2017 Stewart 45 Registration

MissJR

not in the mood for your shenanigans
Team MTBNJ Halter's
tossing this in the pile somewhere... but if you're looking for new people, maybe offering a discount to first time racers might encourage someone who's otherwise not going to race? % off to get your feet wet? not sure if you can cross reference names/registrations on bikereg to make sure it really is first timers.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
On the 24hour/Weekend event idea...

In the 90's I did like 3 XC races ever, but I did the 24HOA every single year. It was probably 1/2 my total MTB mileage for the year. Even my wife, who doesn't ride at all, would show up to race the 24HOA. Move this into modern times and still the only time my wife will ride a bicycle is during Cranks. I feel like there's more people out there like this that will sign up for events that have nothing to do with their hobbies, like Spartan races or Tough Mudder type things. People will sign up for an Ironman despite never racing, etc.
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
I appreciate the events all you guys put on. I always try to advertise. Maybe marketing can be done better....flyers, advertise on trail head bulletin boards etc. I still think it would be cool to get a race going at CR. Maybe one road closing(newmans) and just do two laps through blue, white and red with a small two way section. Thanks for all the hard work. Your events are always some of the best.
On a side note, any thoughts on making an XC platform into an enduro? Kinda like a KOM race. Some people are lazy or don't have time for endurance. It would seriously be fun to somehow see Cat 2 guys conpete directly with cat 1 and pro guys on a skills basis. Too much?
 

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
I think I would agree with the notion that some folks are just looking for something new to do. No matter what kind of event you put on, it'd probably have a shelf life of a few years unless it's designed to be so epic that it will continually draw new participants from all over. But that's a tough one to pull off because part of what makes them so lasting are things like location. The region around NJ has some pretty great riding, but it'd be almost impossible to stage a single day race like the SM100 there - unless you made it multiple laps and then it's not really the same feel. And a stage race would be tough if not impossible in Jersey. So beyond that, what do you do to keep it fresh and draw folks from far away? Better minds than mine would have to answer that. I like what you guys do at Stewart, though. I'm sorry to hear this will likely be the last time it happens because I won't be there this year, and it's the first time I won't be lining up out of all the ones you've done there.

I guess the question I would have is 'what's the goal of putting on the event?' If it's to raise funds for the team/club, then I'm sure you guys will figure out a way to put on some event each year, whether it's the same one year after year or something different every year. If it's to raise awareness of the riding opportunities in the state (which I doubt because, ya know, your flagship MTB race is not actually in the state) then you could put on an event that moves from one NJ venue to another each year - kind of like the group rides you do now, only pick one of those and make it a race each year. And if the reason is simply to get folks riding, well, you don't need a race for that. Just look at the online contests you're already doing between BIYF and the July Challenge that @jdog puts on each year through the site. You could expand those to beyond the site itself via social media if you wanted (although that could also bring the trolls which would suck -- because, FYI, there are apparently a lot of whiners on social media.) Anyway, I'm sure there are plenty of other ideas you could come up with, too. Ultimately, I think racing as a form of MTB participation will always ebb and flow. I remember the days when the MASS wasn't nearly so organized, but the fields were two or three times larger than they are now. And I also remember showing up to races where I was one of ten people to line up, and a year later that number of people had jumped by a factor of ten (e.g., Cyclemania.) One thing I would want to make sure you all know, though, is that you guys are really good at putting on races, and I've been racing a long time and I've raced pretty much all over the country at one time or another, so I can say with confidence that's not always something you can assume from promoters of any event. So selfishly, I hope you continue to do so in some form or another.

Good luck this weekend!
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
Always wondered how a race like catherdral pines does so well. Is it timing? Maybe MTBNJ needs to do a winter race series at Batsto.
 

UtahJoe

Team Workhorse
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I did this shopping with my wife and a pissed off three year old... no amount of suffering during Sundays race will match that... Swedish fish for @jimvreeland
20170714_175432.jpg
 

Sven Migot

Well-Known Member
In Oct they do a fun race in PA at Trexler Preserve, Trexxxfest. It's a XC enduro. 5 short stages. Racers go 1 at a time racing against the clock, like a time trial. Transition time doesn't count so you can recover between stages. Bonus time for wearing a costume. Really fun vibe. Great intro to racing yet fun for all levels.

BTW, 190 signed up for Stewart. Seems like a good turnout. No?
 

Bizarro

Active Member
Great read on this.. I signed up last week for this and can't wait! T-shirt is XXL i hope :). I've been around for a while and know faces better than names on here (i've ridden with some of you guys) but this is my first endurance race. Fat bike coming out for this one.. (Almost got Mr. Wookie himself to do it with me) Just going to race my own race (or treat as a ride for me) but I've been to Stewart once and liked it a lot. I'm getting into more endurance and would like to see more of these fo sur. I'll be the fat kid on a blue bike looking for some wango tango! lots of peeps signed up in the last day or two.. nice.

so this is in Rock Tavern NY or Montgomery?

thanks

cheers!
 
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Rich W

Member
Two things:

1. I had a dream that Vladimir Putin showed up at the race and that he had quite the palmares. Some people were pissed. I didn't really care.

2. IF the race does not happen next year, I would be bummed. But, I would hope that MTBNJ could still find an excuse to make Utah drag a giant freezer out into the middle of the woods and fill it with ice cream. I think that would go a long way towards easing everyone's disappointment.
 

KenS

JORBA: Director
JORBA.ORG
I am afraid that NICA is going to establish a direct pipeline into cross season. Unfortunately the direct effect NICA had on H2H this year was to detract from the parents class and eradicate the kids classes. I hope that plants some seeds but IDK if that's really going to happen. I feel like all these kids that are super fast & young (Forrest, Lando) just go to Vermont or Colorado if they are really that serious about the mountain bike. Understandably so. A series like the H2H is going to also have to weather that lull in reg numbers for a few years.

I feel that some of the race community is really missing what NICA brings to our state and the vision of the league. NICA is youth development through mountain biking, it is not a racer development pipeline. Sure, some will go on to race MASS, H2H or cross. I was stoked to see that the U15 field at the sizzler mass race was a majority NICA athletes, some of whom drove down from north jersey. Some will race in college and some may go pro, but it is completely not our focus. A vast majority of our students never raced before, and a good bit of them never rode a bike before NICA came to NJ. We had nearly 250 6th - 12th graders on mountain bikes last year, and are working hard to grow those numbers.

Races that are not kid friendly and the lack of a youth development program have eradicated the kid's classes for years. Few true beginners classes or beginner friendly courses, "adult" vibes in the infield, etc. don't help. NICA races conflicted with 2 out of 7 H2H races. Scheduling conflicts with some type of cycling event are inevitable each year. There are only so many weekends in a season, and our students are largely not attending those other events. I would love to have no conflicts with MASS or H2H, because we have race staff, coaches and parents who race. We could also use much more support from that community, which I have not always seen on a large scale. Our Gloucester race was an exception, the local race promoters and MASS racers turned out in force.

If you have any interest in a healthy future for mountain biking in NJ, please support the NJ NICA league. Our future depends on it.
 
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