2010 Chico Road R.A.C.E. Series..............

Hi Everyone!!! After the great turn-out at last year's Chico-area Road Races, we're going to be doing them again for the 2010 Chico Road R.A.C.E. Series! This Series will go from March 2010 through early-mid October 2010. Most of the races will be starting at either 8:00AM or 9:00AM on the weekends - but some could be as early as 7:00AM.......and others starting as late as 10:00AM on some weekends. A list of various races that could(and probably will) be a part of the Series:

Messilla Valley Circuit Race

Table Mountain Road Race

Butte City Road Race

Aguas Frias Road Race

Jonesville Road Race

Cohasset-to-Gravel Road Race

Coal Canyon Circuit Race

Wheelock Circuit Race

Grainland Road Race

Lunt Road Race

Troxel Circuit Race

Lomo Road Race

Ord Bend Road Race

The Belden Road Race

The Midway Road Race

Stirling City Road Race

The Bloom Circuit Race

Pinkston Canyon Circuit Race

The Chico Road Race

and others - stay tuned for the R.A.C.E. Calendar to come out prior to March.

In addition, the Road R.A.C.E.s could be part of the various Omniums going on in 2010(Nutcracker, Rumpstomper, Devil's Kick, The Rodneyum, among others.......think Friday Night Crit, Saturday Hill Climb or Flat TT and Sunday Road Race, etc.).

***Criterium Notes: The 2010 Chico Airport Criterium Series will start up again in March.......I will send an announcement out soon about that one. Brief notes about the Criterium Series for 2010 - They will include Tuesday night and Friday night Criterium races out at the Chico Airport.....probably no Criteriums on the weekends for 2010....will definitely have Juniors and Category C races after the As & Bs again this year..........and the Series itself is being split into 2 Series - The 2010 Spring Criterium Series(from March through June 2010) and The 2010 Summer Criterium Series(from July through mid-October).

2010 CHICO ROAD R.A.C.E. SERIES INFORMATION:

This Series will go from March 2010 through early-to-mid October 2010. Most of the races will be starting at either 8:00AM or 9:00AM on the weekends - but some could be as early as 7:00AM(on very hot days in summer).......and others starting as late as 10:00AM on some weekends(due to the laziness of the Race Director ;). A list of various races that could be a part of the Series: Messilla Valley Circuit Race, Table Mountain Road Race, Butte City Road Race, Aguas Frias Road Race, Jonesville Road Race, Cohasset-to-Gravel Road Race, Coal Canyon Circuit Race, Wheelock Circuit Race, Grainland Road Race, Lunt Road Race, Troxel Circuit Race, Lomo Road Race, Ord Bend Road Race, the Belden Road Race, the Midway Road Race, Stirling City Road Race, the Bloom Circuit Race, Pinkston Canyon Circuit Race, the Chico Road Race and many many others. I will try to update the Road R.A.C.E. calendar prior to each month so you know what is coming up and when, and send it out via e-mail and on the ChicoBike website.

Why have this event???

Looking at cycle racing from an international view, "road racing" is one of the most prestigious aspects of bicycle racing. The greatest racing champions in the hisotry of our great sport - Eddy Merckx, Lance Armstrong, Bernard Hinault, Jeanne Longo, Connie Carpenter, Fausto Coppi, Greg LeMond, Miguel Indurain, Gino Bartali - the list goes on and on and on. These riders were great "road racing" champions. The road race itself requires great stamina, strength, speed, skill and sense to win - or to place. To win a road race - or place highly in a road race consistently - is the epitome of a great cycle racing champion. This contest will track the most consistent riders in the area for road racing. The winner of this event will have a great opportunity for bragging rights - plus, they'll win the Series Championship Trophy!! Not to mention......it's just fun!

How does it work???

Okay, here are a few notes for the 2010 Chico Road R.A.C.E. Series:

1. We will be using a variety of courses for this Series - including some flat courses, very hilly courses, somewhat hilly courses, some long courses, some short courses, circuit race courses(no Crits) and so forth. The idea is to get a variety of course profiles going for the Series to test the riders a bit. The Series starts in March 2010 and goes until early-to-mid October 2010. We will have the 2010 Chico Road R.A.C.E. Series Awards Ceremony in mid to late October 2010 at the Madison Bear Garden, one of the local bicycle shops or any other establishment which will have us with all our bicycle trophies!!

2. ALL riders MUST sign in this year at the start of EACH event - There will be a small table at the Start/Finish location - just sign in at the table and you are good to go! Sign-ins normally start 30 minutes before the event takes place and closes about 1-2 minutes before the event starts. Rain or wet weather will normally not cancel the events. However, a couple of years ago we had some tremendous smoke from the Humboldt Fire in this area......which, in turn, may cancel some of the Road Races due to hazardous air quality. Also, quite a few United States Cycling Federation rules apply to these races.....but we're not going to go rule-crazy out there......just ride safe, look out for your fellow rider and have a good time.....that's why we do these!!!

3. There will normally be 2 Categories racing at the Road Races - the Category "A" Event and the Category "B" Event. However, EACH Series Category will be picked separately(Women's, Women's Masters, Men's Masters, Juniors, etc.). Category "A" races will normally start first, with the Category "B" races starting a couple of minutes later. If there are enough racers to have a separate category start after the "B" event, we will make that happen as well. Category "A" riders would normally be the "faster" riders in these events. If you are not sure what Category you should enter, just talk to me at the Start and we'll get it all figured out.

4. Helmets are MANDATORY! So, please....please.....wear your helmet! Please!!

5. All are welcome - you don't have to do the Series - just come on out and give this Road Race training/riding a shot! They're a GREAT workout!!! No license required, no entry fee - just sign in and RACE!!

6. Points are used to calculate the Overall Standings in the Series. The point breakdown is as follows: 25-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2-1-1-1, with an additional 4 points being given to each participant at each event. So, 25 points goes to the winner, 20 points goes to 2nd place, 18 points goes to 3rd place and so on.........in addition to 4 more points just for doing the event. The rider with the MOST points at the end of the Series wins the Overall Title - and the 2010 Chico Road R.A.C.E. Series Championship Trophy, plus whatever goodies we can give you. If one race proves particularly harsh.........ex. - the Jonesville Road Race..............the point breakdown will be increased(35 to the winner, 30 to 2nd and so forth). In addition, most of the Mini-Road-Races held during the week(Humboldt Road Race, Cohasset Road Race, Troxel Race) may be counted towards the Overall Series, but with fewer points (5 to the winner, 4 to 2nd, 3 to 3rd and so on.....with a 1 point bonus for competing). Mini-Road Races: These are usually held during the weekdays.....either early in the morning or on some evenings.......and include a shorter distance "road race" event.....something like, the Airport to the Cohasset Narrows, or Humboldt Road from bottom to top. The idea is to get in a quick workout either before work in the AM - or a quick workout right after work, etc. Very minimal points - and there probably won't be many Mini-Road Races in 2010. Remember - the Key to winning the Series will be consistency - it's amazing what can happen by just showing up to race!!!

7. Although the races are advertised as having 2 Categories out on the course - Category A and Category B - the Series itself has more Trophy Categories, including:

Category "A" Men

Category "B" Men

Women's Category(in Cat. B)

Women's Masters 50+ Category(in Cat. B)

Men's Masters 50+ Category(in Cat. B)

Juniors

And any others if there are enough riders! (Category "C" could definitely be added, if needed/wanted......as well as various Age Categories).

These are the Categories which all qualify for a Series Championship Trophy - as of NOW. We will ADD Categories if enough riders show up out there - so tell your friends!! If nobody - or very few folks are in one category - we may eliminate it and add an additional category where the numbers allow it. As usual, sandbaggers are strongly discouraged ( A Sandbagger would be a Category "A" rider entering a Category "B" event - this would have to be completely obvious to the Race Director). And, as usual, the Series Organizer reserves the right to re-classify you at any time(within reason and with plenty of notice though.....this isn't the UCI!!!). In addition, winners medals or mini-trophies may normally be given out at each event for the winners in various categories............depending upon the very limited budget of the Race Director. I will try my best to have the Road Race Results out - as well as the Current Overall Series Standings - within 24 hours from the completion of the event. Results will be posted to the e-mail groups, Facebook, Twitter, my blog and will also be sent to the Enterprise-Record(no guarantee that they will publish them). If you would like to be added to the e-mail list, e-mail me at lorrod7@comcast.net.

8. Although donations to put on these events are always very appreciated and accepted, this Series is FREE - so come on out and take advantage of some, or all, of these Road R.A.C.E.s in 2010!

9. The Race Director reserves the right to disqualify(DQ) any rider for unsafe riding or unsportsmanlike conduct at ANY time. Also, PLEASE - try not to use colorful language out there - especially with the little kids around watching the race at the finish line and so forth. ANY rider breaking these rules can be subject to disqualification from - not only the race - but from the entire Series. So, please - just do what ya always do and just be cool!!!!(No, we've NEVER had to DQ anyone.....we'd just like to keep it that way. ;)

10. Finally, remember - these Road Race events are essentially for practice and exercise - we have fun out there and get a great little workout in, and we get to work on some quality cycling skills. But, overall, they're no big whoop....no World Championship/Olympic medals or million dollar contracts on the line. So, with that in mind, just treat 'em as such - a good training event to try some new things, gain some good fitness.....and maybe even get into a "real" sanctioned Road Race at some point in time. Or not. Just have fun with it!! We'll have trophies and hopefully some prizes/event T-shirts for the Series winners and placers - and definitely loads of fun....and pain and suffering. ;) But remember - it's all in good fun!

Hope to see you out there!!

Rodney............

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

Chico, CA