2010 Chico Time Trial Series................

Hi Everyone! Well, with the time change coming up soon(March 14th!) we will also be starting up the NEW 2010 Chico Time Trial Series soon too! Last year, we had two different TT Series(aside from the Hill Climb TTs) - a 10-Mile and a 25-Mile Series. But, this next year, we're combining them all into one BIG Series - with additional flat Time Trials ranging in length from 6-miles up to 33 miles.....and possibly longer distances, if the riders want it. Right now, we have flat courses mapped out for 6-mile, 10-mile, 16-mile, 18-mile, 25-mile and 33-mile Time Trials(there's even a 100-mile one, but I wouldn't do that to ya! Well.....not unless you wanted it.). Points will be awarded based upon length of the Time Trial.

Some upcoming Time Trial events are:

Thursday, March 18th - River Road 10-Mile Time Trial - 6:00pm

Thursday, March 25th - Aguas Frias 10-Mile Time Trial - 6:00pm

Thursday, April 1st - River Road 10-Mile Time Trial - 6:00pm

......more events to be announced.....this is just a few. Might have one before March 18th, if schedules work.

Total count for the Series could be as high as 35+ events, depending upon the energy of the event promoter.......and, obviously, the riders!!! ;)

2010 CHICO TIME TRIAL SERIES INFORMATION:

1. Obviously, there will be more than 1 course used for this Time Trial Series. The courses will be scattered around the Chico & Butte County area:

Chico River Road

River Road

Aguas Frias Road

7-Mile Lane

Oro-Chico

Midway

Cottonwood Road

Lassen Road

Meridian Road

Wheelock Road

Troxel Road

....and others to be announced as the weeks go on(shoot me an e-mail if you'd like a particular course utilized - lorrod7@comcast.net.

The idea is to get a feel for the various Time Trial routes, roads, distances and wind conditions around the area.....and just to challenge yourself a bit! Many of these Time Trials will be of the 10-mile variety on Thursday evenings at 6:00PM - however, there will be quite a few that are thrown in on different weeknights, weekends, or very early on weekday mornings during the summer months(ex. - River Road 10-mile TTs at 6am on some summer mornings - and some of the Thursday evening Time Trials will be of the 16, 18 and 25-mile variety!). ALL of these Time Trials will be flat to fairly flat. And all of the Time Trials will count towards the Series. The final race in the Series will be completed in early October 2010 - and the Awards Ceremony for the Series will take place in mid-to-late October 2010 at the Madison Bear Garden, one of the local bicycle shops, or any other establishment that might have us come in with all our bicycle trophies!

2. ALL riders MUST sign in - you just need to sign in at the start in order to enter the event. Registration will normally open 20-30 minutes prior to the start. And, as usual in these Time Trials, we will be going in 1-minute intervals. Again, donations are always accepted and appreciated - but all of the events are FREE! Just come on out and test yourself - and see if you can improve your times on the various courses as the year goes on! Just want you out on your bicycles!!

3. Rain and wind will not cancel the Time Trials, unless specified by the Race Director. However, crudy air conditions(ex. - 2008's Humboldt Fire) could cancel them.

4. Helmets are MANDATORY! So, please....please.....wear your helmet! Please!! AND - Yes, Aero Equipment is allowed!! So.....wear an aero helmet!! Or just a regular one!! No hairnets though please. ;)

5. All are welcome - you don't have to do the Series - just come on out and give one or two of these events a shot! It's amazing what kind of workout you can get during a Time Trial workout! And it's just you against the clock!! No pack riding, no field or prime sprints - just you and the watch! Lots of folks have gotten their starts in bicycle racing and triathlons by doing Time Trials - and some amateur bicycle racers race ONLY Time Trials - so this is a good opportunity to just give it a shot to see what you think.

6. Points are used to calculate the Overall Standings in this particular Series(makes it easier for the promoter - sorry!). The point breakdown works like this........For a 10-mile Time Trial, the points awarded go 10-8-6-4-2-1-1-1-1. So, 1st place gets 10 points, 2nd gets 8 points, 3rd place gets 6 points and so on and so forth. For a 25-mile Time Trial, the point breakdown would go 25-23-21-19-17-15-13-11-9-7-5-3-1-1-1. For a 6-mile TT, the point breakdown would be 6-4-2-1-1-1. So, you get the idea - the point breakdown is dependent upon the TT distance. For ALL of the Time Trials, an additional 2 points will be given to each participant who completes each event. You MUST complete the event in order to get the points. The rider with the MOST points at the end of the Series wins the Overall Title - and the 2010 Chico Time Trial Series Championship Trophy, plus whatever goodies we can give you. Points will be broken down by Category. Once you enter and finish an event, you are entered in the Series. Results - and Current Overall Standings - will be out within 24-hours of the completion of each event and sent out to the e-mail groups, Facebook, Twitter, my blog, and to the Chico Enterprise-Record(no guarantee that they will publish them). If you'd like your name added to the e-mail list, please e-mail me at lorrod7@comcast.net.

7. The following Categories are eligible for a Series Championship Trophy:

Merckxian Category - NO aero equipment!(This includes wheels, helmets, aerobars, etc.).
Category "A" Men

Category "B" Men

Men's Masters 50+ Category
Women's Category

Women's Masters 50+ Category

Juniors

***(If the numbers allow it, more Categories will be added!) (Can not enter more than 2 Categories per event). - Other possible Categories could be Tandem, Team Time Trial(2-person, 3-person or 4-person teams are ALWAYS welcome to these Time Trials!!), Mountain Bike, additional age categories, etc.

These are the Categories which all qualify for a Series Championship Trophy. If nobody - or very few folks are in one category - we will have to eliminate it and possibly 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). 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!!!)

8. Finally, remember - these Time Trial 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. 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 race at some point in time. Or not. Just have fun with it!! We'll have trophies and hopefully some prizes for the Series winners - and definitely loads of fun....and pain and suffering. ;) But remember - it's all in good fun and fitness!

Hope to see you out there!!

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

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

Chico, CA