Due to popular consensus we are postponing the 9-18-08 MTB race.  Stay tuned for the reschedule date.  We are looking at a Saturday evening after the MTB race season is over with and are trying to coordinate it with the year-end club meeting.  We’ll see for sure but the Saturday evening part after October 1^st is a definite.

PS… It’s night ride season.  Any thoughts

Colorado Springs, Colo. (September 12, 2008)—USA Cycling announced today the development and implementation of a new mountain bike category system set to take effect for the 2009 season. The modification to the existing structure comes after significant analysis and dialogue by the national governing body and the National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA) Board of Trustees.  

In pursuit of its mission to provide a high-quality racing experience for members across all ages, skill levels and genders, USA Cycling will apply these new categories beginning December 1, 2008 in order to strengthen professional fields and add depth to amateur categories at the grass roots level.   

The new categories, which closely resemble those used in other disciplines of competitive cycling, have been created to offer USA Cycling mountain bike members a more competitive racing environment. The previous license categories will be replaced with a new system which include Category 1, 2, 3 and Pro designations.  read more »

Capitol City MTB Challenge Postponed
Psycowpath Series
Written by Newsline   
Friday, 12 September 2008
Raymond, NE - Three days of heavy rain have forced the organizers of the Capitol City MTB Challenge to postpone the race until Saturday, September 20, 2008. With many sections of standing water on the course and a forecast calling for even more rain overnight, the decision to postpone was not preferred, but definitely necessary to maintain the integrity of the trails.

"Even if we have a day without rain tomorrow, the course is so saturated it would not make a difference. In order to preserve the trail work that has been done by members of THOR (Trails Have Our Respect) and the Midwest Wheelmasters, we need to leave the trail be for at least 2-3 days," explains Co-Race Director, John Lefler, Jr.

Continue to visit www.nebraskacyclingnews.com for updates on the rescheduled race.   read more »

Several local riders took part in the Dakota 5-O Sunday Augst 31, in the Black Hills National Forest in Spearfish, South Dakota. Nebraska was well-represented with a huge contingent of Omaha-area riders (including Roxzanne Abbott who took her third consecutive overall win!) and four from the Norfolk area. EVCC members Tim Powell, Todd Jochum, and Jon Downey along with Norfolk's resident iron-man Joel Mortitz were also in attendence. Joel finished the race even though he was suffering from a severely injured elbow sustained in a fall on a training ride the day before the race.

The weather in Spearfish was unusually warm, with temps on the day before the race in the upper 90's. On race day, the weather was jersey-only comfortable for the 7:30AM start and went on to get quite warm during the day. Those who could finish the 50 miles course in under five hours didn't have to worry about the heat, but many folks had cramping issues throughout the day. Water stations were well-stocked and evenly spaced throughout the course but fuel and hydration on the bike were still key.

Race conditions were dry and dusty in most areas and beyond technical in some. Race volunteers and past participants alike said that some of the downhills were washed almost completely out by floods making some trails trecherous at best. Most reports agree that there was at least one downhill (the Citadel Slide) that was mearly impossilble to ride and, if you got in too far, impossible to stop on. Had it not been for the copious amounts of climbing involved, a longer travel trail bike would have been ideal. Still, some did it on hardtails, others on singlespeeds and some on fully rigids. Speaking of climbing, a climb that started after the last official aid station, dubbed the "Widow Maker", was nearly two miles of loose rocks that few, if any, actually climbed in the saddle.

After a three mile gravel road stretch incorporating nearly 1000 feet of elevation gain, the course turned into the rocky and twisty single track. After another seven miles or so and another 1000 feet of climbing, the first aid station was a welcome site. The course continued up to the highest point about 25 miles into the race, and then was generally down (sometimes VERY down) the remaining 25 miles but still included the dreaded Widow Maker climb.  read more »

EVCC riders did well at the Psycowpath Tranquility Tire Tantrum this last Saturday.

Dan Ertz won his class AND the entire Beginner division, duplicating his sweeping of the Cornhusker State Games.

Duane Blair debuted in the Sport 35+ category and took 5th! Duane mentioned something about trees and rabbit whistles though; details at the year end banquet!!! Joe Savoie also made a run at the Sport class with his SS CX bike, but crashed. In typical Joe tradition, he said he had fun anyway. RIch Anderson also took to the course on his CX bike, finishing fourth.

Newcomer, and hopefully future EVCC rider, Taira Anderson of Burwell won the Beginner Women 13-15 class, quite handily. Some might remember Taira from the last Norfolk MTB Series race at Maskenthine.

Great job folks!

Results are posted here with a promise of series results to follow.

The Dakota 5o, a 50 mile mountain bike race, will be held August 31, in Spearfish SD. Several local riders have made this an annual event, and there is a contingent of EVCC riders going this year including Tim Powell, Todd Jochum, and Jon Downey. Norfolk will also be represented by Joel Moritz and (possibly) Steve Vincent. This will be Tim's third year for the event. Tim over 90 minutes off his 2006 finish time in the 2007 event so his 2008 finish time will be interesting to watch for.  read more »

(Due to my own non-action, this report is quite late - Jon)

Ponca, Neb. - The Nebraska State MTB Championships were held on a difficult Ponca State Park course on June 21. While the beginner classes had a surprisingly low turnout, the Sport and Expert classes were quite well attended and competitive. Elkhorn Valley Cycling powered by Monster fielded two riders for the event: TIm Powell and Jon Downey, both in the Sport Men 45+ division.

Tim Powell powered through three 5-mile laps in a time of 1:31:02, good enough for 8th place. Class winner Mark Brackenbury finished in 1:15:36, which when his lap times are extended to the Expert-level 5 laps, would have been good enough for a bronze state champion medal in the Expert 35+ class.

The Ponca course is quite challenging, with climbs not seen anywhere else in the state. It is not extemely technical, but as Brackenbury pointed out after the race, there is little time for recovery between difficult climbs.  read more »

On the way to officiate the Sioux City Velo time trial I stopped off at Ponca State Park for some pre-race reconnaissance. Jay Chesterman and the SC Velo crew have really gotten the place in shape. The 5 miles of race loop are marked and groomed and ready to go. According the folks up there, the trails at Ponca are seeing very little use this year and were badly overgrown. I couldn't tell as it was all in excellent condition.

Really hard. But in excellent condition.  read more »