Rockville Bike’s Cyclocross
Frequently asked questions
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The race is held on the grounds and with the permission of Solano Community College. Race registration and the start/finish line are right next to the horticulture building. There are signs on the side of the road as you get close to the course and you can also follow this link to the exact spot: Google Pin
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Races are held on the first 8 Sundays in January and February.
Cs and Juniors race at 9:00am for 30 minutes. That is usually 3 laps but if it is very wet and muddy it might be 2 and if it is dry possibly 4.
As and Bs start at 10:00am and 10:01am for 60 and 45 minutes, respectively. As can expect to ride for 6 to 9 laps depending on conditions.
For all races the number of laps is determined by the fastest riders in the race; lapped riders will be scored and will race fewer laps - no 80% rule applied here!
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Yes. No disrespect, but generally the average speed of cyclocross racers at Rockville is less than at other races in Northern California. For example if you place in the top half of the Bs at a Sac CX event or one of the BASP series races you should race in the As at Rockville. And there’s no harm in picking a category based on how long you want to race for. We’re fine with riders being lapped so if you want a 60 minute race then pick the As
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Our races are typically very small and it does not make sense to split our fields into age categories. If we grow bigger we will definitely consider this.
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Yes they do race together and are placed separately.
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Yes. In order to be eligible for series prizes you have to race at least 6 of the 8 days that we have races. For series points your best 6 races in your declared series category count towards series points. If you race 7 times in the same category your lowest point scoring race will drop off and if you race 8 times in the same category your lowest 2 point scoring races will drop off.
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You earn points in each race. You get one point for starting plus one point for finishing and then additional points depending on how many racers start your race. For a race that starts with 20 people the winner will get 20 points plus 1 for starting and 1 for finishing, so 22 points. Second place gets 21 points etc etc. If you do not finish (“DNF”) you get 1 point.
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Yes, however your total race days needs to be 6 to be eligible for series prizes and only the points you earn in your declared series category count towards series points. So if you earn 30 points in the B’s and then switch to A’s and earn 50 points your total points will be 50. If you come 6 times and change categories in the middle you will earn points in fewer races and therefore be at a disadvantage as compared to someone who raced in the same category six times.
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In the past few years after the end of the 7th race day we have gotten together and built beautiful trophies and awarded these to the series winners the following year in addition to a series champion T-shirt. We're open to suggestions and donations, but concentrate on keeping our entry fees low so that everyone finishes with a fatter wallet.
We have a podium for race day placings but no prizes for individual Sundays.
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This is an unsanctioned race. We generally apply the same rules as all the races in our local area. A few things to note regarding “rules”:
Any bike is fine, in fact about 10% of our riders race their mountain bike.
There are no tire width restrictions. When it gets muddy thinner tires will likely be an advantage and when it’s dry fat is good.
Riders about to be lapped to move aside from riders who are about to lap them
Be respectful to your fellow competitors.
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Yes, you can pre-ride before any of the races. The course is laid out for the whole series. What you may not know until you get to the start line (unless we announce it on social media beforehand) is whether you will be clockwise or anti-clockwise If you want to get some advanced knowledge like, subscribe, follow etc. on Facebook and Instagram. We are OK with pre-riding during the 9:00am race but you must be careful not to interfere with the ongoing race.
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You can arrive and pre-ride any time you like. We aim to start giving out numbers to first-time racers starting at 8:00am. If you have your number from a previous week, just show up at the start line with a pinned number at your race start time.
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Keep it for the next race and bring it with you. Your number will not change for the whole season. We will even move the scoring desk to the other side of the finishing straight so that you will know that your jersey is always going to be pinned on the right hand side.
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Results will be published on cross results. Our website at https://www.rockvillebike.com/cyclocross will have both results and series standings.
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We aim to do the best we can with scoring and the best time to make sure we have placed you correctly is immediately after the race, so if you really care about where you placed just enquire at the scoring desk after you finish your race. We will correct results later but we post them the way we score them so unless it’s an obvious error it’s a harder decision for us to change them later.
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We do all our registrations through bikereg. The link to our event page is here.
While it makes our life administratively much easier if you pre-register at least the night before the race, we do keep registration open the morning of the race so if you are really on the fence you can wait up to 30 minutes before the race to register. We don’t accept cash on the day so even if you want to turn up and race you will need to register on bikereg. Note that, for at least 2025, we are paying the fee bikereg charges so that is no extra cost to you.
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Any of the men’s and women’s categories cost $25 with a $10 fee for your second race of the day. If you register on bikereg for a second race make sure you put both races in the same “cart” and it will automatically adjust the price of the second race to $10.
Juniors race free thanks to a fund set up in honor of a long time Rockville racer and support Phil Heiman who passed away as a result of an unfortunate accident at a cyclocross race. You can support juniors and be part of an enduring legacy for Phil by donating on the bikereg website when you register for a race. You can also go to bikereg and just donate if you don’t want to race.
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If you add both races to your cart and pay on bikereg it will automatically price the second race at $10 and this is what we prefer you do. However we understand that feeling of invincibility after having won your first race and wanting to do it all over again in the Bs and we can manually enter you for your second race and you will then have to pay $10 cash. This is not our preference though as we are trying to be cash free.
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If you have never raced a cyclocross race before you are welcome to use the code ROCK25FT when you register in bikereg and your race fee will automatically be reduced to zero. Please note that you can use this code only if this is your first EVER cyclocross race so if you raced at SacCX a few years ago or Surf City back in 2019 those do count and you would not be eligible. You must be a true first timer.
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We usually have at least one attending and taking pictures and will publicize and link to their site on our social media accounts.
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Thank you. We need help with lots of things, both on race day and in the November/December period in getting the course ready for the race. We will particularly need help in November/December 2025 getting ready for the 2026 race series as our long time co-promoter/organizer John Silva has threatened to move abroad and will not be able to do the huge volume of work in getting the course ready. Please contact Mike Flood, the current promoter, by email or in person on race day and ask how you can help.
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Yes it definitely is. In Northern California cyclocross before the end of the year is typically a dry weather sport but in January and February it is often very wet and muddy at our course. The world cyclocross championships are usually held at the end of January and we have had some local CX luminaries grace us with their presence in past years. For example in 2022 Marcis Shelton raced with us the week before he raced and placed 16th in the 17-18 Junior Men category at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Due to the treacherous conditions, and because he did not have his usual support crew, he suffered a mechanical and was a DNF after lapping the field a couple of times. That same year Dan English, who perennially places in the top 5-10 at USA Cyclocross Nationals and the Pan-American Championships raced and won at Rockville. The winner of the first race in our 2024 Men’s A category, Sean Davies, raced in Belgium as preparation for the Rockville Cyclocross Series and hopes to do well at USA Cyclocross Nationals next year.
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That’s true, there are no big Koksijde style hills at Rockville but what there are can be very steep and require dismounting to get down and up, depending on your skill level. Additionally, if it has rained you will for sure need your tires with the most tread as it can get exceptionally muddy, especially in the forest which does not see the light of day. Of course if it has been dry for a while that is all very different. Once you have been a couple of times you will know what tires to choose.
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No, we do not discriminate. Any bike will do as long as it has two wheels. Many of our racers use their gravel, mountain or hybrid bike to race with.
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Totally. On our last race day we typically shorten the race and have a relay race with teams designed to be relatively equal. We will allocate people to teams based on the registration data we have in bikereg. If you are not able to join us for the relay please let us know. After the relay race there is a potluck lunch held in the parking lot. Please bring some food or drinks along to share. We will provide some BBQ. Series prizes will be awarded at lunch.