Hello Arkansas NICA!!!
It’s hard to believe we are already just under 2 weeks away from our last event of the 2021 season. We hope that you have had a great time at all the other events. Mountain Home and Camp War Eagle were new venues and both were amazing and special in their own right. Our final race will also be at a new venue for NICA. Centennial Park in Fayetteville is also the site of the 2022 UCI World Championships. Our NICA Athletes will be getting to race on portions of the same course the professionals will use. Race 4 is also going to be special also as Kyla Templeton will be saying “goodbye” as League Director. Kyla has been a fixture since co-founding the Arkansas NICA league 6 years ago. You will not want to miss the postseason awards ceremony where we crown point champions, overall Team awards, celebrate our departing Seniors and say thank you to Kyla!
Check out the Race Flyer for all the details on our last race. Last minute information will be sent out via social media – both Instagram and Facebook @arkansasmtb
We know that COVID is still a concern, and we expect to put on safe events. We will still be continuing to ask folks to manage their own safety and require athletes to wear masks once they arrive in staging until 1 minute before their start. Please help us by arriving prepared.
We can’t wait to see you!
Terry, Kyla, and the Arkansas NICA Team
GRIT Skills Clinic
On Saturday October 30, we will be having a GRiT Skills Clinic to walk through areas of the course that may be more challenging than others. Please join us to work on how to ride your best on this race course with just us GRiT girls. We will session some areas, work through questions and help you feel comfortable with racing. Meet at the GRiT tent at 11:30. We will be finished by 1pm so you can Pre Ride with your team as well.
On Saturday and Sunday, there will be painted rocks hidden around the pit zone and race course. ANYONE can find these and bring them to the GRiT Tent on Sunday for a prize! Be looking for painted rocks!
On Sunday, GRiT girls will be decorating the GRiT Tent for Halloween, and we will have a lounge area for girls to relax in during their busy race day. Be sure to come to the GRiT tent to relax and rest before or after your race!
Free Parent MTB Skills Clinic
On Saturday October 30, at 1:30 pm for any parents wishing to give mountain biking a try or just improve their skills. Our awesome team of Trainers are providing free skills instruction starting at 1:30 pm Saturday. Please come with a bike and helmet and prepared to ride. The instruction will last for approximately 2 -2.5 hours. Meet near the NICA Trailer at 1:30 pm Saturday.
Halloween Celebration at Centennial
This is Arkansas NICA’s first ever race on Halloween! We will celebrate by having 3 contests:
- Individual Costume Contest**
- Team/Group Costume Contest**
- Tent Decorating Contest
To enter the costume contests, take a picture of yourself at the NICA race Saturday or Sunday and post it on social media, tagging @arkansasmtb and #arkansasmtb and include your name or group name in the post. Tent decorating contest will be judged Sunday about noon. Spooky prizes will be given at the awards ceremony on Sunday afternoon.
**Please do not wear costumes while on your bike that impede your ability to ride your bike safely.
Race Flyer Links
All the information for our upcoming races can be found on our website at arkansasmtb.org. If you have any questions regarding a race or event you can contact us or email terry@arkansasmtb.org
Volunteers are needed to make our races run smoothly and on time.
Without our volunteers and coaches none of the “magic” that you see happen on a race weekend would be possible. You can review the races to see which weekend your team is the “home” team and then click HERE to sign up or use the sign up link directly from the race flyer on the website by clicking the “volunteer” button on the race flyer.
Teen Trail Corps Hours, Rapha Trail Clinic and more!
This year Teen Trail Corp Volunteer hours have been having a huge impact on the team results and could have an impact on points champions as well. The Deadline to have all your Teen Trail Corp Hours entered is Monday night at 5pm October 25.
Volunteer Opportunities
Visit our website and click on Volunteer for more information on events to get more hours such as the Big Sugar Gravel race this coming weekend!.
Also, Arkansas NICA caps off its ‘21 season with an end of year party on November 6th, at 2pm co-hosted with Rapha, Oz Trails and Rock Solid Trails.
The event is half-ride, half-party and kicks off at the Seed Tick Shuffle trailhead at 2pm where we’ll start the afternoon by getting a quick lesson on some of the basics of trail stewardship and maintenance from a few of the sport’s foremost authorities in advocacy with Giant Pro Rider Adam Craig, mountain bike Hall of Famer Nat Ross and professional builders from Rock Solid Trails. From there, we’ll work our way up into the Slaughter Pen Trails to put a few of those maintenance tips and tricks to use before heading out for some pedaling around the Pen with the pros.
After a few short laps we’ll make our way back to the Rapha Bentonville Pop-Up on Central Ave downtown where we’ll enjoy a pizza party and drinks. We’ll hear from Arkansas NICA’s own, Terry Coddington, Kyla Templeton and Aimee Ross about the upcoming year and how to get more involved in the Teen Trail Corps program.
We’ll also be raffling off a few new pieces of limited edition merch from Rapha’s new range of MTB clothing and have plenty of food and drinks to go around for both kids and adults.
See you all at Race #4 at Centennial Park!!
Race Course Prep
October 23, 9 am – Centennial Park Trail Cleanup, Fayetteville
Other Opportunities
