Movin' on up.

From here on out we have moved to: www.happyfuncycling.blogspot.com



See you there!!!

Aaron

Thank You!

Just wanted to write a quick note in thanks to all the racers, parents, volunteers, sponsors, and friends who made the race possible.

To all the Volunteers: I want to thank you for coming out so early this morning to work, stand, talk, tech, and all that stuff. The technicians Gord and Geoff were amazing, and all the bikes that they worked on were Malfunction free...not surprising, they are the BEST techs in the city...HANDS DOWN.

The course designer, Dan, and the Man of the Day, Greg Sherwin, Thank You. To the Happy Fun Racing boys, for buying things, coming out early, and for being great riding partners and friends, THANKS!!! To Kim Booth and Cam, for doing some heavy lifting and helping out the Com's with their duties. Kevin, for keeping us on the right path as a marshall, Thank you! To Louise Boonngum, Gene, Geoff, Andrew...thanks for being a great family, and thank you for sacrificing your mother's day. To Mathieu, thanks for the great pictures. Tyler Wirch, thank you for trying to get a photo of me crashing. Dad, you rocked the party, and I appreciate it! Tyler and Heather Jordan, as well as Regan, thanks for sacrificing your Sunday to come out and help...all that you did was much appreciated.

To A&L, thank you for supporting the race, and for giving guidance, and advice. The race wouldn't have been nearly as good without your sponsorship. Safeway, for hitting us with Potassium, I really loved those bananas post-race. StarFM, for providing beats, and our P.A. Sara was a great host for the day, and thank you to her for putting us out on the FM radio waves!

To the Racers: This community is awesome, and I want to thank everyone for driving out to our race. Without all of you, it would have been just a long, lonely sunday ride. Everyone did great, and, I hope felt the Happy-Fun side of competition. We hope you all had fun.

THANK YOU SAM for being the best. Period. Next time you do two laps.

We hope to see everyone next year, and we hope you had a great time! Can't wait to ride with everyone again in the near future...See you at GRAND BEACH!!! Check out the MCA site for Pre-Reg, and PRE-REG it up.!!!...!!!

Aaron

If I missed some volunteers, I am UBER sorry...I am low on sodium, and need a beer.

Full Steam Ahead!!!!

Okay, so. Brandon is not being evacuated. Select Neighborhoods, in the Grand Valley, are on evac notice. Otherwise, the rest of the city is literally high and dry. So are the hills. They are in prime condition, and the course is gorgeous!

If anything, add 10 minutes to your driving time in case of traffic on the main streets, as many are down to one lane. Generally though, you could shoot a cannon down any street at 9:00 A.M. on a Sunday and not hit anything.

Aaron

Driving Directions Video:

Condition Update: May 5, 2011

After taking a few laps around the course yesterday, I am very pleased to let everyone know that the Brandon Hills MTB Cup is going to be a blast!

The trails are quite dry, with only a couple of damp areas on some of the doubletrack. Greg Sherwin has been busy over the last couple of years, and I am very excited about the addition of "Blister" and "Broken Hoe" which will give you huge smiles as you suffer on them.

We are looking at good weather from now to the race (18 Degrees here today) and Race-Day forecast is also looking perfect, at a high of 16 and some clouds on Sunday.

Things are heating up!

Aaron

Revised Race Map

Thanks to Greg Sherwin for this new map of the course.

Due to some adverse conditions in low lying areas of the course, we have moved the layout slightly to make the race nice and dry. The new course will debut some wicked singletrack cut by Mr. Sherwin himself. Lots of climbs, techie singletrack, and some wide open double track. The course promises to be fun for all!

Enjoy,

Aaron

Driving Directions.

Fastest way from Winnipeg to the Hills. Hwy 10 South will be marked with a sign directing the appropriate turn-off to get to the race parking lot.
All Racers should take 18th Street, as there may be flooding on 1st Street. The low road from Shilo/Chater/ETC. might also have flooding issues.


View Larger Map

Youth Welcome @ the Brandon Hills MTB Cup!!!

Though we do not have a specific "Youth" course, we wanted to let everyone know that Riders under the age of 18 are invited to come and race with us Sunday, May 8th, 2011.

***EDIT*** : At this time, only riders in the U17 and U15 Category will be able to register for the Sport Category.

Please have youth register in the Sport Group, unless they are already licensed to a higher category. Youth will start with the Adults @ 12:00p.m. The registration fees are as follows: Pre-Reg: $25.00 / Race Day: $40.00

You can download the Registration forms, and Waiver forms from the MCA Site, or sign up online via Karelo (also on the MCA Site): mbcycling.ca

Please send any questions to aaroncheck@live.com!

Thanks, and see you Sunday, May 8th!

Aaron

The Race Goes ON!

Friends!

Until you see it here, the Brandon Hills MTB Cup is going full steam ahead for May 8th.

Snow is melting even today, and the forecast is even better for the next few days. Remember: 1 foot of snow will melt to a mere 1 inch of water.

So, as we plan for the worst, we invite everyone to hope for the best.

If you feel so inclined, get your shuffle on, and try and melt some snow with groovy friction.

Pre-Registration Till 6:00PM, May 7th, 2011 / CONDITION UPDATE!!!

Thanks to Coach Dave for noting that we should clarify a change in Pre-Reg dates to reflect the change in Race Date.

As the header says, Pre-Reg will close at 6:00PM May 7th, 2011.

We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.



Above you can see Ruben and Sam, who were out enjoying the beautiful weather, and the incredibly dry conditions. They are also shown with their new Trek Fuel 8's to prove that these pictures aren't from last year. We did run into some wet patches, but considering there was snow there only a couple of days ago, we were unbelievably surprised with how clear and dry the trails were. We all had an amazing ride on the course!



How dry??? That, my friends, is dusty ground.

Yeah...That Dry.

Aaron

Happy-Fun Racing

Happy Fun Racing: "Winning is yes."

With the launch of our local race, we wanted to introduce you to our new racing "Team". Happy-Fun Racing is meant to embody the most important aspects of cycling: Being happy, and having fun.

This is our motivation, and one of the main reasons that we decided to take up the responsibility of hosting the Brandon Hills Cup. We realize that you can have fun riding by yourself, but we also know that riding with others is a blast. To make sure EVERYONE felt at home, we used Happy, Fun, and RACING...because racers are people too!

We want to invite everyone to come out to our race with the Happy-Fun Racing frame of mind: Meet some new people, make some new friends, ride the snot out of your bike, and enjoy the happiness and fun that made you want to cycle in the first place.

"Winning is yes." Aaron

Revised Race Poster

Looking Good for the 8th!

We had a scorcher here today! Previously persistent piles of snow disappeared quickly all over Brandon today, which bodes well for the conditions out in the hills.

Reports of snow melt in various tree covered areas around Westman are also very encouraging, and I personally spent a wonderful day hiking through a friends pasture today, which was totally dry and clear of snow. The good news here is that he was telling me how much was there only four days ago!

Our riding crew is prepping for a Thursday night Recon-Ride in the hills, and we hope to have cameras in hand to document conditions further.

Things are looking up, and we can't wait to host the race on the 8th. Permits are in place, and we are ready to have a blast with you all out in the hills.

Aaron

Race Date Change.

After much deliberation, and consideration. The collective grouping of organizers has decided to push back the date of the Brandon Hills MTB Cup to Sunday May 8th, 2011.

We have done this knowing that there may be scheduling issues with the new date, and I personally apologize to anyone that this decision impacts. We were faced with the tough decision, and felt that another week would allow for better course conditions and could alleviate certain concerns we had been hearing in recent days and weeks.

Concerns had been raised in regards to running the race and ruining the beautiful trail systems in the hills. We took these opinions very seriously, and wanted to ensure that we treated the hills, and those who use them, with the respect that they deserve.

Once again, I apologize for any inconvenience that this decision may cause, and we look forward to seeing everyone out for a great race on the 8th of May.

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns at aaroncheck@live.com

Thanks! Hope to see you all soon.

Aaron

Condition Update

Dan returned from some course Recon this afternoon, and though there is some snow on North Facing trails, there has been a ton of clearing over the last week or so. We will be making another recon visit on Sunday morning, and will have picture updates.

We are still hopeful, and will make sure that we keep everyone in the loop. Thanks!

Aaron

Course Map!

Course Map is here, courtesy of Dan Dechka, our course designer. The legend regarding Single and Double Track is tough to see clearly, but the course is nearly 1/4 Double, 1/4 Single, 1/4 Double, 1/4 Single in that order.

Enjoy!

For those who have ridden the hills before, we are happy to announce that "The North Face" Trail system will make its MCA debut in this race. The Face is flowy, and fast, and will be a great finishing section for the race.

The Course is 8.2km in length, with challenging climbs, flowy singletrack, and some beautiful rolling doubletrack.

We can't wait to see you all here!!!

Aaron

Course Information: April 10, 2011

Today, myself and Dan Dechka walked the race course to finalize the route.

The course is 8km of fast and flowy trail. The mix will be about 50/50 doubletrack and singletrack, and will debut "The North Face" trail system for the first time in MCA competition.

Dan has been hard at work over the winter, and the course is looking great. A couple more days of heat, and the snow will be a non-factor.

We took a GPS unit out today, and will have our mapping data up right away so stay tuned!

Can't wait until the race, and with a course like this, we are positive that everyone is going to have a blast in the hills.

Aaron.

Pre-Race and Post-Race Massage!!!

WE are pleased to announce that Ja-On Hillman and the folks down at Reactive Massage here in Brandon will be on-site at the race to provide racers with complimentary Pre and Post-Race massage!

Their generosity is incredible, and we are really excited to have them on board.

If you want some extra attention before the race, or during training, you can book appointments anytime by calling:

204-571-0949

or check out:

www.reactivemassage.com

Thanks!
Aaron

Downloadable Waiver and Entry Forms

Brandon Hills MTB Cup Race Poster

Starting Point!

We will be using this blogspot account as a venue for information regarding the coming race! Posters, maps, and other important information will follow shortly so stay tuned.

Thanks, and see you at the hills


Aaron