All Season Six Events - Soft Season Opener
Rosaryville Soft Season Opener
Aug 26, 2023
Rosaryville State Park
Upper Marlboro, MD
What is the Soft Season Opener?
We’ll have the same course marked on which we will be racing two weeks later, and we invite you to ride as much or as little as you like.
This event will be extra beneficial for first time racers or first year MICL riders, or riders who don’t get a ton of trail time. Figure out where you can take rests or get a drink, know how long a lap feels like, and experiment with different lines to see what feels right.
History of this Event
In 2022, weather forced the cancellation of our opening race, but we still had a nice Saturday with a marked course, a pile of portable restrooms, and a lot of the league gathered together. It ended up making for a terrific day, and some of the highlights people relayed to us were:
They loved the low/no pressure feeling of that event knowing there wasn’t a race.
Riders got to ride WITH each other for hours, instead of AGAINST each other for just a lap or two or three.
Some folks did their longest ride of the year by doing multiple laps.
It will make a nice way to ease into the season for MICL staff too.
Location Information
Race operations and the infield will be located at:
Rosaryville State Park
7805 W. Marlton Ave.
Clinton, MD 20735
Park opens at 8AM
Directions
Parking
All visitors must pay a state park park entrance fee of $3 per person at the event.
There is an automated kiosk for fees at the gate - leave extra time for entry!
Carpooling is suggested.
Our amazing parking volunteer crew will guide you into the event and get you safely to parking or a managed drop-off area.
Parking will be on grass, with limited number of pavement spots available. We must leave a portion of the pavement lot spaces for other park users, so when you see that grass parking happening near you, please use that.
Home Teams 2023
In Case of Emergency
Contact the Chief Course Marshal to reach onsite emergency medical services. Course marshals, and league core staff have radios to assist in communication.
At all other times, call 911.
Important Contacts
Event Director
Adam Lewandowski
703-447-6311
Chief Course Marshal
Diana Allen
443-356-3466
Volunteers Needed
Volunteers are the backbone of our league and they not only make our events possible, they make them great.
MICL Event Volunteers have a great time, get a behind-the-scenes experience at these magical events, and all are entered into our mega volunteer raffle at the end of the season. We rely on volunteer participation from every team in the league. Thank You!
Race Plate Pickup and Programs
Saturday August 26, 2023, available all day.
Race plates will be available for pickup at registration on Saturday. They are bundled by team, so only a team director or head coach can pick up the plates unless arrangements are made ahead of time. These chip timing number plates will be used for the entire season, please do not lose them. Double- check that you are fully registered and Race Ready in the NICA Pit Zone before league registration closes 8/15. There is no onsite registration available at events this year.
DO NOT LOSE YOUR RACE PLATE - replacement plates are $20 at the registration tent. DO NOT leave it on your bike on the bike rack - IT WILL BLOW AWAY.
ALL riders on course during an event weekend are required to have a MICL Race Plate, including all adults.
GRiT Program
Marylands GRiT ambassadors invite all parents and spectators to come and join us at the GRiT Cheer Station! Pom-poms, cowbells, noisemakers and more will be available for you to use to cheer on racers as they complete their laps. Help the GRiT ambassadors pump up the volume and make every student athlete feel like a gold medal Olympian! Stay tuned for GRiT programming at this season kickoff - details will be found here!
Event Schedule
Saturday
8 AM
Venue Opens for arrival
8:30 AM
Course Marshal Preseason Training
9 AM
Course Opens for riding
10 AM-1PM
OTB 101 Class for Coaches
2 PM
Course is Closed & Final Sweep Departs
2:30 PM
Course Recovery and Event Teardown
For MICL Coaches:
We will be offering an On-The-Bike 101 Skills class at this event from 10 AM to 1 PM. This class includes the OTB field guide cards and meets level 2 coach license requirements.
Click here to register for On-The-Bike 101.
For Course Marshal Volunteers:
MICL provides above and beyond training at no cost to folks who volunteer as roving and stationary course marshals at our events. This training is good for two years and greatly enhances your ability to function in a course marshal capacity - if you will be a course marshal at one of our events this season please take this training.
Click here to register for course marshal training being offered at the Rosaryville Soft Opening
League Director’s Note
Welcome to the season six event season!
This year's course is almost identical to the TT course we ran here in 2021 with some slight deviations to get us to a whopping 3.9 miles of rolling singletrack! We anticipate lap times ranging anywhere from a scorching 17 minutes to 45 minutes of pure mountain biking bliss. This course is so much fun that the MICL staff who vetted the course in early July are still grinning!
This Rosaryville course is the perfect entry into the season. The course is fun and twisty with no significant climbs or grinds. This lap starts with some fun single track that dips down and crosses a stream, then follows a nice mellow and shady climb along a creek before turning back out towards the white perimeter trail. On the back side of the lap, riders are rewarded for staying on the gas because the trails flow very well.
The lap concludes with a long grassy field and a small embankment to climb - save a little bit in the tank for the final push across the finish! Take your time and consider trying multiple laps so you can really observe the course if you aren’t familiar with it. Make sure you take note of prime passing zones for the season opener on this same course.
Sincerely,
Jon Posner and Fred Powell
Maryland League Directors
Course Information
Description
Can you believe we haven’t raced here since our comeback from Covid at the beginning of 2021 - here is the recap from that event.
This Rosaryville course is the perfect entry into the season. The course is fun and twisty with no significant climbs or grinds. The lap starts with some fun single track that dips down into shade and crosses a stream, then follows a nice mellow and shady climb along a creek before turning back out towards the white perimeter trail. On the back side of the lap, riders are rewarded for staying on the gas because the trails flow very well.
There is one driveway crossing to be aware of (we’ll have a marshal there) otherwise, it’s time to rock and roll! 🤘
The lap concludes with a long grassy field and a small embankment to climb - save a little bit in the tank for the final push across the finish! Take your time and consider trying multiple laps so you can really observe the course if you aren’t familiar with it. Make sure you take note of prime passing zones for the season opener on this same course.
Course Map
Amenities
Camping/Lodging
There is no camping available at the venue, however there is camping available nearby at Cedarville State Forest.
Food Trucks
Due to the format of this event we are not planning a food truck. There are grills available at the back of the park pavilion we’re operating out of for the day, or teams may grill at their tent provided they have a fire extinguisher handy nearby.
Restrooms
There will be portable restrooms on site. There is also a park building with bathrooms that will be open. It is important that MICL participants keep the park restrooms clean and free of trash. This is a pack in/pack out event like all MICL events. Please help us keep in good standing with the park.
PETS
This is a pet-friendly park. Please keep pets leashed at all times and plan to clean up after your pet.
Important Notes & Rules
Vehicles are not allowed in the team pit and infield areas any time.
No Smoking in the team pit or infield areas.
Leave No Trace event - plan to pack out all your own trash - there will not be trash receptacles provided.
No inappropriate language allowed in the team pit and infield areas.
Any conflicts and/or disputes with any race official or volunteer shall not be dealt with in the team pit area.
Any violation of these rules may result in a team penalty and/or expulsion from the team pit and infield area.
No gasoline generators and no open fires inside the team pit area, please.
Portable grills are permitted but there must be a fire extinguisher within 20’ of the grill, or there are park grills available, bring your own charcoal.
Keep dogs on leashes at all times and clean up after your dogs.
Review our Refund and Weather Policy.
All racing will be governed by the NICA Rulebook and MICL policies.