Thursday September 9:

The Glade Trail will be open for practice via self shuttle. Just drive to Timberline Lodge and park, then ride past the lodge toward the Magic Mile Chairlift.  The track will be open from this point (6,000′) on Thursday. The trail will be marked for practice, but IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, so keep an eye out for people on the trail.

Friday September 10:

Registration: 9am-2pm at Ski Bowl in Government Camp. Show up and you are in! Plenty of room left. Registration includes lift tickets for Timberline and Ski Bowl.

Practice 10am-1:30pm.  Riders will catch the shuttle in the Ski Bowl Parking Lot to Timberline. From the lodge, riders can catch the Magic Mile Chairlift (FREE LIFTS AT TIMBERLINE COURTESY OF FLUIDRIDE)  to the base of Palmer Glacier (all day ticket 10am-5pm) for the new top section of the track. This section is all warp speed lunar looking fire road, and adds about 4 minutes of high speed action to last years track. Racing starts at 3pm, with Pro’s riding first. This track starts at 7,000′ and descends to 3,000′ in less than 20 minutes! There is a some pedaling in the bottom section of the track, so be sure to save some energy.

Fluidride Enduro DH #2 | Stage 1 | September 10, 2010 | Mt. Hood Timberline, OR from Fluidride on Vimeo.

Saturday September 11:

On Saturday, we’ll be racing the middle section of Friday’s track, starting at Timberline Lodge, and ending in Government Camp (no chairlift needed). This run is about 2,300 vertical feet with no real need to pedal at all and is all about pure speed. Racing starts at 11am. Shuttles will run from Ski Bowl starting just before 10am. There is no formal practice this day, but riders are welcome to drive themselves up for a practice run in the morning, then can catch the shuttle to the top for their race. There will be shuttles provided for riders to get their cars from Timberline at the end of the day.

After descending into Government Camp, we’ll have an afternoon party at The Ratskeler. There will be food specials and $2 PBR’s for racers looking to unwind after the first two days of racing. There is no formal practice for Sunday until Sunday morning.

Sunday September 12:

Location: Ski Bowl. Sunday’s race will be the shortest stage, starting at the top of Ski Bowl and ending at the lodge. This run is about 5 minutes in length, and descends about 1400′. This will be the most technical portion of the race. All riders will descend the same run, which will include sections of various Ski Bowl trails. This run will be slightly different in layout than our normal DH races. A full DH bike will still be the fastest on this track, but it will be able to be ridden on a smaller bike too. Petr from Hurricane Racing is paying for the lifts at Ski Bowl, so be sure to thank him for your pass when you see him. Practice 9-11am with Racing at 12pm. Awards directly following event. There will be cold Pilsner Urquell served in the Beerstube for only $1 after the race for those 21 and over. We’ll also be having a raffle at the race courtesy of Momentum Bikes in Sandy Oregon, which will include a Mountain Cycles Battery Slopestyle full suspension frame for one lucky winner. Check the bike out here.

Rules: RIDERS MUST WEAR FULL FACED HELMETS FOR ALL STAGES. Riders must ride the same frame and fork for all three stages, but may switch any other parts in between stages. The winner of the event will be decided by the fastest combined times over the three stages. Series winners will be decided by the fastest combined times from Dog River and the Mt Hood 3 Day Race.

GREAT LODGING DEALS:

WINDELL’S: Windell’s Ski and Snowboard Camp, located about 25 miles from Ski Bowl is offering an amazing deal for our racers. Bed’s (very nice shared bed rooms with separate living rooms with Flat Screen tv’s etc) are $15/nt Thursday- Saturday night. All you can eat breakfast is an additional $5. For those who haven’t been there, this is perhaps the ultimate playground. Riders staying Windell’s will have access to the areas world class dirt jump and park style areas for unlimited shredding. Call Tim Windell at 503.539.4445 to book your spot! Check out the goods at http://windells.com/. We’ll have the place pretty much to ourselves since they are in between seasons right now.

COLLIN’S LAKE RESORT: Collin’s Lake Resort has a great deal going on their very large Chalet style houses. The places are really nice and HUGE. They are 3 stories, with 2 bedrooms and two bathrooms, full kitchen and living room. They also have large garages in most, so you can park inside, and still have plenty of room for working on bikes. There is also a washer and dryer in each unit. Pricing is $310 for two nights. These units are just across from Ski Bowl, in Government Camp, centrally locating you for the event. Call 503 928-3498 to book your spot.

Sunday mornings race started off with the Evil Bikes Men’s Pro Qualifier, where Mikey Sylvestri (Specialized/All Ride) showed riders how it’s done by posting the fastest time ever on the track with a blazing 3:48. In the final, Sylvestri was again the fastest, posting another great run to take the win with a 3:49. Charlie Sponsel (Evil Bikes) came back from a slow qualifier due to a mechanical and some rough falls in practice to claim a hard earned and well deserved second place. Kyle Thomas (Evil Bikes) took home the bronze in the 15 rider Pro field.

In the Loeka Pro Women’s division, Jamie Reese (Bike Hub) backed up her win from the last round, with Chelsea Stevens (Bike Hub) taking the runner up spot. The Cat 1 Junior Men’s race was closely contested and very fast, with Adam Ransavage (Evil Bikes) taking his first major win over Brian Mullen (DropnZone, Transition) and Cole Wetherell (Project 529/Santa Cruz).

Round 4 of the Fluidride Cup Technical DH Series is scheduled for August 20-22nd. There will be full practice offered on BOTH Friday and Saturday. Originally, we were scheduled to have a long break during Saturday’s practice for a wedding, but now have the schedule sorted to allow a full weekend of riding. For those who haven’t been to Schweitzer before, come ready to ride. This track is going to be big and long, with over 2,000 vertical feet of descent per run. We’ll hope to see you there!

Complete Round 3 results Here: Copy of Fluidride Cup 3 Skibowl

Here is the Maxxis Post Race Video, produced by Andy Tran – Enjoy!

The FAT TIRE FARM is kicking down big time for this event, with extra cash for the Pro Class. The Evil Men’s DH will boast a $1,000 1st place purse, while the Loeka Women’s Pro DH will offer a $500 1st place purse.

MAXXIS is hooking it up for amateur riders, with a Maxxis Minion 3c for the winner of every class! This is an $80.00 prize – and there is one for every amateur category.

There is a NEW CATEGORY 2/3 woods section which has been added to the bottom part of the course, making the CAT 2/3 track, long and challenging. The most technical  woods portions of the track will now offer line options for riders of varying abilities. There have also been a few changes to the Pro Track for 2010, with the re-introduction of the log step down at the bottom of the woods.

REGISTRATION:

Online registration closes Wednesday 7.08 at midnight. On site registration is also available at the following times:

FRIDAY: 10:30am-6pm

SATURDAY: 7:30am-6pm

SUNDAY: 7:30am-8:30am

Race Registration is $49.00. Lifts are $34 for 3 days (Friday-Sunday), $24 for 2 days (Saturday-Sunday) or $10 for race day only.

PRACTICE TIMES:

FRIDAY: 11am-4pm. All Categories.

SATURDAY: CAT 2/3 8am-12pm. CAT 1/PRO 2pm-6pm.

SUNDAY: 8am-9:15 with racing beginning at 10am.

All categories will take one race run. Pro and Cat 1 Juniors will have a qualifier Sunday morning to decide starting order for the final.

We couldn’t make this happen without our sponsors, so be sure to support these great companies: FAT TIRE FARM, BIG TREE BIKES, CLIF BAR, LOEKA, BRASHER’S AUTO AUCTION, DAKINE, ALPINESTARS, EVIL BIKES, ARROW RACING, PINKBIKE, MAXXIS and BETTER LIFE HEALTH AND FITNESS.

We were a bit short handed at the last event because of Hurricane’s Greg Aldrich’s absence due to a Gall Bladder removal and the birth of his newest family member Jonah. Congratulations go out to Greg and his family. We are looking forward to having you back at the races in September!

Here are the full race results: fluidride cup 2 dh @ skibowl

NEXT RACE: Mt Hood Ski Bowl July 9-11. Look for big purses courtesy of FAT TIRE FARM. $1,000 1st place Pro Men and $500 1st Place Pro Women.

Thanks go out to Evil Bikes, Big Tree Bikes, Fat Tire Farm, Shiloh Cyclery, Arrow Racing, Maxxis, Clif Bar, Loeka, Brasher’s, Dakine, Alpinestars, Better Life Health and Fitness and Pink Bike for their support of the Fluidride Cup.

For now, here is a video by Syndrome Racing’s Andy Tran – check it out!

PRACTICE TIMES:

Friday: 11am-4pm All Categories

Saturday: 8am-12pm Cat 2/3  -  2pm-6pm Cat 1/Pro

Sunday: One hour of practice prior to racing. Times to be posted at event.

LIFT PRICES:

Friday-Sunday $34

Saturday & Sunday $22

Sunday Only $10

Racers will be required to purchase lift passes after registering. All passes will be purchased at the ticket window. We will no longer issue tickets at registration. All racers must have a lift pass in order to practice – Lift passes are not included in the registration price. Big thanks go out to Kirk at Ski Bowl for the special lift pricing.

Additional Info:

Mt Hood is a big track, with more than 1400 vertical feet of drop. The tracks at Ski Bowl start at the tree line with lots of rock, and descend into some great NW style woods at the bottom. Pro Purses in the Men’s DH will go ten deep, with the winner taking away $500.00. The Loeka Women’s DH will pay 3 deep, with the fastest woman taking home $250.00. As usual, we’ll have prizes for category winners, and lots of drinks and snacks to keep riders charging. The series is decided by the rider with the most points in their best three races, including the final at Mt Hood, so if this is your first Fluidride Cup of the year, you are still in contention for the overall series. See you there!

Pink Bike/CBR rider Tyler Gorz ended up taking the overall in a blazing fast Pro Men’s Division with a time of 3:03.94. Second place went to Evil/SRAM/Dakine rider Kenny Smith. Third place went to the top US Rider at the event – Luciano Worl (Corsair/Atomlab/Marzocchi). Nice work Looch!! Kevin Bartowski and Ken Faubert (Dunbar) rounded out the top five. It was great to see such a large (27 riders) and competitive Pro Men’s field at Whistler.

The Loeka Pro Women’s Division saw Danice Uyesugi (CCN/Velocity Cycles/Intense Canada) take the win over Whistler Icon Katrina Strand (TLD/Oakley) and Seana Wright (Rocky Mountain/Ozzie Cycles).

While there was a lot of competition in every category, one of the stand out stories of the weekend was with the younger riders, and the amazing speed shown by Canada’s Junior riders. There were 26 riders in the Junior Cat 1 Class alone, only one less than the Pro Class. Even more impressive were the times being turned out by these young riders. Nicholas Geddes of the Norco Factory Team turned a very impressive 3:04.21, good enough for the win and the 2nd fastest overall time of the day. Tyler Allison (Trek/Nike 6.0) took the second spot on the podium with Chase Marshall (Knolly/Full Boar/Sun Peaks) rounding out the top three. Canadian junior riders took the top 7 spots, with US rider Brian Guse (Evil/Smith) taking 8th.

On the women’s side, 14 year old Holly Feniak is showing signs of some serious speed and World Cup potential. Unfortunately Holly just missed her start and was given a DNS for the race. The BCC officials at the start were nice enough to give Holly a chance to do an exhibition run which would not officially count as a result. On her run Holly posted the fastest time of any woman with a crazy fast 3:34.32 on the Pro/Cat 1 track. Her times put her in the mix with the Pro Men. This girl is super fast and very driven – you are going to hear a lot about Holly in the years ahead. We’ll hope to see Holly at future FRC rounds.

Racing is alive and well in the NW. In addition to the Evil Bikes/Fluidride Cup, there was a BC Cup happening as well as a Super D race in Oregon. A total of almost 600 NW racers raced gravity events over the weekend…incredible!

Thanks go out Greg Aldrich, Petr Kakes and the rest of the Hurricane Racing crew for putting on such a great event. Big thanks go out to Whistler – we couldn’t have done any of this without the help of Whistler’s Jeremy Roche and Sebastian Freemont and the rest of the Whistler team. Thanks also go out to Mike Wilson and the whole crew at the GLC for making us feel so welcome in Whistler. Big props to Lindsey Harper and Integrated Projects Group for keeping our web sites up and running and for generally helping us keep organized. A debt of gratitude is also owed to superhero Greg Norman for his efforts to make this event go off smoothly and with flair…for those who know Greg, you know he’s the hardest working guy at the races – thanks Greg!

The Fluidride Cup is made possible by our sponsors, without whom, we would not be able to continue our racing efforts. Evil Bikes, Clif Bar, Seattle’s Big Tree Bikes, Portland Oregon’s Fat Tire Farm, Whistler’s Bike and Bean,  Arrow Racing, Maxxis, Loeka, Brasher’s Auto Auction’s, Pinkbike, Dakine, Alpinestars and Better Life Health and Fitness made this series possible, so be sure to support these excellent companies.

I’d also like to thank Claire and Kevin from British Columbia Cycling (BCC) for officiating the event – great job guys.

We’ll hope to see you all on Mt Hood for round 2 of the Fluidride Cup Technical DH series in June 25-27th for some more ripping! Remember that only 3 of the five races in the series are counted toward the overall (must include the final at Mt Hood), so if you couldn’t make it to Whistler you are still able to compete in and win the series in your category.
Full Results here:
Fluidride Cup 1 whistler

On Site Registration Hours: Friday 9am-6pm. Saturday 8:30am-4pm.

Special Lift Prices with proof or registration: $39 for Friday and Saturday, and $11 for Sunday. Tickets are good throughout the park from 10am-5pm.

Due to late season snow pack, we’ve made a couple of changes to the tracks. Here are the tracks we’ll be running this time around:

AMATEUR (minimal changes)

-       Angry Pirate (upper section)

-       Crabapple Turns

-       World Cup Singletrack (instead of Samurai Pizza Cut as it offers better flow for racing)

-       Ho Chi Min

-       Longhorn to the finish (located near the top of the Bone Yard under the chair lift in the wide open area)

PRO/Cat 1 (some changes)

-       Schleyer (instead of Upper Whistler DH )

-       Detroit Rock City

-       Stay on Detroit Rock city (what we used to call Lower National)

-       Exit next to the Joyride exit

-       Cross summer road to the same finish at the AMATEUR COURSE

There are tons of great deals on hotels in Whistler -  come on up to the Worlds premier Mountain Bike Park for some great racing!