This weekend - Saturday Criterium......Sunday Hill Climb Time Trial.........

Hi Everyone! Okay, the next Time Trial in the Butte Hill Climb Time Trial Series takes place this weekend - on Sunday, January 11th - The Centerville To The Gravel Time Trial - Registration for this event will open at 8:15am......and the first rider will be lifting off at 9:01am, and we will go in 1-minute intervals. The Start Line(and registration area) is across the street from the Honey Run Covered Bridge - where Honey Run Road and Centerville Road meet. The Finish is just before you get to the gravel. The course is approximately 6.6 miles in length, and climbs approximately 1,411 feet. The map for this Time Trial can be found here:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Centerville-TT

This event is FREE and open to everyone to gauge their time on this classic climb! So, hope to see you there!

Below are the Current Overall Standings in the Butte Hill Climb Time Trial Series after 1 event.

ALSO,

AIRPORT CRITERIUM ON SATURDAY AT NOON!
Also, I wanted to let you know that we're planning on having the Chico Airport Practice Criterium #2 this Saturday - January 10th - at Noon. I will be out there at 11:40am to set up the course and register riders. Again, this is just for practice - to get use to riding in a group on a Crit course again, and pick up some tips from the more experienced riders out there. No points, no Series, no trophies........but very good fundamental practice for cornering, riding in a group, and all of the upcoming Criteriums taking place this season(including the Chico Downtown Criterium and the Tuesday Night Airport Crits!). Combine it with your morning or afternoon ride, and it could turn out to be a great day in the saddle. The "A" group would be looking at 40 minutes PLUS 3 laps.......the "B" group about 30 minutes PLUS 3 laps......and if there are enough folks, we'll have a "C" group as well. ALL are welcome to attend. Primes will be for practice only - and only have a couple of them. RAIN AND/OR VERY WET PAVEMENT CANCELS!!

The map of the Airport Criterium short-course is here:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Corsa-Crit-practice

Hope to see you out there for these weekend events!!

AND........THE CURRENT OVERALL STANDINGS IN THE BUTTE HILL CLIMB TIME TRIAL SERIES AFTER 1 EVENT:


MEN'S CATEGORY "A":
1. Tim Olson 23 points
2. Rich Thurman 19 points
3. Greg Golet 17 points
4. Jim Roberts 15 points
5. Aren Timmel 13 points
6. Brad Foster 11 points
7. Jeff Galland 9 points
8. Nathan Younie 7 points
9. Eric Ayars 5 points
10. Greg Watkins 4 points

WOMEN'S CATEGORY:
1. Christine Roberts 23 points
2. Magaret Jones 19 points (1st Place in Women's Junior Division)
3. Diann Harger 17 points

WOMEN'S MASTERS 50+ CATEGORY:
1. Jeanne O'Regan 23 points


MEN'S CATEGORY "B":
1. Jim Greenlee 23 points
2. Clay Johnson 19 points
3. Andy Grayson 17points
4. John Touchette 15 points
5. Alex Roberson 13 points
6. Charlie Pelton 11 points
7. Jeff Davis 9 points
8. Ray Bransky 7 points
9. Brian Oppy 5 points
10. Matt Itamura 4points
11. Andrew Merchant 4 points
12. David Watkins 4 points (Also, 1st in Junior Men's Division)

MEN'S MASTERS 50+ CATEGORY:
1. Mike Crumm 23 points
2. Lee Altier 19 points
3. Greg Kallio 17 points
4. Dan Dominguez 15 points
5. John D'ewart 13 points
6. Gary Fowler 11 points
7. Steve O'Bryan 9 points

MEN'S MASTERS 60+ CATEGORY:
1. Jay Rawlins 23 points
2. Walt Schafer 19 points
3. Jim Mensching 17 points

CLYDESDALE CATEGORY:
1. Tom Embree 23 points
2. Lau Ackerman 19 points
3. Tony Mainz 17 points
4. Colin Moakley 15 points
5. Brian Teal 13 points

WOMEN'S 40+ CATEGORY:
No entrants. = 0 points


AND - THE BUTTE SERIES HILL CLIMB INFORMATION IS BELOW:

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. - COMPLETED!
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 - POSSIBLE DATE CHANGE FOR THIS EVENT!!
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.

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