LOHS Winter Races February 6

Just over a month away until our first race of 2010. The course is about the same as last year as of now. Rode the course today and the sledding hill is great! http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9567

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The school crew has started to keep the course cleared as best they can for those portions on school property. The hope is that by starting now we can keep up with the snowfall over the next few weeks and have a mostly ridable course come race day. The snow tonight may take a few days to get cleared from the course since parking lots, etc. takes first priority. Not sure why though.

I doubt we will be able to use any singletrack in the race with this latest accumulation but in the next three weeks anything can happen. I was able to ride it all this afternoon even with the heavy snowfall but won't be able to tomorrow. Bald Mountain was pretty fast this afternoon but the snowmobiles will probably be out over the next few days and churn up the snow. The dry, loose snow will not pack well right now so the BM trails may be harder to ride for a while. We will need some sunny days above freezing and cold nights to allow the snow to settle and firm up. But the trails should be good for skiing.

The mail in form http://www.scribd.com/doc/25070192/Mountain-Bike-Run-Race-Winter-2010-Entry

The course was 100% ridable this morning, and pretty fast too. Studded tires are not necessary but just be careful as there is some ice, particularly along the wood line after the ropes course. Sections that have been plowed are showing some dirt. Bald Mountain is about as good as it gets in the winter for riding. Best bet,is to get out early before the snow softens. I plan on riding again early Monday morning.

Here is a map of the course except for all of Bald Mountain. Coming into and out of Bald Mountain are left hand turns, otherwise always turn or stay to the right while on the BM trails.

Pics of the trail. The sledding hill and some of the plowed portion on school grounds. Bald Mountain was big ring fast this morning.

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I rode the course today without studded tires and didn't really have any problems. It is still a little slick in some spots but the snow we had in the last week is providing traction on top of the ice. I was also able to ride a long stretch of singletrack in its entirety without dabbing; I may put it in for the bike race. We are supposed to get a small amount of snow over the next week which would make it even better. Long term forecast should provide us with the best conditions we have had for this race. Don't forget the discount for preregistering. http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9567

I marked the course with orange painted arrows. There are two spots where the arrows go right or left, each marked with a question mark. The shorter, and easier route is to the right. This may be the course I use for Beginners, but then again Beginners may just do one loop of the whole course. Sport and advance riders would stay or go to the left. This includes a section of singletrack.

The course has about an inch or so of new snow on most of it but is still ridable. I did a couple of laps and some spots were better the second time. The school may do a plow of their sections tomorrow or Friday. Bald Mountain should get better as the week goes on as foot traffic beats the snow down.

The actual course and number of laps probably won't be decided until Saturday morning.

Latest course update: The school plowed the open portions of the trail this afternoon and there are now many exposed grass sections. I was able to get the singletrack cleaned down to the firm base of packed snow that was there before. A rider came through after I had finished and said he had no problems riding the trail. We are planning on plowing/blowing the course again Saturday morning if required.

With expected temps on Saturday below freezing it should be a pretty fast trail. Right now it looks like Beginners will bypass the singletrack and do one loop of about 4.3 miles. Sport and Advanced riders will use the sinlgetrack and do 2 and 3 lap respectively. Each lap should be about 4.5 miles.

Don't forget that on-line registration closes at 10:00 tonight. Save $5 by registering now. Or before we reach our limit of 500 riders.