News

It was discovered today that the one lane bridge on the original course is in the process of being replaced.  The bridge is completely gone now, so there is no “squeezing through” during next week’s race.  I was able to route a detour that only add about 2 miles to the route.  This new route does change some of the characteristics of the course by adding a second mild climb on the backside.  Here is the new course to be used next week:

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/OH/Georgetown/146128232646736855

Because this new route is longer, I have changed the number of laps and mileage some of the age groups will be doing.

• Men 30-39, 4 laps, 54 miles
• Men 40-49, 4 laps, 54 miles
• Men 50-59, 3 laps, 41 miles
• Men 60+, 3 laps, 41 laps
• Women (all ages), 3 laps, 41 miles

Hopefully, everyone will find these changes satisfactory as much of this was out of my control.

COURSE CHANGE

There has been a small change to the course being used for this year’s Ohio Masters Road Race State Championship.  While driving the course last week, it was noticed that one of the roads, Beech Grove Rd, has been completely repaved with fresh, smooth, black asphalt.  Most of this road was bypassed because there were too many potholes.  Now, instead of following Eden Rd up to Marks Rd, we will now turn directly onto Beech Grove Rd from Eden Rd.  This will eliminate the one left turn that was on the course and shortens the course by 1 mile each lap.  Since Marks Rd is a one lane road, this should make for some safer racing as the groups make their approach to the final turn on to Oak Grove Rd before the finish.

CHAMPIONSHIP ELIGIBILITY

While this race is open to all Masters riders regardless of residency, only Ohio residents are eligible for Championship Medals.  In addition, riders must also have a current USA Cycling Annual License to be eligible for Championship Medals.  All riders can compete for the available prize money.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Masters State Championship race scheduled for July 25th has been cancelled.  BigDaveSports has been asked to put together a replacement event to be held in August.  The details are still being put together, but here is what it is shaping up to look like:

• Saturday, August 28, 2010
• Georgetown, OH (Brown County) – this will be the same course used during the Ohio Spring Race Series but with a different location for parking, registration and start.  The finish location will remain the same.
• USA Cycling will provide medals for the top 3 finishers in each 5-year age bracket for both men and women (Ohio residents only).
• A Champion’s Jersey is in the works and will be presented to the winners in either 5-year or 10-year age brackets for both men and women (Ohio Residents only) depending on cost and sponsorships.
• Call-ups may or may not happen based on registration order.

The target to have all of the information together and ready will be by Friday, July 16, 2010.

We are currently working on another road race for later in the summer on Sunday, August 16th in the Cleves, Ohio area.  The course will be a loop of a little over 10 miles with the BigDave standards of a sharp turn and a nice little climb.  You will be rewarded after the climb with a spectacular view over the Ohio River that will make you feel like you are on top of the world.  You will spend the majority of the race in the river valley on a mostly straight and slightly rolling terrain.

The will be a wide variety of categories from juniors on up with all groups having cash prizes.  More details to come as they develop.

We are currently looking into throwing together a Wednesday night hill challenge for July 7, 2010.  The hill would be Brehm Rd in the northwest Cincinnati area.  There are two sides to Brehm Rd, this is the short but steep climb that averages a conservative 18% with a max around 23%.

For those who are not familiar with this road, it has been nicknamed “The 2-Headed Monster Called Brehm”.  The 2-heads refers to the fact that when you approach it from Sheits Rd, if you turn right, you get the little guy (Brehm #1) that is short and steep, and if you turn left, you get the longer (Brehm #2) stair-step climb that also has plenty of steepness of it’s own.  Brehm #1 does not like cyclist.  It has been known to reach up and grab a rider and pull them to the ground.  One rider was witnessed by several others to suddenly make a right turn during the climb and ride straight into the ditch.

This hill challenge will consist of 10 laps of a 2.5-mile loop.  Whether scoring will be determined by the overall finisher or based on points accumulated on each lap or some of the laps is still being determined.  There will be a women’s open and a men’s open.  For all of the “gravitationally challenged”, there may also be a “One Lap Attack” for Clydesdales (men 200+ lbs) and Athenas (women 160+ lbs) in which a one lap sprint around the course will be done.  This would start and finish before the regular categories start so that the skinny riders can cheer on the powerhouses as well as the big kids cheering on the little kids.

Complete details are still being ironed out, but you can expect the races to start around 7:00 pm.