Rocky Dirt Series
Rocky was…well, a lot of things. If you’d like to read about Rocky Reifenstuhl, we have an excerpt from the Alaska Geological Society that gives a pretty good feel for how amazing he was: Alaska Geological Society – Rocky Tribute.
The Fairbanks Cycle Club is pleased to once again offer the Rocky Dirt Series. We had too much fun during the winter of 2013/2014 to just stop, so that brings us here. This is a mountain bike race series modeled after the Edward Jones Points Series. Points will be awarded according to finishing order; the higher you finish in the race, the more points you receive. You will also receive points for volunteering, with a pile of points given to race directors (like you!). The goal of this point system is to promote involvement regardless of speed or ability.
Check out the series flyer: 2017 Rocky Dirt Series Flyer.
2017 Rocky Dirt Series Races
| Date | Race Name | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, 5/24/2017 | Ester Dome Singletrack | -- needs director -- |
| Wednesday, 6/21/2017 | Ester Dome Blender | -- needs director -- |
| Wednesday, 7/12/2017 | Circle / Fairbanks Trail | -- needs director -- |
| Wednesday, 8/30/2017 | Rocky's Moose Mountain Rabbit Trail | -- needs director -- |
The success of this series depends on volunteers. We are currently soliciting volunteers to direct each of the races. Race directors must oversee the flagging, de-flagging, and timing of their race. (This year, the Tuesday Night Mountain bike crew plans to mark the courses the night before, so that’s some of the work handled.) The Fairbanks Cycle Club has course marking supplies, course marking “How-To” guides, and timing equipment. Anyone who helps a race director with these duties can receive volunteer points. Specific details about each race including course description, route and distance will be provided closer to each race. So in the spirit of Rocky let’s challenge ourselves and enjoy some camaraderie out on the trails!
Points System
- 1st place finish: 70 points
- 2nd place finish: 60 points
- 3rd place finish: 50 points
- 4th place finish: 40 points
- 5th place finish: 30 points
- All other finishers: 20 points
- Race director: 60 points
- Other volunteers: 20 points
Sundry, Sordid Details
Click each section header title to expand that section.
Race 1 - Ester Dome Singletrack
Distance varies, Elevation Gain varies
Meet at the Ester Dome Singletrack pullout on Ester Dome Road.
Registration at 6:30, race is at 7PM.
Here’s a link to the Ester Dome Singletrack map, in PDF format, showing the trails and the parking pullout. Depending on the whims of the organizer and also trail conditions, the race might do a single lap of the outer loop, or maybe the outer and the inner loops, and maybe the expert class will do two laps. Hard to say.
Race 2 - Ester Dome Blender
Distance 14 miles, Elevation Gain: 4400′
Meet at the Golden Eagle Saloon parking area in Ester.
Registration is at 6:30, race is at 7PM.
Here’s the race course (click for a larger view):
And here is the profile:
We’ll follow Main Street and at the intersection of Quartz, make the sharp uphill right turn up to the cul-de-sac. Jump on the trail, and join Azurite briefly, going left. Get on the Ready Bullion Creek trail, and go out to the Tri-Con Mine road/trail going all the way up to Ester Dome. Follow Ester Dome road down, PAST the Alder Chute, and take the Corner Single Track trail down to the upper St. Paul Mine trail, and go left. After connecting back with Henderson, go left, and take the Henderson drop-in to the Ester Dome Single Track (in between the big boulders) and go all the way to the Marathon connector to St. Pats (take care here, look for traffic.) Take a right, and follow St. Pat’s to the Happy Ridge Trail, follow it to Henderson, cross Henderson into the St. Paul Mine, and drop down to “Four Corners”. Continue down Eva Creek Trail into Ester. The finish is just above Ester, and after finishing, you can gently roll down the hill to the start area where the cars are parked. Look! There’s even a saloon with beer! You can study the area by going to TrailMapper.org. If the link doesn’t work for you, go to TrailMapper.org and search for “blender”.
Race 3 - Circle/Fairbanks Trail
Distance: 13.5 miles, Elevation Gain: 2300′
Head out the Steese Highway to Cleary Summit. Take a right and stay on the improved road for a little over a half mile or so, then turn left on Fairbanks Creek Road. Stay on this for a little over two miles, and park in the pullout on the left.
Registration is a 6:30, race starts at 7PM, sharp.
Here’s the course route (click for a larger view):
The race course will take us down Fairbanks Creek road, up towards Coffee Dome, then turn away (west) from Coffee Dome at the four way intersection at the “top” of the hill. We’ll then continue our climb, and make a descent through large, loose rocks. We’ll stay on this main trail, riding the ridge line all the way back to the start.
Race 4 - Moose Mountain Rabbit Trail
Distance 12 miles, Elevation Gain: 2200′
Meet at the intersection of Moose Mountain road and the road to the ski area.
Registration is at 6:30, race is at 7PM.
Here is a map to the start:
Here’s the race course (click to see a larger view):
We’ll race past the Moose Mountain Ski clubhouse, and up the trail that parallels the road, all the way to the top. There, we follow the power line trail to the gravel road that descends to Old Murphy Dome Road, where you turn LEFT, and follow Old Murphy Dome Road all the way to the Rabbit Trail. The Rabbit Trail will dump us out on the big power line, which we’ll leave, then come back to, then leave again as we make our way back down the valley to Moose Mountain Road. There, you turn left, and go back to the start/finish area.