Midwest MTB Report
Chalk off another great weekend of mountain biking! Yes, it was a bit chilly in the mornings but personally riding in cooler temps beats bugs, extreme heat and humidity! The Wisconsin Off Road Series, (WORS) kicked off this past weekend in Iola and we have a special recap from Minnesota racer Brendan Bellew. John Sandberg checks in keep pace with his weekly reports of the 25th running of the Buck Hill series, thank you very much John. Also in this weeks report are mountain bike related news and notes including a new addition "Strava Ride of the Week" and the usual look ahead as we continue to enjoy one of the best months of the year to mountain bike.
Iola Bump and Jump
The temps were a bit chilly the morning of the season opener of WORS but the racing was hot like always. With a long break in the Minnesota series, top elite rider Brendan Bellow from the Twin Cities trekked east to Wisconsin to battle with the top dogs of Wisconsin.
Brendan's recap:
Iola is a fun place to race! The WORS series in general is a fun change from the Minnesota series. Most of the courses have long straights that punctuate the singletrack. That sets up for a tactical sort of racing that feels sort of like a cx race. Meanwhile here in Minnesota, if you aren't doing well enough it is usually because your legs don't hurt enough. The setup at Iola is very much along the lines I described. The start is a large hill to the top of a ski jump. Get used to the climb because you are going to do it every lap. At the top it tightens up so a good start is preferable. Then you rip down a half packed, half sandy, left that skirts orange snow fencing and drops you off a small kicker into a large grass bowl at the bottom of the ski jump. The rest of the course is small to medium climbs followed by alternating fast single track and fast double track. There is a lot of climbing but somehow the whole course feels really fast. I love it.
My race was kind of goofy. I really wanted to get up that first hill in the top few guys and use those fast guys to look like a fast guy in the results. That was the plan, but plans don't always work in mountain biking. As the official counted down from ten and my nerves shot to ten I was pumped. The guy ahead of me apparently found his nerves 11 because he totally missed his pedal. I couldn't be too mad since that happens to me 2 out of 3 times. I went around him to the right and all of a sudden there was a commotion. I'm not sure if anyone hit the ground but Corey Stelljes was involved and all of a sudden he was towards the back with me. I haven't raced with him much but from my experience trying to stay with him at the Dakota 5-0 I know he is way faster than me. I was still kind of down on myself for being so far back, but Corey went to work straight away and I did my best staying on his wheel. He was in full beast mode and within a quarter of a lap I'd made up a bunch of spots and watched my slumming all star ride away. At this point I was pretty gassed from trying to hang on the tail of a comet, so when I saw a guy I recognized I sat in. I was in a group with David with long hair, you'll know him if you see him, and a guy in a white Stages kit. I had hooked on in the single track and thought they were going at an ok pace. When we hit the open portion the guy in white put down a ton of power. I ended up sitting behind them for about a lap and a half because every time we would hit the straight this guy in white would just turn it on. Something was getting in my eyes, and it might have been dust, but I'm pretty sure it was smoke coming off of his rear tire from all that power. Anyway, after a lap and a half I decided that I had better stop my admiration and act like a racer. I pretended to come around to do a pull but really went as hard as I could to sort of drop them. It worked and I started off on my own. I caught the next guy in line. He was riding really fast but hadn't been on a wheel for over a lap so I was able to get ahead of him. Then I caught the next two guys. One I was able to drop right away going up the big ski jump hill, the other was Caleb Swartz. He stuck to me like glue. I told him that I'd like to not have that guy catch us again and went to work going as hard as I could. Caleb kept saying we were going really fast, but I did notice that he sounded more like I was talking to him over a meal than in the middle of a hard race. I figured this could bite me in the end but I was still feeling really good so I kept digging. We caught and passed another guy or two. Going into the last lap I put everything I had into dropping young Caleb on the big hill. He finally started breathing a little harder, but that was all I could get out of him. My legs were starting to hurt so I asked if he could pull for a bit. Caleb came around and put down some speed. I was hanging on his wheel but just barely. When we got to the last good passing spot I did all I could to get around but don't think I even crossed his wheel. Then going into the woods we hit some lapped traffic and the race got a little muddled, but he had already proven he deserved the win on that last straight.
In the end I ended up eighth which is by far my best race in Wisconsin. Series champ Cole House got the win. Nathan Guerra was second. Somehow, strong man, Corey Stelljes made his way all the way to third! This has been a really fun start to the season for me. I'm really lucky that Pat from Penn helps me make this happen and even luckier that my wife Amy not only puts up with this shenanigans but comes all the way out here to yell for me. So awesome!
(Photo: Brendan Bellew racing at Thursday night Buck Hill races - submitted photo)
Sandberg Singletrack Buck Hill Report #2
John Sandberg reports from race #2 at Buck Hill:
No, the results from last week's Penn Cycle Thursday Night at Buck race wasn't from 2008. Indeed, longtime fast guy Doug Swanson is indeed back on the gas and ripping legs off the competition. Doug finished second to recent fast guy Dominic Talerico in the 4-lap Advanced category. Welcome back Doug (now get your brother Dan to show up with you)!
"Ladies Night" is the theme for the May 19 Penn Cycle Thursday Night at Buck race, and the goal is to encourage all girls and women to show up and ride/race. There is a dedicated Women's class (3-laps), plus there are 2- and 1-lap races for those who are just getting comfortable with competition. Keep in mind that we switch up the course each week at Buck, so what you ride this week won't be the same as last week's course. Good to keep it fresh and interested.
For riders looking ahead two weeks, we're going to switch things up on May 25 by running the Advanced (4-lap men, 3-lap women) race at the regular 6:30 time slot. Then we're going to start the 2- and 1-lap classes at 7:30. This will be a trial run, with the goal of eliminating the lapping of riders that occurs when we combine together the 4- and 2-lap categories. We're looking for feedback on this so let us know what you think after the race.
News and Notes
Strava Ride of the Week
Alright, I admit, I am a Strava junkie. What I love most about Strava though is comparing personal times to previous rides to gauge fitness and what not to years past and also using it as a tool to find trails in different towns or locations. Kudos to those that come up with catchy titles and trail photos. A new feature of the MW MTB report will be highlighting a ride that catches my attention. It might not be the biggest or baddest ride but something unique, unusual or maybe getting some new riders out on the trail are a few examples. Obviously it is impossible to check in on every ride happening in the Midwest but I'll try my best to keep it balanced and original. With that said, help from the readers would be great. If anything is noteworthy, please shoot me an email at
Okay, on to this weeks Strava Ride of the Week. This weeks ride goes to Scott and Sara Kylander Johnson who logged a 71 mile mountain bike ride utilizing the Duluth Traverse trail to link some of the sweet trail systems in Duluth. Total ride time was 7 hours, 40 minutes and 56 seconds. According to Scott's data, total elevation gain was just over 6000ft. Scott said they rode trail 99% of the time. Awesome. Nice work Scott and Sara! Checkout the full ride stats.
(Photo: Riding one of the Duluth Traverse Trail links)
Buck Hill Launches Mountain Bike Skills Clinics
Keeping the Buck Hill momentum going, Buck Hill will be offering several mountain bike skills clinics this summer. These camps, workshops and training sessions will be tailored for children, high school athletes, women and men. Sessions begin in June and July and offer a discount for early registration.
Last Chance For Early Bird Pricing on RideCamp 2016
Early Bird Registration for Salsa RideCamp 2016 ends on May 18th. If you love riding bikes, camping, the outdoors, fly fishing, campfires, yard games, and spending time with new friends, then this is an event for you.
Inspiring story of Salinas HS one-legged mountain biker KC Fontes
KC Fontes learned to ride a bike before he could walk. His dad, David, bought him a red DYNO BMX bike for Christmas 1999, when KC was just six months old. "He was my first-born son," says David, "and all I wanted to do was get him on a bike as soon as I could."
For the next decade KC spent almost as much time speeding around on two wheels as he did on two legs. But in sixth grade he came home one day from basketball practice at his school in Salinas, Calif., complaining that his right leg hurt. His calf just below the knee was swollen, and doctors discovered a rare tumor. Read the full story.
Mountain Biking to become newest High School sport
The variety of sports options continues to grow in the state of Minnesota and Alexandria is the next high school to jump on board to the rapidly expanding high school mountain biking. The state league started in 2011 and has been growing at a rapid pace. There are currently 52 teams in Minnesota and over 850 athletes. Alexandria will become one of 6 MN new high school teams to start up in 2016. The program is supported by Alexandria Area High School and Discovery middle School; however, it will be run as a club sport, much like Trap Shooting. Kids will get in the yearbook and after the first year will have a chance to letter in the sport as well. New trail is being built at Andes Tower as readers read this report which will be one of the areas the Cardinals will train.
Why the Wage Disparity in the Bike Industry?
Why is the bike industry unable to command prices for service and products commensurate with other industries? Why is a doctor, a dentist, a plumber, an HVAC repairperson or an auto mechanic so much more expensive to hire than a bike fitter, bike salesman or bike mechanic? Why are similar things so cheap in the bike industry, when they are priced consistently higher in other industries? Read an interesting blog post by Tom Demerly that answers these questions.
Looking Ahead
Cup #3 Sandilands Provincial Forest (MTB) and Power Smart Manitoba Summer Games Qualifier
I don't normally mention races across the border in Canada but one race that is worth mentioning is the Cup #3 race held at Sandilands Provincial Park in Manitoba just north of Roseau, MN. I had the opportunity to race there back in 2007 and it was a really fun time. The location truly has a feel of being out in the middle of nowhere. The course is old school with true hand cut classic singletrack. I would check with officials on license requirement before heading up. To make it a weekend trip, consider hitting up the new mountain bike trails near Falcon Lake Resort and others in the South Whiteshell which is at the top of my bucket list after drooling over the hand cut bed rock digs.
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/LaMere/Paramount/Jake's Bikes mountain bike team and enters his 26th year of racing and promoting mountain bike races. Have an event or mountain bike related information to share from the Midwest? Feel free to contact Jay at |