R.A.C.E. Events for this week...................

.....some new events for this week!

Tuesday, April 28th - Tuesday Night Airport Criterium - 6:00PM
Wednesday, April 29th - Fast 50 - 6:00PM
Thursday, April 30th - Meridian Road 10-Mile Time Trial (a new course!) - 6:00PM
Friday, May 1st - Cohasset Mini-Road Race - 6:00pm
Saturday, May 2nd - Table Mountain Road Race - 9:00AMSunday, May 3rd - Butte City Road Race (Bringing back the old classic!!!) - 9:00AM

Tuesday, April 28th - Tuesday Night Chico Airport Criterium Series - Registration normally opens at 5:40pm on Convair avenue at the Airport - with the event starting at 6:00pm. For the time being, we'll be using our standard Tuesday Night course starting/finishing at Convair Avenue - http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Chico-Airport-Tuesday-Night-Crit-Course . Must sign in and wear a helmet in order to compete!!

Wednesday, April 29th - FAST 50 - The long-running "Fast 50" Wednesday night rides! The starting spot for this ride is in the parking lot of Rosedale Elementary School located at 100 Oak Street here in Chico. The ride leaves promptly at 6:00pm from the parking lot area. Many different levels of cyclists out there, so hook up with someone and enjoy the ride! A map of the course can be found here: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Fast-50255824

Thursday, April 30th - Meridian Road 10-Mile Time Trial (a new course!) - A NEW course to try out in the 10-Mile Time Trial Series. We'll be heading to Meridian Road, just north of Chico for this one. This is a straight 5-mile out, 5-mile back in Time Trial - the course has approximately 130 feet of total climbing....primarily on the way out. Registration will open at 5:40pm with the first rider going off at 6:01pm. We will be going in 1-Minute Intervals. You must sign in at the start! The Start/Finish Line is just past the left sweeper turn on Meridian Road......the turn-around is before you get to Lassen Road(this is the same section of Meridian used on the Paskenta Century). Riders will travel north for 5 miles, then back south for 5 miles. A map of this course can be found here: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Meridian-Road-10-Mile-Time-Trial Look for me at the Starting location with the RACEmobile(the green Mitsubishi POS) and the clipboard. This Time Trial WILL count towards the 2009 Chico 10-Mile Time Trial Series!

Friday, May 1st - Cohasset Narrows Mini-Road Race - Registration will open at 5:45pm on Ryan Avenue on the north end of the airport - just to the west of the Fifth Sun parking lot(look for me on Ryan Avenue with the clipboard). Ride leaves at 6:00pm and will climb to just past the "Road Narrows" & "Share The Road" sign at the top of the "good" road - just go your own pace. The ride itself is only about 7 miles in length, but includes about 1,500 feet of climbing. I will be there with the sag vehicle if you run into a problem - and will be at the finish line to score you - I will have water too. This is a great little after-work ride to stretch the legs a bit for the weekend! An approximate map of the course can be found here: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Friday-Night-Cohasset-Uphill-Race

Saturday, May 2nd - Table Mountain Road Race - 9:00AM - This particular course was first used by the Chico Velo Cycling Club as a USCF RR course in 1984 during the Chico Omnium(which also included the 7-Mile Lane Time Trial and the Chico Downtown Criterium that year). Most groups did 2 laps of this course, but the Cat.1/2 guys did 3 or 4. However, I wouldn't do that to ya - we're only going to do 1 lap in this race - for a total of approximately 25 miles and approximately 2,100 feet of total climbing. The course preview is located on Bikely.com here - and you can see the Course Profile by clicking on "Show" in the top left-hand corner........then clicking on "Elevation Profile":

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Old-Table-Mountain-Road-Race-Course

Like the Messilla Valley Circuit Race, this will have a Category "A" and a Category "B". The Start/Finish Line is located on Table Mountain Boulevard right by Table Mountain Ranch Road(see Bikely Map - this was the Start/Finish Line for the 1984 race as well - I'll be out there early, so look for the registration table). Each Category will do just 1 lap = 25 miles. Registration will open at 8:30AM with Category A going off at 9:00AM........and Category B going at 9:03AM. Women's Category will be scored separately. Parking is available on the unfinished freeway overpass at the Start/Finish Line.

Now, a word of warning - This course goes in a clockwise direction - meaning that you will be climbing up to Cherokee from Hwy. 70. Although the hill does not seem quite as difficult as from the other side(the Wildflower Century side), the descent off Table Mountain will be quite tricky. Make certain that your bicycle is in good working order and that you are comfortable on technical descents. The Road Race course goes through amazingly diverse sections and is quite scenic - but please look out for one another and for yourselves, especially on the descent and on the Highway. All USCF rules apply, as usual - you know, don't do stupid stuff, wear a helmet, obey the centerline, etc. Route Arrows will mark the course as well. Bottle hand ups and Feed Zones will be solely dependent upon volunteers - Feed Zone is pretty much anywhere on the course. Sag vehicles will be solely dependent upon volunteers as well. I will be sweeping the course at the end as well - so if I don't see you back at the Finish, I'm coming to get you!

Sunday, May 3rd - Butte City Road Race (Bringing back the old classic!!!) - 9:00AM - The Chico Velo Cycling Club did this as a United States Cycling Federation Road Race back in.....what.....1982 or 1983. In fact, yours truly actually won the Junior race, believe it or not. Anyway, we decided to bring it back again, just to give it a test! This course is approximately 36 miles in length and includes a whopping 189 feet of total climbing! We'll be doing 1-lap only. Like yesterday's Road Race, we will have a Category "A" and a Category "B" group - Women's Category will be scored separately. The Start/Finish of this one is at the Ord Bend Park(the last Rest Stop of this year's Wildflower Century). Registration will open at 8:30am - with the Category "A" race going off at 9:00AM - the Category "B" race going off at 9:03am. The course follows a Clockwise direction - east on Ord Ferry Road, south on 7-Mile Lane, west on Hwy. 162, north on Hwy. 45.....then finishing up back on Ord Ferry Road at the Ord Bend Park. Route Arrows will mark the course - and there are bathrooms and plenty of parking at Ord Bend Park! A map of this course can be found here: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/The-Really-Old-Butte-City-RR-Course Hope you can come out to give this one a shot!!

Rodney............
Team Chico & R.A.C.E. - Rodney's Absurd Cycling Events
Chico, CA
www.ChicoBike.com