It’s time to race!  The 2011 MTB twilights will also include the Sierra Youth Cycle League this year.  The first four events will have the SYCL categories instead of the open Junior category.  All the youth races are free thanks to the subsidy from the Reno Wheelmen and a generous contribution from the Galena Times newspaper.  The new venue for this year will be the Halo Trail from the West Keystone trailhead.  A huge thanks to all the series sponsors for helping make this happen and providing the racers with some great prizes! Cash, Merchandise, gift certificates and a couple cruiser bikes are up for grabs!  Come out and join the fun.

To view the MTB Twilight Series flier, click HERE

We’re doing the 8 race series pass again for $40.  This is the best deal out there!  Well, almost as good a deal as the Women and Juniors racing for free.

See the online registration page HERE

Everyone who signs up for a series pass online before the first race will have their name entered into a product raffle at Hidden Valley on April 28.

The UNR Stage Race is a points race consisting of 3 events.  Tuesday’s event witll be a 14 mile TT out at the Cold Springs Course, Wednesday’s event is the Boca Road Race, and Thursday wraps up with an Aircenter Criterium.  Points are awarded to the top 8 riders in each event and the rest of the participants get a minimum amount of participation points.  There will also be points available for KOM (2 separate KOM’s going 4 deep) and intermediate prime sprints (2 primes going 4 deep).  You can do as few or as many of the events as you want but must do all 3 to be considered for the overall prizes.

There will be 4 categories for the stage race.  A’s, B’s, C’s, and Women.  The women’s category will start at about the same time as the C category in each event with a little bit of separation so the groups don’t get mixed up.  If they do intermingle you cannot work with someone or draft off of someone that is not in your category.  There will be no separate junior category.  Juniors should participate in the category that they are most competitive in.

Prizes will be 5 deep in each category for each event and will be 5 deep for the overall classification.  Prizes will consist of a mix of cash and merchandise.

I won’t be needing any volunteers at these events as the UNR cycling team will be providing the necessary support at all the events.   As this is a fundraiser for the UNR Cycling team all entries are $10.00 each at the event.  If you have already purchased a blue ticket please save it for another event as those will not be accepted this week at the race.  Anyone that has free entries coming for whatever reason will have to save those for another event also as they will not be honored at the UNR events this week.  Women and Juniors pay a $5.00 entry fee per event.  This is your opportunity to help fund the UNR Cycling team.  They are a self supporting club at the university and with the possible exception of a $100.00 grant the ASUN gives all clubs at the university, they receive no monetary support from the school.

Registration for Tuesday’s TT will open at 5:15 and the first rider will start at 6:15.  Riders will start in order of registration and will be separated by 30 second intervals.

Registration for Wednesday’s Boca Race will open at 5:15 with the first group (A’s) starting at 6:15 followed shortly afterwards by the other groups.

Registration for Thursday’s Aircenter Criterium will open at 4:45 and the first groups (C’s and Women) will start at 5:30 followed by the B’s at 6:00 and the A’s at 6:40.

Here are the points tables for the stage race events by category.  

  See you at the races,   Rich

Franktown TT 04-13-10

Boca 04-27-10

Geiger HCTT 05-04-10

Aircenter 05-18-10

Aircenter 06-15-10

Boca 06-22-10

Boca 07-06-10

Cold Springs TTT 07-20-10

Aircenter 07-27-10

The Cold Springs TTT will be a 4 man event and the time will be taken from the 3rd person crossing the line.  Start getting your teams organized now. To help make my registration for the TTT easier I will be organizing a preregistration for this event only following the Boca race on 06-22-10.

1. You are required to obey all traffic signs.  That includes the stop sign when you come off Franktown Road back onto old 395.  Last year we had several individuals rolling through that stop and it caused us some issues with the local homeowners association.  It is only a few seconds so take the time to stop.  This is a quality course and we don’t need the hassle of having the association fighting us everytime we want to use this course.
2. Do not come back to the finish line to check your time.  If you absolutely need to know you can wait until I get back to the registration area or you can set your timer on your cyclometer when you start the event.  The finish area is too narrow for cyclists to be sitting on the other side of the road waiting for finishers to come in.  Vehicles coming from that direction end up slowing down and crossing over the center line into the lane of the participants as they are finishing in order to avoid the people on the shoulder.  I don’t need one of you causing someone else to become a hood ornament.

A course map can be found here http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3630048, please stay as far to the right as possible except when passing another rider or avoiding debris on the road.

I will have a current Wheelmen membership roster for waiving the series registration fee.  If you are going to join the club do it tomorrow or wait until after the event.  If you are not a member you will be required to pay the series registration fee in addition to the event fee.  I am willing to grant you a one time waiver from this fee if you forget it or don’t know about it but you will pay it before being allowed to register at another twilight event.  This fee is applicable to all riders.  Women and Juniors will still not be charged an entry fee for the events but are required to pay the registration fee.

Tickets will be available at the event for $10.00 each or for $8.00 if you are a Wheelmen member, if you have not yet paid your membership you will be charged the $10.00 fee, I will print a list on Tuesday evening, if you pay your membership during the day of Tuesday please bring your paypal receipt.  If you still have tickets left from last season they are still valid.  Tickets are not available in the shops with the exception of Bicycle Bananas.  Tickets at the shop are $10.00 each, no discount for being a Wheelmen member.

You will be getting your new numbers for the season.  Please do not throw them away or lose them, it is your number for the rest of the year.  If you forget your number please let me know and I will give you another copy of that same number.  If you forget or lose the second one you will have to pay a $5.00 fee for a new number.  You are required to wear your number at each event and last years numbers are not valid.

See you on Tuesday.

Rich

Reno Wheelmen Twilight Road Race Series

General Information

The Reno Wheelmen Twilight Road Race Series is a series of road race events put on by the Reno Wheelmen from April to September of each year.  Races consist of criteriums, time trials, and road race events at several different venues in the Reno-Sparks vicinity.  The series is open to anyone that has a desire to race bicycles and participants are divided into one of 3 competitive groups according to skill and fitness.

Registration Information

• All participants are required to fill out the Twilight Series Release form.  This has to be done just once for the entire Road season.  If you are doing the MTB twilight events a separate release form is required for both series.

• There is a $20.00 series registration fee required if you plan on doing more than one event during the year.  This fee may be paid when you register for the event.  This fee is waived for current Reno Wheelmen members.  Please see the membership page if you would like information on how to join the Reno Wheelmen.

• There is an individual fee of $10.00 for each event ($8.00 for current Reno Wheelmen members).  When you pay your fee you will be given a ticket for your entry into the event.  Please fill out the ticket and return it to the registration official as this is your actual registration.  If we do not get the ticket back from you then you are not registered for the event.

• Registration for Road Races and Time Trials opens at approximately 5:15 pm.  The start times for Road Races is 6:15 for the A Category with the B and C Categories starting shortly afterwards.  For Time Trials riders are started in the order of registration with the first rider starting at 6:15 pm.  Registration for Criteriums opens at 5:00 pm with the C category starting at 5:30 pm and racing for 30 minutes.  The B Category will start at approximately 6:00 pm and will race for 40 minutes followed by the A Category starting around 6:40 pm and racing for 50 minutes.

Race Venues

1. Aircenter Criterium – The course is run clockwise along a ¾ mile circle consisting of Aircenter Circle and Turbo Circle and is open to traffic. In Reno take S McCarran Blvd to Longley Lane.  Turn North on Longley Lane to Mira Loma and turn West on Mira Loma and proceed to the end where it dead ends against Aircenter Circle.  The registration area is in the parking area facing the intersection.  Please park in one of the business parking lots or on Mira Loma, do not park in the street on Aircenter Circle.  A Sani-hut for participants is located on the backside of the course on Turbo Circle.  Please police up all of your trash, a trash receptacle is located at the registration area.

1. Boca Reservior – The course is an out and back course approximately 24 miles long and is open to traffic during the race.  Take I-80 to the Boca Reservior/Hirshdale exit approximately 22 miles west of Reno.  The registration area is located in the parking area at the Boca Dam.  There are several parking areas available or park on the main road below the starting area but please make sure your vehicle is completely off the road.  Bathroom facilities are available at several of the day use areas.

1. Reno-Fernley Raceway – This is a circuit race closed to traffic and is held on an automobile raceway, the course is just over 4 miles long.  There is a $1.00 gate fee to all participants and spectators.  From Reno take I-80 East to the first Fernley exit and take Main Street to the SR 95 A (the first stop light along main street).  Turn South on SR 95 A towards Yerington.  Approximately 5 miles south of the intersection you will see the Reno-Fernley Raceway on the right side of the road.  From Carson City take US 50 East towards Fallon.  At the intersection of US 50 and SR 95 A in Silver Springs turn North.  Approximately 8 miles north of the intersection the Reno-Fernley Raceway will be on the left side of the road.  Enter into the driveway and follow the signs to the Road Course.  Bathroom facilities are available.

1. Cold Springs – This is a clockwise course that loops around the valley and is approximately 7 miles long.  Starting at the intersection of Whitelake Pkwy and US 395 Frontage road the course heads North to the Exit 83 overpass (Village Pkwy).  Turn East on Village Pkwy and continue over the overpass to the intersection of Village Pkwy and Whitelake Pkwy.  Turn right (South) on Whitelake Pkwy and take it back to the start area.  The event may be 1 – 3 laps in length. Take US 395 N to the Whitelake Pkwy Exit (Exit #80) and turn West.  The registration is located at the intersection of Whitelake Pkwy and the Frontage road.

1. Franktown Road TT – This is a7.75 mile clockwise course that starts at the entrance to the Bowers Mansion State Park and heads south on SR429 to the Southern intersection of Franktown Road and SR429 (you will pass the Northern Intersection just after starting).  Turn right onto Franktown road and follow the road as it turns North.  The finish line for the event is approx ½ mile before the Northern intersection of Franktown Road with SR429.  Take US 395 to the Bowers Mansion Exit (SR429) and follow SR429 to Bowers Mansion.  Depending on the time of year you may park in the Bowers Mansion parking area.  Bathroom facilities are available at the park.  Course map can be found here