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MABRA Needs You To Wear A Blue Shirt!

When the holiday seasons goes off the back, racing season comes into view as that breakaway just on the horizon.  Yes, it is time to start thinking about our 2012 season!  MABRA needs you!

At the regional and state levels, the planning for 2012 is well underway and features a very full schedule.  MABRA's schedule can be viewed here and the Virginia Cycling Association can be viewed here.  Racers will notice that there is very little white space on the calendar and -- for the first time -- it includes an aggressive track schedule.  Details about track and, of course, cyclocross are forthcoming.  

To make it all a reality, new officials are needed! Desperately!

According to Jim Patton, MABRA Officials' Coordinator, last year's "response was outstanding and the class of 2010 was one of the best we've ever had."  Despite this quality, nearly 50% of the clinic attendees never worked an event due to the transient nature of the MABRA region.  Thus, there is always a need for new recruits. This year there is a special need for help in the following areas to help keep promoters' costs down: north in the I-95 corridor (especially Delaware); north in the Frederick and Hagerstown areas; and west along the I-66 corridor.

The entry level USA Cycling Official's training takes one day plus a little study preparation -- and there is NO cost to the new official.  The first Entry Level Official's clinic is scheduled for February 4 in Odenton, MD -- and there will be other options for training.  Check out this link to learn all you'll need to know and send any candidate information directly to Jim Patton.  He'll make it easy for you to make it easy for racers to make it hard on race day.

DCMTB brings its weekly Wednesday Night CX clinics back to Fort Reno Park this September

September is just around the corner, and DCMTB is happy to announce the return of its annual Wednesday night series of cyclocross clinics at Fort Reno Park in NW Washington DC.

All levels of riders are welcome. First timers are encouraged. All you need is a bike with knobby tires and a desire to learn.

Clinics start promptly at 6:00 pm at the Fort Reno Park bandstand. Please arrive early to register  This is a USA Cycling non-competitive event.

Let our area’s CX Superstars get you tuned up for a great CX season.

• Sept. 1st: Mike Birner/Mid-Maryland Coaching- CX "Crash course" – all the basics of cyclocross. Everything you’ll need to know for your first race.
• Sept.  8th: Marc Gwadz/DCMTB- breaking down some CX skills – dealing with barriers, cornering, and more.
• Sept . 15th: Wes Schempf/ C3  finding and keeping speed on the course.
• Sept. 22nd: Arley Kemmerer  DC-ChiX women only. Arley will focus all aspects of CX, with tips for the woman racer.

* To offset the costs from USA Cycling, we’re asking attendees with a USAC license to pay $1 for insurance. If you don¹t have a USAC annual license, the fee will be $5 for a one-day non-race license.

For more details contact Raul Rojas or Dave Vannier.

See you at Fort Reno this September.

DCCX is rolling out the welcome mat for women racers with a special DCChiX clinic.

Washington, D.C.'s only cyclocross race is already offering an equal payout for elite women and men, with a $1,000 purse going 10 deep. The Cat 1,2,3 Women's race is sponsored by Whole Foods Market.

Now newbie female crossers can bone up on their skills the day before.

Hub Racing's Arley Kemmerer, the 2009 Ed Sanders elite winner, will host a free clinic for women racers on Oct. 24 at 2pm. The clinic takes place on the Armed Forces Retirement Home -- on the DCCX course. This will give those women signed up to race on Sunday a chance to go over the course in advance with a seasoned pro.

Topics for the 90-minute women's clinic will include mounting/dismounting, cornering, line selection and starts.

Any woman who is registered to race can sign up for the clinic at no extra cost. To participate, you must first pre-register for DCCX and then send an email to DCMTB Clinic. The clinic is free, but riders must email to the address above in advance in order to be able to get on the grounds for the event.

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DCCX - Presented by Family Bike Shop - is Washington, DC's only cyclocross race. The third-annual event will be held on October 25th on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home. The historic venue near Georgia Ave. in the heart of Washington is off-limits to the general public the rest of theyear.

The race, sponsored by the DCMTB team, is part of the nine-part series of the Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association. DCCX registration opened last month and there are already 263 pre-registered racers. Proceeds from the race are donated to help veterans living at the facility.

   To register for DCCX go to BikeReg:
www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9416