S7 was a tough one. More pavement and even more wind it seemed. We still had good numbers with over 230 attempts by 105+ riders, but let’s be real – it wasn’t ideal. There was certainly a sweet spot of fast times being put down in conjunction with lower winds, as expected. The lake at Stony is tricky as there’s seemingly always some wind, no matter what.
We’ll get to the point for S8 – regrettably, we’re not going to have it. Seven rounds it is. We’ve been hopeful conditions would improve enough to have S8, but the trails just aren’t reliable enough. We’ve had two bye weeks and two pavement weeks – unprecedented for the FBC. The weather just hasn’t been our friend this year and rather than drag things out, we’re going to call it a series and celebrate together with everyone in a couple weeks at the awards party.
It’s important to share that when we’re planning a segment, there’s several variables at play to ensure it can happen at the scale necessary. We need conditions that will work for the number of riders we have, as it’s not just a couple buddies running skinnies through the mud, knowing or caring none the wiser. Running 200+ sets of tires through a trail can be good and bad – depending on the conditions. We also want the local trail coordinators to sign off on locations, even if we feel or think conditions might be ready for a segment. We’re often in communication with local groups near each trail who volunteer time and effort in the spring and year-round to ensure the trails are good for everyone to ride. We didn’t have things align the past couple days like we had hoped and for sake of having another curse-inducing segment on pavement, seven it is. Hopefully we will see most everyone at the awards party in a couple weeks. There will be plenty of stuff we’re giving away and plenty of bench racing to be had.
Updated points, cakes and award details to come.
Thank you!
