The 3.2km climb up to Witchcraft Lake was a huge success, with 24 racers taking part, making it one of our best attended climbs ever.

Series sponsor Arrowsmith Bikes went above and beyond, recruiting a crew of racers out who normally would be up on Ridgerunner mountain biking. The influx of fresh faces was a welcome rush of energy, and the post race social afterward a great reward for tired legs.

For the skimmers: results link here. 2015 results link here, for those who asked.

In the female category we had 6 battle it out, with newcomers Megan Nunez and Jessie McGarrigle (of Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club fame) making their debut! Janna Gillick took the womens course record down with a fast 9:06, with Lesley Anderson 55 seconds behind in 10:02. Taking third was Tamara Zavarise in 11:41 (50 seconds faster than last year).

The male race had 17 toe the line with Nick Kupiak taking the win in 7:40, and Elijah Buffalo less than 10 seconds behind for second. Arrowsmith's own Lazarus Difiore was just 17 seconds behind for third place putting in a strong ride. Looking at last years results in the mens, only TWO of last years 14 starters were here tonight (Nick and Lee, who took 26 seconds off his time). It's impressive to see such good numbers even with completely new faces. 

The youth male race went to Ayden Houle, who went off course with compadre Matthys Redelinghuys and decided to do a double hill climb up to the top of Northwood Rd.

The winner of the $50 Gift Certificate to Arrowsmith Bikes went to Peter McCaffery who was yet again volunteering and did a great job at the start line. Thank you also to Liz Halloran and Patrick Burnham for volunteering tonight. Tonight's best Tokyo Drift award goes to Brendan Flanagan pulling a side skid not normally seen on a road bike.

The biggest thanks has to go to Kebble of Arrowsmith Bikes for promoting the race, bringing out a huge posse to come with them, setting up flags, bringing a cooler of post race beverages for everyone, AND giving away a water bottle to everyone who came out.

NEXT WEEK: Nanaimo Lakes Road (apologies to those we told it was Aho). Pre registration is free and helps lay out the start list ahead of time, link here.  

It's almost here.. time to build on last years super popular hill climb series, complete with sponsor Arrowsmith Bikes who have stepped up to help out. All races are at 630pm, all have pre reg links. A start list will be posted at 430pm each race day, any who just show up go to the back, no questions asked. The ipad will have been programmed with the start list prior to arrival. $5 per race, or free if you bought the season pass. Racers will start 30s apart. Each race below has the latest results, a pre registration link, and the strava link. Book mark this page! On the strava link, favourite the segment as it'll then show up for you. VOLUNTEERS will be needed. To run the hill climb we need a minimum of 2 people. The main timekeeper will be at the base and will set the first rider off, leaving the assistant with a start list to set people off in 30s intervals. Main timekeeper then races to the finish line at the top and waits for the arrival.

Hill Climb 1 : Witchcraft Lake : Thursday August 4th : 6:30pm

Pre Reg link Last year 22 racers took the line in this classic climb. Results here. Strava Link here.

Hill Climb 2 : Nanaimo Lakes Road : Thursday August 11th : 6:30pm

Pre Reg link Last year 22 racers took the line in this longer climb climb. Results here. It is a long slog, 7.2km. Don't burn out too soon. Strava Link here.

Hill Climb 3 : Aho Road : Thursday August 18th : 6:30pm

Pre Reg link We skipped Aho last year, opting for 'unnamed road' up Jameson which was perhaps 'not authorized'. We're back to Aho, in 2014 10 racers took it on, with Justin Mark setting the bar with 7:01 and Lorrie Baildham with 9:27. Results here. Strava Link here. This race is out in Yellow Point, one of the best climbs around don't miss it.

Hill Climb 4 : Departure Bay Road : Thursday August 27th : 6:30pm

Pre Reg link An annual favourite, the Departure Bay Climb had a huge turnout last year with 26 (!!!) coming out to hit it hard.  Results here. Strava Link here. 

Hill Climb 5 : Doumont Road DOUBLE POINTS FINALE: Thursday Sept 1st : 6:30pm

Pre Reg link The classic. The difference maker. The standings up ender. The social afterward at the Black Bear. Results here. Strava Link here.  

A Mid Summer Cross Race

Hosted by Cross On The Rock and MIVA, being held at Diver Lake on Tuesday August 9th.

Schedule: 545pm FREE Kids Race 615pm B-Group (beginner/intermediate) 40min ish 710pm A-Group (Fast intermediates (top 15), experts, advanced) 55min ish

No sandbagging.

Volunteers please contact miva.president@gmail.com, help will be needed during the race as well as setup/teardown. There'll be draw prizes and a BBQ going. This is the social event of the summer that you don't want to miss.

Each race is capped at 50 racers. No refunds. No wait list. No extra race added as we'd be pushing daylight.

CARPOOL! There are about...8 parking spots at Diver Lake. We recommend you parking nearby at Country Club Mall which is about a 5 minute bike ride away. There'll be a place to store your dry bag at the race start/finish. We want to keep locals and residents happy so please show respect and don't park in someones driveway, and zero garbage left behind.

All pre registration. This will fill up so get in now. Sign up LINK HERE

PDF attached with hot link to sign up on 'pre register here' button. Spread the word. This race will sell out faster than a Hip concert. Must provide valid Cycling BC number during online pre registration.  GO!

MIVA_DiverLk_CX_Poster

The 2016 TT Series was a huge success, with 69 racers taking part and 336 race entries over the 14 races. We saw an average of 24 racers per TT, with the biggest year to year increase showing in the female group. A very competitive, yet social and supportive group showed up week after week and pushed their limits. It was great to see everyone push themselves to get better, racing the TT week after week makes you FAST. The Overall Standings Link is here. All racers times are shown here when expanded. Bookmark this and set your goals for 2017.

Womens Category Congratulations to LORRIE BAILDHAM for picking up her first overall TT championship! Lorrie is the 2 time reigning hill climb champ as well, and only got faster and faster as the TT season went on. 3 time champ Janna Gillick took second place, winning 9 races and setting course records top to bottom. The final spot on the podium goes to Rose Houle, who made a welcome return to the TT series finishing the season with 1 win and 2 second place finishes. Wendy Hicks and Rose tied for most TT's, racing in 12 of the 14 races MIVA held. Special thanks to the Duncan group who came out to give one 20k a shot, and ended up racing the rest.

Mens Category PAUL AUTON managed his second straight TT Overall Points Championship, winning 8 TTs and finishing with 131 points. Second place goes to 2014 points champ Patrick Burnham (100pts), and third place goes to Matthys Redelinghuys (75pts). Patrick also set the bar for most dedicated, racing 13 of 14 events.

Youth Female Perennial champion ABIGAIL HARE took the title in her final year as a junior, edging out Meghan Gillmore, who managed to set both course records this year in the 15k and 20k.  Abigail made the long drive from Parksville to race 11 events this season.

Youth Male Former BMX standout, and rookie sensation AYDEN HOULE took the TT by storm by winning all 12 of the events he entered, and setting new course records in both distances (as well as unofficially in the 40k). Ian Gillmore proved his hard work keeps paying off and has a long bright future in TT as he's only 10 years old and beating some adults. 2-time champ Aiden Hare rounded out the top 3 with another great year. These 3 were some of our most dedicated, only missing FIVE races total amongst the three of them combined. Ian Gillmore raced 13/14, with Ayden and Aiden pairing off with 12 races each. 

BAR AWARD (Best All-Around Rider) This award goes to the male and female who rides the fastest OVERALL average on all 3 TT distances. The trophies for this prize are the old OBB Wheelers Cups, full of history and a few stories of where they've been. Congrats to Janna Gillick who took the top spot at 38km/hr average speed, and to Paul Auton who averaged 42km/hr.

The biggest thank you has to go to our series sponsor, Rock City Cycles, who stepped up yet again to lend their support to cycling in the mid island. On that thought, it's time for a giveaway! $50 Gift Card from Rock City Cycles goes to....Lucky number 155 on our membership list! Congrats to Tamara Zavarise!

Last but not least, THANK YOU to all of the volunteers who made this race possible. There is so much work behind the scenes in planning, permitting, promoting, and running these events, all the help is truly appreciated. This is MIVA's 6th year of holding TTs here, and prior to that OBB (now Rock City Cycles) ran the series for years before that. Thank you to those who came out to act as turn around marshall, holder, spotter, and timekeeper. Thanks to Patrick Burnham for setting up cones and signs and taking them home week after week. Thanks to Don Gillmore and Jason Hare for stepping in to timekeep when needed without hesitation, and to regulars like Glenn Houle and Peter McCaffery who both made big efforts to come support the races.

You have your times and your baselines, here's to everyone beating them in 2017.

The 2016 Rock City Cycles TT Series hosted a huge turnout for the hottest race of the year, in its finale. 27 racers showed up, and we welcomed out a familiar face with one of MIVA's founding fathers, Dave Kenny coming out to race.  Dave Steen again made the trek from Thetis for his 9th TT this season and decided to break his season best by 37 seconds! A warm headwind off the start kept most of the field from PB'ing, except for Janna Gillick who set another course record 2 days after winning the crit race outright, and Eli Buffalo who knocked 20 seconds off his best. For the skimmers: Results Series Standings 15k Course Records

Course Records (1) Janna Gillick 23:04 (-0:05)

Personal Bests (2) Janna Gillick 23:04 Elijah Buffalo 21:22

Janna Gillick (ATAC) took the win tonight, setting the new womens course record at 23:04! Lorrie Baildham took second in 24:57 on her way to winning her first overall TT points championship. While Glenda Harling made her 15k debut and took third in 27:29. MIVA welcomed newcomer (to the TT) Caitlin Kenny out tonight as well, who took her cross bike out for it and then proceeded to win tonights grand prize $50 gift card from Rock City Cycles!

Don Gillmore came out to race the 15k, even as he trains for an entirely different cycling discipline, and took the win with a 21:12 (42.4km/hr). Eli Buffalo was less than 9 seconds behind, 20 seconds faster than his last run at this last month. Taking third place was Peter Stevenson in 21:39 (41.6km/hr). Paul Auton took 4th in 21:54 as he went with his road bike tonight instead of his normal TT setup, and clinched the overall TT mens championship in the process.

The youth female saw Abigail Hare take the win and the overall championship, and Ian Gillmore win tonights race, his 13th TT of the year.

Thank you to Peter McCaffery for cycling out to act as turn around marshall. Peter's support of cycling in the mid island region is unmatched.

Stay tuned for a series wrap up post, coming soon. Congrats to everyone who came out tonight!

NEXT Thursday its hill climb time. 5 races, 5 Thursdays. Witchcraft climb is on deck, pre reg here!

Tomorrow morning at 8am check back for the Hill Climb Series post with all the info you can handle.

Thank you as always to series sponsor ROCK CITY CYCLES!