It has potential, it just needs to be done right.

Maybe if they'd just run the circuit race and skipped the crit, which conflicted with San Rafael and was run on a pretty lame course, fewer people would be upset about Cougar Mt. Paying $7.50/day for parking didn't seem like that big a deal, since I occasionally have to add a tank of gas and a motel room to the cost of other races. Spectating was pretty nice, too. If you hiked up to the top of the first climb on the circuit race you could see about 2/3 of the circuit--not many places you can say that about. And I kind of enjoyed being able to keep an eye on the Pro Crit while watching youngsters on the downhill course. The Tour de France lounge was a nice touch. Results were posted very fast. Many podiums happened 30-40 minutes after the races. Yeah, some definite negatives, but plenty of positives.

On those few occasions when we get to race on completely and securely closed courses (i.e. Infineon and Laguna Seca) we have:

no issues with errant vehicles on course
no issues with residents impacted by our sport
no issues with bathrooms
no issues with pavement quality

It's not for free but there are differences with our other venues around the region, city or country. There are lots of up- and down-sides for almost every bike race in the world - even that funky event with all the traffic circles before you enter towns and villages in rural France. Measure the grief with the awesomeness and come to your conclusion about attending our enormous variety of Northern California races.

Tom Simpson
Pilarcitos Cyclesports

(ps - bias exposure - I worked at Laguna Seca/Sea Otter from 1994-2005 and Cougar Mtn. Classic from 2005-2006)

I also will go out of my way & pay higher fee's to race at Infinion or Laguna Seca. I think both courses are a blast, a lot more fun then a flat Crit

I concur with peterpen.
Sure, the entry fee was steep and paying $10 to park is a rip off, but like him I love that circuit course and will go back there and race any time I can.

I plan to go back for the twilight series in September, but I think they'll be moved to Tuesday nights instead of Thurdays, which works out better for racing on the weekends. :D

p.s. I'd also prefer to race the Sea Otter Circuit in reverse.

I dunno, I did Coyote and Carrera on Saturday (even though I live 20 minutes away) but Cougar was good, painful fun on Sunday.

There's nothing else like that course on the calendar (well, Sea Weasel, but that's even more of a ripoff and the hill isn't steep enough. I'll go back if they run it in reverse. :shock: ) 90 minutes of headwinds and the Infineon wall was brutal - especially for the two hammerheads who did the last 70 of them off the front in the 3's. Impressive. And they had our results up within 10 minutes of our finish.

It costs a lot to take that whole venue for the whole weekend - plus come up with the NRC purse, so I'm not surprised at the steep fees. Not particularly happy, but not surprised. I just wish they could get a weekend with no other races so there would be more racers - I'm sure they lost money overall.

Anyway, I'll take any chance I can get to race on that circuit course. See you out there on Thursday nights in September - an appropriately punishing but low-key way to close out the season.

Are you guys getting it now? That's why we (ERT) originally scheduled the Benicia Town Race for July 8th - even though it was just down the road from Infineon. Much as it behooves us to support promoters and all the effort they make to give us venues to race, "Cougar" is a rip-off, plain and simple.

In fact, it's may be the one unifying theme for road and mountain bikers alike. Everyone (okay, 95%) hates Cougar Mountain. We're talking about a venue that's just down the road from my home in Napa, but I drove several hours to Coyote Creek and the Carrera instead.

And may I say, to keep from being a total downer, that I have NO DOUBT that July 7th will be my favorite day of racing this year (unless I or VOS win Minden).

GREAT JOB AT COYOTE CREEK!! What a fun, low-key, well-organized race. It's a simple, safe and very strategic course. The primes and prizes were good. And everyone was hanging out, gabbing, and having a good time.

AND THE CARRERA?!? WOWWWWW!!!!!!
It was just plain fabulous. Fast, exciting, adrenalized racing. The organization was exemplary. The advertisement brought out the crowds in droves and should be a template to other town races how to make the race somewhat successful for local business. ADVERTISE!! There were posters in the shop windows up and down 4th Street.
And are any of us who competed soon going to forget the ROAR of the crowd, deep and pressed against the barriers at Turn Four and the final stretch?!? Not likely. It was like racing the Amgen.

The attendance, the memories, the ambiance, the SPIRIT prove it. Coyote Creek and the Carrera are exactly what Cougar Mountain can never be. No good reason for any racer to choose otherwise, unless he/she's being paid to race there.

Raced both days, had a lot of fun.
Vendors, good deals on stuff. I watched
the down hill guys (Crazy). Won a 100 dollar
gift certificate for Nascar or AMA (Stoked).
Medal was cool, better than 25$ or 50$.
Free gift bag, kinda cool. 15.00 to park for a
2 day pass, no big deal. Had a great time with
friends. Watching the Pro Classes. Wife
raced Pro 1/2 group. All in all an OK weekend.

PS 12.00 for a Large bottle of beer a little steep. :(

Might be nice if they got the results posted right...or at all. No 45+ 1/2/3 so far.

Oh there were prizes beyond medals....for second I got a 20 dollar coupon to the napa valley eye care center (??)
if anyone needs 20 bucks for glasses give me shout
oh well it was still a workout i guess

At San Rafael, some masters there had also raced Coyote Creek earlier in the day. They could have chosen much closer Cougar Mountain, but evidently didn't.

People have definitely voted with their feet. Coyote Creek had a fairly decent turnout in the Cat 3s. The Masters 35+ 1/2/3 field was a little on the small side - methinks many of those guys were saving it for San Rafael.

In speaking with several folks, the ridiculously high entry fees, coupled with the charge to get your car into the raceway and the medals-only prize list has turned off lots of people. Funny, when I did this race in its inaugural year, i got an email from the organizers to fill out a post-event poll. In it, I commented on everything I mentioned above (sounds like the parking went up from $10 to $15). Nothing has changed.

Coyote Creek was much more reasonable and well-run. Additionally, San Rafael is always a great event.

There was only one guy that did the Masters 1,2,3 race and only three men for the Cat 3 race. $15 to park your car!
The whole scene there was pretty weak (including the fact they didn't have a short-track MTB race this year) except for the Pro 1,2 women and men's NRC event that had some of the top riders in the country. Maybe it will be better next year, but three road events scheduled in one day? (Coyotee, Infineon, San Rafael)
Hopefully this event will grow and improve for the better.

Except for the Pro/1/2 races, the crit and circuit pre-reg numbers look pretty thin. I guess people are voting with their feet.