Race 3: Merrell Trail (Rockford, MI)

September 13, 2021

Raceday: Sunday, September 19th, 2021

This page updated Monday 9/13 (we’re still waiting on updated staging times)

Race 3: Merrell Trail

Sunday, 9/19/2021

3300 10 Mile Rd NE
Rockford, MI 49341

Race FAQ:

  • What can I do to help? Please volunteer for a shift on Sunday. We’re the home team, and our volunteers make this work on race day.
  • What time should we show up? At least 45 minutes before staging time (listed below). We will publish specific team warmup times as we get closer to race day and recommend you get there for a ride so you can warmup with teammates. There is a single driveway into this park. Sometimes it gets really backed up. Please plan to be early.
  • Do we have to pay for parking? Parking may require $5 cash. This is somewhat at the discretion of the park itself, not MiSCA and not the Coyotes. Please plan to bring $5 just in case.
  • 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.
  • What if we need to switch race categories from last race? Please talk to a coach by Thursday evening so we can submit the form to MiSCA. We’d love to talk to you first, before the change gets made. If you changed race classes between races (e.g. after Heritage, before Addison Oaks) please get your plate from the team tent, and then proceed to the MiSCA information tent to ensure the change was recorded (they’ll use your plate-chip to test it).

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 no cups. Bike water bottles work too!

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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

Friday Pre-Ride: Friday night at 6pm there will be a pre-ride, moderately easy pace, checking out the turns and berms of the race route.

Saturday Pre-Ride: We’re really hoping you’ll volunteer to help set up the course. Many hands make light work. There will be a pre-ride once the course setup is completed Saturday afternoon, probably around 4 pm but that will be determined during course setup.

Warm-Up Rides Sunday

The following times are tentative pending an updated race-day schedule from MiSCA.

  • 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 Merrell

Please report to the start at the time marked under “Staging.” The following has some slight changes from the first 2 races. Don’t forget, you’ll need time to park, prep, warm-up (20 minutes) before you report to staging. Get there early and give yourself plenty of time to get ready.

Race Roster

  1. Marshall Aerts (10) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
  2. Carson Andrews (7) Advanced Middle School Male
  3. Matia Battjes (5) Advanced Elementary Female
  4. Elin Beeck (5) Upper Elementary Female
  5. Valerie Beeck (9) Novice 9-12th Grade Female
  6. Adreian Blaszczyk (3) Lower Elementary Male
  7. Jeremy Blocker (10) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
  8. Gerrit Boer (10) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
  9. Jakob Boer (4) Upper Elementary Male
  10. Jacob Boon (12) Varsity Male
  11. Charlotte Braidwood (5) Upper Elementary Female
  12. Sage Brewer (10) Junior Varsity Female
  13. Cole Briggs (9) Novice 9th Grade Male
  14. Dane Briggs (7) Novice 7th Grade Male
  15. James Broughton (2) Lower Elementary Male
  16. Nicholas Budden (11) Varsity Male
  17. Griffin Bumstead (2) Lower Elementary Male
  18. Kellen Carpenter (3) Advanced Elementary Male
  19. Emma Cavner (8) Advanced Middle School Female
  20. Ashton Chastain (6) Novice 6th Grade Male
  21. Hazel Cherney (5) Upper Elementary Female
  22. James Cherney (2) Lower Elementary Male
  23. Landree Darnell (4) Upper Elementary Female
  24. Jordan Deras (3) Lower Elementary Male
  25. Jensen Dew (4) Upper Elementary Male
  26. Owen Dew (6) Novice 6th Grade Male
  27. Grant DeWall (3) Lower Elementary Male
  28. Luke DeWall (5) Advanced Elementary Male
  29. Nicholas DiLaura (6) Novice 6th Grade Male
  30. Reese Drajka (4) Advanced Elementary Female
  31. Jack Elms (8) Novice 8th Grade Male
  32. Owen Eves (3) Lower Elementary Male
  33. Henry Flanders (4) Upper Elementary Male
  34. Jackson Flanders (6) Novice 6th Grade Male
  35. Addison Forrester (12) Varsity Female
  36. Braedon Fournier (7) Novice 7th Grade Male
  37. Gideon Franciscotty (8) Advanced Middle School Male
  38. Haydon Frehr (10) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
  39. Niko Gjorgjievski (8) Novice 8th Grade Male
  40. William Grant (8) Advanced Middle School Male
  41. Ezra Greene (11) Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male
  42. Zachary Hargrave (7) Advanced Middle School Male
  43. Eric Hoffman (12) Varsity Male
  44. Bridger Hoogeveen (9) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
  45. Laila Hubbard (4) Upper Elementary Female
  46. Tristan Hubbard (5) Upper Elementary Male
  47. Erin Hughes (5) Upper Elementary Female
  48. William Hughes (5) Advanced Elementary Male
  49. Freida Kincaid (9) Junior Varsity Female
  50. Timothy Knape (10) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
  51. Evan Leitow (2) Lower Elementary Male
  52. Olivia Leitow (4) Upper Elementary Female
  53. Owen Leitow (6) Novice 6th Grade Male
  54. Isaac Lilly (3) Lower Elementary Male
  55. Florenc Loewen (12) Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male
  56. Grant Louisell (8) Advanced Middle School Male
  57. Madison Louisell (6) Advanced Middle School Female
  58. Kyle Lukas (6) Novice 6th Grade Male
  59. Sierra Lukas (5) Upper Elementary Female
  60. Drake Marine (9) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
  61. Marley Marine (6) Advanced Middle School Female
  62. Ava Martin (5) Upper Elementary Female
  63. Brevin Martin (8) Advanced Middle School Male
  64. Nevaeh McCaughan (5) Upper Elementary Female
  65. Caleb McLean (7) Advanced Middle School Male
  66. Sacora McLouth (2) Lower Elementary Female
  67. Henry Mears (9) Novice 9th Grade Male
  68. Anabel Miller (11) Varsity Female
  69. Levi Minnerick (9) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
  70. Bryce Natter (12) Varsity Male
  71. Camille Natter (9) Novice 9-12th Grade Female
  72. Lucas Nykamp (9) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
  73. Finn OByrne (3) Lower Elementary Male
  74. Owen Odroski (10) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
  75. Silas Ondersma (11) Varsity Male
  76. Adam Polmanteer (12) Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male
  77. Mason Pomeroy (12) Varsity Male
  78. Brayden Porter (10) Novice 10-12th Grade Male
  79. Dawson Porter (12) Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male
  80. Hudson Porter (8) Novice 8th Grade Male
  81. Caleb Post (5) Upper Elementary Male
  82. Bram Remtema (7) Novice 7th Grade Male
  83. Landon Riedel (5) Upper Elementary Male
  84. Easton Roberts (7) Novice 7th Grade Male
  85. Harper Roberts (4) Upper Elementary Female
  86. Megan Scheuerle (8) Novice 6-8th Grade Female
  87. Indio Segerlind (7) Advanced Middle School Male
  88. Bodelle Spearman (12) Junior Varsity Female
  89. Owen Tesch (10) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
  90. Evan Thompson (8) Novice 8th Grade Male
  91. Brayden Todd (10) Novice 10-12th Grade Male
  92. Landen Todd (7) Novice 7th Grade Male
  93. Desiree Tuohy (12) Novice 9-12th Grade Female
  94. Finneas Tyron (3) Lower Elementary Male
  95. Crew VanBeynen (5) Upper Elementary Male
  96. Elliott VanBeynen (2) Lower Elementary Male
  97. Levi VanBeynen (7) Novice 7th Grade Male
  98. Miles VanBeynen (9) Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male
  99. Isaac VanSingel (6) Novice 6th Grade Male
  100. Felix VerHage (6) Novice 6th Grade Male
  101. Samantha Weaver (4) Upper Elementary Female
  102. Henry Wert (6) Advanced Middle School Male
  103. Brigid Whitmer (8) Novice 6-8th Grade Female
  104. Madine Whitmer (11) Varsity Female
  105. Lucas Williams (8) Novice 8th Grade Male
  106. Luke Zuelke (12) Varsity Male