Midwest MTB Report
With Mother's day taking precedent over most athletic events, the racing was pretty light. Mother Nature cooperated for the most part and quite a few riders put in some big rides on Saturday with the road bike as observed on social media. This weeks report is highlighted by a couple mountain bike related items including skills and training camps, a trail review from Movil Maze near Bemidji and a look ahead as both the Minnesota and Wisconsin series resume.
Wessling Fitness
John Wessling who is most know to Skinnyski.com readers as a skier that made the transition to hard core mountain biker after graduating from the Colllege of St Scholastica last spring and is using his background from skiing and motocross to make his presence known within the top mountain bikers in the Midwest. John has started a training business working mostly with motocross racers but also working with other athletes as well. John touched based on his new endeavors and reports:
If you type in "most physically demanding sport" in your google bar, you might be a bit shocked to see Motocross on the list. I might be better known on SkinnySki as a cross-country skier, but not that long ago I was racing Motocross every weekend with some of the best racers in the United States. My background in Motocross and Cross Country Skiing clashed into a training group called "Wessling Fitness". I write online training plans and work one-on-one with a group of athletes five days a week. The majority of our training off the dirt-bike is cycling (mountain and road) and weight lifting, at an awesome gym called "Train Your Way Fitness", located in St. Louis Park, MN.
While racing Motocross, the riders do two 30 minute races during the day. During those 30 minutes, the riders will average heart rates between 180-190 bpm with heart rate spikes of 200+ depending on the person. Throughout the week, we try to mimic race days as best as we can by catering workouts to increase stamina. The riders I am training are the top professional and amateur riders in the United States. The main group I am working with consists of: Christian Craig, Jake Loberg, Henry Miller, and new to the program is Chase Sexton. Hopefully you will see some of them at local mountain bike races this summer! If you would like to know more information about Wessling Fitness, email me at [email protected]
Minnesota High School Cycling League Free Racing
Minnesota High School Cycling League announced the Race for Free at the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series is back! The Race For Free program allows MN League athletes (7th – 12th grade) to race in the Citizen's class at the following MN MTB series races, for free!
May 31 – Bluff Riders Charge – Mankato, MN; June 28 – Cuyuna Lakes Crusher – Crosby, MN; July 26 – Border Crossing – River Falls, WI; August 16 – Great Hawk Chase – Duluth, MN
Racers - DO NOT REGISTER ONLINE! To participate, racers must register race day only. Learn more and get entry form
Gals and Gears Women's Mountain Bike Clinic
Presented by the City of Ashland Parks and Rec Dept and hosted by Mt Ashwabay, "New Moonies", Cindy, Cindy, Jane, and Marcia will be assisting with mountain biking skills instruction, bike fitting, and bike maintenance. Test bikes will be provided by New Moon Ski and Bike at no additional cost. This is an excellent opportunity to try your hand at mountain biking or to gain confidence on singletrack! Held at beautiful Mt Ashwabay near Bayfield, WI on June 27th. Lunch provided. $25. Pre-registration required. Email or call Sara Hudson for detailed info at [email protected] or 715-682-7059. Facebook event page.
Chequemegon Youth Mountain Bike Camp
The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation and CAMBA will host a Mountain Bike Camp for youth ages 6-18 on June 13th at the OO Trailhead. Cost for the camp is only $25 for a day of learning mountain bike skills on the Birkie Trail and CAMBA singletrack. The camp runs from 9 am – 3 pm with lunch and snacks provided. All skill levels welcome! Guided group rides for parents will be offered during the camp at 9 am and 1 pm, so everyone gets some fun on the trails. Call the Birkie office at 715-634-5025 for more information. Registration is open at http://www.birkie.com/live/training-programs/#train-to-bike
Movil Maze Trail Review
Last week I was in the Bemidji area and stopped by the Movil Maze recreation area to check out the new mountain bike trails built there in recent years. I made a visit to Movil right after the first loop was built a few years ago but hadn't been there since two additional loops were added. I have good memories of Movil having mountain biked there on the ski trails when I worked in Bemidji during the summer during college and was also one of the first places I ever mountain biked 25 years ago. The area is popular among the local Nordic skiers for the fun rolling course maintained to perfection by the Bemidji area groomers. The North Star Mountain Bike Trail Group formed five years ago to build mountain bike specific trail at Movil and have created three fast flowing loops that has become popular among area college students at Bemidji State University. The three loops combined add up to almost seven miles of trail that are suitable for all mountain bikers. Trail builders have also worked in various skill features including log bridges and ramps. Most recently added was the playground in "the pit" which includes a couple of steep drops that drop into pump track like area with some jumps. Nestled among towering Norway pines, this is a fun little area to check out if ever passing through Bemidji or heading up north to International Falls. The beautiful Turtle River flows past just a mile away which makes for a refreshing post ride dip. Be sure to wear good shoes walking down to the river though!
Looking Ahead
The 20th Annual Cable Area Off Road Classic had planned for a another great event including a new twist to this years version, the race was scheduled to be run backwards! Reversing the start by starting in Cable and finishing up at Lakewoods Resort after twisting through the Chequemegon Forest on a mix of forest roads, gravel and everyone's favorite, the CAMBA singletrack! A popular event for many riders who race on Saturday and than hit up the endless CAMBA singletrack. But late Tuesday evening, the website stated the event was cancelled due to low registration numbers and "circumstances beyond control". We attempted to contact organizers before this report (last minute) but they were unavailable for comment.
Race #2 in the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series jumps across the river to far western Wisconsin for the St. Croix Woolly. Woolly ring leader Matt Fisk provides the latest Woolly droppings and a insight on what it takes to promote a mountain bike race and a reflection of their deep passion for building trails, bringing new riders to the sport with weekly group rides and skill sessions:
When people think of a Moutain Bike Race, they usually think of something like this...
As the promoters of a race, our club thinks of this...
We have to deal with tables, chairs, tents, garbage cans, sponsors, city council meetings, police dept, fire dept, ambulance service, cups, coolers, fencing, phone calls, emails, meetings, angry locals, happy locals, water bottles, T-shirts, volunteers, etc... These are the things the Woolly Bike Club has to worry about leading up to the race. Luckily, most of the "behind the scenes junk" is done. Now it is the fun part!! The actual race is the "cherry on top of the sundae" for us. The Woolly Bike Club will be working LITERALLY from dawn to dusk on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to make sure everything goes right and we love every minute of it...well most minutes of it.
After the huge turnout at Buck Hil we are really excited for this upcoming weekend. We love having something new for the race every year and this year it will be our new flow-type single track, Erratic Rock. It will mean a bit more work for us, but we think the Sport/Comp/Expert/Marathon Classes will enjoy this new addition. It starts with a long gradual climb to the current "high-point" of our trail network, but racers will be rewarded with a fun, flowy, high speed, bermy decent back down.
The trails are currently in great shape. There has been some rain over the past few days and there is some in the forecast for the next few days, but we are blessed with good dirt. Most of our soil is "loamy" with enough sand to keep things draining nicely. It rained most of Sunday and Monday, but we still held our group ride Tuesday PM and the trails were great. In our 7+ mile loop, there is one small puddle. As long as there is no lightning on Sunday, we are expecting a day of great racing. Bring a raincoat or umbrella while you are off the bike, but scattered showers won't create a bike destroying mud-fest, but it probably will reward those with superior bike handling skills.
Another fun thing is Spring Awakenings. The city of St Croix is sponsoring this new festival, so there will be great outdoor activities in town all day on Saturday. People should plan to drive up early for their Saturday pre-ride or stay overnight in town and enjoy some of the beauty that is available in our picturesque river valley. A good time is guaranteed in Woollyland this weekend. On Monday morning, the club will be happily exhausted and we will immediately start planning for 2016 and making the race even better.
Camp Tesomas outside of Rhinelander is host to race #2 in the Wisconsin Off Road Series. "The course is heavily forested, containing a mix of hardwoods and pine plantations. The soil is ideally suited for mountain biking, made up of rock, sand and clay. Rain or shine, the surface holds up well to the pounding of bike tires. The rolling terrain also creates a tough, exhilarating, yet fun bike ride", reports the RASTA group, organizers and sponsors of the event. (Photo: Claire Cannon)
Keep the wheels moving!
 | About the author... Jay Richards maintains a very active lifestyle. He somehow finds time between managing a full-time resort (Maplelag) and bringing up a family of four boys with his wife Jonell, to compete in both mountain bike and a few cross-country ski races. Jay rides for Maplelag Resort, manages the Maplelag/Paramount/Podiumwear mountain bike team and enters his 25th year of racing and promoting mountain bike races. |