Fall is here!

Written By Guest User

Hello Driftless team families - Can you believe school starts this week, and so do our mountain bike races!?! We are excited for both the race season and for continuing to ride together outside of the tape as a team. We’ve seen so much awesome growth from our riders and have enjoyed riding trails with everyone! 

Please note that we have a LONG news update this week. We’re entering our fall season and adding the logistics of racing to our calendar, so please be sure to read so you are empowered with the info you need!

General updates

Before we jump into race logistics and important fall announcements, a few housekeeping items: 

  • CAMPING RESERVATIONS: (NOTE: CAMPING RESERVATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED) One final reminder that camping reservations for the upcoming race at Cable/Telemark are due by midnight on the Sunday before the race weekend (Aug. 28). Those who do not register are not guaranteed a camp spot at the venue. Click here to reserve your site. Remember you can book for more than one night for this first race over the holiday weekend!

  • TEAM KITS are ready to pick up at practice. We will continue to bring these to practice (and to the races) so that riders can get their gear. If you have a team kit from last year that doesn’t fit, or you ordered the wrong item this year, post your items to the Friends of Driftless MTB Facebook group to see if there is another rider who could use the gear!

  • COMMUNICATIONS: If you have not signed up for our team text messages yet, please do so here. We will continue to use this service if we need to communicate quickly with our whole team. Also, please add the contact info for your team director/head coach to your phone if you haven’t yet. This info was sent in an email on August 7.

  • PHOTOS: We have set up a new page on our Driftless MTB site for our 2022 season photos. Coaches will add to these albums after race events, and as you take photos, please add yours as well!

  • RAFFLE TICKETS: Continue to sell awesome WI League raffle tickets! IF you need tickets to sell, please contact your team’s raffle coordinator!

Look for a light that is strong enough to illuminate the trail in front of your bike.

Important fall practice updates and reminders

Beginning the week after Labor Day, our practice schedule changes. We will begin all practices at 5:30 p.m. and end by 7 p.m. to accommodate changing daylight. It is important that families are prompt in arriving so we can maximize our time on the trails with limited light!

Speaking of limited light…we are asking for all riders to bring LIGHTS to practice for the remainder of the season. While we hate to ask folks to purchase an additional piece of gear, lights are really required for rider safety on the trails during waning sunlight hours in the fall. We recommend handlebar-mounted or helmet-mounted lights, which can be ordered online or purchased at a local bike shop. Please look for lights that will adequately illuminate the trail in front of your rider. Remember to inquire about a NICA discount if you are purchasing locally. Not all shops will give a discount on lights (sometimes it is only for bikes, shoes, and helmets) but it is worth a polite ask. Local shops can also help you pick the right light for the job!

Lastly, it’s hard to believe it but cool nights will be here before we know it! Riders need to come to practice with proper layers for the weather (gloves, long sleeve jersey or pants, light jacket, etc.)

GRiT Friday Night Ride Series 

Ladies! Remember that female coaches and athletes are invited to join other Madison-area teams to ride the private trail system at Trek Trails for our monthly Friday-night ride series! Our August ride was AWESOME and featured some spicy, fast riding, some chill-paced exploring, and lots of SNACKS and s’mores around the bonfire thanks to the generous support of the Capitol Off-Road Pathfinders (CORP)! Click below to sign up for this awesome event on September 16. Pre-registration IS REQUIRED for both coaches and athletes. Space is limited so sign up early!

Team Potluck

SAVE THE DATE and SIGN UP! We will have a picnic-style potluck on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 to celebrate the kick-off of our fall season! This is for ALL of our riders and families - please sign up to bring something, and join us at the end of our practice around 6:30 p.m. to socialize, connect, and picnic together! We will host our potluck at the Blackhawk WEST CHALET. Families can bring in food anytime that evening to set up!

PLEASE NOTE: This date was changed from Thur. Sept. 8 to TUESDAY SEPT. 13 - please plan accordingly! Thank you!

Kettles Adventure RIde

Save the date for a fun adventure ride with the team at the awesome John Muir trails of Kettle Moraine State Forest on OCTOBER 8 (rain date Oct. 15)! This trail network is just over an hour east of Madison. We’ll all meet as a team at the trailhead at 8:45 a.m. and hit the trails by 9. We’ll ride in a few groups (rides will be mild, medium, or spicy in terms of speed/distance covered!) We’ll reconvene for a picnic lunch with families, then any riders who wish to continue can head back out for another round of fun on the singletrack. Parents: if you’re interested in trying mountain biking, we invite you to come and join us for this ride. We will have an intro-to-MTB group for any interested parents. Pre-registration for this event is REQUIRED so we know how many people to expect. Click below to sign up!

Riding through the pines at the John Muir Trails

Race info

OK, that’s a lot of info already! IF you plan on attending any RACES for this season, please read on and make note of the important race reminders below! We want to remind families that ALL of our riders/coaches are welcome to attend races, even if they don’t plan to race! They can come to watch, cheer on their teammates and friends, and can also PRE-RIDE the trails on Saturday! No pressure, just FUN! All are welcome!

There is always a lot to think about during a race weekend - we want families to feel like they have the info they need to be prepared, especially if they’ve never attended a WI MTB race before! We promise you will have a BLAST! There’s a lot of prep involved, so please make sure you’re reading all of our race info carefully, including any of the league’s race information/emails. 

  • LEAGUE RACE INFO: Please, please take the time to read through the league’s race flier. It contains a wealth of information!

  • RACING FAQs: If you still have questions about the schedule, logistics, and setup of a race weekend, PLEASE READ OUR RACE FAQS PAGE. If you find that your question is not answered there OR in the Wisconsin League Racing info, reach out to your team director or head coach.

  • CAMPING: We noted it above, but please remember that any camping reservations for staying at each race venue are due the Sunday before the race. 

  • REGISTRATION: The last day to register online (in Pit Zone) for the race is 11:59 p.m. the Tuesday prior to any race. You can still register on-site, but athlete’s wave placement will be affected (they’ll start at the back of their category) and a $15 late registration fee applies.

  • WHAT TO BRING: We’ve put together a rider race checklist that includes most items you need for a successful race weekend. Download/print it here.

  • FOOD & PIT ZONE HELP: We are once again asking for families to help stock the pit zone with tasty snacks and supplies! Please click here to sign up to bring a snack or provide basic supplies like hand sanitizer. 

  • SCHEDULE: In addition to the league activities throughout the weekend, we have a TEAM SCHEDULE available for you! It outlines when we will be doing pre-rides and warm-up rides, and where riders need to be for their race wave/time, etc.

  • RACE PLATES: Riders should pick up their race plate at our team pit zone when they arrive in Cable. Riders need to use the same race plate all season, so you are responsible for keeping it and bringing it to all subsequent races during the season. Note that you must have a race plate on your bike (coaches AND athletes) before you pre-ride the course.

  • PIT ZONE: The team Pit Zone (staging area under our Driftless MTB tent) is open for all student athletes and coaches to come to prep for their race, gather before pre-rides/warm ups, and decompress after racing. We ask that families and those who aren’t racing use the area around the Pit Zone as “standing room only” (no extra bikes, lawn chairs, etc.) as it gets quite congested and crowded, especially with other teams nearby. Parents, we encourage you all to band together to create a Driftless-team parent zone elsewhere within the venue!

  • HELMETS: A reminder that ALL people who ride bikes at any Wisconsin League race venue are required to wear a helmet AT ALL TIMES (yep, even in a grass field, or a parking area). This goes for riders, siblings, parents, friends, etc. - failure to do so may result in a team points penalty, not to mention it simply reflects poorly on our teams.

  • FOOD: The race venue will have a bunch of awesome food truck options for spectators and riders, but you are also welcome to bring your own food.

  • SPECTATING: We recommend you bring anything you need to be comfortable for a day outside: good walking shoes, camp chairs, sunscreen/bug spray, a water bottle, cash (for merchandise or the food trucks!) and any necessary personal meds or athlete meds (epi pens, inhalers, etc.) Perhaps most importantly: bring noisemakers, face paint, costumes, posters, pom-poms, and your loudest cheering voice - these races are just as fun for spectators as they are for the racers! Note that not all race venues allow dogs! Please check the venue guide before bringing your four-legged friend.

your to-do list: a summary!

Whew - thank you for reading all of our important updates! We’ve got an awesome, busy fall planned together! We’ll send out periodic reminders as important dates approach, but here’s a quick checklist for you:

Guest User
Previous

MINOOKA, HERE WE COME!
Next

Mid-August Updates