VAIL LAKE IS GOING BIG FOR 2008
Vail Lake is in Southwest Riverside County and is served by the Interstate 15 (Temecula Valley Freeway) and Interstate 215, along with California State Route 79. It's only a rock's throw from North San Diego County. If you are in Southern Orange County, it's closer than Southridge. Once the home of Butterfields Motocross in the late 70's, the vast network of trails through the Pauba Oak Mountains now offers some of the funnest mountain biking in the state.
We all know Vail Lake as the home of the 24 Hours of Temecula and more recently the 12 Hours of Temecula Race Series. But this year Temecula is making a huge push to become the biggest ride and race venue on the very south end of Southern California.
Vail Lake is a full service campground with tons of activities including fishing, boating, RV and tent camping (350 full hook-up and 100 tent sites), horseback riding, miniature golf and swimming. As of late California State Single Speed Champion Jason Ranoa and Cross-Country Pro Heather Ranoa, along with aspiring Cross-Country and Super D Pro Robert Herber, are the ones who are making a huge push at Vail Lake. Like the Ranoa's, Herber has grown up riding the awesome trails of Vail Lake. Their dream is to turn Vail Lake into a Southridge Park for the San Diego set.
Robert Herber's very user friendly Racers and Chasers Series runs an event nearly every weekend. At this moment Vail Lake is hosting cross-country, ultra-endurance and Super D events. But, and this is the important but, if the interest is there, Vail Lake has the perfect topography and service road access to add downhill and 4-Cross to the program. Here is the latest Vail Lake update from Robert himself:
Hey MBA! Robert Herber from Vail Lake Racing here. Just a quick update on the Racers and Chasers Mini Series. We've added Super D to the program! The SD start time is a comfortable 1 p.m. Use the SD as the warmup for the 2 p.m. cross-country. There is a holeshot award plus a 100% pro payback. Each month of the year will be broken down into separate, standalone series. There will be weekly fun rides to get beginners started as well as a special Chasers race division. In the Chasers Division riders are only marked for completing laps. It's a low-key, race against the course with the intention of easing neophytes into cross-country competition.
Other unique features include the mass starts and $15 entry fees. It's only $5 for 12-and-unders! So far I have Xbux event promotions as the title sponsor. More support is coming from KHS Dollars, I.E. Bikes and RSRide.com.
The February Mini Series has been going great with perfect race weather. Word on the trail is that the mostly singletrack XC race loops and SD runs give a perfect mix of challenging climbing and white knuckle downhilling. Vail Lake topography offers riding unlike anywhere else in the world!
Thanks to everyone who has been coming out in support of getting a consistent race series started at Vail Lake. There will be even more surprises to look forward to in the next races. We alternate weekend days to allow riders to make the bi-weekly Saturday XC's at Southridge.
Please help spread the word on our fun ride/race series. We are looking forward to growing this series and turning Vail Lake into the way down south of SoCal riding hot spot.
Thanks,
Robert
We look forward to any comments and suggestions to improve the event. Please email me directly:
robertherber@yahoo.com.
VAIL LAKE FEB MINI SERIES RACE 2 RESULTS
TOP 10 XC EXPERTS
1. Keith Moore...Exp...0:35:00 lap 1...1:10:44 lap 2
2. Ron Sawicki...Exp...0:34:38...1:12:01
3. James Leist...Exp...0:37:20...1:16:26
4. Troy VanderWende...Sng Spd...0:42:19...1:26:42
5. Shalyn Gates...Wmn...0:43:02 1:27:32
6. Rick Wessels...Exp...0:48:58...1:44:00
7. Jason Gates...Exp...0:39:30...DNF
8. Broc Glover...Exp...0:39:30...DNF
9. Joe Lucero...DNF
10. Doug Jaster...DNF
SPORT
1. Damon Mann...0:41:59
2. Kevin Akerman...0:46:25
3. Lorenzo Diaz...0:51:07
BEGINNER
1. Joseph Vogelphl...0:48:27
BEGINNER WOMEN
1. Wendy Walton...0:53:03
CHASERS
Jim Hamilton...Completed 15 miles
SUPER D RESULTS
OPEN 35+
1. Ron Sawicki
2. Troy VanderWende
3. Jeff Emig
OPEN 35-
1. Andrew Gehring
OPEN WOMEN 35-
1. Joscelyn VanderWende
VAIL LAKE FEB MINI SERIES RACE 1 RESULTS
TOP 10 XC RIDERS
1. John Swanguen...1:07
2. Eddie Arnet...1:14
3. David Stowell...1:15
4. Rob Bernhard...1:15
5. Robbie Lamb...1:17
6. Zach Goldman...1:23
7. Randy Rush...1:26
8. Walter Houle...1:28
9. Joseph Vogelpohl...1:32
10. Rick Wessels...1:42
11. Garner Palenske...1:45
EXPERT WOMEN
1. Pam Houle...1:39
SPORT WOMEN
1. Jeanne Bernhard...0:42
2. Wendy Walton...0:53
SUPER D RESULTS
OPEN 35+
1. Eddie Arnet
2. Lorenzo Diaz
3. Jeremy McGrath
OPEN 35-
1. Alex Maslov
2. Patrick Mchahon
3. Jachob Bringham
4. Patrick Morris
CURRENT VAIL LAKE RACING SCHEDULE
Feb 16: Saturday
Feb 24: Sunday
Mar 1: Saturday
Mar 9: Sunday
Mar 15: Saturday
Mar 22: Sunday
Mar 29: NO RACE--Norba Nationals in Fontana
REMAINING 12 HOURS OF TEMECULA ENDURANCE RACE SERIES
Jun 14: RACE #2
Nov 1: RACE #3
The 12 Hours of Temecula race series consists of these 3 races in a 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 12 hour lap relay format. At the end of the year total amount of laps accumulated and time spent on the courses will be added up and series champions will be crowned.
SOCAL ENDURANCE MOUNTAIN BIKE FESTIVALS
Mar 1-2: Event #1
Sep 6-7: Event #2
Each festival will include Super D, Short Track and Hillclimb on Saturday; cross-country on Sunday. These races are not part of any series, and are run individually and will be rewarded accordingly.
SUZUKI 24 HOUR NATIONAL POINT SERIES
Apr 26 & 27: 24 Hours of Vail Lake