cross country mountain bike trails

River City Cycle Club plays host to final Island Cup race

Courier-Islander June 13, 2013

The River City Cycle Club hosted the final race in the Island Cup cross country mountain bike series on Sunday, on the trails in Snowden Forest.

Seventy two racers from expert to beginner tackled the race circuit on well groomed single track trails. Experts raced a three loop course, totaling 30 km and the beginners covered one loop of 10 km.

Colin Wilson, the series coordinator said that, "This race course is one of the most enjoyable in the series because of the great condition of the trails." He thanked the River City Cycle Club trail maintenance crew and all the volunteers for a well organized event.

The race and the series was won by Quinn Moberg from Squamish. On the ladies side the winner was Kate Scallion. Local racer Christina Zimmerman placed second in the Beginner women class. The youngest racer of the day was Luke Damery from Comox , 7, who competed in the Beginner men's race. This truly was a race for everyone.

The Island Cup mountain bike series consists of seven cross country, three downhill and three enduro races held from March to October each year.

For series details go to http: //www. islandcupseries.com/. For more information on the River City Cycle Club which has both road and mountain bike divisions go to http: //www.rivercitycycle.ca.

Submitted / Seventy two mountain bikers at the start of the final Island Cup race held in Snowden Forest Sunday.;

© Copyright 2013

new mountain bikes

For thrill seekers, mountain biking the new passion (Feature)

New Delhi,Features,Lifestyle/Fashion, Fri, 14 Jun 2013 IANS

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New Delhi, June 14 (IANS) Vamini Sethi, 27, doesn't look physically strong. But give her a mountain bike and she re-defines toughness. For her riding through craggy terrain, dirt roads and treacherous paths are like child's play.

Sethi, a banker by profession, is part of a group that is regular at mountain biking events - a trend that is catching up among thrill seekers for that extra adrenaline rush.

"Mountain bicycling challenges every bit of you and requires perfect synchronisation of mind and body. It tests your endurance and willpower. Every time your body gives up, your mind encourages you to pedal harder," Sethi told IANS.

Sethi, who owns two high-end bikes - Trek 2.1 and Trek 4300 - said the thrill keeps all of them going.

"You are not competing with anyone, but just with yourself. The thrill you get after completing a difficult terrain...that feeling is great," she said.

Like her, there are many biking enthusiasts who are getting into this niche area for the love of the thrill and the challenge it offers, Sethi said.

The numbers are slowly growing, despite it being an expensive hobby.

Some of the credit for making mountain biking popular goes to the Himalayan Adventure Sports and Tourism Promotion Association (HASTPA).

Formed in 2005, it is the brainchild of Mohit Sood, who with the support of a British friend decided to venture into this unknown territory.

Ever since then, he has been successfully organising the MTB Himalaya international biking challenge, a gruelling seven-day trail from Shimla to Kullu, covering 550 kilometres.

"Mountain bicycling is not everyone's cup of tea. It requires passion and ultimately gives you the thrill after you successfully ride through a difficult and dangerous terrain," Sood told IANS over the phone from Shimla.

"It is a combination of man and machine where mental alertness and flexibility on two-wheels determines the final outcome," he added.

Sood knew the journey would be ardours and difficult, but he persisted. Today, he is a happy man.

"It was hard to get participants initially. In our first year we had only eight Indian participants but last year we had 82 Indian participants. So, the numbers show a drastic change in the mindset towards this sport," said Sood.

Now, many international bikers from Europe and the US participate in the annual event.

But for many, the money sometimes acts as a deterrent.

"You have to spend a lot when it comes to hard-core bicycling. People find it pretty absurd when you tell them that you have spent almost two lakh rupees on your riding gear," said Varun Sharma, a software professional.

"To them it might be a silly splurge, but to me it is a life-long investment. Many do get discouraged when they hear that they have to spend so much," said Sharma, who owns two bicycles worth Rs.1.5 lakh.

It is just not buying an expensive bike. One has to buy the entire safety gear too.

Sharma said extra focus has to be given to a better headlight, tail light, helmet, extra tubes, a speedometer, gloves, water sippers and gel seat cover for a comfortable and safer ride.

"Only those who are serious about it would invest in such things. It is not a hobby, but your passion," he added.

Harshman Singh is another regular rider and owns the Cycledelic Sport Shop in Model Town in north Delhi.

"Things have changed quite a lot now. With foreign makers flooding the market, there are various options for cycle enthusiasts. Though many still prefer MTB (mountain bike) over ATB (all terrain bike) because of the looks and fat tyres, the serious cyclists understand the nuances of these types," he said, adding the price starts from Rs.9,500 and goes up to Rs.4 lakhs.

The helmets start at Rs. 1,000 and go up to Rs. 8,000.

According to Sood, many living in the city get disheartened when they don't find the right terrain.

"The absence of dirt-paths in the city to practise is a disadvantage for those who want to take mountain bicycling seriously," Sood explained.

To give riders a taste of off-roading, in which a bike is ridden on unsurfaced roads or tracks, Firefox Bikers, the sole distributor of Trex bikes, recently organised an event in the outskirts of Delhi. The response was overwhelming.

Though mountain biking is mostly confined to men, Sethi hopes more women would soon join.

"Let's admit men are physically stronger than women. I had to undergo a lot of practice to be where I am. It wasn't easy.

"Getting up early in the morning, cycling on the Faridabad-Gurgaon road with my husband in the car watching me; it requires both mental strength and support. At the end, it is all about passion," she said.

(Shilpa Raina can be contacted at shilpa.r@ians.in)

mountain bike xc races

Domnarski Farm XC MTB Race 2013: Squishy Tire Sprint Finish

Photo Courtesy of Matt Domnarski - Joanne Grogan, me, and Ellen Noble

In 2009, I raced one of my first "expert" races at Domnarski Farm - back before we called it cat 1.  This was the first year that the Root 66 Series visited the venue, and it was same the year I got the iron rider award for finishing every race in the series.  Racing sport (now cat 2) all season, I moved up to expert after nationals (which were at Mt. Snow), and finished the season out at the Farm after having completed the Marathon race at Landmine the week before.  It was an awesome start to what has become a real passion in my life.  It took me 2 hours and 53 minutes to complete two laps on the course  that year.  Last year, I finished at about 2 hours and 16 minutes, and this year it took almost two minutes longer...  regardless, this was by far my best performance there.

There were only three of us in the pro/open field at the starting line, but as usual, it was a stacked field.  Ellen Noble is the junior national cyclocross champion, and Joanne Grogan is a strong racer on the cyclocross scene as well.  My goal for the race, as usual, was to stay with the leaders.  As always with my starts, I chose to ease into it.  The course starts out with a fair amount of climbing, at it was over 80 degrees out, so I didn't want to make myself sick on the first lap.  Joanne was having some trouble settling in, so I made a pass as soon as we hit double track and tried to make my way up to Ellen who had already put a decent gap on us.  I kept her in sight on the double track, but when we hit the singletrack, I managed to loose site of her.  In the past, I've found that area to get bottlenecked with racers, but this year, I rode that section without anyone to pass or anyone trying to pass me - it was nice and I was able to relax and settle in.  

The first lap went pretty well.  I rode a little bit sloppy and flubbed some stuff I should have rode smoothly, but I managed to keep my pace in check and stop myself from overheating.  The loose rocky fireroad downhills had lines made by the many sets of tires plowing down them, so I was able to relax in those sections where I normally ride horribly.  As I came towards the end of the first lap, I was told that Ellen was only about a minute ahead of me.  Hearing that and knowing that I was feeling pretty good, I knew it was time to get moving.  

I went into the second lap telling myself to relax and ride strong.  As I started the climb up "halfway hill,"  I looked ahead and saw a rider in the distance.  I immediately honed in on the bright pink socks and knew that it was Ellen.  Telling myself not to count my eggs before they hatch, I tried not to get too excited as I consistently closed the gap.  I kept the heat on, but tried to prevent myself from blowing up.  As I came into the singletrack before the infamous power line climb, I was mentally preparing myself to close the gap and take the lead.  Unfortunately, I made a sloppy move in the singletrack and burped my rear tire...  as I started to climb, I could hear a strange hissing sound.  Coincidentally, a cicada was buzzing right in time with the air leaking from my tire so I let myself think that's all it was.  As I completed the series of climbs and cornered back into the woods, I knew that I had a problem.  At that point, I started deliberating on whether or not I should stop and put air in or just be careful and keep going.  It was really squishy.  

Skyler in the background (photo courtesy of M. Domnarski)

Definitely lost 50% of my air.  10 psi is a little too soft.

Ultimately, what prevented me from putting air in my tire was the fact that my CO2 pump was in the bag hanging under my saddle, and it's a complete pain in the ass to get that thing unzipped.  It would have taken me twice as long as normal because I would have been so flustered at having to stop.  Well I  think about it now, I should have stopped... or better yet, I should have just been carrying that pump in my pocket like I used to do...  anyhow, I did not stop.  I kept going - cursing every time I felt my rim hit a rock.  Somehow, I managed to stay with Ellen.  When I was finally able to pass her, I should have been aggressive and stayed in the lead, but I was worried I would make my situation worse if I got too crazy.  Being as gentle as I could, I kept up with her... right down the very last downhill.  I don't usually ride close to other riders - especially going down hill, but I knew I was close enough that even if the tire gave out, I could run if I had to.  We ended up coming into the finish area for an epic sprint to the line.  Bummer about that tire...

Regardless of the tire issue, that was one of the most exciting races I've had to date.  It was nice to be able to actually race someone at the end.  We were actually back and forth a bit, and I had to make decisions that I knew would affect the outcome of the race for me...  THAT is what makes racing extraordinarily fun!!  

results (photo courtesy of M. Domnarski)

Domnarski Farm always has the best payout!  $200 for 2nd! Thanks, Matt!!

Ladie's podium: Joanne Grogan 3rd, Ellen Noble 1st, and me 2nd (photo courtesy of M. Domnarski)