2010 Butte Hill Climb Time Trial Series!!!

Hi Everyone! So, we are starting a NEWER Hill Climb Series this next Spring - The Butte Hill Climb Time Trial Series in Spring 2010 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.

16 events - 30,000 feet of total climbing - held over a 5-month period from January through May 2010!! Bound to be a very challenging and memorable Series. Sure - there will be pain and suffering - but it's the good kind!!

Note: The Chico Hill Climb Time Trial Series will be back in the Fall/Winter of 2010 - starting in September with the Cohasset Hill Climb TT! The Butte Series will go from January 1st, 2010 through May 2010. This Series follows a progression over 5 months - starting with the Category 3 climbs early to get your legs ready and all warmed-up........and ending with the Hors Category climbs in May. This should help you take advantage of those springtime miles - and get you ready for those hilly summertime Centuries and races!!!

How does it work??? Below are each of the 16 Events 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). Hors Category and 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. Never done a Time Trial before?? No problem - it's just you against the clock.....go your own pace and just do what you can out there!!!

RESULTS: I will try my best to have results out from each Time Trial within a 24-hour period, as well as the Updated Overall Standings after each event. Sometimes life gets in the way, but I don't foresee that happening this next year(unlike the Chico Hill Series!). The results will be posted to all of the e-mail groups, on Facebook, on Twitter, on my blog, and to the Chico Enterprise-Record(although, they may not post them).

EVERY competitor who starts and finishes an event receives an additonal 3 points PER event. It should also be noted - there MIGHT be an additional point(s) awarded for "adverse conditons". One year, we had an absolute freezing cold downpour of rain at the Centerville Time Trial and I awarded everyone 2 extra points for "adverse conditions"........but, again, this is a BIG "might" and the conditions would have to be atrocious. ANY person who helps me start the riders off at the events receives an additional 3 points for volunteering - I usually only need 1 or 2 people, and can almost always use the help.....and you can still race the event - just be the last one out of the starting gate and you'll be good-to-go!!

The Point Breakdown for placings is as follows:

Hors Category Climb = 40-36-34-32-30-28-26-22-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2-1-1-1 (In other words, 1st place in an Hors Category Time Trial gets 40 points, 2nd place gets 36 and on down the line - every person who competes in the event gets at least 1 point).

Cat. 1 Climb = 30-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2-1-1-1 (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. Starting times for the events are normally consistent - 8:30am registration opens, 1st rider off at 9:01am. **PLEASE NOTE - These dates are extremely tentative, and almost all of them fall on Saturdays. However, that does NOT mean that they will stay there - any sort of scheduling change for an event could put it on a Sunday(very easily) and dates may be switched around or pushed until May - or even June - 2010. Reasons for a change in dates include snow and ice on the climbs, other events going on that same day, a change in the R.A.C.E. calendar or Rodney being ill or out-of-town, etc. So, take the dates with a grain of salt....for now:

January 1st - Humboldt Road Time Trial - Cat. 3 - approximately 3.4 miles; 764 feet of climbing.

January 2nd - Centerville-to-Gravel Time Trial - Cat. 3 - approximately 6.6 miles; 1,364 feet of climbing.(Yes, I know - sorry).

January 9th - Cherokee Time Trial - Cat. 3 (Start at Coal Canyon Road and go up 70, turn at Cherokee) - approximately 4.8 miles; 1,076 feet of climbing.

January 16th - Cohasset to the Store Time Trial Cat. 2 - approximately 5.1 miles & 1,600 feet of climbing.

January 30th - Pentz Road Time Trial - Cat. 2 - approximately 5.8 miles & 1,142 feet of climbing.

February 13th - Clark Road Time Trial - Cat. 2 - approximately 7.7 miles & 1,702 feet of climbing.

February 20th - Coutelenc TT - Cat. 2 (Just stay on Coutelenc) - approximately 6.8 miles & 1,593 feet of climbing.

February 27th - Vilas Road Time Trial - Cat. 1 (From Nicalog to the end of Vilas) - approximately 7 miles & 2,363 feet of climbing.

March 6th - Honey Run Road Time Trial - Cat. 1 - approximately 5.3 miles & 2,421 feet of climbing.

March 13th - Dark Canyon Time Trial - Cat. 1 - approximately 4 miles & 2,400 feet of climbing!!(We MAY turn this into an Hors Cat. climb)

March 27th - Cherokee to Lunt Road Time Trial - Cat. 1 - approximately 5.1 miles & 1,950 feet of climbing.

April 3rd - Table Mountain (Wildflower Side) Time Trial - Cat. 1 - approximately 5.3 miles & 1,621 feet of climbing.

April 10th - Forest Ranch to Lomo Time Trial - Cat. 1(starts at Forest Ranch Store; ends at entrance to Butte Meadows) - approximately 13.2 miles & 2,346 feet of climbing.

May 1st - Lomo to Jonesville Time Trial - Cat. 1 (starts at Hwy. 32 at entrance to Butte Meadows - ends at parking lot in Jonesville) - approximately 10.2 miles & 2,077 feet of climbing.

May 8th - Lovelock to Inskip Time Trial - Hors Category - approximately 10.4 miles & 2,800 feet of climbing.

May 15th - Cohasset to Gravel (from Nicalog to the end of Cohasset Road) - Hors Category - approximately 9.4 miles & 2,847 feet of climbing.

16 Climbs, approximately 30,000 feet of total climbing, held over a 5-month period from January through May 2010(if dates need to be changed, we could go into June 2010). Consistency will be key to winning the Overall Series.

PARTICIPANT CATEGORIES: The following categories will be offered for the Series(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

Womens 45+ 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 45+ Category

Mens 55+ Category

Juniors (Looking at 10 to 16 years of age for this particular Category, but may be changed depending upon who shows up!).

As usual, sandbaggers are strongly discouraged (A Sandbagger would be a Category "A" rider entering a Category "B" event). Also, if there are 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(these COULD include tandem categories, Category "C" or any other age Categories). At the end of the Series, we will have an Awards Ceremony at the Madison Bear Garden, one of the local bicycle shops or another establishment that would have us invade with cycling trophies/awards!! Hope to have some Butte Series T-shirts to give out as well, but will be dependent upon my extremely limited budget.

One note - Any rider caught giving grief to the Promoter, the Timers or the Starters of these events will be automatically disqualified from - not only the event - but the entire Series. So, do what ya always do, and just have fun with the Series - it's no big whoop, we're just out there having fun and getting some good fitness!!! (No no - we've never ever had a problem with getting grief - just wanted to state it so it will continue to just be a fun event for everyone involved!!). AND - Helmets are MANDATORY!

This Series is FREE - so come on out and take advantage of some, or all, of these Time Trials in Spring 2010! Although donations are always appreciated, they are NEVER necessary to enter these events - I just want y'all out there testing yourselves on your bicycles!!! 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