December 13, 2008 – A wicked winter storm on Saturday night made for major driveway shovelling Sunday morning, but that did not deter Ontario’s most hardcore bicycle racers from making the trek to the Orangeville Indoor. Round 1 taught the crew a lot about the facility and soil, so with that advantage the crew stepped up the track design, much to the delight of the attendees. Bob Rowley was a magician in the bobcat and set up some awesome lines and berms which made for great race action, reminding me of Bob’s trails in the woods.

On the Pro mens side Milton rules again, Alex Brancier took the MTB and Open Class wins again, while Bob Rowley repeated his 20″ win from round 1. The 40 year dog (me) kept the rubber side down in the Pro 20″ main to hold on for second with Greg Bidwell in for a close third. When my pantleg caught in my chain Greg was right beside me, but with one good tug and ripppp, my leg was free and I was back on the throttle for the 2 spot. Might just have to crack out the old race pants and set aims on Rowley!

Harold Woolnough battled hard for a third behind Brandon Cassells in his 2nd place Pro MTB finish, Cassells and Woolnough look ready to take on anyone with thier good set of skills. While Norco rider Simon Caissie picked up an impressive 2nd behind Brancier in the Pro Open Wheel class. Brandon Cassells was the ironman of the day by making 2 out of 3 pro main events.

Starts are key on these tight indoor set-ups and 30 over cruiser winner Matt Dafoe had his dialed, much like many of our young guns, including JJ Kocission, who repeated his 12 year old win. The 16 & Over Expert MTB class is one to watch, tomorrows pros are puttin on a good show, with Zach Koolen on top in the end. Some of these expert may be looking at bumping elbows in pro by the series end. 16 & over Novice MTB winner Aaron Smith looks strong enough to make the move to Expert and will definitely be an up and comer to keep an eye on. On the womens side Stacey Cassels was the lone MTB lady who made the stormy trek, and did a good job out there racing with the men.

Results

7 & Under Novice
1. Romyk Soltys*
2. Justin Rowley*
3. Matais Calzato
4. Colson Bates

7& Under Expert
1. Sheldon Tyron
2. Curtis Krey

10 Novice
1. Jakob Greig
2. Adam Johnson.

11 Novice MTB
1. Will Summers*.

11-12 NoviceExpert
1. JJ Kocission
2. Owen Visser
3. Rae Shaune

10-14 Open
1. Rae Shaune
2. Hunter Foster

14-15 Novice MTB
1. Nicholas Kesik
2. Avi Kuper
3. Noah Summers

16& Over Novice MTB
1. Aaron Smith*
2. Dean Thompson
3. Adrian Winter
4. Bill Dainty.

16 & Over Expert MTB
1. Zach Koolen
2. Tyler Cerson
3. Matt Gillies
4. Kyle Sanger

30 & Over Cruisers
1. Matt Dafoe
2. Gary Quill
3. Mike Pavao
4. Ed Vandermolen

16& Over Pro Open Wheel
1. Alex Brancier, MTB – $ 50.00
2. Simon Caissie, MTB – $ 40.00
3. Brandon Cassells, Cruiser
4. Greg Bidwell, BMX

Pro MTB
1. Alex Brancier – $ 72.00
2. Brandon Cassells – $ 54.00
3. Harold Woolnough – $36.00
4. Jeff Faulds – $18.00.

Pro BMX
1. Bob Rowley – $ 67.50
2. Brent Smith – $40.50
3. Greg Bidwell – $27.00
4. Kyle Pearson

* riders with an * beside their name will be moved up a proficiency for next race. Example- novice rider will now be in expert category.

For a little extra fun on the side we had a distance jump comp during the after 2nd motos break. More or less a bunnyhop comp, as the launch was only a 3″ cinder block with a 10″ wood plank. We broke it down to 2 groups, 13 and under and 14 and over, no charge for the riders and prizes donated from Haro bicycles. JJ Kocission was the young guns champ with a distance of 18′ 6″ and after a 3 man jump off between MTBers Avi Kuper, Alex Brancier and BMXer Bob Rowley, Rowley leaped to an astounding 28′ 5″ for the win. Round 2 showed more of the good old fashioned fun we had in round one and promises even more for the future rounds. We will be back at it on Sunday December 21, 2008 and be sure to check the facebook group “Orangeville Indoor Mountain Bike and BMX” for details, photos and general info.

Big thanks to the crew, the OCA and our sponsors, Haro, Kona and Ryders Eyewear for making this winter fun a reality.