Hello Racers,

If you or someone you know is between ages 8 and 17 and wants to try racing on a juniors-only team this coming year they are invited to attend a dinner and informational meeting this Saturday December 15th, 5pm - 7pm at Cycle U Sand Point.  Address is 5440 Sand Point way NE.

The team is coached by myself and Lizzy Peterson (formerly coached by Amara Edwards) and we will be training for Road, Track and Cyclocross, with a bit of Mountain Biking thrown in for fun.  We also have a staff of expert coaches that may from time-to-time lead clinics and training for the team: Colin Gibson, Steve Fisher, Jessica Cutler, Vanessa Johnson, Tom Phillips as well as members of Cycle U/Apex road team and others.  We also have 2 full-service shops with professional mechanics, indoor training and support, and a bicycle buy-back program to help your bikes grow along with your legs.

Please let me know if there are any questions, you can RSVP to me directly or just show up with a parent to check it out.  We will be hanging out, eating some food, then going over our training schedule, race schedule, clinic schedule and team program, then celebrating another great year.

Thank you,

Craig Undem

Brennan Hodgins of the Cycle U Team placed 2nd in the Canadian National Cyclocross Championships in the Under 15 Men's Division.  Congratulations Brennan!

Additionally, today it was also announced that two Washington riders were selected to be a part of EuroCrossCamp.  Courtenay Mcfadden, riding for Bicycle Bluebook/Rock Lobster, was selected as one of the Elite Women and Logan Owen, riding for Cal Giant Berry p/b Specialized, was selected as one of the U23 Men.  Courtenay and Logan will be spending their holiday racing Cross in Belgium.  Congratulations on your selection and good luck!  We will be cheering for you from your home state and look forward to hearing about your experience.

The next time you see Brennan, Courtenay, or Logan make sure to say congratulations; these are some great riders representing the quality of Washington Cyclocross across the globe.

Below are the proposed list of WSBA Championship Road Races for next session.  We will confirm this schedule at our next WSBA board meeting in December.

Standard Category Championship
Road Race - North Shore Road Race
Crit – Georgetown
Time Trial – WSBA Championship in Tenino

Master Championship
Road Race – Wenatchee Omnium Road Race
Crit – Wenatchee Omnium Crit
Time Trial – WSBA Chapionship in Tenino

Junior Championship
Road Race – Wenatchee Omnium Road Race
Crit – Wenatchee Omnium Crit
Time Trial – WSBA Chapionship in Tenino

This year's annual meeting will be held on Saturday, November 9, at Garage Billiards (1130 Broadway, Seattle WA 98122), from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.  Each WSBA member club should send at least one representative; each club is entitled entitled to one vote on all matters take up at the annual meeting.  Agenda items are:

The 2013 nominating committee for the WSBA board of directors has submitted this slate of candidates for the open positions on the WSBA board:

3-year terms:
Cyclocross director: Jim Wood
East region director: Ted Chauvin
Track representative: Eric Johnson
USAC officials director: Al Cronin
West region director: David Hills

to fill out 1 year remaining in a term:
Junior development director: Patricia Lawrence

Elections will take place at the annual meeting:

Saturday, November 9, 2013
Garage Billiards (event/meeting room)
1130 Broadway
Seattle WA 98122
time TBA but probably 1:00-3:00 pm

Are you planning on organizing a cycling event in 2014?  If you are please let Tony Odgen know so he can put it on the WSBA event calendar.

Event Name
Proposed date
Alternative date
Link to event website

Tony's email address is tony.ogden@coldwellbanker.com

Hey Everyone, Cascade Bicycle Club is offering WSBA members a $3 discount on the remaining 40 tickets for their Bob Roll evening in Seattle Oct 26th. Below is the link to all the event details.  Make sure you select the WSBA ticket price when purchasing.

 http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/414254

The WSBA and JL Velo are pleased to announce the new 2013 WSBA Champion jerseys! The new design reflects the addition of North Idaho to the WSBA, with blue of the Idaho flag joining the green of Washington. An image of the new jersey design is attached.

The following 2013 WSBA Championship winners in category 1/2 Men and Women 2013 in road, criterium, time trial, and cyclocross will be awarded a jersey from the WSBA:
 
Road Race:  Todd Herriott, Sarah Carroll
Criterium: David Richter, Jocelyn Setter
Time Trial: Colby Wait-Molyneux, Michele Conrad
Cyclocross: TBD
 These individuals should place their jersey order as described below and will not be charged for the jersey.

Winners of the 2013 masters, juniors, and mens and womens category 3/4/5 WSBA championship races may purchase a champion jersey for $59 (plus applicable shipping and sales tax). Thermal long sleeve jerseys, softshell jackets, and skinsuits are also available for purchase.
 
IMPORTANT: All orders must be placed by Midnight, September 30, 2013.
To order, head here: http://www.jlvelo.com/page.WSBA.html
For ordering questions contact David Fleischhauer (david@jlvelo.com)
You are welcome and encouraged to visit the JL Velo store to try on jerseys for sizing. JL Velo is at 3425 Stone Way N., Seattle, WA  98103. Phone: (206) 634-1800. Hours: Mon-Thursday 10-6 PST, Friday and Saturday 9-5 PST
 
 
With regard to wearing champion jerseys in races, only current WSBA champions may wear a WSBA champion jersey in races and only in the specialty (road race, time trial, criterium, cyclocross) and age group (elite, junior, master) in which the title was won. In stage races, the jersey may only be worn by the current WSBA Champion in the same specialty as the stage (e.g. Criterium Champion in a criterium stage).
Non order specific questions or concerns should be directed to David James, djames98117@yahoo.com.

Greetings Cross Racers,
 
As we head into the 2013/2014 cyclocross season, a few reminders of some specific rules that makes cyclocross special.
 
Feeding
 
The rule says:
 
4A15. Feeding is generally not permitted unless specifically authorized by the Chief Referee. If authorized, there is normally no feeding in the first two and final two laps of the race, and a temperature of at least 68 degrees is recommended. All feeding takes place in the pit lane, unless the Chief Referee specifies otherwise. 
 
Weather forecast for tomorrow is calling for a high of 61 with plenty of hydration, so feeding tomorrow will probably not be on your mind. However, at future races, if it is "Africa Hot" (gratuitous Matthew Broderick quote) and you feel the need to drink and ride but there is no announcement about feeding, TAKE THE INITIATIVE and ask the officials about feeding BEFORE YOUR RACE (and I don't mean 10 minutes before). Any announcement that feeding will be allowed needs to happen with enough advance notice that everyone in your race can take advantage of the opportunity, including mixing their favorite concoction of go fast & hydrate, and recruiting a long-suffering S.O./teammate/innocent bystander to patiently stand in the pits holding their bottle.
 
The feeding dance is easy! Just roll into the pits for your bottle hand-up. You do not have to stop, but you do have to receive a bottle. You can either take a big swig and drop the bottle in the pits, again, being careful to jettison the bottle in a safe manner (i.e. don't be the racer who knocks down the row of spare wheels!) or hang-on to the bottle for future refreshment (post race celebration?), but if you later ditch the bottle be sure that it will not present a hazard to other racers and be sure to retrieve your bottle (no, souvenir seekers will not pick-up your bottle). And that's it! You are now re-hydrated and ready to leap tall barriers in a single bound!

 
Of the two options, the "for here" option is preferred over the "too go" option, as juggling a bottle while on course may result in an unintended rendezvous with dirt, grass, or even other racers. 
 
And finally, no, feeding does not mean beer hand-ups!
 
Pits
 
As I stood in the pits last Saturday, I noticed many racers unsure of how to enter the pits. The rule says:
 
4C3. A rider passing the pit entrance and continuing beyond the pit exit (yellow flagged area) may not enter that pit, but must continue around the course to the next pit. A rider not passing the pit exit, may enter that pit after dismounting and walking backwards on the course to the pit entrance.
 
Two points here. First, once you pass the pit exit you cannot go back to the pit but must proceed around the course to the next pit. You cannot enter a pit from the pit exit. Second, if you are on the course in the (short) stretch between pit entrance and pit exit, you may walk backwards on the course to the pit entrance (of course, taking care to not interfere with other racers).    
 
For your reading pleasure, the full cyclocross rules can be found at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/USACWeb/forms/rules/2013-USAC-Rulebook-Chapter4.pdf
 
Cyclocross Categories and Upgrades 
 
For 2014, changes to cyclocross categories and upgrades have been made. A pretty complete explanation of the changes can be found at http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=2627
 
Biggest changes are:
 
- New this year is cyclocross cat 5.
- Upgrading from cat 4 to cat 3 is now on points only (no upgrades solely based on experience).
- Upgrade points carry forward starting with points earned in 2012.
 
When submitting upgrade requests, please include detailed supporting information including:
 
a) name of race;
b) date of race;
c) category raced (including age category if masters);
d) result (finish position); and
e) number of racers.
 
And remember that upgrades are based on race results, and only results from USA Cycling races count for USA Cycling license upgrades.
 
 
If you have question about any of this, or any other cyclocross related issue, feel free to email me.
 
Get Cross and Cowbell On!
 
David James
WSBA Cyclocross Director

A WSBA grant supported a small group of women members who participated in Cycle the Wave on Sunday, September 15, as a means to reach out to strong recreational women riders and interest them in bike racing on a personal level.  The experienced racers were surprised by how many Wave participants were unaware of cycling opportunities in the Seattle area, and “bike racing” for most was defined as the bike leg in a triathlon.  Many had no idea there are local women’s cycling teams.  Through this effort, we made one-on-one, in-person contact with a large demographic and got them excited about more opportunities to ride their bikes on levels they had never imagined.  We hope this will bring more new faces to the introductory women’s rides this fall and to individual Meet the Team Rides--and more racers on the start line next spring!