list of photos and video

photos taken by:

• Tomáš Vitvar of bajk.cz  http://www.bajk.cz/web/data/clanek.asp?id_clanek=815
• Martin Hubka of single-speed.cz  http://picasaweb.google.cz/singlespeed.cz/SSMCR2009Cory?feat=directlink
• 
  

video taken by:

• Lukáš Klezl of Bicycle Café and sportkamery.cz  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjlOmpoL5HI
• 
  

New POV Race Video!

Great video of the race produced by the racers (Lukáš Klezl) of Bicycle Café and SportKamery.cz (Prague helmet cam specialists) filmed with a VIO POV camera!

video © www.sportkamery.cz

MČRSS 2009 maps

preliminary results! UPDATED!

Thanks everyone who came out. 

The weather was cold but the trail was a good challenge and it seemed like everyone had a great time. We had 24 riders start and most finished :) Plus we had about 8 photographers.

If you took pictures (or know someone who did), please send us an email to arrange for us to get them. We would like to get all images taken, in full quality to send them for publishing in bike magazines - of course with your authorship noted (either by email, cd by post, or our ftp.)

photo © Tomás Vitvar

finish #      name                    number    time    (incl. bonuses)

MEN

1. David Kramár              01      1:51   (-2min TT)

2. Frank Salaquarda       03      1:52   (-5min Šance)
3. Pavel Šafář                 05       1:52   (-3min TT)

4. Jan Dubec                  10       1:54   (-1min TT)

5. Tomáš Mífek               23       1:54   (-2min)

6. Libor Oplt                    02       1:54  
7. Václav Svatoš             08       1:54  (-2min)
8. Petr Beneš                  09       1:59 (+5min, noTT)
9. Cory Benson               22       2:07   

10. Jakub Malý                04       2:12

11. RB Rider                   14        2:19  (-1min)
12. Miloslav Kubát          19        2:21
13. Mikko Westberg        11        2:22
14. Nick von Tsurikov      17       2:24
15. Zuzmen                     15       2:25
16. Ondřej Tančouz        18        3:11      
17. Jiří Němeček             20       3:11

(thought to maybe have completed the course but did not sign in at the time trial)
? Marcel od Víšků         16       2:??

(did not finish the complete course, instead more wisely opted to enjoy the beer and warm fire)  DNF - 06 Jirka Kraus, 07 Michal Roškot, 12 Zdeněk Dokoupil, 21 Petr Kuba, 24 Lukáš Klezl

 

WOMEN

1. Jitka Mimránková       13       2:23

The results are from our rough notes :) of the top riders who finished the complete 27km+ snowy course. If you think we missed you or the above is wrong, send us an email, and we'll try to correct it.

-C+V

trail conditions update...

So I marked most of the course today and rode all of it,

As was expected the trails got a nice covering of snow overnight. Also they have frozen in the last week, which completely eliminated the threat of mud. With that came a few slippery spots, though. The run up near the beginning is going to be a bit of a struggle (but worth the nice single track at the top!) Two normally rideable climbs got a bit more technical because of the hard frozen ground. They will probably now require at least a little bit of walking from most riders, which should help warm the toes back up :)

All in all the course seems even a bit nicer with the cold and snow. Some spots are a bit slower, some are even faster with the frozen ground, but everything is even prettier than before, and the views are even more dramatic with the hills covered in snow.

A couple of short steep or off-camber downhills are pretty slippery (not icy though, just snow covered leaves and roots), and everyone will need to be careful. But they are pretty easy to see from a ways away; so they shouldn't sneak up on you.

We would recommend wearing shoes with metal toe-spikes (if you have them) or at least good traction for the few hike-a-bike spots. It was -7°C; and I was quite warm today, actually (sweating with a thin wool base tshirt + a medium weight long sleeve shirt + a wind proof softshell; single pair of smartwool ski socks + winter bike boots - no shoe covers.)

99% of the course is sheltered from any wind, and our 2 support spot are both out of the wind, too. If you want to bring a small bag with an extra warm layer or jacket to the start, we'll drive it to the finish for you (just put it in a bag that will be easy to pick out of 25 others, ie. no Tesco plastic bags!)

Also bring the widest tires you can with low pressure to maximize traction. If you have studded tires, they certainly wouldn't hurt either :)

Plus I stopped in the hospoda at the airport again today. It's only 450 meters from the finish, well heated by a nice wood stove, with a friendly staff, and they confirmed that they'll have some warm soup or something on Saturday afternoon, if you can stand the outside temperature with us other racers and our fans!

See you soon!

-Cory

OK, volunteers :)

for the last bit of housekeeping we are giving out the info for our support team to be ready for the week-end.

we will be set up in two locations for the race:

1st across from the airport GPS: 49°59'13.687"N, 14°25'51.516"E  and

2nd at the crossroads before the Šance overlook GPS: 49°58'24.882"N, 14°25'13.409"E

 

All Volunteers are welcome to meet us at 9:15 on the corner of K Ladům and Hornocholupicka, Praha 12 on the small road at the edge of the field - GPS: 49°59'35.421"N, 14°26'11.972"E.  From there we will park / drive in to the 1st Location by car on the (rough) dirt road to get started. We'll set up base camp, beer and the fire barrel, then a couple of volunteers and any racers will head back to Camp Kotva for the start (while the others hold down the fort.)

People will be at  Location 1 from 9:30, getting the fire ready and seeing who can freeze their ass off first.  This will be the home base. Riders will pass here at least 3 times. And ultimately finish here!

If you haven't already told us you would help set up you can meet us at the start and still hang out with us! After the start, we will send a couple of people to  Location 2 with a crate of beer.

No fire here, so we'll see how long it lasts.

If it gets too cold for them, the volunteers may move the beer onto the course for riders to search for, and head back to the main base to warm up by the fire.

Generally they are there to provide support and encouragement, but with a high temperature for Saturday of -5° C, don't expect too much! :)

OK, that should be everything.

Shoot us an email or give a call if you still have questions.
(let us knwo if we forgot something!)

corywadebenson [at] gmail.com or 728.zero-three-one.154 or 776.eight-seven-five.370

see you Saturday!

Are you ready?!

So we have collected the treasure chest of prizes from our sponsors and are almost ready to race. Everyone who shows up and rides will go home with prizes from some of our sponsors, as well as bigger prizes for men's and women's winners at least three deep. Plus, some other prizes for winners of competitions to stay warm during the race.

Maps are printed up for everyone, and we have been out riding in the area this week-end.

It's been a bit of change of weather in the last week. With a bit of rain, and some cool temps, it has the potential to be a bit of a muddy adventure. Pretty much what we had expected for the week-end before Christmas, really. The trails are actually in pretty good shape though, and even got a dusting of snow over the week-end. This week's forecast calls for a bit colder nights and the chance of a little more snow, so the ground will probably be mostly hard and maybe a bit more white?! :)

Anyway we will meet next to Interkamp Kotva along the river at 11:00 on Saturday December 19th. (GPS: 50°1'51.827"N, 14°24'8.691"E, or U kempinku, Praha)

If you are coming by car, there should be plenty of places around to park. We will all most likely have a few drinks during the course of the race and post-race, so we recommend riding to the start if possible. We'll be finishing about 4.5km south of here next to the Točna airfield with a fire and few drinks to warm us up.

Bring a good pair of gloves and some warm socks.

NO registration fee, NO beer entry fee required. 

Getting Down to the Wire

So 19 December is fast approaching!

The last bits of event preparation are coming together (mostly.)

We've started collecting the promised prizes from our sponsors and are looking forward to doing some minor trail maintenance/clearing this week-end. (We won't mark the course til just before the race.) And we have the race maps and stations being printed.

We have a fire barrel that we will be setting up at out main support tent, where we will be stationing wives, kids, mechanics and other friends and family members to encourage us and offer neutral race support. Please bring out non-riders too to join those we already know of, so they can cheer us on as we ride by.

We do however need a bit of firewood, if anyone coming has easy access to it.

A warm fire will keep our non-riding friends warm while we are riding around, and keep the fastest riders warm while they wait for the rest of us at the end.

Plus it'll give us a good place to stand around, drink beers, and chat after everyone is finishes.

Speaking of which, the small brewer who we had been talking with to donate a keg of beer backed out at the last minute. :(

So in the end I think we are going to institute a race registration fee of 3 - 0.5l bottles of beer of your favorite brand. Bring it to the start and we'll transport it to the finish and keep it cold for you. Then we can share whatever my wife doesn't drink while transporting it.

Still, If anyone knows someone who would donate a keg of beer for us at the last minute like this, we would of course appreciate it and offer them promotion / advertising.  We have beer, now! :)

That's it for now.

Fire wood and beers.

Don't forget to harass all of your friends to come out and join us.

The weather lately has been very friendly to us and the trails, so we are expecting a dry and mild December, with trails in great condition with a nice top layer of autumn leaves!

We'll give you more info as it develops.

Shoot us an email at corywadebenson [@] gmail.com to let us know how many race numbers we need, and how many crates to bring the beer to the finish line.

Setting up the Single Speed

OK, so you are ready to turn your bike into a single speed, now what?

Well you can go online to one of many sites: Sheldon Brown being one of the best!  Single Speed Outlaw is not bad either. Unfortunately both of them are apparently afraid of pictures, so we can recommend Google Image Search.

So essentially if you don't have a dedicated Single Speed bike, your biggest problem is chain tension. If you want to benefit most from the single speed fun, you can take your shifters, cables, & derailleurs off and even your small & big chainrings if you have bolts/spacers that will work for the one remaining chainring, but your chain still won't stay where you want it.

Your best quick bet is then to find the gear you want on your cassette (something in the middle). Then we recommend using an old (or your normal) derailleur, with a small piece of a spoke and nipple replacing the cable or a dedicated true chain tensioner. Take as many links out of  the chain as possible still going through your tensioner, and voila you have a Single Speed.

If all else fails, you can just put your bike in a gear you like and wrap about half a roll of duct tape around the shifters making them no longer functional!

Just for a frame of reference, I have recently been riding in the area of the course on a 29er with a 38:20 (55.3 gear inches) gearing, which is about the same as a 32:15 or 34:16 combination on a 26" mountain bike. It's tough on some of the climbs, but fast on everything else.

Good Luck!

Give us a shout if you need help.

-the management

Course layout

Well the course is mostly finalized (but we aren't showing it to you.) 

We will however, update you with the distance and a suggested gearing in a week or two. But for now we can say that it will start with about 5km on asphalt of neutralized / non-racing parade together to get started on the dirt.

It is more than 11/16 single track or other small dirt trail, plus some double track / dirt / gravel forest road.

It was a bit muddy in a couple of spots over the week-end, so we're curious what the weather will bring us.

There are a couple of hills.

One will require running up with your bike a 100m, but pretty much everything else is rideable and fun.

It connects a bunch of trails few people ever set foot or tire on.

It also will pass one point three times, and we'll have a tent set up there, with water and support, and challenges you will have to complete in order to keep riding. 

Feel free to bring a friend to hang out at the two support points.

(Let us know beforehand so we sort out and helpers.)

We can guarantee that you have never ridden this specific course.  And that it will be fun.

That's it for now.

If you haven't already, click on the photo above.

The course is there somewhere.

Bike Brno

So we were at Bike Brno (the central europe bike tradeshow) a week or so ago, spreading the word about the race.

We had pretty good talks with the Park Tool guys at Pedalsport (who had a nice belt drive Norco SS 29er in their booth), the Rebel Bike guy who imports Singular cycles from the UK, the marketing guy from Ultrasport who imports Niner bikes, a polish guy from Kross who had a very pretty steel SS 29er, and the promotions guy at Progress Cycle. Plus a handful of good bike industry publishers and the local Champion Systems folks.

We lined up a solid set of prizes for winners and participants alike.

No one will go home empty handed.

We also brainwashed several bikers to come join us.

(On a side note, we have since arranged for several friend and family volunteers who will be offering riders encouragement as they go by, giving universal support, and organizing the tasks/challenges that all riders will have to complete during the race!)

So post a comment or email us to confirm who's coming.

The Date is Set

OK, Prague 4 - December 19, 2009.

The championship race will take place Saturday, December 19th at 11:00 am, beginning in Prague 4, and will take place on various trails south of the city. The mostly singletrack final route and trail markings will only be revealed at the start of the event.

Ride with other Single Speeders

All single speed races (to most likely be held on Prague's south side) will be of the less-traditional non-sanctioned race in the style of the Single Speed World Championships, recently held in Durango, Colorado, USA. The aim is to promote Single Speed biking in the Czech Republic in general, to get SS bikers together for a fun event, and maybe to convince some Czech riders into going to upcoming Single Speed World Championships. (2010 SSWC in Rotura, New Zealand Oct 22. 2010 & 2009-10 SSCXWC in Portland, Oregon, USA Nov 7. 2009) Races will not be sanctioned be the UCI,  ČSC, or ČEMBA. This is a friendly competition to fill the gap these official institutions leave.

This race is for everyone who likes to ride bikes with one gear, not just those who would ever race at an elite or even advanced level. The only requirement is to show up with one gear and be willing to ride. (It will help if you are willing to drink beer or rum, too, cause it will be cold!)

We'll be trying to keep everything in both Czech and English as much as possible, 

but English updates will probably come first:

Mistrovství České Republiky v Single Speedu

Czech National Single Speed Championships

Become a SS National Champ!

Prizes will be handed out for both Men's and Women's categories at least 3 deep. The traditional first prize in each category is a tattoo, so we'll have to work that out. (Keep in mind if you are about to finish first, maybe you should wait if you aren't ready for the tattoo.)  Right now our biggest obstacle is spreading the word to potential riders and trying to line up some sponsors and maybe get a few volunteers to help set things up.

The final dates and times will be revealed soon, and final location will be only revealed at the beginning of the races.

It is safe to say though, that riders will start in Prague and end up in a bar!

Support us!

Sponsors will be needed in the following categories:

• Tattoo shop willing to donate time and material for 2 simple 5x5cm 3-color tattoos
• Beer and/or alcohol distributors (or benefactors) to provide a couple of kegs and/or bottles
• Bike shops willing to donate anything: tubes, tires, t-shirts, socks, advertising space
• Bike and component companies willing to donate bikes or parts for prizes
• Possibly a friendly bar willing to let in a bunch of cold drunk cyclists (and maybe give us a deal?)
  

All sponsors will be given advertising space here and at the events. 100% of all donations will be distributed to the race participants.

SS Cyclocross too!

There is also talk underway of holding a Czech National Single Speed Cyclocross Championship in January to coordinate with the UCI World Champs in Tábor. As it stands this race would probably be held on the outskirts of Prague (using lights) on the Friday or Saturday evening of the World Champs, so people in town for the big race could come out and drink a few beers, ride around a bit, drink some more, and still make it back to see Zdeněk kick some Belgian ass down in Tábor. More info on this one as it gets closer.