Lost in the Rocks and Trees

Training for Crank the Shield?

Thanks to our friends at Chico Racing and Cheapskates, we are now offering a special discount to anyone who is a registered rider for the Crank the Shield 3 day stage race.  If you are a registered rider, you can get as many as two free nights of camping at Nature’s Harmony for the Lost in the Rocks and Trees this year. Those are two great events, teaming up to promote some serious fun on a bike. If you have any questions, please feel free to email nick (at) lostintherocks.com.

2010 – Major Changes

I would just like to bring you up to speed on changes we are making for the 2010 event. It will be held on July 17, 2010, and will still be “Ontario’s Toughest Mountain Bike Race”. We will be moving the start/finish out of the town of Mattawa, to the North side of the race course at a place called Nature’s Harmony. This change is being made so that we can now offer camping on both Friday and Saturday night, which will create more of a self contained race environment. For those of you familiar with the Chico or Pulse Racing events, this is the same model that we are working towards. Think camping, bonfires, good friends and good times! The change will mean some minor changes to the course, but don’t worry, it won’t make it any easier!!

The race entry fee will include BBQ dinner on Saturday night, as well as a good community bonfire, weather permitting. Camping on Friday (or Saturday) night will add an extremely reasonable $5 to the fees for the race. Friday night fees can be paid with your race entry, while other fees will be payed directly to Nature’s Harmony. They will be offering pre-payment for supper on Friday night, as well as the potential for breakfast and lunch on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. Please check out their website for information on meals and contact them directly to book camping on Saturday night or for any meals  you would like them to provide for you.

More information will be coming soon!

2010 – Plans are coming together….

Now that we are officially in “2010″, the race organizers are hard at work getting ready for our 15th annual event on July 17. The biggest change for this year looks like it will be a partnership with the “Bike Train” organization. This is a dedicated group of bike enthusiasts who organize train excursions from Toronto to outlaying areas. There will be a train heading to North Bay on Friday July 16 from Toronto, with capacity for 56 riders and their bikes (which will be in a special bike train car!). Have you thought about doing the race but were not sure how you would get to Mattawa? Well this is your chance! There will be a shuttle from North Bay to Mattawa so that all of your transportation needs are taken care of. There will also be special event deals on accommodations, which will all be announced in the near future. Stay posted to the website for more information. All the details should be arranged by early February.

Race Feedback

As we continue to try and grow this “Grass Roots” Mountain Bike Race, we strive to improve it each year. We cannot do that without feedback from you, the riders. Please send me your comments (or posted them here as a comment) so that we can make this a bigger and better event in the coming years.  If you want to get a first hand account as to why this is the “Toughest Mountain Bike Race in Ontario”, take a read of the comments from Al Laframboise (110 km course winner) at his blog.

Results are almost done

I’ve been watching the Tour and working on the results this morning. The race crew and I are just heading out for breakfast…so the results should be up by about lunch time.

Race Recap – results, photos etc

Thanks to all that participated yesterday. I’ll be working on the results to get them posted, and linking to the photos sometime today. Right now I think I need to get more sleep!

Lets Roll!!!!

Game on. The rain just stopped…”should” be a great day to throw some mud around!

The forecast is looking great!

Ok, so it’s been a bit wet today, but the rain is forecast to end overnight with race time temperatures in the mid to high teens. That could make for a fast, and perhaps somewhat dirty, day on the trails.

If you haven’t registered yet, it is not too late to register via Pay Pal or you can register tomorrow at the race.

Pre-Race Questions

If you have any questions today, feel free to send them to nick@lostintherocks.com. I will be out and about gathering the last minute items for the race tomorrow. If you have any questions, please send them over, just realize that I won’t be as quick to get your answer back. I should be able to take care of all the questions that come in this afternoon by early evening.

Race Check-in

We are in the final stretch, and the weather is looking pretty good!

All riders will be required to check in on the morning before the race. At that time you will get your t-shirt, race plate, some other goodies, and sign the waiver. We will be setting up the table for check-in at approximately 7:30 am. This will give lots of time for the long course participants to get checked in before the 9:00 am start time. Please don’t try to crowd the table five minutes before your start (9:00 for the long course, 10:00 for the short course!)

Make sure that your friends know we will be taking registrations on the morning of the race. Please ask them to bring cash or cheque as we will not have access to debit or credit card services.

Just a reminder – come with new brake pads and a fully tuned bike!!!