helping us all limit our travel. However once in a while you have to EXPAND your horizons and see what is happening over the sea. Two reasons to get on the boat this year are Provincials and Nationals.
The Provincial Championships this year are being held at Mahon Park in North Vancouver on October 21st. This is a course that has been used before for Provincials. You could even double down and do the Wooley Cross across the line on October 20th if you wanted to.
Jeff Van Mulligen the race director has dedicated spots for our COTR series riders based on our rankings after 4 races. This will apply for Elite, Women and Masters at Provincials and I will work with him to make sure those riders are called up correctly.
You do need a proper license for this event and can not buy a day-of-race license so keep that in mind.
AND YOU HAVE TO PRE-REGISTER if you want to take advantage of your COTR Status for call up.
Weekly Cross Rides on the Island
Courtenay: WENESDAY NIGHTS.
Trail Bicycle Eatmore Sprouts Team
We will be hosting a weekly Wednesday night cross ride from Trail Bicycles, meet there ready to ride for 6pm and please bring lights and warm clothes as we will be out there until dusk.
Victoria: WEDNESDAY NIGHTS
Wednesday Nights:
– CROSS CLUB 2012 –
$20 cash money for the 8 event training series
September 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th and October 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
E-Mail: crossclub@gmail.com
Victoria: FRIDAY NIGHTS.
Cross season is on, so starting this Friday: CX ride leaving from Broad Street Cycles after work (6ish). Everyone welcome, bring lights.
Nanaimo: THURSDAY NIGHTS.
To give a gentle introduction to cyclo-cross, MIVA (Mid Island Velo Association) is holding its second year of CX clinics where participants can learn and improve their skills at dealing with all kinds of obstacles, dismounting and remounting, cornering, riding cross camber sections, and even what to look for in their pre-riding of CX courses. Each clinic ends with a short race where riders can practise their skills and techniques and have a qualified coach offer constructive advice. Last year, a number of the more experienced competitors found the clinics invaluable in improving their performance.
Some participants use mountain bikes for the clinics and even for the Cross on the Rock races but, if you have a cyclo-cross bike or a road bike that can be modified, most of the courses favour these. One of the clinics will have a section dealing with bike modification.
Clinics are held at Beban Park and dates and times can be found on the Cross on the Rock web site and also on MIVA’s web site – www.bikeracing.ca. If you need further information email info@bikeracing.ca
Cross on the Rock Race #2: Another Dodgey Cross Race(Formerly Coal Cross)
As the Friendly Giant says….”Look Up….WAY UP”…’cause we are heading up island to Cumberland on Sunday for COTR #2. We have heard some rumours of course changes, DJ’s, Advanced heckling…..Powsey is already sharpening his wit…..the BMX track concession will be OPEN AGAIN and their food was GOOD last year!!
Car Pool if you can!!
OK we are always trying NEW THINGS at COTR. This weekend will be something different again.
YOUTH
We are going to run a YOUTH ONLY race start. Please get the word out to your clubs and friends. This will be run at the 11:00am Start time and on the course at the same time as the Beginners. We will be giving the YOUTH about a half lap head start and the race will be about the same time as the beginners so around 30-35 minutes.
This will be open for any YOUTH that are what is considered U17 which really means they are 16 or younger for the entire 2012 year. All the youth that want to race in this category are free to do so. Girls and Boys will be started at the same time. We will score: 15/16 year olds. 13/14 year olds and 12 and Under.
If you are already racing Intermediate as a U17…..you can choose to continue to do that and get your series points OR race the Youth race….or race both. Your choice.
If you are registering in ADVANCE just register for Beginner and we will put you into the YOUTH category based on your age.
This is a TEST EVENT so we hope to see a good turn out for it and we will see how it goes.
KIDS
We will ALSO have our ‘Lil Nutcase kids races for any kids that do want to race the youth race or are not old enough; push bikers, trikers, training wheel’ers, new riders….2 years old and up? This will be on a separate kids course and will be held after the Intermediate and before the Masters/Open Women races so around 12:45.
Pre-Race Clinic
We will start the clinic a bit earlier this Sunday (10am) to give those in the first race a bit more time to practice. We hope to have Drew MacKenzie and Steve Lund helping out with it and a few of the Trail Bikes team as well.
Pre-Register
Save yourself some paper work on race day. Save yourself some time on race day. Save us some paperwork on race day. Allow us to plan better. Help us get your call up correctly…..Pre-Register. You don’t have to….but it is much-much better!
$$$$$$$
Hey junior rippers!!! Fastest junior in the Expert category gets $100 courtesy of Comox Valley Nissan. Oh…and it’s for the guys and gals.
BIG NEWS (SCHEDULE-VENUE CHANGE)
We know that pretty much all the COTR news is BIG and you guys read every word of these newletters…but this one is really BIG.
The COTR Race #6 scheduled for PISE in Victoria is having a venue change. We are heading back to Western Speedway on that date (November 11th) for the Binab Property Group GP organized by the Pro City Cycles team. Western Speedway was a LOT of fun last year and it is nice to not have to worry about tour busses with 100’s of tourists…..like at the Gorge during the Masters race……!
While PISE was supportive of our event and have had a Wednesday nighter there we needed a bit more property and their neighbors were not as receptive. We will keep working on it and if anyone in our community has an in with that community (you know who the “neighbors” are and can help us out) we would love to try for that venue again in the future.
Photo’s and Contest.
We are going to do our Photo Contest again this year. We will ask for you best submissions close to the end of the series. Post them on the site. Get our panel of judges to vote on them. Award something to the winner at the series final and it will be cool!
In the meantime feel free to fire us your gallery links and we will post them in our newsletter and on our site.
This one comes from COTR #1 from Scott Mitchell from Trek Bikes/Pro City Victoria:
Edited
The Complete Master Blaster Guide to the 2012 Cross on the Rock Race Season has been edited and reposted. Download NOW!
Forgot to mention the “DROP” of one race if you do 7 events. Only 6 races score per person.
Updated schedule with the Kids races included.
Updated Bike shop supporters to include Ozzie’s Cycle in Port…not sure how we forgot them
Updated Club/Organizers to include ASS and AVR….also from PORT…..not sure how we forgot them too!!
And a few other things. All EDITS will be highlighted and in a different colour FONT.
Number Placement: We can (and have to) do better!
We CAN DO BETTER……The first race of year saw some awesome number placements….and some not so awesome. We aim for 100% on this. If you want your results to be close to accurate using our state-of-the-art-non-chip-timing system then help us out. Get your number in the right spot. Check at registration as to how it should be pinned. Makes sure it is pinned well, visible and not going to fall over during your race or after you SQUEEEEZZZE yourself into your skin suit. You don’t want to be the person holding up the start and getting the people around you to re-pin your number. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! While you are at it….keep your pins and bring them again to your next race. Just throw them into your race kit etc. No need to go through 40 pins each this season. We don’t want your numbers back as it makes our job harder….but we can at least save the pins.
Have you looked at YOUR STATS LATELY?
I was browsing our web site after Condo Cross. Looking at my personal stats. Talking e-mail smack with Scott Mitchell when I noticed at the bottom of my stats page something called “EPIC BATTLES”….have you checked it out yet?
Roland added this after last season to his feature full web site and it shows some of your closest nemesis(s) out on the race course….check it out.
Clinic Coming up this SATURDAY Clinic: Cyclocross 101 – CX Fundamentals
Date: September 29th, 2012 Time: 9:30-12:30pm Location: Victoria, BC More info Clinic Topics and Drills Include: Bike Set-up Basics
Equipment selection and set up.
Understanding and selecting clincher and tubular tires, and the importance of tire pressure.
Bike Handling and Cornering
With many cross courses contain over 30 corners per lap, cornering skill and ability is one of the most crucial elements in cyclocross.
Shifting and braking, weight shifts/body positioning, line choice and techniques for tricky terrain and challenging conditions such as sand, off-cambers, steep drops, and mud, snow, loose gravel, etc.
Dismounting and remounting skills
Carrying and shouldering the bike.
Techniques for barriers and stairs.
Race Preparation
Pre-race routines, race day nutrition and racing strategy,
What to expect in your first season, keys to being prepared,
Skillz drillz
Practice race starts and holding position.
Clipping in, weighting, surface assessment for traction and other drills to develop cx skills.
Thinking Ahead……Provincials and Nationals
The ferry is SUPER EXPENSIVE. That is part of the reason why we are developing this series and helping us all limit our travel. However once in a while you have to EXPAND your horizons and see what is happening over the sea. Two reasons to get on the boat this year are Provincials and Nationals.
The Provincial Championships this year are being held at Mahon Park in North Vancouver on October 21st. This is a course that has been used before for Provincials. You could even double down and do the Wooley Cross across the line on October 20th if you wanted to.
Jeff Van Mulligen the race director has dedicated spots for our COTR series riders based on our rankings after 4 races. This will apply for Elite, Women and Masters at Provincials and I will work with him to make sure those riders are called up correctly.
You do need a proper license for this event and can not buy a day-of-race license so keep that in mind.
AND YOU HAVE TO PRE-REGISTER if you want to take advantage of your COTR Status for call up.
Weekly Cross Rides on the Island (IF you know of more please let us know)
NOTES:
Nanaimo’s ride night changes to Thursday this week and going forward. Possibly some track time to get ready for Cumberland?
Courtenay is planning on riding at the Village Park tonight to get some time on the course.
Courtenay Trail Bicycle Eatmore Sprouts Team
We will be hosting a weekly Wednesday night cross ride from Trail Bicycles, meet there ready to ride for 6pm and please bring lights and warm clothes as we will be out there until dusk.
Victoria
Wednesday Nights:
– CROSS CLUB 2012 –
$20 cash money for the 8 event training series
September 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th and October 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
E-Mail: crossclub@gmail.com
Victoria
Cross season is on, so starting this Friday: CX ride leaving from Broad Street Cycles after work (6ish). Everyone welcome, bring lights.
Nanaimo
To give a gentle introduction to cyclo-cross, MIVA (Mid Island Velo Association) is holding its second year of CX clinics where participants can learn and improve their skills at dealing with all kinds of obstacles, dismounting and remounting, cornering, riding cross camber sections, and even what to look for in their pre-riding of CX courses. Each clinic ends with a short race where riders can practise their skills and techniques and have a qualified coach offer constructive advice. Last year, a number of the more experienced competitors found the clinics invaluable in improving their performance.
Some participants use mountain bikes for the clinics and even for the Cross on the Rock races but, if you have a cyclo-cross bike or a road bike that can be modified, most of the courses favour these. One of the clinics will have a section dealing with bike modification.
Clinics are held at Beban Park and dates and times can be found on the Cross on the Rock web site and also on MIVA’s web site – www.bikeracing.ca. If you need further information email info@bikeracing.ca
Series is Organized by the Cross Council:
With the following cycling clubs: MIVA, VICC, Trail Bicycles-Eatmore Sprouts Cycling Team, The Cowichan Cycle Cartel, ASS and AVR
Supported by:
Oak Bay Bikes in Victoria, Westshore and Nanaimo
Trail Bikes in Courtenay
Experience cycles in Duncan
Cowichan Cycles in Duncan
Cycle Therapy in Duncan
Frontrunners in Nanaimo
Straight Up Cycles in Victoria
Dodge City Cycles in Cumberland
Ozzie’s Cycles in Port Alberni
If you have not seen this yet and before ANYTHING else you have to check out Pelle’s edit from COTR#1.
In the “olden days” of COTR Wendy and I would come home from a series race. Wolf down some food. Shower. Then start trying to decipher the “language” that is the notes from the results/timing sheets so that we could put the results out ASAP. We would get it done late at night after a full day and if we had anything left we would also write up a report. That was the olden days! Now we have Roland and Katie on site translating the timing sheets and posting the results RIGHT THERE. Dave firing out a report to the media as soon as I can edit it. What used to be the “report” has turned into “news” and comes out well….around mid week. It is not that we are slacking off….it is just the new reality….and actually works out better all around don’t you think?
ON TO IT:
Cross on the Rock Race #1: Condo Cross
OK I don’t want all you cross racers getting soft out there because of the good weather. The forecast is not relevant for a cross racer beyond tire selection. We have had it a bit tooo nice……so be ready when the real cross weather starts!!
An amazing turn out for the first race. Pretty sure that is the first time a race west of Ontario has cracked 200. For certain a new record for COTR as well as BC. Let’s keep it going!!
Remember the COTR series is like Fight Club…..member promoted. Different from Fight Club in that we want you to talk about it. We count on you the riders to talk it up in your cycling club, bike shop, to your friends, family and anyone you see riding a bike and extra if they ride a cross bike! Get people out to race! ESPECIALLY WOMEN! The intermediate and Open Women’s category are both BORDERLINE right now…..remember the deal we made last year….10 riders in each category. Get the girls out and keep those categories STRONG!!
OK the “Controversy” Part.
All to do with our own version of “ageism”. We have one guy (OK the winner) in the Masters category that was too young and a few guys in the Intermediate category that were too old. Those old guys in the Intermediate we moved up to Masters for the points and the young guy in the Masters category we gave a NOR but let him keep his loot because….well because we are nice!
This will be all adjusted via the www some time in the next 24hours if it has not been done already.
From Drew MacKenzie the Race Director AND Leaders Arm Band Wearer
“A BIG THANK YOU to all our volunteers! Please take the time to recognize and thank all those folks you saw out at the race up early to set up the course, time the events, register everyone, put on kids races, tabulate all the results, clean up afterwards, and just generally make the whole thing tick so smoothly. If it is not too much we could even list them…
Steve and Hilary Grant
Karen Fedoruk
Jon Benskin
Peter Wellsman
Scott Mitchell
Jen Erlendson
Andy Achuff
Joele Guynup
Mike Hucal
Stefan Hill
Curtis Schlossberger
Kelly Guest
Lister Farrar and his merry band of junior racers
Parker Bloom
Betsy MacKenzie
Mical Dyck
Steve Lund
Tanya Berg
Ed Thacker
Eric Simonson
Adele Woodyard
Paul Brend
Terry McKall
Libby Aynsley
And last but not least Katie and Roland!
If I have somehow missed somebody I am terribly sorry!
Also please vote with your dollars and your kind words the next time you’re out shopping or talking about cyclocross to friends and strangers alike. Make sure to support those that support you!
Esquimalt Parks & Recreation!
Sponsors!: The Condo Group, Oak Bay Bikes Westshore, Straight Up Cycles, Pro City Racing (party sponsors!), Shimano, Live to Play Sports, Outdoor Gear Canada, BBB Components, B78 Coaching, Phillips Brewing Company and Saltspring Coffee!
Back to me:
Volunteers are KEY. Make sure you thank them personally AND come out and help out at an event this year. It does not exclude you from racing…in fact no less than 4 categories were won by people that worked all day on that event…..so it might even HELP performance….think about it!
Edited
The Complete Master Blaster Guide to the 2012 Cross on the Rock Race Season will be receiving an EDIT and re-posting before next week. Updated will be:
Forgot to mention the “DROP” of one race if you do 7 events. Only 6 races score per person.
Updated schedule with the Kids races included.
Updated Bike shop supporters to include Ozzie’s Cycle in Port…not sure how we forgot them
Updated Club/Organizers to include ASS and AVR….also from PORT…..not sure how we forgot them too!!
And a few other things. All EDITS will be highlighted and in a different colour FONT.
Youth
We are working on/exploring if we can run either a separate race or separate start for all the “youth” cross racers out there at the Dodgey Cross event. It is KEY for our series to adhere to KISS so we will see if this will work out without taxing the crews too much. I will have full details/update in the newsletter next week.
Clinic Coming up Clinic: Cyclocross 101 – CX Fundamentals
Date: September 29th, 2012 Time: 9:30-12:30pm Location: Victoria, BC More info Clinic Topics and Drills Include:
Bike Set-up Basics
Equipment selection and set up.
Understanding and selecting clincher and tubular tires, and the importance of tire pressure.
Bike Handling and Cornering
With many cross courses contain over 30 corners per lap, cornering skill and ability is one of the most crucial elements in cyclocross.
Shifting and braking, weight shifts/body positioning, line choice and techniques for tricky terrain and challenging conditions such as sand, off-cambers, steep drops, and mud, snow, loose gravel, etc.
Dismounting and remounting skills
Carrying and shouldering the bike.
Techniques for barriers and stairs.
Race Preparation
Pre-race routines, race day nutrition and racing strategy,
What to expect in your first season, keys to being prepared,
Skillz drillz
Practice race starts and holding position.
Clipping in, weighting, surface assessment for traction and other drills to develop cx skills.
Next
We travel from the furthest point South on the COTR schedule to the furthest point North as the series heads to Cumberland for another Dodgey Cross race Sunday, September 30th. Full details coming next week.
Weekly Cross Rides on the Island (IF you know of more please let us know)
Courtenay Trail Bicycle Eatmore Sprouts Team We will be hosting a weekly Wednesday night cross ride from Trail Bicycles, meet there ready to ride for 6pm and please bring lights and warm clothes as we will be out there until dusk.
Victoria Wednesday Nights: – CROSS CLUB 2012 – $20 cash money for the 8 event training series September 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th and October 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th E-Mail: crossclub@gmail.com
Victoria Cross season is on, so starting this Friday: CX ride leaving from Broad Street Cycles after work (6ish). Everyone welcome, bring lights.
Nanaimo To give a gentle introduction to cyclo-cross, MIVA (Mid Island Velo Association) is holding its second year of CX clinics where participants can learn and improve their skills at dealing with all kinds of obstacles, dismounting and remounting, cornering, riding cross camber sections, and even what to look for in their pre-riding of CX courses. Each clinic ends with a short race where riders can practise their skills and techniques and have a qualified coach offer constructive advice. Last year, a number of the more experienced competitors found the clinics invaluable in improving their performance.
Some participants use mountain bikes for the clinics and even for the Cross on the Rock races but, if you have a cyclo-cross bike or a road bike that can be modified, most of the courses favour these. One of the clinics will have a section dealing with bike modification.
Clinics are held at Beban Park and dates and times can be found on the Cross on the Rock web site and also on MIVA’s web site – www.bikeracing.ca. If you need further information email info@bikeracing.ca
Series is Organized by the Cross Council:
With the following cycling clubs: MIVA, VICC, Trail Bicycles-Eatmore Sprouts Cycling Team, The Cowichan Cycle Cartel, ASS and AVR
Supported by: Oak Bay Bikes in Victoria, Westshore and Nanaimo Trail Bikes in Courtenay Experience cycles in Duncan Cowichan Cycles in Duncan Cycle Therapy in Duncan Frontrunners in Nanaimo Straight Up Cycles in Victoria Dodge City Cycles in Cumberland Ozzie’s Cycles in Port Alberni
If you are down in Victoria you are probably just getting out of the shower with your protein shake after tonight’s “practice”. Up on Courtenay another great cross ride with the Trail Bikes Eatmore Sprouts Team. In Nanaimo though it is all about getting this information out to you!!
Folks the Cross on the Rock Web site is re-loaded.
Another weekly Cross Ride that was not in the last e-mail:
Trail Bicycle Eatmore Sprouts Team:
We will be hosting a weekly Wednesday night cross ride from Trail Bicycles, meet there ready to ride for 6pm and please bring lights and warm clothes as we will be out there until dusk.
Series is Organized by the Cross Council: With the following cycling clubs: MIVA, VICC, Trail Bicycles-Eatmore Sprouts Cycling Team, The Cowichan Cycle Cartel and IRC
Supported by:
Oak Bay Bikes in Victoria, Westshore and Nanaimo
Trail Bikes in Courtenay
Experience cycles in Duncan
Cowichan Cycles in Duncan
Cycle Therapy in Duncan
Frontrunners in Nanaimo
Straight Up Cycles in Victoria
Dodge City Cycles in Cumberland
