XC NEWS

Nov 16 08 - XC Results and Season Standings Posted

Results for all 08 XC races can be viewed by clicking below:

XC1; XC2; XC3; XC4; XC5; XC6; XC7; XC8; XC9; XC10

Season standings can be viewed by clicking here

Sep 19 08 - XC10 Round-up Festival Pre-race Factoids: The spectacular round-up festival (aka XC10) goes Sunday, Sep 21. This is your last chance of the 2008 Blacksheep season to compete for fun, points and bragging rights. Registration opens at 9 am with racing to start at 10:30. Food, awards and games to follow.

Because of sensitivities of other trail users, the course cannot be flagged until the morning of the race. In case you're wondering about the course, here it is in a nutshell:
- Start at the cabins and ride a short prologue loop.
- Continue down the double-track toward the Expressway, proceed under bridge and pick up Red trail (scream "YAHOO" for not having to climb Hydro Hill).
- Proceed along Red trail, then onto Yellow trail, then onto Blue trail (basically, racers will be riding more or less around the perimeter of Centennial).
- Proceed up hill on Blue trail (curse Kevin Paradis for including this climb in the course), then cut right onto short singletrack across Adventure trail, then proceed down Hilltop trail.
- Ride across Hydro line to Cassandra.
- Head down Cassandra and turn left on Crossover.
- Ride a short way on Crossover until open field.
- Follow flagging tape onto Lower 2K trail.
- Proceed along lower 2K to flagged junction and turn right onto singletrack.
- Turn right onto Red trail and proceed down Hydro Hill (scream "YAHOO" once again for not having to climb Hydro Hill).
- Either turn left at the bottom and lap again or turn right and proceed to finish at cabins.

Duration:
Pre-Lambateur - several laps (# to be determined) of prologue course
Lambateur - 1 prologue lap + 1 full lap = ~30 minutes
Sport - 1 prologue lap + 2 full laps = ~50 minutes
Advanced - 1 prologue lap + 3 full laps = ~70 minutes

That's all folks!! Hope to see you on Sunday!!

Aug 7 08 - XC7 Non-Race Report: Sorry to disappoint all the racers but we had to cancel XC7 due to the threat of lightning and high winds.

The weather at Centennial was ugly at 5 pm when Jiska Westbroek arrived to complete final flagging. We can't fully flag and mark Centennial courses until 2 hours before the race because some trail users object to flagging tape and signs in place too early and for too long. At any rate, the threat of lightning and high winds still existed so we made the call to cancel and updated the hotline at 5:30 pm. By 6 pm the weather had cleared somewhat and we were wondering whether we'd made the right call but later discovered that another lightning storm rolled into the Current River area at about 8:30pm when some racers still would have been on course. In the end, better safe than sorry. For more information, see the FAQ about event cancellations below . . .

On a brighter note, we have rescheduled XC7 to Sep 10. Note that registration and start times will be moved up by 30 minutes each to ensure we can finish the race before dark.

Frequently asked questions about event cancellations:
Q. Why is an event cancelled? A. There are only 2 reasons: 1. either the trails are too wet and will be damaged by riding/racing or 2. the weather is dangerous.
Q. What is dangerous weather? A. Dangerous weather means the threat of lightning and/or high winds (which can cause trees to fall). The race area must be free of lightning and high winds for at least 30 minutes prior to the start of an event and the forecast for the duration of the event needs to be clear of any dangerous weather.
Q. Who decides whether to cancel? A. The decision is made by members of the Blacksheep Executive most responsible for the event. Q. When is the decision made? A. The decision is usually made 1 - 2 hours before the event. We try to give people as much notice as we can but this isn't always possible with fast moving weather systems.
Q. How will I know if an event is cancelled. A. We update the Hotline (624-4270) and attempt to post a notice on the web site but the latter isn't always possible as we may not have computer and internet access. Your best bet for up-to-date information is to check the Hotline between 5:30 pm and 6:00 pm the day of the event.
Q. Are cancelled events rescheduled? A. We try to do this although it isn't always feasible.

Aug 6 08 - XC7 Pre-Race Factoids: XC7 is TONIGHT!! Find out what you need to know here

Jul 24 08 - XC6 Race Report: XC6 is a done deal. Get the scoop here

Jul 23 08 - XC6 Pre-Race Factoids: XC6 at Shuniah Mines ce soir (that's tonight for those who don't speak French)!! Course details here

Jul 2 08 - XC5 Race Report: XC5 is on the books. Find out how it went down here.

Jul 2 08 - XC4 Adjusted Results: XC4 results for Male Advanced have been adjusted. See revised results here.

Jul 2 08 - XC Pre-Race Factoids: XC5 at Shuniah Mines is tonight!! Everyone who loves Shuniah and singletrack . . . be there!! Course details here

Jun 30 08 - XC5 Pre-Race Factoids: XC5 goes down at Shuniah Mines on Wednesday, July 2. Registration starts at 6:00 pm. Racing starts at 7:00 pm.

Note that the trails at Shuniah are very wet at the moment so a course has not yet been set. Check back late tomorrow to for a further update on the course details.

Also, note that limited parking is available in Shuniah. In the past, the OPP have threatened to ticket vehicles parked along the Expressway so if you cannot find a spot to park at Shuniah, you should arrange to be dropped off or park at Centennial and ride to Shuniah.

Jun 30 08 - Update on XC Results: Results for all XC races to date are now posted. Apologies for the delay . . . the sketchy weather, rough trail conditions, limited volunteer support, and Executive vacancies have made this season particularly difficult and one of our most challenging to date. Our focus has been ensuring the events take place and are successful. With a cooperation from the weather and (hopefully) additional volunteer support, we should be back on track for the rest of the season.

Jun 30 08 - XC4 Race Report: Results for XC4 McKay are here.

Jun 30 08 - XC3 Race Report: - Results for XC3 Centennial are here.

Jun 30 08 - XC2 Mud & Mayhem Festival Race Report: - Results for XC2 Mud n' Mayhem Festival are here

May 23 08 - XC2 Pre-Race Factoids: The Mud & Mayhem Festival (aka XC2) is Sunday, May 25th. Wow, that's THIS WEEK!!

The snow is gone (barely), the trails are primed and the Mud & Mayhem Festival is upon us.

Important event information:

a) Registration: Early registration is officially over (thanks to the 80+ members who registered early . . . you will benefit from very short waits at the Mud & Mayhem festival and you have a chance to win a special prize. If you haven't registered, please come early, bring your completed forms and your money/cheque (both for membership and the festival . . . remember, for the 2008 season you need to pay before you race). Registration takes place at the Centennial Park cabins (logging camp) and runs from 9:30 am until 10:45 am (sharp).

b) Course: This season, we're working hard to be better organized, to set improved courses well in advance, and to keep you informed. On that note, the course description and maps for the Festival are posted on the Blacksheepmtb.com forums. Major thanks to Kevin Paradis and Dave MacIssac (Dave is a "roadie" but still very cool) for all their hard work plotting and GPSing the course.

c) Start Times: We expect racing to start at 11:00 am (a major reason why registration ends at 10:45 am).

d) Food & Beverages: Competitors will receive tickets for food and beverages. Food will be served starting at about 12 noon.

e) Fun & Games: Besides racing and food, we have some fun games planned. Back are the ever popular mini-me race, bike toss and bike limbo. New this year are the "Fastest Pump in the West" and "Water Bottle Toss" contests.

A handful of volunteers have stepped forward to assist us with the event but we need more help with:

- Group Leaders (to ride with Lambateur and Lambateur Lite classes to help them out and to ensure they ride the correct course)

- Course Marshalling (marshals are stationed at strategic locations along the course to ensure racers take correct turns, etc)

- Course take down (involves removing flagging tape and signs and takes about 30 minutes after the race is complete)

- Post race Fun & Games

So, if you have a parent, spouse, sibling or cousin who isn't planning to race, grab and "volunteer" them to help us out. Remember, if every member in the club volunteers just once, we would have enough volunteers to cover every event. Please donate your time and help make our club a success. If you or someone you know can help us out with any of the above, please e-mail Roy Summers (rsummers@cookeng.com) or me.

See you all on Sunday!!

Cheers,

Mike Del Nin

May 6 08 - XC2 Mud n' Mayhem Alert: Hey! The MUD N' MAYHEM is coming up soon - stay tuned for details!

May 5 08 - XC1 Race Report: XC1 is done (hey, that rhymes!!), and here are the RESULTS! (<< you need to click that word.) Thanks to everyone - check the forum for updates.

Mar 6 08 - 08 Season Schedule: The 2008 Season schedule is now available on the, er, SCHEDULE page. The '08 registration and insurance forms are ready too, on the MEMBERSHIP page.