Solavaca Cat Claw Classic XC Mountain Bike Race April 24-25, 2010

2010 Cycle Progression Texas XC State Championship MTB Series

Fort Worth Mountain Bikers Association
and The Solavaca Ranch
**
April 24-25, 2010 - Glen Rose Texas

present

Richardson Bike Mart
Solavaca Cat Claw Classic

www.tmbra.org

THE BEST SCRATCHING AND SLASHING XC RACE IN TEXAS

APRIL 24-25, 2010 GLEN ROSE TEXAS 76043

The Cat Claw Classic XC Races are held on the trails of the Solavaca Ranch
partners with Fort Worth Mountain Bikers Association (FWMBA)

ESSENTIALS MAPS & DIRECTIONS Driving to the Ranch Google MAP Infrastructure Map Course Map 12 & Under Map pdf Trail Map QUESTIONS? CONTACT email 254.823.6574 254.823.6788 Distances/CATs/Classes Rain or Shine Event	SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Thursday & Friday - Campers arriving. Trail Open. Saturday - Event set-up. Trail open. Noon-2PM Kids Kup Sign Up 1PM Registration Open. 1PM - First Time Racers Clinic 2PM-3PM Kids Kup Event 5PM Registration Closed. 6PM to 9PM. Party in the Glen. Dinner, Bonfire, Music. Sunday - Course closed to pre-riders. 7:00A Registration Opens 8:00A CAT1 Registration Closed. 8:30A Pro/CAT 1 Races Start. 10:30A CAT2 & SingleSpeed Registration Closed. 11:00A CAT 2 & SingleSpeed Races Start. 12:30P CAT 3 & Juniors Registration Closed. 1:00P CAT 3 & Juniors Races Start.	2010 TEXAS XC CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Feb 27-28 The Warda Race Mar 13-14 STORM Hill Country Challenge Mar 28-29 Austin Ridge Riders - Pace Bend Apr 10-11 DORBA Bar-H Bash Apr 24-25 Solavaca Cat Claw Classic May 01-02 GHORBA Big Ring Challenge May 15-16 Rocky Hill Ranch Roundup May 29-30 Mellow Johnny's Classic Rules and info on the Series at www.tmbra.org Visit USA Cycling at www.usac.org Liability Release Forms - Save time by bringing yours completed Racers - USAC Liability Release ALL ranch visitors - Solavaca Liability Release	SPONSORS FRIENDS Wilson Bros Mobil in Glen Rose Stumpblaster Bikes in Glen Rose

PETS - NOT ALLOWED - NO DOGS PLEASE. Riders must wear a helmet meeting the standards specified in USA Cycling policies, securely fastened, when on a bike.

FEES & LICENSES Registration Online $30 On-Site $35 13 to 18 - $15 12 & Under - $10	The Solavaca is charging a land-use fee for all visitors to the weekend event. For arrivals Friday through Sunday, $5 per Adult, Kids under 12 are free. This $5 covers all 3 days and includes pre-ride trail use. If you are coming before Friday, add $3 per Adult. Camping is $10 per night per tent. RV parking is $15 per night per RV. USAC License is required. One Day license (available for CAT2 and CAT3 only) paid at registration - $5 per racer. Pro and CAT1 must have an annual USAC License. Download the WAIVER Print a mail-in registration here. Must be postmarked by April 15, 2010. Fees are not refundable. Online registration BikeReg.com - Online registration closes April 21, 4PM CDT

PRIZES Series Rules for Prizes	Pro and CAT 1: Cash Prizes. CAT 2: Merchandise Prizes: Places 1-3 Minumum $1500. Places 1-10 Awards CAT 3: Merchandise Prizes: Raffle, Minumum $1000. Places 1-10 Awards Prizes and Awards - Details

PARTY Bonfire & Brats Saturday 6-9P	Saturday evening in The Glen on the Solavaca. 6PM-9PM Bonfire (conditions permitting). Music. Serving Brats, Dogs, Hot Links & more. Bring your drinks and your chairs (or blankets) and join the fun.

FOOD & DRINK	There will be a vendor at the race on Sunday selling food. Cheese Steak Sandwiches, tornado fries, corn dogs, and fried pies (both desert and entre). Bottled water and other drinks will be available for sale as well. There is drinking water available at the barn for campers or other visitors who need to fill their water bottles or jugs. It is 8 miles to the heart of Glen Rose where there are many good places to eat and two good super markets.

STAYING OVERNIGHT List of Local HOTELS and BED & BREAKFAST Race Discounts Historic Glen Hotel	STAYING ON THE PROPERTY - Camping will be available on Solavaca Ranch from Wednesday evening to Sunday when the races end. There are a few places to park RV's but no hookups either to electric, water, or sewer. RESERVATIONS ARE NEEDED FOR RV's. The camping is primitive but campsites are accessible by vehicle. PortaJohns will be located in the camping areas as well as around the high traffic areas all weekend. If we have rain, the access to some of these campng and RV spots may be interrupted until the water runs off. Most places can be driven on when wet but not all. If more than 0.5 inches of rain is in the forecast, RVers should plan to use one of the other Glen Rose RV accommodations. Tent campers can get in and out more easily in the event of rain, but can be delayed 2-3 hours if we get a good soaking. The issue there is getting stuck or cutting up the roads while they are very wet. Campers, if you have questions, find a member of the Solavaca Staff to help you. Some will have Solavaca T-Shirts on. When on the property, please leave all gates in the position you found them - if they were closed, close them behind you. Goats will get out on the road. The gate will remain unlocked at night so campers can leave if necessary. Late arrivals - If you are arriving after 9 PM, please call the ranch 254.823.6574, and make arrangements for accomodations, paying your land access/camping fees, and submitting waivers. LOCAL ACCOMMODATIONS - There are a variety of options when staying overnight in the Glen Rose area. In fact, many MetroPlex visitors come to the area just for the overnight accomodations. Bed & Breakfasts, Six motels - 5 of which are new. Quaint old hotels on the square. Dude ranches and the Dinosaur Valley State Park, 5 miles down the road from the Solavaca Ranch. It fills up early, so do not count on finding camping there unless you started very early. To find a list of nearby accomodations go to http://www.glenrosetexas.net/accomodations.html, or contact the Glen Rose Convention&Visitors Bureau. They keep tabs on that information, and can tell you which motels have rooms.

THE TRAIL	Geology - Underlying the property is limestone, which outcrops everywhere and affects the character of the land as well as the way that water drains. The limestone is overlain by topsoil in many places from 4" to many feet in the area of the seasonal creek. This topsoil has very little clay content on 98% of the trail , so it drains quickly, and does not tend to build up on bike tires. If it gets wet enough, it will be very slick, having an almost slimy reaction in places where is it totally saturated. It does dry quickly, but that means a few hours. If there has been no rain for some time, say 3 weeks, it will take over 3" to create a state of saturation in all but a few isolated spots. The exposed limestone is old in geological terms which means that it is fractured and crumbly. There are however, areas where younger limestone outcrops and the rocks are dark and solid. It is the crumbly limestone that creates a real challenge on the climbs and in some of the turns. The dominant plant is the cedar (actually a type of juniper). The very oldest ones grow like a tree, but the ones under 100 years old are bushes. There are 3 types of oaks, some elm, cottnwood, mesquite, and ash. The namesake plant, cat claw, can be found on the SE side. Hands stuck into those come out with cat scratches from the ghosts of mountain lions past. The Track - The trail is single track, but with many stretches where passes can be made.

GENERAL Cell Phones Weather	Cell Phone Coverage - Verizon (good), ATT (fair), the rest are poor. Current Somervell County Weather - This weather station is 8 miles east of the ranch. Temperatures - April is springtime, right? It can be warm, cold, and even wet. But you never know so watch the weather and be prepared. I have seen temps as cold as 23 at night in April - and then get to 75 later that day. If the wind is light, plan for the temperatures here to be 5-10 degrees cooler at night than in the metroplex. The Glen Hotel on the square - race discounts - just mention the Solavaca Race Historic Glen Hotel