June 24 RCC Newsletter

Who’s ready for some amazing riding weather in June?! Although we complain about the storms and rain, we are VERY THANKFUL for ALL of our donors who make our rides possible! Here is your monthly email to keep you updated and in the know:

Happened in May:

Chris Tutt and Gabe Canal have been hard at work representing Rose City Racing on the Road circuit. Gabe Canal on a team went out to the Texas State Time Trial Championship and worked as a team to snag P1/2 1st Place Team! Chris Tutt took hard earned podiums coming in second at Jesuit Road Race, and 3rd at Davy Crockett! Way to represent guys!!!

TMBRA race, May 5th: Mary Beth Keeling did not make it to this race as she suffered an injury at 4R. Congratulations to Blake Keeling for 3rd in the Pro/Cat1 race. The race course had to be altered substantially due to large sections of the course under water. 

We had our routine 2nd Saturday Gravel between Rusk and Crockett for something new. Lance and Becky Slack hosted any it attracted riders from all over. We got to ride some great gravel and almost no cars. Thanks to Lance and Becky Slack for hosting and for great food!

 

29 Pines - NICA State Championship, May 12:  Rain, it has become the four letter word of this year's racing season. The NICA season was plagued by rainouts. Friday and Saturday were beautiful days out at 29 Pines. Youth racers and their coaches fell in love with the high speed, high banked turns, along with jumps that they could catch air on. Saturday, as we started to wind down, rumors of storms on Sunday started to circulate. All start times following Varsity were moved up. This would put all races finishing around 1pm.  Our Varsity riders took off at 8am. We were able to get all the high school races completed.  During the girls middle school race the lightning and rain began. A glimpse at the radar and it was obvious that the races were not going to be able to resume. Unfortunately, the boys middle school race and awards ceremony were not able to happen.  The following weekend our RCR youth team met back at 29 Pines to pitch in a helping hand. Due to the storms, tear down and cleanup on Sunday was limited.  They cleaned the trails by removing race tape and debris left behind. A big congrats to the RCR youth team for a successful NICA season. And a HUGE Thank You to 29 Pines for allowing Texas NICA to use your facilities for their championship race.

 Rule of 3, May 18th: A couple of our RCC Gravel riders represented. What an amazingly fun ride! Paved/gravel/single track, more than 1000 racers. The swag was better than most. There was live music, drinks, food and vendors. If you like gravel and single track…you gotta do this one next year!

 

 The Warda Race - TMBRA State Championship, May 19th: Rain was once again an issue leading up to the race.  Pre-rides were postponed till after noon on Saturday.  The course had a small alteration and a fairly deep creek crossing.  With no rain on Saturday and Sunday the course packed in and was very fast. Sunday's high temps and humidity caught many racers off guard and several struggled in the heat.  Mary Beth Keeling finished 4th in Cat2 Women 40+, and 1st for the season, making her our 2024 TMBRA State Champion!! Blake Keeling finished the Pro/Cat1 Men race in 5th and took home a 3rd place for the 2024 season series. Cole Robinson finished 7th and 6th for the season in the Pro/Cat1 Men.  What a great finish for Cole as this was his first time to race the TMBRA Spring Series!

 

It was a blast riding the Bike Leadout for Remembrance Run and  Embrace the Journey 5K - Walk On Rock On! Thank you to the Race Directors for allowing us to come and support your events to ensure your runners are safe.  If you are interested in helping support our local runners, next up is Freedom Fighter 5K the morning of July 4! Rose City Cycling: Bike Lead out - Local Races (signupgenius.com)

 

 This spring our RCR youth cleaned up the NICA fundraiser!! For the 3rd year in a row, Our East Texas RCR youth team raised more money for the Texas NICA youth than any other team in Texas!! Even better, half of all money raised stays right here in East Texas with our NICA youth!  This helps pay for our entries to next year's events.  The other half goes to the Texas NICA organization to fund our race weekends and promote putting more kids on bikes! A big THANK YOU to all who participated in this year's campaign!! But wait! There’s more! Our very own John Little won the bike give away! John is the father of a local RCR youth racer. Congrats, John Little, and thanks for contributing to this year's Texas NICA fund raiser. Thank you to Laurie Simpson for her unwavering dedication in promoting this fundraiser. 

 

 

What’s Happening in June:

• Road to Know:

·        June 1st - Tour de Tomato  in Jacksonville. 

·        June 1st - Heart of Hope Life Cycle in Kiethville, La.

·        June 11 - for the summer, Tuesday Night 6pm ride from PlayTri/Crema parking lot has a popsicle stop open by our dear friends on Briarcrest. Stop through for a cold treat, and be sure to give them some love. 

·        June 16 - Tour de Italia 

·        June 21 - 6pm, Bikes and BBQ starting from Ride Tyler, family friendly few miles with an ending stop at Stanley's BBQ. This is a leisure ride and leisure pace

·        June 26 - John Cobb’s 75th Birthday ride and celebration, 20ish mile ride from Fresh/PlayTri, 6pm and back to FRESH patio for food and drinks. 

 

·        June 29th is the second training day for the East Texas Triathletes at Lake Tyler. Come out and join us at the Boulders boat ramp at 8am for some swimming, biking and running!

 

• Gravel Events:

·        The 2nd Saturday Gravel ride for June will explore what remains of the Cotton Belt as we roll out from FRESH, then through Bullard and south of Mt Selma. We always plan to have a shorter/slower and longer/faster ride option. Watch Ride Alert and Facebook event. 

 

• MTB Events: 

·        From now till end of June, Simpson’s Fitness and Adventure Sports is hosting a Trail Cleanup Challenge! Assist with cleanup on any Tyler trail and send before and after pics to simpsonsports7@gmail.com or message them on Facebook to enter to win a $150 gift card!

·        June 1st, Shred the Pines at Beghead Creek in Kilgore.

·        June 15th, Shred the Pines at 29 Pines.

·        June 29th, Shred the Pines at White Oak Trail.

·        June 15, 2024 - US Marathon MTB Championships, Auburn, AL.

·        All the trail stewards kindly request that folks respect trail closures through all these storms. Trail status is updated on Trailforks.

 

Still in the Works:

• The 35th Annual Beauty and the Beast has been officially announced for the weekend of October 11-13. More details coming very soon! Follow the event on Instagram and FB. https://www.instagram.com/race_the_beast?igsh=dXVra3ZxZzV4dnY5 If you are interested in being a part of helping put on this event, please reach out to bk@benkmorgan.com 
• If you ordered from our store in April, your orders will be in over the next 2 weeks. Keep an eye peeled for your shipping notification!
• RCC is excited to be partnering with  local Boy Scout Troup 370 to assist them in getting their cycling merit badges this summer. If you would be interested in supporting this 5 week program, please reach out to JohnDDaniel@protonmail.com 
• RCC is partnering with the ETX Trails Team and Vanguard Trailworks for some very exciting projects coming at Lindsey Park. If you are interested in donating to this project, or know anyone who might wish to help sponsor this 4 phase build out, please contact Michaelle White, at rosecitycyclingtyler@gmail.com 
• COMING SOON - Race and Club socks will be available for purchase at the Christmas in July party. Member perks means discounts for you and first to know. Stay tuned for the link to snag your pairs.
• Christmas in July Cycling Party planning is in the works! Stay tuned for more information about that combined Tuesday night ride and Patio party on July 23rd!
• Visit our webpage at https://rccyclingtyler.com There you can find our community events calendar and blog! Any additions you want to add for our community blog or news, reach out to bftharp@gmail.com and submit news before the 3rd Friday of the month. 
• Stay tuned for our revised bylaw review and vote. Details coming soon!

 

Thank you all for your participation and we look forward to seeing you on rides!

·        Bobby Tharp

                       Rose City Cycling