MUC OFF – Cross on the Rock 2024. The LAST Outdoor Cycling Series still racing in CANADA!!!
Newsletter #7 – Hot Crossed Bunnies. This Sunday. All the CX. Double the MUC OFF. Double the Points. TRIPLE the spirit!! Come out and race, cheer, support or help out! Lets finish Season #18 strong!!
Venue support from Coastal Community Credit Union.
Second to LAST newsletter of 2024 so read every word because after the last one comes out…..there will be NO MORE until next August/September and you will miss us SO MUCH!
LOTS of Notes for this week:
- More photos from CoweX and the Muc Off Cup. from Ethan Swain. Gallery #1 (CoweX) Gallery #2 (Muc Off Cup)
- Without a Vancouver Island race last weekend we saw COTR racers head to Quebec for the National Championships. Bob Welbourne the defending champ and Natalie Wright both ended up 7th in Masters 45-54. Kelly Welbourne won masters 55-64 again….VERY SHORT race at only 35 minutes! Ethan Wood was 7th in U19. Liam Sargent was 6th in U23. Marin Lowe won the jersey for U23 (see further note below about Marin). Katja Verkerk took bronze in U23 and Lily Boucher 9th. Evan Russell just missed the podium in 4th for Elite with Cody Scott and Fabian Merino in 6th and 7th. Not a lot of BC riders made the trip but it looks like those that did had solid races!
- Season 18 has shown some amazingly close battles in each category for COTR. Some categories only have a few points separating the top 3. It’s all going to come down to the last double points race. out the standings here with one race dropped If you want to see how the series is stacking up.
- The team completion is also close. Please edit your team name so it matches exactly to everybody else on your team. The ‘edit’ link is next to your result. But please, no changing teams to join the winning team. We investigate any major changes!!
1. Celebration of life for Lindsay
We invite you to join us in honoring and celebrating the life of Lindsay.
Please come and share memories, laughter, and stories to remember the wonderful moments and the legacy Lindsay has left behind.
There will be two locations and dates: one on the mainland and one on the island. You are welcome to come to either one or both.
Victoria
Date: November 23rd, 2024
Time: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: Jordie Lunn bike park clubhouse.
2990 Irwin Rd, Langford, BC V9B 5Y6
Let’s gather together, surrounded by love and friendship, to celebrate her incredible life. Casual attire is welcome, and we encourage everyone to bring a favorite memory to share.
If you have a memory that you would like to share but can’t make it or don’t feel comfortable speaking in person, please email it to me at chadgrice@me.com, and it will be read out for you.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions prior to the event at the email above.
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We are trying to get a handle on how many people are going to be attending both celebrations of life. PLEASE RSVP VIA THE LINK, This way we are prepared to receive everyone.
We expect people to come and go throughout the event.
There will also be a zoom link provided so that you can participate remotely if you are unable to make the event.
2. Hot Crossed Bunnies – Series FINAL. Preview!!
Our dream remains the same every year. Finish the season STRONG. With that MIVA and the Council of Cross PERSONALLY invite EVERYONE that has raced this season, would like to race this season AND those that are interested in cyclocross to come out THIS SUNDAY to race, cheer and be a part of this community! The ski hill has not opened yet. Hiking is getting ugly. Honestly a maybe-muddy Cyclocross race IS YOUR BEST SUNDAY option!! The racing will be great. The people are AMAZING. We hope to see you with your number pinned on……which brings us to….
What side to pin your number on for Sunday! We don’t know which side numbers are just yet but we will try to post on Saturday night so you can pre-pin! We currently THINK it will be on the RIGHT.
Read this first. The construction that has been going on for the last 2 years in Beban park is winding down BUT it is not finished yet. The SOUTH ENTRANCE at this time is CLOSED. You will have to most likely enter the park from the North or East entrances. The good thing from the construction is that the park is still a bit of a mess…..so we can ride a lot more places than we normally are able to!!
Parking: (Consult Map) Beban park is HUGE. But on any given weekend there is a LOT going on. The best place to park for the race is south of the race course in the gravel lot by the Steve Smith Jump park. This is accessed off the main road through the park by the golf course. This is the BEST parking spot for our event. PLEASE DO NOT PARK at the soccer club house parking which is the closest to the start. There is always soccer going on the weekends and they love their close parking lot. The lot by the BMX track is normally available BUT they are currently building the BIGGEST BMX track in Canada there so the space is VERY LIMITED.. The paved parking by the Pool and arena is also a good option. Parking on the roadways or grass is strictly forbidden and will get you towed and we will not like you. There is limited parking as well south of the course by the golf course. You will find a spot without parking like a…..you know…..starts with an “a”.
Team Tents: Will be in the same spot as the last couple of years by the sand riding ring, close to reg. food trucks and the pits. The Weather forecast calls for sun, maybe a touch of precipitation and gentle winds but still make sure your tent is staked and secured. It is drop and go (NO PARKING AT TEAM TENTS AREA) until we close and lock the gates around 9:30am. After that point you will have to carry your gear in. On the flip side the gate will be LOCKED until after the OPEN races so it will be carry out until that point. There will be no team vehicles inside the gate or we will run out of space for the team tents. This will be a GREAT spot to watch and central to all the action!
Registration: As it has been all season pre-registration only. This will close like normal at 6:00pm the night before the race. The call up sheets are literally done by 6:10pm the night before the race. So if you FORGET or put it off you are unlikely to get your earned call up spot.
THE LINK TO REGISTER AGAIN IS HERE
For racers that have not raced this year race day number pick up and race central will be located in the Agriplex. Consult the map.
Washrooms: There will be porta johns located at the end of the opening straight away or somewhere in the general area. There are LOTS of other (Flush) washrooms located in Beban park. You can also locate washrooms in almost all buildings in the park. Both arenas. Down by the artificial turf field. In the Pool. NO DIRTY BIKE SHOES OR DIRTY PEOPLE INSIDE THE BUILDINGS OR WASHROOMS. Clean yourself up BEFORE going into a public area. We want to be able to use this venue again. MORE IMPORTANTLY if you are going IN a building LOCK YOUR BIKE (Bikes have been stolen at this event when left unattended. Don’t lose your bike)!!!
Awards: Awards location will be in the Agriplex. We will have the RACE awards for Hot Crossed bunnies with our regular categories. AS WELL we have all our SERIES awards for our expanded categories and our SERIES draw prizes! We would LOVE to start the awards as SOON as possible after the OPEN races so the MORE PEOPLE HELPING clean up the course, rake out the sand/mulch, bag course tape and pack the trailer the better. We can’t do it after the awards as it will be DARK! Many hands make it a LOT easier for everyone!
Race Course: The construction this year has meant a continued shake up of our course design. We’ll still have the classic elements that make this course great. MUD, SAND, WOOD CHIPS, PAVEMENT, GRAVEL. It will be be awesome.
Food Truck: Sip and Sliders and Harbour City Doughnuts (Same as Muc Off Cup), will be on-site and ready to serve up lunch or snacks. These are the GOLD and BRONZE food trucks for Nanaimo according to the News Bulletin’s Best of the city!
One last reminder…..Post race: Again we will want to get the awards going as soon as possible on Sunday. With that in mind please help us both tear down as well as RAKE out the course. With construction we won’t have to worry as much about the top section by the Arenas, but the hill by the BMX and the riding rings always need some work post race. Please bring a rake and work gloves. Many hands make light work and get the work done FAST. We will make an announcement when we are starting the awards….and…..well…..there will be no one left on course so you will notice that the awards have started! Ideally we would like to start as close to 4:00 as possible.
3. Race #6. Broad Street Cycles GP. Review
Norm’s Notes:
- As far as we know NO ONE got towed away? So great job on parking everyone!! Also thanks to retired Oak Bay Police officer Ian Craib for monitoring and directing traffic pretty much the whole day
- Special thanks to Brent McMahon for jumping in to lead the beginner pre-ride when the BSC Guys were still busy on course. We blindsided him and he just rolled with it! Real estate is a tough gig in this market so if you are looking to buy or sell a home…..Brent McMahon: Olympian \ Ironman Champion (We added this part in…..CROSS ON THE ROCK RACER) Personal Real Estate Corporation Dinnie-Smyth | McMahon Real Estate Group RE/MAX Camosun Victoria, BC Cell 250-418-5391
- Extra thanks to Celeste and Kevin for donating a stack of wicked books for the Riverway Dental Hot Lap race.
- ALSO thanks to Cycling BC for the bike lights for the Kids races as well!
- How cool it is to have the facilities completes at Irwin Park! It is like mountain biking in Europe where you drive up, there is a coffee shop there, bike shop and a place to wash your bike. SO NICE! We picked out some post-race treats at Rhino Coffee House before they SOLD OUT EVERYTHING!
- I loved the new course. VERY HARD….Maybe harder than before? The Broad Street Cycles brains and Roland are working on: Possibly wider/different start, bit more distance…..and rumours curtis might be building some stairs for 2025. We are also eyeing up the club house for possible series final for some year to come? Would have to hire some drivers to bring down all the MUC OFF prizes though as not everything will fit in the van!
- There were two outstanding performances that I witnessed at the Broad Street GP. First was John Van Der Vliet making his first trip to the podium after 72 races!! This is big support for the theory that cyclocross is a sport that rewards experience. The second one was Marin Lowe racing the Masters men. After being called up back row of 56 racers she pac man raced into the top 10 within 2 laps. Unfortunately she was taken out by a rear DR mechanical in lap 4 but then jumped into OPEN women as well! Amazing preparation for her performance at the National Championships. We hope to see her sporting her jersey at Hot Crossed Bunnies.
Roland’s Notes:Another awesome day for Cyclocross in Victoria. For a course that has a reputation for causing a lot of flat tires, 98% of people finished the race. That’s not quite in the Top 10 for tamest races, but it’s close. If you missed it, you can get a replay of the action here (Keep and eye out for Marin Blasting past Roland) and HERE. We are already talking about next year, we’ve got more ideas to continue improving the course. Huge thank you to everybody who made the day come together. Fabian & Liam who took charge of course design. They convinced Yari from Langford Parks to allow us to have the run up again, the defining feature of the course. And Renny from Broad Street Cycles who provided the prizing. My setup crew: Doug, Scott, James, Holly, Hugh, Geoff, Jon, Chad, Mike, Andy, Amis, Ian. I asked for people to be there at 7:30am, but when I arrived at 7:10am the trailer was already unpacked and work was underway. (Norm’s note they texted me at 6:30 asking me where I was) My reg and timing crew: Ros, Laura, Shawn, Ian, Jill, Liz, Chad, Lief, Jennifer, Diane, Joanna, Matt. Clean up crew: Everybody! Everything was torn down and back at the trainer in record time, and the only thing I found lying around during my post race course walk was my pit bike! Parking: Ian & Leif. Remediation crew: Liam & Jon. And all those who didn’t sign up to help, but stepped up when the need arose. I know Patrick in the timing tent recruited more volunteers. Hopefully you’ve had time to check out the gravity zone at the Jordie Lunn Bike Park, there are some amazing trails. If not, rent a big bike from Broad Street and give them a rip. Apologies to all the locals who just wanted to get some coffee but there was no where to park.
Parting Shot
We have raced at Beban Park more times than any other venue in the province. For over 20 years there has been cyclocross action! This photo is from 2015 before the Steve Smith Bike park in the same location. Can not wait to make more memories this Sunday!
