Chickadee #3: THIS SATURDAY October 3rd, 8am

REMINDER: This Saturday, October 3rd, is the third and final Chickadee event of 2009. Come excited, prepared, hydrated, and fueled. Bring money, a cell phone, and a positive mental attitude.

This is truly a great route that incorporates many favorite trails. Details, maps and instructions will be distributed at the start.

Start: 8am, Tahoe-Donner Downhill Ski Area parking lot on the corner of Slalom and Snowpeak
Finish: BEHIND Cyclepaths, look for the tired cyclists drinking beer in the shade
Specs: 35miles/4 hours, mostly singletrack, some fireroad, some pavement
Route: Easy to follow, mostly well known trails
Bike to bring: Mountain bike, preferably singlespeed, but gears will certainly be tolerated
Reminders: This is an unsupported fun ride. Most riders will have a camelback, or 2 large bottles on the bike with possibly a third in a jersey pocket. Bring PLENTY of food (e.g. Extra drink mix, bars, gels, blocks, etc). Halfway through the ride there is a fire house where you can get water, or a store where you can buy food/drink.

Hope to see you there!

Chickadee #2 Results and Photos

It was hot but not too hot: 87 in Truckee, 97 in Truckee. It was far, but not too far: 115 miles, with lots of climbing: 11K'. Highlights included: some of the climbing, Virginia City, and the always-beautiful views of the Lake.

There were several flat tires, but all were handled with good attitudes. There was a stop to a friend's house and a bike shop for patch kits and spare tubes. We received some questionable looks by locals in Carson City. There were plenty of stops for food, coke, water, and at least one 30-minute nap halfway up Spooner.

Attendance was slim, possibly due to the intimidating route. This was unfortunate, as the route was truly epic, beautiful, enjoyable, challenging and rewarding. 9 total riders of varying speeds braved the 7am start time and cold temps through Martis Valley. They were quickly rewarded with reasonable temperatures for all but one of the climbs. Riders of similar speeds formed groups and rode together, which is definitely a lesson for these longer rides- it's much more fun to ride with someone! Flat tires and water stops kept the group somewhat together until the climb up Spooner, at which point the heat, distance and climb blew things apart.

Pizza and beer taste even better after spending 7 hrs in the saddle.

Photos

Results:

REMINDER: Chickadee #2, Road, Sunday Aug 16

REMINDER: This Sunday is the second Chickadee event of 2009. Come excited, come prepared, come hydrated, come fueled, and come with money, a cell phone, a positive mental attitude, and maybe a headlamp (well ok, maybe not a headlamp, but you never know).

We’ve made a “small” modification to the planned route and departure time. Details, maps and instructions will be distributed at the start. Please be ON TIME!!! It will be a long day, we don’t want to leave any later than we have to, and you don’t want to ride alone.

Start: Wild Cherries, Leaving at 7am SHARP!!! If you’re coming, plan on being ready to ride no later than 6:30am. Please park AWAY from the coffee shop- on the other side of the parking lot, or even park on the side streets by cyclepaths and ride over
Finish: BEHIND Cyclepaths, look for the tired cyclists drinking beer in the shade
Specs: 115miles, 11,000’ climbing, 5 KOMs
Route: Easy to follow, all pavement, major/known roads
Bike to bring: Road
Reminders: This is an unsupported fun ride. Most riders will have 2 large bottles on their bike, and some will carry a third in a jersey pocket. Bring PLENTY of food (e.g. Extra drink mix, 6+ bars, gels, blocks, etc). There will also be plenty of places to stop and buy food/drink if you need it.

See you there!

Chickadee #1 Results

It was fun, it was far. Their were many creative interpretations of this epic route, based, not of course on the complexity of the trail network, or the route description using only on local trail names... but probably just since everyone was trying not to let Dan get too far ahead...

Chickadee 2009 Schedule

Get ready to go long!!

June 28: 50 mile MTB

Aug 16: 90 mile road ride

Oct 3: 35 mile MTB

Chickadee #1 Report and Results

It was dusty, bloody and epic. Read about it here:
http://cwcracing.org/?section=blog&post_id=2008/07/chickadee-underground-race-1-2008.html

2008 Schedule

CORRECTION to schedule, more info to follow. Sorry for any confusion!

Chickadee #1: July 19, MTB 55 miles, S/F Blue Coyote in Sierra Meadows

All others are postponed and will be rescheduled soon.