Raceday: Sunday, October 10th, 2021
This page updated Tue 10/5
Time Trial Format FAQ:
- Staging: Staging times are listed below. Your entire wave stages together at the time indicated, so even though you’re starting individually, please report to staging at the time indicated below.
- Wave Starting: Starting will be in order of your position within your race class. So, the entire Varsity Boys group will start before the first Varsity Girl. The entire Varsity Girls group will start before the first Advanced MS Boy, and so on.
- Individual Start Gaps: Racers will start 15 seconds apart, in order of their series point standings.
- Passing: If you get caught, give them a pass. They’ve already caught you. If you catch someone ask for the pass and take it. You’ve already caught them as well.
- Warmups: Because the TT starts in basically the same wave times as other races, we can still warmup as a group see details below.
General Race FAQ:
- What time should we show up? As soon as we know, we’ll add that data here.
- Do we have to pay for parking? Parking is free but limited. Bring your walking shoes!
- What if the roster doesn’t show my name? If you are not listed here, then you aren’t registered for this race, or you are not listed as a Coyote with MiSCA. Either of those scenarios can be easily resolved by emailing the coaches and/or emailing MiSCA.
- When do I get my number plate? Coaches will have your number plates at the race. Please turn them in after your race so that we can bring them each week for you. There is a $10 fee to replace, but if you give them back to us each week we will ensure they arrive safely. You can keep the number plate at the end of the season.
- Who do I tell if my rider quits mid-race or cannot finish for some reason? MiSCA needs to know first. Please stop by the scoring tent near the start/finish to let them know. They will go out on the trail looking for your child if they don’t show up at the end of a race, so it’s important to let them know. After telling MiSCA, please tell a Coyotes coach as well so that we’re not wondering what happened.
Food at the Race:
- Sign up for the team potluck luncheon and snack depot. Questions about this can be routed to Megan Miller, Maegan Wert, Julie Hughes. Special shout-out to Alan and Tish Hoffman for the camp-kitchen-grill setup we’ll be using to prepare the food this year.
- Diners: Please throw your trash away when you’re done so the take-down crew isn’t stuck picking up your gross hot-dog buns and used cups.
- Please bring a reusable drink container (anything from a solo cup to a hydroflask). We have drink coolers but almost no cups. Bike water bottles work too!
Lodging
- The team hotel is Comfort Suites, Wixom (248.504.5080) but our block of reservations expired last week. Still, this is where others will be staying if you are looking for a closeby hotel and some team mingling.
Race Rules 101 (a quick summary)
Bike racing is pretty basic, right? The fastest biker wins. Like any sport, however, there’s a big rulebook for you to review. Please check it out so you’re up to speed. Here’s a summary of the big rules you need to know:
- Wear a helmet. Everyone. Parents, riders, siblings, friends. Anyone with a leg over a bike needs a helmet or we risk penalties. They will dock your rider 5 minutes if it’s a parent. They’ll dock the team some points as well, as an alternative. Either way, it’s easier to put on a helmet, so do it.
- Don’t be late for staging. You risk being started late, or worse being told you can’t race. The easy solution? Be early for everything.
- Feed zones are the only area you can hand bottles/food to racers. This ensures that people aren’t stopping/slowing to grab water bottles in unsafe spots (blind corners, etc). Feedzones will be marked at races so you know where it’s ok.
- Mechanical Assistance: Varsity. Varsity riders may only receive assistance from other racers who are currently racing on the course at the same time. This means that coaches, parents, friends, siblings, teammates from another race may not help. The time-penalty for violations isn’t worth it.
- Mechanical Assistance: Elementary, Middle School, High School Novice, Junior Varsity. Assistance is more complex here.
- Anyone can share parts, tools, etc. (adults, coaches, etc.)
- Assistance in the form of physically aiding in repairs, including touching the rider’s bike during a repair, may only be received from others actively engaged in racing at the same time or approved adults.
- Approved adults:
- Active volunteers (a volunteer on-duty at the time of need)
- MiSCA race staff
- Mountain bike patrol
- Official neutral support
- Race offficials
- This does not include coaches who do not meet one of the listed criteria.
Spectator Etiquette
Parents, fans, friends, and anyone else at the park during a race will find the races exciting. Here are some spectator etiquette tips to help you adjust to our exciting sport if you haven’t been to a race in the past.
- Bring a cowbell. It’s the traditional bike-racing noisemaker and Coyotes pride ourselves on boisterous cheering. If you don’t have a cowbell, we’ve also seen horns, whistles, old bike wheels/rims, vuvuzelas, jinglebells, chainsaws (seriously), and of course our own lungs as noisemakers at bike races. Shimano was gracious enough to post this Fan Training video a few years ago. We think it’s still applicable today.
- Hike into the woods! The races are great to watch from just about anywhere. Especially at Merrell where most of the course is within a mile’s hike of the start-line, you can really “get out there” and enjoy!
- Stay off the trail when you’re hiking to a viewing spot. Riders and marshalls are the only people allowed on course unless the race calls for more adults to be on the course for some reason.
- Only cross the course where necessary, and only if there aren’t any riders within 50 yards of you. It’s distracting and startling to riders to see someone running down the trail.
- Please treat course marshals with respect and follow their directions. They took the time to volunteer and they deserve our respect and cooperation.
- Keep it fun. Kids put enough pressure on themselves, they don’t need our help in that department.
- Be early, clean up your trash, respect the parks we’re visiting, be nice to park staff if they’re around, be nice to MiSCA staff who are doing this for so your kids can have a great experience.
Rider Etiquette
- Let people pass quickly if they’re from a faster group
- If you’re getting lapped, let them pass
- If you’re getting passed by someone in your actual race, don’t cut people off… hold your line within reason, you don’t have to give way, but this isn’t NASCAR. Rubbing isn’t racing in MTB, it’ll get you DQ’ed. If they’re clearly faster than you, let them by. You’ll be friends over lunch afterward.
- Be early, clean up your trash, respect the parks we’re visiting, be nice to park staff if they’re around, be nice to MiSCA staff who are doing this for so you can have a great experience.
- Please stay away the start and finish gates with your number plate on until it’s time to race. The chip in your plate can set of the timing and screw up the race results. It’s best to stay 25′ away if your plate is on your bike.
Pre-Rides
Saturday Pre-Rides:
- Varsity/JV/AdvMS planned for 10am Saturday, weather-dependent w/Coach Miller
- Elementary 3pm w/Coach Wert
- Others TBD
Warm-Up Rides Sunday
This race follows a time-trial format but with staging times remaining relatively consistent, it’s still possible to do team warmup rides. The following are approximate. If you want to warm up with teammates, please be there ahead of these times so you can get hooked up with a group.
- Varsity / Advanced MS warmup: TBD somewhere around 8:00am (on-course, departs from team-tent)
- Junior Varsity warmup: About 9:30am (off-course, once races start we cannot use the course to warm up). We will likely use the long driveway to/fromt 10 mile for the warmup. There is an event at the baseball complex nextdoor so we cannot use those sidewalks as we have in the past.
- Novice 8th (Boys), 9th-12th (Boys/Girls): About 10:30
- Novice 6th-8th (Girls), 6th-7th (Boys), Advanced Elem: About Noon
- Upper Elementary: About 1:45
- Lower Elementary: About 2:45
Staging Times for Milford
This race follows a Time Trial format. Riders will be sent off individually every 15 seconds.
Full staging list by Category will be published on Oct. 8th.
| Wave 1 Categories | Staging | Awards |
| Varsity Male | 8:45 AM | 12:30 PM |
| Varsity Female | 8:55 AM | 12:30 PM |
| Advanced Middle School Male | 9:00 AM | 12:30 PM |
| Advanced Middle School Female | 9:05 AM | 12:30 PM |
| Wave 2 Categories | Staging | Awards |
| Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male | 10:15 AM | 12:30 PM |
| Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male | 10:30 AM | 12:30 PM |
| Junior Varsity Female | 10:40 AM | 12:30 PM |
| Wave 3 Categories | Staging | Awards |
| Novice 10-12th Grade Male | 11:45 AM | 2:00 PM |
| Novice 9th Grade Male | 11:55 AM | 2:00 PM |
| Novice 8th Grade Male | 12:00 PM | 2:00 PM |
| Novice 9-12th Grade Female | 12:15 PM | 2:00 PM |
| Wave 4 Categories | Staging | Awards |
| Advanced Elementary Male | 1:00 PM | 3:15 PM |
| Advanced Elementary Female | 1:05 PM | 3:15 PM |
| Novice 7th Grade Male | 1:05 PM | 3:15 PM |
| Novice 6th Grade Male | 1:15 PM | 3:15 PM |
| Novice 6-8th Grade Female | 1:20 PM | 3:15 PM |
| Wave 5 Categories | Staging | Awards |
| Upper Elementary Male | 2:45 PM | 5:30 PM |
| Upper Elementary Female | 3:00 PM | 5:30 PM |
| Wave 6 Categories | Staging | Awards |
| Lower Elementary Male | 3:45 PM | 5:30 PM |
| Lower Elementary Female | 4:00 PM | 5:30 PM |
Race Roster
- Carson Andrews (7) Advanced Middle School Male
- Matia Battjes (5) Advanced Elementary Female
- Adreian Blaszczyk (3) Lower Elementary Male
- Jeremy Blocker (10) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
- Gerrit Boer (10) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
- Jakob Boer (4) Upper Elementary Male
- Jacob Boon (12) Varsity Male
- Nicholas Budden (11) Varsity Male
- Kellen Carpenter (3) Advanced Elementary Male
- Emma Cavner (8) Advanced Middle School Female
- Ashton Chastain (6) Novice 6th Grade Male
- Hazel Cherney (5) Upper Elementary Female
- James Cherney (2) Lower Elementary Male
- Landree Darnell (4) Upper Elementary Female
- Grant DeWall (3) Lower Elementary Male
- Luke DeWall (5) Advanced Elementary Male
- Reese Drajka (4) Advanced Elementary Female
- Jack Elms (8) Novice 8th Grade Male
- Owen Eves (3) Lower Elementary Male
- Addison Forrester (12) Varsity Female
- Braedon Fournier (7) Novice 7th Grade Male
- Gideon Franciscotty (8) Advanced Middle School Male
- Haydon Frehr (10) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
- Jose-Maria Galvez (4) Upper Elementary Male
- Ezra Greene (11) Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male
- Eric Hoffman (12) Varsity Male
- Bridger Hoogeveen (9) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
- Laila Hubbard (4) Upper Elementary Female
- Tristan Hubbard (5) Upper Elementary Male
- Erin Hughes (5) Upper Elementary Female
- William Hughes (5) Advanced Elementary Male
- Isaac Lilly (3) Lower Elementary Male
- Florenc Loewen (12) Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male
- Drake Marine (9) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
- Marley Marine (6) Advanced Middle School Female
- Ava Martin (5) Upper Elementary Female
- Brevin Martin (8) Advanced Middle School Male
- Caleb McLean (7) Advanced Middle School Male
- Henry Mears (9) Novice 9th Grade Male
- Anabel Miller (11) Varsity Female
- Levi Minnerick (9) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
- Bryce Natter (12) Varsity Male
- Camille Natter (9) Novice 9-12th Grade Female
- Lucas Nykamp (9) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
- Owen Odroski (10) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
- Silas Ondersma (11) Varsity Male
- Adam Polmanteer (12) Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male
- Easton Roberts (7) Novice 7th Grade Male
- Harper Roberts (4) Upper Elementary Female
- Bodelle Spearman (12) Junior Varsity Female
- Owen Tesch (10) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
- Evan Thompson (8) Novice 8th Grade Male
- Desiree Tuohy (12) Novice 9-12th Grade Female
- Miles VanBeynen (9) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
- Samantha Weaver (4) Upper Elementary Female
- Henry Wert (6) Advanced Middle School Male
- Brigid Whitmer (8) Novice 6-8th Grade Female
- Madine Whitmer (11) Varsity Female
- Luke Zuelke (12) Varsity Male