June 21st, 2009
Race is on Sunday this year!
Back for the 4th year, with the support of Methow Cycle and Sport and the Methow Valley Sport Trail Association. This year MVSTA & Joe Brown of Methow Cycle and Sport take the lead and MP takes a back seat as a volunteer as the race will now be the domain of the folks from Winthrop. This was our plan at the inception of our event four years ago, to bring mountain bike racing back to the Methow and seed eventual control and promotion of the event to the local crew.
Joe and Juile will take great care of the event and bring it to newer heights and MP plans on making an annual pilgramage to be a volunteer...and maybe even race the event!!
FUN ride. $15.00 gets you on the course, covered by the insurance and entered into the raffle for the cool swag. It's a great way to get out discover the trails and test the trails of mountain bike racing but without competitive stress. This is a great thing for folks just looking to have a good time or to see how they may fare in a race setting.
Course
Lower Loop-Appox 11 Miles: This is for the most part, the same as the course used in previous races at Sun Mt. The course begins on Thompson Ridge Rd. adjacent to Chickadee trailhead and turns right onto Little Wolf road for about 300 yards. It will utilize a variety of small singletrack trails which will turn into Fox and then Black Bear. Riders will follow Black Bear all the way until it crosses the road and joins Patterson Lake trail. Riders will follow this all the way until Radar Creek which is a gentle climb all the way up until the course turns right onto Magpie for some fun singletrack. Riders enter Chickadee for the completion of the lower loop.
Upper Loop Approx 7 Miles: From Chickadee, the course joins Thompson Ridge road and then turns right on Little Wolf Road. The course veers to left and narrows onto Crisscross and gently climbs for about 3/4 mile. The course then revisits Thompson Ridge Rd and proceeds to the right and a gradual climb for a mile or so. Then the course leaves Thompson Ridge Rd and joins Inside Passage. After a brief stint, the course veers to the right and enters Petes Dragon--a single track climb that stings. This continues for a couple of miles. Petes Dragon then joins Upper Inside Passage just below the Pass on Thompson Ridge. At the crest of the Pass, the course joins the road again for about a quarter-mile and takes an acute left turn to a steep climb which will test the best of the climbers. This trail winds its way to the very top of the mountain and includes some very difficult pitches. Once over the crest, riders will welcome riding the old downhill course. This is a very fast and flowing descent with some tricky sections so riders will need to be aware and exercise caution. Once the downhill course meets Upper Indside Passage, there is a ripping double track descent that is wicked fast. This continues onto Lower Inside Passage which includes some twisty sections and is fast also. Then the course enters Magpie for some more singletrack and ultimately Chickadee. Pro/Experts will get the opportunity to do the upper loop for a second time.
Click above for course map (jpg).
Schedule
| 10:00 AM | Open Men (Category #1) | 1 Lower Loop, 2 Upper Loops |
| 10:02 AM | Open Women (Category #2) | 1 Lower Loop, 2 Upper Loops |
| 10:10 AM age classes @ 1 min. intervals | all Expert Men & Expert Single Speed (Categories #3-5, #8) | 1 Lower Loop, 2 Upper Loops |
| 10:20 AM | all Expert Women & Jr. Expert Boys & Girls (Categories #6-7, #9) | 1 Lower Loop, 2 Upper Loops |
| 10:25 AM age classes @ 1 min. intervals | all Sport Men & Clydesdale (Category #10-12, , #16, #28) | 1 Lower Loop, 1 Upper Loop |
| 10:30 AM | Sport Single Speed (Category #15) | 1 Lower Loop, 1 Upper Loop |
| 10:32 AM | all Sport women & Sport Jr. Boys & Girls (Categories #13-14, #17,) | 1 Lower Loop, 1 Upper Loop |
| 10:35 AM age classes @ 1 min. intervals | all Beginner Men (Categories #18-20) | 1 Lower Loop |
| 10:40 AM | Beginner Women (Category #21) | 1 lower loop |
| 10:45 AM | all Beginner Jr. Boys & Girls (Categories #22-27) | 1 lower loop |
| 10:50 AM | FUN RIDE (Category #FUN) | 1 lower loop |
| 2:00 PM | "Free" Indie Kid's Race (10yrs & under) | staging area |
| 2:00 PM | AWARDS CEREMONY FOR ALL CLASSES | staging area |
Registration
Day-of registration opens at 8:00am and closes approximately 10 minutes before race start.
ONLINE PRE-REGISTRATION: Want to save time on registration day or need to use your credit card? Try our new online registration through BikeReg.com. For more information or to pre-register, click here.
Directions
From I-5 to Burlington. Head east on HWY 20. Once in Winthrop take right at stop sign--its the only 4 way stop in the valley. Cross bridge and Turn RIGHT onto TWIN LAKES RD / WHITE AVE. Continue to follow TWIN LAKES RD. Turn RIGHT onto PATTERSON LAKE RD. Follow for several miles--you will pass Patterson lake on your left. You will see a sign for Chickadee Trailhead on your left. Allow for 3.5 hours travel time, more if Friday afternoon/evening.
Alternate: I-90 to Cle Elum. Follow signs to HWY 97/Blewitt Pass. Follow 97 to HWY 2 and take right. Follow to Wenatchee and cross river to HWY 97 (east side of the Columbia River) Follow north until you see HWY 153 on your left right before Pateros. Follow 153 and turn left on Twin Lakes Rd. Follow for a few miles and turn left on Patterson Lake Rd. Follow for several miles--you will pass Patterson lake on your left. You will see a sign for Chickadee Trailhead on your left. Allow for 3.5 hours travel time, more if Friday afternoon/evening.
If you are looking for great camping close to the race site, check out Big Twin Lake Campground. This beautiful privately owned campground is located three miles out of Winthrop on Twin Lakes Road; the route from town to Sun Mountain. They love mountain bikers!! Check out their website or e-mail them at bigtwinlake@comcast.net. They have RV sites and tent sites, showers, swim dock, boat rentals and wireless internet
