Butte Hill Climb TT Series starts Jan. 1, 2009......

Yes, yes - I know - there are still 2 races left in the Chico Hill Climb Time Trial Series........but I wanted y'all to have a head's up going into 2009 - this NEW Series starts in 3.5 weeks!!:

Hi Everyone! So, we are starting a NEW Hill Climb Series this next Spring - The Butte Hill Climb Time Trial Series in Spring 2009 will visit various parts of Butte County, with the climbs and dates below. There was a similar Series done years ago here in Chico - 1981 or 1982 - by Tom Devol and Jeff Smith, who owned Cyclesport bike shop at the time. And, of course, now there is that almost-famous Low Key Hillclimb Series in the Bay Area every fall. In any case, we decided to have our own and revive the old Hill Climb Series.......with a few route changes. Below is a list of the tentative events with dates. It should be mentioned that these dates could change depending upon other events going on. And, of course......the weather! Rain will NOT cancel - but snow and ice will.

Note: The Chico Hill Climb Time Trial Series will be back in the Fall/Winter of 2009 - starting in September! The Butte Series will go from January 1st, 2009 to May 31st, 2009. This Series follows a slow progression over 5 months - starting with the Category 3 climbs early to get your legs ready........and ending with the Category 1 climbs in May. This should help you take advantage of those springtime miles!! And, yes.....there will be a Summer Series as well.

How does it work??? Below are each of the 10 Hillclimbs in the Butte Hill Climb Time Trial Series. Each climb has been given a rank based upon feedback from some well-known riders in the area (and climbers in particular - yes, I know - everyone is different, but this is just a low-key have-fun series, so no big whoop). Category 1 climbs are the hardest, with Category 3 being.......let's not say easiest.......let's say........not quite as hard as Category 1! Points will be awarded to the top finishers in each Hill Climb TT - the folks with the most points at the end of the Series, wins the overall title in their respective categories........along with the coveted Butte County Hill Climb Champion Trophy.

EVERY competitor who starts and finishes an event receives an additonal 3 points PER event.

The Point Breakdown for placings is as follows:

Cat. 1 Climb = 30-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2-1-1-1 (In other words, 1st place in a Cat. 1 TT gets 30 points, 2nd place gets 26 and on down the line - every person who competes in the event gets at least 1 point).
Cat. 2 Climb = 24-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2-1-1-1(The winner of a Cat. 2 climb gets 24 points, 2nd place gets 20 points and on and on.)
Cat. 3 Climb = 20-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2-1-1-1

And here are the Time Trial courses, the tentative dates, and their listed difficulty category:

Humboldt Road Time Trial - Jan. 1st - Cat. 3 - Definitely on January 1st.
Centerville to the Gravel - January 11 - Cat. 3
Cherokee Time Trial - February 21 - Cat. 3 (Start at Coal Canyon Road and go up 70, turn at Cherokee)
Cohasset to the Store - March 7 - Cat. 2
Pentz Road - March 14 - Cat. 2
Coutelenc TT - April 5 - Cat. 2 (Just stay on Coutelenc)
Vilas Road Time Trial - April 18 - Cat. 1 (From Nicalog to the end of Vilas)
Honey Run Road - May 10 - Cat. 1
Forest Ranch to Lomo - May 16 - Cat. 1(starts at Forest Ranch Store; ends at entrance to Butte Meadows)
Lomo to Jonesville TT - May 31 - Cat. 1 (starts at Hwy. 32 at entrance to Butte Meadows; ends at the snowmobile parking lot)
(Yes, I have a Summer Series planned too!)

10 Climbs, approximately 18,000 feet of climbing in total, held over a 5-month period from January through May 2009. Consistency will be key in winning the Overall Series.

Participant Categories - the following categories will be offered for the Series event(see below) The winner in each category will receive the Butte Hill Climb Champion Trophy, along with Bragging Rights.........as well as any stuff we can get to give away as prizes:

Category "A" Men
Category "B" Men
Women's Category
Clydesdale Men (No no, I'm not gonna weigh you - just show up and tell me and I will give you a yes or no answer.....however, I'm looking for about 200 pound body weight or more)
Mens 50+ Category
Mens 60+ Category
Womens 40+ Category
Womens 50+ Category

As usual, sandbaggers are strongly discouraged ( A Sandbagger would be a Category "A" rider entering a Category "B" event). Also, if there's a lot of folks in one particular category, we may split those up into sub-categories, if needed. In turn, if nobody - or very few folks are in one category, we may eliminate it and add an additional category where the numbers allow it.

This Series is FREE - so come on out and take advantage of some, or all, of these Time Trials in Spring 2009! Hope to see you out there - and I will have more details, maps and information as we get closer to the events.

***One last note - The January Airport Practice Criteriums on Saturdays will start up on January 3rd, 2009!

Rodney........
R.A.C.E. - Rodney's Annoying Cycling Events
Chico, CA