Midwest MTB Report
Summer is winding down fast! This weeks report includes recaps from the Flugly in Moorhead and the Seeley Pre Fat and the look ahead. A late labor day weekend giving us one more weekend in August before the holiday weekend which features some big events.
Flugly
The FM Trailbuilders of Fargo Moorhead have done a great job working with the available terrain along the shores of the north flowing Red River to provide mountain bike opportunities in two different locations, all with volunteer labor! Last weekend racing action was held at the MB Johnson park just north of Moorhead. Tom Heilman reports:
This was the 5th annual Flugly mountain bike race and thus named The Flugly 5 (in honor of old school 70's funk/disco). The Flugly is all about good times and good people so each we try to have some sort of theme or mascot to celebrate how great it is to be a one with two wheels on a trail.
Weather earlier in the week was questionable and had us wondering if we would be able to get the race done this year, but by the grace of the rain gods, it held off until later in the day Saturday and trail conditions were about as good as they get. Friday nights Time Trial was the best attended yet. One lap around MB Johnson Park trail in Moorhead at an all out effort is nothing short of 15-25 minutes of heart attack! Tom Heilman took home the Men's division and Kristy Erdman pulled in the women's. Like usual there was a lot of huffing and puffing, talked of defibrillators, and laughs at the finish line. (Photo: Dave Simmons)
Saturday was time for the XC races. The course was well marked and ready for action at 9:30 am for the Sport Division. The sport division is usually one of the most fun races to watch and participate in as it is well attended by both competitive individuals, die hards, and people looking for a fun time. Everyone is a winner, but coming in first on the men's side was local trail advocate and dedicated volunteer Tracy Johnson, followed by Alex Koppy and then Joseph Karvonen. On the women's side Kristy Erdman finished her double, followed by race coordinator and super FM Trailbuilders Volunteer of the year Kayla Johnson, and finally Greta Danielson. (For those who haven't done it, being a race organizer AND racing in the same event is extremely hard....congrats to Kayla....and a major thanks for making sure the race goes off without a hitch.) Next up was the expert division. This consists of 4 laps or about 1.00-1.5 hrs of effort in traditional XC race style. It was also well attended and is always fun to see the pre race jockeying. After 5 years of trying, Tom Heilman finally pulled out a win (largely because of some bad luck by other riders :)) and is now thinking of retiring, with John Struchynski not too far back, and Ridge Krisher brought in the bronze. The best even of the day is always the kids and citizens race. This year it was ALL kids and that is awesome! Boys and girls between ages 7 and 12 were out on a slightly modified course battling it out to finish. Seeing the youth enjoying a sport that they can take with them their entire life is always an inspiration for races like the this. Final Results were Girls: 1. Olivia Gefroh, 2. Olivia Heilman (aka OJ); Boys: 1. Sam Fabian, 2. Hayden Leiseth, 3. Henry Simmons, 4. Owen Simmons.
Major thanks to all of the volunteers and fans who came out for the race. This is a 100% fundraiser good time event for building trail in and around the FM area. We can't do it without your support so thank for all of us at Fargo Moorhead Trailbuilders!
Seeley Lions Pre-Fat
With Labor day weekend being as late as it can be this year, we had a rare Saturday off at the resort. The Flugly has always been a fun event to attend and had initial plans to attend again this year but I had the opportunity to attend the Pre Fat so I decided last minute I would head over to Wisconsin. Not ever being able to make it over to Seeley, I thought I would give it a shot for the first time and was really looking forward to it.
I drove over the afternoon before, in time to get registered, and visit with Tom Meyer and race director Tom Gaier. I wanted to check out part of the course, in particular the singletrack, so both Toms said where to go with a lot of go rights follow this go under the course tape go backwards on the course than take a left which left me a little confused but was pretty confident I had it figured out. Either way I would be happy just to be riding my mountain bike in northwoods Wisconsin. I drove up to the Seeley Hills ski trail head and went down the citizen course before getting on the main course. I think I missed a turn but eventually found the singletrack, and everything was awesome. I made my way back to the trail head than checked out the hill ski trail loop thinking it was going to be a fun day on Saturday.
Saturday morning I made my way up to Seeley from Hayward not before getting pulled over from a state trooper. I wasn't the only one he said as he sent me on my way with just a warning. Whew. As I was getting ready to head out for a warm up ride, a guy pulled up to me that was racing at the 11am sport race. He had only about five minutes to get ready, still didn't make the start time but wasn't too worried with the chip timing. Had a good quick conversation with him after he mentioned he was trying to get back in to more intense physical activity after being diagnosed with Lyme a few years ago. Having gone through that myself, it was good to connect.
I went down OO for a warm up, bumping in to Todd McFadden, catching up with him before he veered off to check out the start of the course. As I was making my way up the long hill, Jeff Hall was coming down the hill and he turned around and we caught up for a bit while I admired his half fat set up, a new ride he was testing out today. The legs were feeling pretty good after cresting the top and venturing down a forest road for a bit and I was excited to race!
The start of the race was nicely controlled, everyone seemed relatively relaxed and rode smooth unlike some other paved rollouts I've been involved in. Nice work everyone. The long gradual hill kept the pace reasonable as we ventured to the left near the "gravel pit" to hit the ski trail. Once we hit the trail, the order seemed to be selected nicely with no crazy passing or efforts by riders to get around. As soon as we got to the top, we were treated to a long fast downhill that would be common during the race. There didn't seem to be any short downhills, they were all long and fast! Fun!
As we wove up and down the first cluster of ski trails, there were a few riders to move up and a few to move back within the group I was riding with. Our group of 8 or so included Todd McFadden driving at the front with Gnate Hackensack, Mike Bushey who was on a single speed, Matt Muyres, Barry Tungsten, another Revolution rider, a Chilkoot rider and Tim Ek who was on a fat bike. This was a nice group as we represented the 8-20 riders in the expert race. On one of the long downhills, both Barry and Mike dropped chains which put them in to chase mode. As we neared the singletrack section Todd McFadden was driving the pace and no one seemed able to be have the juice to take a pull. Todd was awarded being the first one to the singletrack and with his skill set, he peeled us off like a carrot getting the business in a Chinese restaurant. I was at the back of the group and could only watch him ride away. Being in the back of the group was intentional as I was able to carry momentum from the downhill to the uphill and bridge the gap.
After we came off the singletrack, the pace of the group seemed to back off a bit so I went to the front to pick up the pace, Mike Bushey and I traded turns until the gravel road than Gnate made a nice pull. After his pull I went back to the front and put in a good effort to keep there as I wanted to be the first one to the singletrack. When we hit the singletrack I was right on the edge of redlining and didn't enjoy the singletrack as much as the first time but I kept the pace going and rode cleanly, putting on 20-30 seconds of the group behind me and catching a few riders. I came out of the singletrack and rolled on ski trail for a half mile or so than saw the 2 miles to go sign. I was expecting fast rolling ski trail but it was more closer to singletrack which was awesome! About one mile ago I could see Todd again who was playing cat and mouse with Samuel Hayden. About a half mile ago there was a steep fall line pitch I thought of making an attack but Todd moved to the left to get around Hayden and I had to click out. At that point I decided I would settle for a sprint finish. Before we popped out on the flat gravel finish, there was a short technical section I had to clip out again because of riding to close to the guys. When we hit the flat gravel, we slowed down considerably as no one wanted to go to the front. Than Todd put the hammer down and took the sprint as Hayden rolled in front of me, both of us not being able to respond.
A short spin to cool down after the sprint than a jump in the most refreshing Namekegon river afterwards capped off a most excellent race. It truly was a awesome event with a fun old school course, and pack racing with tactics. The best I've felt on a bike doing a hard sustained effort since Lyme disease kicked me in the butt 5 years ago. With a full fall schedule on tap, this was the last weekend I could race and it was about as good as it gets. The awards ceremony was a fun time catching up with riders including Mike Hall who was celebrating his 60th. Hats off to Tom Gaier who was in his 20th year of promoting and organizing the event. Have to say it was one of the more well marked courses I have ever raced on. Nice job Tom!
Looking Ahead
A quiet weekend on tap with no big races scheduled. That will not be the norm labor day weekend as four big events will spread riders all throughout the midwest. One of the events, of course, is the Laddies Loppet mountain bike weekend which I have been putting on for 25 years now! Always look forward to this weekend, seeing all the great mtb folk and observing the racing action, especially the short track. In the two lap race, riders will be duking it out for the top prize of 1000 dollars in both the male and female divisions. Almost 2 miles of new more contemporary like singletrack added for this years loop. In addition to the racing a full weekend of activities planned with yoga sessions for post race recovery including paddle board, lake bike jumping off the dock, bonfire and live music Sunday night.
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. |