Midwest MTB Report
A busy weekend of mountain bike action this weekend with mother nature making things interesting on the Saturday races. This weeks report included a recap from the Mt Borah Epic, series recaps from MNMBS #2 Detroit Mountain Shakedown and WORS #2 Battle of Camrock. The Strava Ride of the Week and a look ahead as we spin the wheels into June caps off this weeks report.
Detroit Mountain Shakedown Race #2 MNMBS
Race #2 in the MNMBS made way to Northwest Minnesota for the Detroit Mountain Shakedown held at the "reborn" Detroit Mountain. The downhill ski area closed 12 years back and reopened the fall of 2014, thanks to a massive crowd funding movement along with local, state and federal government support to open the slopes for downhill skiers. Also in the plans were the construction of purpose built optimized flow mountain bike trails along with downhill specific trails serviced by the ski lifts. The mountain bike trails opened mid summer of 2015 and a spot on the series was confirmed later that fall.
Being a resident of the Detroit Lakes area for most of my life and mountain biking the last 26 years of those, I spent many hours riding the steep slopes of Detroit Mountain for 23 consecutive years which provided great training for races in the Minnesota series such as the alpine areas of Welch Village, Afton Alps, Quadna and tough straight up climbing found at Millville and Powerline Trail which was host to the Cherry Bomb. Training on the popular ski runs "west and west trail" was excellent preparation for the aforementioned race venues. Detroit Mountain was also host to a mountain bike race in 1990 as part of the long time running Northwest Water Carnival race. I remember that race with the stiff climbs and bomber descents that required some navigating skill at high speed through sand traps with the butt behind the saddle type stuff. A group of us also conducted time trials, timed by the former owner of the local bike shop, The Cyclery, Bob Romaine.
I hadn't been on the new trails at DM until earlier this spring but enjoyed a good number of rides at the classic singletrack venue nearby at Mountain View since those trails opened a few years back that was to be included in the courses for Comp and Expert classes.
The cross country race was on Saturday and all eyes were on the weather. The rain wasn't as intense as what most people thought it might of been which unfortunately kept a few people away. Come race day race officials were able to use the entire course as planned other than a second lap at Mountain View taken out for the experts with concerns the race might get to long. The course included new machine built trail by Progressive Trail designs that was sculpted earlier in the spring. Racers reported this section as velcro-like but the rest of the course rode great and reports were all good. I wasn't able to sneak way with resort duty keeping me at home but Sunday I was able to sneak away for the time trial.
Long time racer Kyia Anderson who has returned to racing action, hitting up the marathon races reports on her race on a Facebook post:
Detroit Mountain showed off their new trails today at the MN MTB series race #2. I rode up with a rowdy crew of St Cloud bikers early in the morning to race the marathon. It's always fun to see friends old and new at these races!! Because of the rain our course was modified as was the race distance, but all in all the course was fun and I was fine with being done at 3.5 hours, especially with half of the course having a very tacky Velcro like mud. It made for some slow going. The course dried out each lap and the rolling improved each time around. I had a blast with the flow trails! My back was happy too! I got in 5 laps and ended up 7th overall in the race, 1st place woman!
(Photo: Tony Schmitz)
Having hosted a mountain bike race for 25 years, the best time to ride the course is either the day before when everything is polished or the day after riders have buffed the course out to perfection. Sunday at Detroit Mountain was no different. The time trial course followed a good portion of the xc course and was ridden in to a tacky firm perfection. The corners had been compressed for dialed in railing and there was no hesitation like I had earlier in the spring when it was bone dry and a little loose. I had a blast riding even though the turnout was lower. A check of the new trail before and a half dozen trips up to the top to shred the downhill runs using the new switchback climb that reminded me of climbing out west, made for a great morning on the bike under a gorgeous morning.
Mt Borah Epic
The number of times the word epic has been used this past week is off the charts. Ha! Seriously, Mother Nature decided to spice things up for the Mt Borah Epic resulting in good old fashioned mountain biking conditions with mud, grit and grime. I was signed up for the event but with the Shakedown closer to home and work conflicts, I didn't make the trek over. Looking at the photos, the conditions remind me of the Chequamegon back in the mid 90's. Fun stuff, depending on your perspective.
The race times reflected the conditions as only a dozen riders cracked the 3 hour mark with a nice battle up front in the long race between Brian Matter, Jesse Lalonde and Dominic Talerico taking the top 3 spots respectively. Casey Hildenbrandt put in a solid result to nail the fourth spot and Mason Bacso outsprinted his brother Kasey to round out the top five or six I should say.
In the womens long event, Courtney McFadden took the top spot edging out Midwest legends Jenna Rinehart and Sara Kylander-Johnson. Dianna McFadden and Eleanor Bacso rounded off the top five. Eleanor provides a report of her race and the general vibe:
We woke up to the rain falling down hard around 7am. We knew right away with the rain from earlier in the week and this morning that the race was going to be a mud fest. As we drove into Cable, two hours before the race start the lot was scattered with cars here and there with their owners hiding inside for some dry warmth. Our group headed into packet pick-up which was mostly empty and then within 10 minutes it started to get flooded with excited racers in their brightly colored rain jackets.
With our number plates we headed back to our car for some warmth and to wait out the rain. After a while we hung out as a group outside of the car talking with our friends who drove up in the morning to the race. The rain started to cease a little bit with folks coming out of their cars to test out their bikes and legs for a warm up. I went out for a warm up with my friend Caroline Lund and it was pretty short lived; they were already beginning to do call ups for the race start!
(Photo: James Netz photography -- Long race start. Riders clean before getting into the grime)
As we all huddled together in a massively long line I couldn't wait to get on my bike and start riding! This year was a little bit different with all of the racers having to climb up the powerline hills. I felt really good with the first set of climbs passing folks to the left and to the right. Eventually my legs got too burned out and I started fading unfortunately before the single track. Like usual, there was a big line to get into the single track with people hopping off their bikes. After a while we got into a groove and I was leading a long pack of riders. I saw my friend Diana McFadden a few switch backs up and yelled, "Go Di!" That was the last time I would see her in the race, she had an amazing one!
It wasn't really raining at all during the first part of the race and the trails were mostly damp with everything drying out well. As soon as we hit the dirt road section there were massive puddles of mud and greasy rutted out spots everywhere. Most people just got absolutely drenched at this part. When we entered back into the fast flowy funness I rode with two guys up to 00. My back was aching and hurting so badly I had to stop and crack it. I felt so much better also after a coke that Sara Morse graciously shared with me!
The next 8 miles or so I rode by myself; trying to keep up the previous fresher leg pace I had earlier in the race. It got really dark in the woods with the clouds coming in again and the wind whipping through the trees. It was a surreal feeling of being completely by yourself shredding through the forest floor. Suddenly, the rain started coming down hard and I continued onto the ski trails once again. I saw folks with grimaces on their faces with leg cramps. Within the last 7-8 miles to go I started seeing more and more people with major mechanicals. The trails was worsening with massive ruts and incredibly slick rocks. I could hear brakes squealing from a ways away. I felt like mine were getting really soft and I was just hoping they would hold out until the end.
The mud was so bad I started getting it flicked into my eyes and I could barely see with my contacts. I just tried to blink as much as I could to get it out. The last 5 miles absolutely dragged on. With climbs up and down I could not wait to be done. It took quite a bit to keep my mental toughness up but then I thought about what my dad had taught me in all of those ski races. Love the hills and never give up!
Finally there was 1 mile to go. Now, the ski trail was even slippery and muddy. I pushed as much as I could right up to the finish line. I was so happy that I had finished and that I was 5th woman. I have never finished a big race like this one in the top 10 ever before. I tried to talk with a friend afterwards but could barely open my eyes because of the mud. As other finishers crossed the line you could see a big sigh of relief that the race was finished and that they had accomplished a huge feat.
(Photo: Charly Tri)
Everyone went down into the creek afterwards to wash off their bikes and themselves. My brand new Maplelag jersey wasn't so white and pink anymore. It felt great though to wash up and get into dry clothing. It was fun to hang out afterwards and talk with friends about their crazy races. After a while you could see most folks reverting back out of survival mode into their normal selves. What a hard and great race!
I would like to send a big thank you to the race organizers of the Mount Borah Epic, as an event coordinator I really appreciate all of the hard work that goes into putting a huge event like this one on.
Battle of Camrock Race #2 WORS
Cody Condon checks in with a race recap from Battle of Camrock, race #2 in the WORS:
Sunday was a perfect day of Wisconsin weather, and that certainly reflected the amount of people that came out to race at Camrock. The course offered something for everyone. Right off the start you charge a grass climb that kicks up twice to help get people in line before the singletrack section starts. At the end of the climb there is a flat section before a long (by midwest standards) descent that traverses through a field over to a fun section of singletrack. Following that you have a short, high speed gravel section that gives you a chance for easy passing before more climbing. The two main singletrack climbs in the race have some rocky switchbacks that can be a little tricky if you are not familiar with the course. Each lap ended with a switchback climb, making for a tough finish.
(Photo: WORS)
I decided to do the Comp length race in the Clydesdale division. The first lap was pretty congested with a lot of traffic due to the large field size, but then the second and third laps were a bit faster as everyone spread out just a bit. Having not done a race for a couple of years the pace was high, but I settled in and had a good race. I ride Camrock quite often so I felt really comfortable on the more challenging parts of the course. There was a timing computer issue for the comp race so I am not sure exactly where I finished, but I look forward to doing a few more races this year.
Overall it was a great day for a race with beautiful weather and perfect trail conditions. I want to personally say thank you to the people who work so hard to put these races on. I know a few people were upset that there was a timing/computer problem for the comp race, but they will get the results figured out. I hope people are thankful for the great course and atmosphere on Sunday.
Strava Ride of the Week
The Strava Ride of the Week "segment" of the MTB report continues to be most interesting. It's cool seeing all the different places people are riding and like I said before, the quirky catchy titles with a photo or two are best. Another week and weekend of some massive rides. This weeks ride of the week goes to the crew from Fargo/Moorhead who made a big weekend trip heading west into North Dakota to hit up various trails, ending on the mighty Mah Day Hey on Sunday hooking up with up a group numbering 16. The final ride by Matt Fabian, one of the riders in the group, on Sunday gets the highlighted ride for Strava ride of the week with fun segments named Horns, Hooves and Claws and Teeth, Tusks and Talons. Matt reports: "We had 16 total to start. In Medora, Farther north one gets, the more challenging it is. We started north. Day 2 at Medora we started with 14. Day 3 we were down to about 10" With Cuyuna, Duluth, and Copper Harbor grabbing headlines, there is some "epic" riding to be had in North Dakota folks!
(Photo: Matt Fabian -- Taking a break on the Mah Da Hey)
Thursday Night Wedding Bells
John Sandberg reports:
With 25 years of racing to look back on, the Penn Cycle Thursday Night at Buck races have delivered numerous memorable occasions. But the special event surrounding the upcoming June 9 race is definitely a first for this series, and maybe a first in the history of Minnesota mountain bike racing.
About 10 minutes after the Advanced and Rec classes head out onto the course this week, a wedding ceremony will take place (on what will be the kids' race course later in the evening) between Marnie Dekam and Travis Stone, two longtime race regulars. The ceremony will be quick, but the party will continue throughout the evening, with a 13-piece band belting out good vibrations. The atmosphere will be awesome, as will the racing.
Thanks to all the racers who tried and gave feedback on our experiment of moving the Rec class start to 7:30 pm the past couple weeks. There are Pros and Cons for either start time. We're reverting back to the traditional start time for Rec (6:35 pm, just after the Advanced class) for the remainder of the season.
Future themes for upcoming races this special 25th Anniversary season include Dance Party, Superhero, Vintage Bike, Patriotic, NICA, You-Pick-the-Theme, and Bonus Round Night. There's something for everyone, so come out and find what's fun for you.
Looking Ahead
Back to back race weekends for both the MNMBS and WORS before going into a break again....
The trail work at Nordic Mountain began in spring, 2006 with shovels and rakes and the construction of a 5-mile loop. As the trails developed, the site hosted regional championships and multiple national Pro XCT events.The course is described as a bit of everything, with a challenge of mixed climbs, forested single track, fast descents, and rock gardens. All of this combines to challenge the experts, yet simple enough for the beginner. The course is very spectator friendly with easy access to all the action.
Peace Coffee Racing and Mt. Kato have paired up once again to host the Bluff Riders Charge! This event is run entirely by volunteers from the Peace Coffee Racing team and their family members with help from MNMBS staff and series volunteers. This will be the 6th year PRC has hosted this event. The course starts with a nice warm-up climb to the top of the ski area. Once on top, all racers make a large traverse along the front of the ski area. The course has a good balance of climbs, descents and technical sections with switchbacks. The approximate vertical gain per lap is 500 feet.
This year the proceeds from this event are going to support the local cycling community.
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 |