Cytomax Spring Classic update.......

[mtnbikej]

http://www.warriorssociety.org/voices/?p=98



Next Sunday, April 9th, we will be having open practice for the Cytomax Spring Mountain Bike Classic. The park will be charging $5.00 per car to enter the park, or $5.00 per bike if you ride in. The open practice is sponsored by Cytomax, Manitou, Shimano, JAX Bicycle Centers, Sho-Air, Clif Bar, Rock N Road Cyclery and Switchback Cyclery.
Open practice will start at 9:30 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. You do not have to be registered in the event to attend the open practice days.
We had to cancel our class on “Riding the Cytomax Mountain Bike Course” last week due to the rain on Friday and Saturday; we have rescheduled it for this open practice session. The class will start at 10:00 and carry through to the end of the open practice session.
Please RSVP if you plan on attending.
FYI: those registering after April 15th will not receive an event t-shirt. We must have the order for the event t-shirts to our silk screener by that date and we do not want to over order the shirts. The event fee will not be discounted so if you want a t-shirt included in your event fee we encourage you to register for the event before the 15th.
Active.com registration will be turned off on Friday, April 21st, but you will be able to register through Switchback Cyclery on that Friday until 7:00 p.m. and on the day of the event from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
The Warrior’s Society has a reputation for putting on challenging events, which leads to a lot of apprehension from novice riders unsure of their ability.
We understand the apprehension of those new to our events and to the sport. Allow us to give you a little more information that may assuage your apprehension.
The course is 5.7 miles long with 1,450 feet of elevation gain. If you attend our skills class that we rescheduled for the open practice on Sunday, April 9th, you’ll improve your skills in racing the course.
Our Event Director, Sherry Panttaja, has not yet determined how many laps novices will do. We really want to get the novice participants feedback from the open practices on the 9th and 15th of April as to whether to decrease the laps from two to one for their event.
We will also evaluate the laps for the other classes after hearing feedback from the intermediates and experts. Currently, the laps for intermediates are three and the laps for experts are four.
We estimate it will take novices around 50 to 60 minutes to complete a lap, intermediates 40 to 45 minutes, and experts 30 to 35 minutes. Our course is designed to inspire and challenge you. But we understand there is a fine line between being challenged, and being discouraged.
Our goal is not to discourage you; but to inspire you.
And we will seek that goal with your input; we will provide an experience you will never forget, it will not cost you and arm and a leg, and you will not have to drive three to four hours round trip to participate.
If you attend the novice training class we will teach you the skills to compete; the determination is up to you.

[dukethenuke]

I was thinking about signing up for this race, but the more I look at the pictures the more I start to think the course is too boring. When I say boring I am just talking about the downhill section, because IMO climbing is climbing no matter if it is fire road or singletrack. The downhill section looks to smooth with no technical sections to get you off your seat. I guess I will be making my decision after the practice days.

[Ladd Jasper]

Ride in reverse on race day. Should liven it right up.

[Skeeter]

Originally Posted by Ladd Jasper

Ride in reverse on race day. Should liven it right up.

GREAT RESPONSE!!

[Von-Skipp]

Yo J...

Do you have an estimate of how racers will be at the event? Will they start each level staggered, could be interesting with the first trail being singletrack.

[mtnbikej]

Originally Posted by IntenseKipp

Yo J...

Do you have an estimate of how racers will be at the event? Will they start each level staggered, could be interesting with the first trail being singletrack.

Honestly, I don't know yet. We seem to get a lot of last minute signups.

I believe they will stagger the starts.

Practice on 4-15 goes rain or shine.


mtnbikej

Cool, Im going to be there tomorrow with Lance, Aldo, Dale and Von Skip. I'm looking forward to riding this course.

[TURNERob]

Originally Posted by davidHUCKELHOFF

Cool, Im going to be there tomorrow with Lance, Aldo, Dale and Von Skip. I'm looking forward to riding this course.

Do Santa Cruz bikes have good mud clearance like Turners do?

[mtnbikej]

Originally Posted by TURNERob

Do Santa Cruz bikes have good mud clearance like Turners do?

Depends on the model. My Heckler has a ton of room. My Chameleon has pretty decent room. My wife's Superlight is really tight.

Tomorrow......we ride.

mtnbikej

[Von-Skipp]

Im gona bail on the practice ride tomorrow. Sorry boyz. I may join ROYTA for a San Juan ride. I have a feeling Flying B will be mudddddy. It rained pretty damn hard in SJC today.

how ya feeling today after the crash Laddy?? I landed on my damn shoulder again!!

[Ladd Jasper]

Originally Posted by IntenseKipp

Im gona bail on the practice ride tomorrow. Sorry boyz. I may join ROYTA for a San Juan ride. I have a feeling Flying B will be mudddddy. It rained pretty damn hard in SJC today.

how ya feeling today after the crash Laddy?? I landed on my damn shoulder again!!

We'll miss ya, Von Skip-Out. You're right though, the mud will probably be nasty. Still plan to head out there, and will at least walk part of the course if it's truly that bad.

What happened to your shoulder? You were on the bike, right? Please tell me you were riding some gnar line on some new trail [-o< If it had anything to do with getting the mail or a shower gone wrong, edit the details accordingly.

As for me, the hip got worked pretty good. The colors are just now starting to show, and should be quite lovely by Sunday or so.

[mtnbikej]

Sorry to you guys that showed up only to find it cancelled this morning. It ended up raining much more last night than what we expected. The trails were really sloppy. I went out to do some work on one of the parts of the trail today and was not able to get to it......on foot. There would have been no way to ride a bike through it.

Good news is we have nothing but warm sunny weather this whole next week. We will be having another preride opportunity Friday afternoon.....5-7pm.


Thanks
mtnbikej

[Ladd Jasper]

Originally Posted by mtnbikej

Good news is we have nothing but warm sunny weather this whole next week. We will be having another preride opportunity Friday afternoon.....5-7pm.

Friday rain or shine, right j? Unless it's raining, of course...

See you then.

[mtnbikej]

Originally Posted by Ladd Jasper

Friday rain or shine, right j? Unless it's raining, of course...

See you then.

IT's spring......what is with all the rain. This was not in our plans


PLus, I only pass along the info that I recieve. I didn't know it was canceled until I got out there this morning, when we started to set up the course markers.

Friday looks like it will be a good day.

mtnibkej

[bananaseat]

did you guys get the notice of a reduction in the race-fee for those riding in the novice division??? your thoughts???

[mtnbikej]

Originally Posted by bananaseat

did you guys get the notice of a reduction in the race-fee for those riding in the novice division??? your thoughts???

It was done for 2 reasons. They are running a shorter race: 1hr compared to 1:30/1:45 for Interm & Experts. Secondly, it is incentive for beginners to come out and try racing.


Remember....open practice on Friday, April 21st 5-7pm

Same day registration will be open from 6am-8am Racing starts at 9am. T-shirt included if resigetered by 4/18. Entrance fee includes: race, post race meal(real food....not Cliff bars & fruit) and raffle prizes. No late fees charged for same day registration. No special racing licenses needed. This is grassroots/local racing.

mtnbikej

[Ponch]

I'm thinking about trying this race for my first..race. The pics make it look not as hard as other stuff (I won't say easy, b/c nothing seems to be easy for me yet). Any thoughts on this for a first race.

Jesse

[Von-Skipp]

Originally Posted by four1481

I'm thinking about trying this race for my first..race. The pics make it look not as hard as other stuff (I won't say easy, b/c nothing seems to be easy for me yet). Any thoughts on this for a first race.

Jesse

This is probably one of the best first races you can do. You DO NOT want to jump into the Vision Quest or 24hour. This is a local race with a non tech course. You should sign up Jesse.

[Ponch]

Signed up, I'm In!

[mtnbikej]

Originally Posted by four1481

I'm thinking about trying this race for my first..race. The pics make it look not as hard as other stuff (I won't say easy, b/c nothing seems to be easy for me yet). Any thoughts on this for a first race.

Jesse

This is an excellent opportunity to try your first race. Local races always seem to be quite a bit more low key than most of your high profile big races. The course is tough......but it is fun as well.

The pics do have a habit of flattening out the trail, but everything is ridable for all abilities.

Come out for the preride. There are a few sections that you will benefit from if you have an opportunity to ride them prior to the race. These are small things that catch you off guard if you don't know about them. A few of the turns are kinda tricky, so riding them ahead of time and finding the right line is definately a plus.

Friday 5-7pm.

mtnbikej