3/7, 3/8, 3/22 Bosque MTB Stage Race
Other races coming later this summer.
OK maybe it is not a normal stage race with a 2 week gap, but we are doing the best we can.
Other races coming later this summer.
OK maybe it is not a normal stage race with a 2 week gap, but we are doing the best we can.
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Bosque is a Spanish term
for "wood," in the sense of
a forest, which, in
Albuquerque, means all the cottonwood forests near the river. Mountain
bikers have been riding the bosque as long as there have been mountain
bikes, and it is kind of a unique terrain for this part of the world,
with the twisty trails through the forest. I tried to pick the
twistiest and most technical trails I could find, to make a course that
favors MTBs over CX/gravel bikes as much as possible. (You can ride
your CX/gravel bike if you want.) Preride the area if you can. You can do just one or two stages if you want, but you will have a better chance overall of you do all stages. Stage 1 Saturday 3/7 4:30PM Duck Pond Twilight MTB Criterium Flat 1.6k (1mi) course near Bosque School. A really scenic venue with a long finishing straight that runs along a wide canal that is really more like a pond. About 45mins. Info coming soon. Approximate course on Trailforks Most of the coure is dirt road or very fast singletrack with one very narrow twisty sectoin about 200m long. Stage 2 Sunday 3/8 Rio Bravo Circuit 11AM Rio Bravo Circuit 8.7k (5.2mi) loop, 25-42k (15-25mi) depending on category. Eastside bosque north of Rio Bravo, pretty much flat with some very tight narrow sections and some fast sweeping corner sections. There will be a few logs you have to ride over. This are some of the classic Bosque trails. If you live in Albuquerque, you have probably ridden some of the course before. Note we will park near the Barelas Ballfields, not off Rio Bravo as we have in the past few years. Course on Trailforks. Parking here Stage 3 Saturday 3/22 Atrisco Circuit 5K (3m)i circuit with some tight and twisty sections and some technical bits. Maybe a little climb each lap. Some sand. About 20-30k (12-18mi) depending on category. Note the northern part of this course needs some cleaning. You can probably make out most of the trail, but some is overgrown. I am n ot going to clean it out until about a week out in case we have to change the course due to weather or something. Approximate course on Trailforks. Parking here |
I only have a gravel bike, can I do the race on it?
Definitely. This is the Bosque, which is not a normal NM MTB
race. I would say that for Stage 1 (Crit) a gravel bike or MTB
are about equally competitive, maybe with a gravel bike a little
better, for stage 2 (Rio Bravo) it is pretty close to even, a MTB might
be a 2-3% faster but a gravel bike is still very competitive, and on
Stage 3 (Arricso) there will be a few more technical sections, maybe
making a MTB maybe 3-5% better. A lot of this will depend on the
rider and which bike they are more used to. If I had a problem
with my MTB I would not hesitate to do the race myself on my gravel
bike with my normal 50mm front and 45mm rear tires. Really, modern
gravel bikes are better mountain bikes than the mountain bikes we were
racing on in the 1980s. Results and Scoring
We will score the following groups with respective prizes for overall finishing position. We mayl further subdivide categories and may do multiple start waves depending on the number of riders that sign up.
Women Combined - Gift certificates
Junior Women - Chocolate
Men Open - Gift Certificates
Men 50+ - Chocolate
Men B - Chocolate
Junior Men - Chocolate
Younger Juniors/Kids Chocolate
If you are a parent and would like your kid to have a kids race on an appropriate course, it is important to sign them up before the race so we can know what course accommodations to make.
Each stage will earn points 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. for the first 8 places. Riders will also get 1 point for starting and 1 point for finishing each stage.
Online Registration: Sign up here See who is signed up here.
Payment: You do not have to pay to register. It would be easier for me though, if you could pay on the day before the race, or the day of the race. Payment can be via PayPal to yourstruly@fastmail.com (do "Friends and Family to save me fees), Venmo @Peterhawkemorgan, or just bring some money to the race. I will have a reader there too, if you want to use plastic.
Entries received after Thursday 3/5 11.59PM will be charged a $10 late registration fee. If you are just doing the 3/22 race you can register by Friday 3/20 11:59PM and avoid the late fee.
IF YOU MISS THE EARLY REGISTRATION DEADLINE, OR IF YOU FORGET TO SIGN UP ONLINE AT ALL, YOU CAN STILL RACE, JUST SHOW UP, BUT IT WILL COST YOU AN EXTRA $10.
One Bike Rule: It might be a little faster to do Stage 1 on a gravel bike, depending on the course we end up running, but to compete for the overall you have to use the same bike for all stages. You can change tires, but not varying by more than 15% in size. If you legit break your bike, try to borrow one that is as close to the same type is possible, if you can't, we will try to work with you. All bike changes are subject to approval by the race director. You can definitely use a gravel bike or any bike you want for all the stages, but you have to make a decision and use the same bike for all stages. A gravel bike with 2.2in tires would be pretty good. As of now I am planning to use my short travel FS XC bike with 2.4in Maxxis Aspen tires. (If you legit break your bike we will work with you. If you start on a MTB and then have to go to a gravel bike on the later stage, it would not really be an advantage, the only scenario that might benefit a rider is if they races and did well on the first stage, then overnight broke your gravel bike and had to switch to a MTB, which is not very likely)
Weather:
We will run these rain or shine, but promoter reserves the right to cancel or move the course in the event of severe inclement weather or other issues.
Contact: Hawke Morgan at 505.259.6885 call or text. Email: hawke@bcdracing.com
Not USAC sanctioned, and USAC licenses, annual or one day, are not required. Helmets are required. Aside from unrestricted feeding of riders, and allowing spare wheels and technical support at the start finish, this race will be run pretty much under USAC MTB race rules.
Finishing straight for the Duck Pond Crit.
BCD
Racing Course Marking Conventions
Red and green pinflags will always be red-right and green-left. These will mark either side of the course. Always go between them with red on the right. If you start seeing green-right you are probably riding the course backwards. I will occasionally place red and green pinflags on either side of the course if it has been a while since there has been any trail marking. These may not be near any intersection. This is just to let you know that you are still on course.
Orange pinflags show where not to go, and are usually in lines of 3 or more. They will be used to block off a trail that is not on course. Do not go in between orange pinflags. Sometimes lines of course tape also show where not to go. Lines of tape and orange pinflags mean the same thing: Do not cross.
Intersections will be marked with triangular yellow arrows. Also, just beyond the intersection, I will put up at least two sets of red and green pinflags either side of the course. Sometimes there will also be orange pinflags blocking entrances to roads/trails not on course.
Always default to the more trafficked trail or road. If you are on a major trail or road, stay on it, and do not get off on any smaller intersecting trails/roads. It is not always possible to mark every possible little trail intersecting a main trail or road. If the course DOES get off a more trafficked road/trail onto a less trafficked road/trail, there will always be some marking indicating this.
