Midwest MTB Report

by Jay Richards
August 1, 2023

Just like that we are into August! It's a big month for racing and events as July wrapped up with a break in the heat, a welcome reprieve for riders at the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series race at Detroit Mountain and the Wausau 24 event at the Nine Mile trail system. This week's report includes recaps from both events including an exclusive interview with Wausau 24 solo winner Josh Bauer on his incredible effort. There's also the usual look ahead as we kick off the busy month of August.

24 Hours of Wausau

The Wausau 24 continues to build it’s legacy as one of the premier 24 hour events in the country, with the atmosphere, riding, and vibe making it unique. This past weekend riders had multiple options to participate in—from teams to solo. Putting in an absolutely incredible ride was the solo champion Josh Bauer. I touched base with Josh this week and asked him a few questions about the day:

First off, massive congratulations on the 24 hour win. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the mileage you did!! Unreal dude. Going into this thing, did you have any idea how many miles you might be able to do?

If I'm being completely honest, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. Up until a week before I hadn't looked at anything for Wausau 24. Late last week I finally looked at some results and course details to see what I was in for. The year previous the winner of the 24 hour solo did 16 total laps, averaging 1 hour and 26 minutes each lap. Going into the weekend I was set expectations of doing 1 hour and 20 minute laps as an average. That changed on Friday night when I did a lap at a very casual pace and did it in 1 hour and 6 minutes. My goal then was to do around 1 hour and 5 - 1 hour and 10 minute laps in the beginning and then slowly decrease my speed through the evening. Goal was to do 20 laps and around 260 miles and try to complete it all before 24 hours so I could be done before 10am.

Competing or racing for that long I am sure there are many emotions, highs and lows. What was the high point and what was the low point? Anything crazy or unusual happen during the event?

I was prepared for the worst, at least in my head I thought I was. Thinking back on it, I really didn't go through crazy emotions, I just kept my headspace free of any thoughts. I did have some occasional low points of being tired, hungry, bored and extremely over riding some sections of the course. Which I think most riders that competed would agree on. A supre low point would have been sometime at 3am. I was out for a lap and my headlamp died, which was super eerie and made me panic. All of a sudden it was just so dark and I couldn't see anything, I thought maybe something really bad happened but I put my foot down and stepped on some soggy ground and turned on my back up handlebar light and continued on. I have two high points, the campsite Maggie(my partner) and I had become a very friendly and familiar place, with the pace I was riding I would be there every hour and it became my second home to the trail. Being able to see Maggie and just talk briefly became something I'd cherish and really look forward to when I saw the 12 mile marker. Secondly, I was riding behind a junior that was ripping the jump section, one of the last jumps was huge and they sent it! I was blown away by the courage and pace he hit the booter. Definitely a huge highlight for me.

Participating in an event like this I am sure takes a ton of support? What did that look like?

My longest event previous to this event was Day Across Minnesota, where I was only allowed to have 3 spots along the course to have support, that being only 12 1/2 hours I knew that the support would go much deeper. I had Maggie at our campsite filling bottles, prepping food and having this out on the table for me to grab if I wanted it. This was Maggie's first time doing something like this and she did an amazing job. I think the biggest support I had from her was the fact that I had a human to human connection every hour, like stated above, it's something I craved and that was a huge win/gain.

The snacks!!! I saw on your Insta story you were most looking forward to this. Ha! Can you remember and break down everything you consumed?

I may have gone overboard on the snacks I bought a few nights before haha! But I wanted to have a variety and not have my options be stale and my body not wanting to eat it. The first 8 hours I did 4 16oz bottles with a high carb drink mix, that tied me over for the first few hours, I'd occasionally grab some nerds clusters, gummy bears and other candies during those 8 hours. Hours 8-16 would be more substantial food. I ate instant mashed potatoes, easy mac, pb & j. Someone that was at our campsite went and got me some mac & cheese from Noodles & Company right before the night fell. Hour 16-24 is where things really started to become difficult for me to eat. I was starting to force food down and it wasn't going well, I had to eat lightly the last four hours and it was mostly just some gummy snacks. I would finish the race and eat some left over chimichanga I had two nights before.

How does this win, or I should say effort and experience as sometimes that can be more meaningful than a "win", compare to other events you have done?

This experience is definitely a lot different than the majority of the events I've been fortunate enough to win. I haven't had a lot of victories but this one will certainly be memorable. I think since this was all just a new experience and really testing the limits of myself, my relaxed attitude towards the entire thing but also still being extremely nervous the night before. I'm happy with my effort but more importantly I'm grateful for my mentality the entire 24 hours. I never got upset, frustrated or was in a bad mood. Having Maggie, my friend Casey Hildebrandt and the other people that were racing around giving me encouragement will be embedded in my brain for a really long time.

24 hour racing doesn't have the popularity like it once did but the Wausau event has stood the test of time and appears to be one of the premier events. What makes this event so special?

Wausau 24 is just a well oiled machine, it's like the best comparison I can come up with. They have everything dialed. The venue is perfect, the camaraderie is magical and the promoters/organizers just know what they are doing. For me being there the first time I never once had to go up and ask a question, all the info I needed was said in the pre race meeting or was all written on the website. The concept is simple, ride as many laps as you can in a 24 hour period. Whether that's by yourself, two person or four person team. It's too bad 24 hour events have faded because it's a unique way to race in every single category. I hope that Wausau 24 can keep running this, they had over 1000 competitors this year!

24 hour racing and ultra events "runs" in your family. Your father Todd raced 24 hour events, correct? And your brother Jacob has done some pretty crazy efforts right? Do you and your brother have a competition to see who can outdo each other? Ha!

Yes! I grew up going to 24 hour races with my dad and his friends at Afton 24. I remember chilling and hanging out at camp with them and feeling so passionate about wanting to do it when I was older, unfortunately Afton 24 doesn't exist anymore. My brother Jake, is into ultra trail running and has done some amazing runs, some that just blow my mind. His running and accomplishments have been an inspiration to me and something I admire. Without a doubt the biggest reason I signed up and did Wausau 24 was to prove to myself that I could also do it and maybe a little to prove to him and my family. I remember finishing Sunday morning and saying to Maggie "never again" but I sit here now two days later, excited to go and do it again next year. It's funny, Jake did the Voyager 50 on Saturday too, my mom was monitoring result pages all day and kept everyone at home updated on what was going on between us both. I'll gladly let Jake be the ultra endurance athlete of the family though, I got about one a year in me. Haha!

Tell us a little bit about the night ride you did before Wausau?

In preparation and to test out equipment for Wausau I did a no sleep midnight ride up to Brainder, MN two weeks before. I more wanted to try and experience the fatigue and tiredness I would feel during Wausau. It was incredibly boring though, I'm thankful at Wausau I had turns and times of coasting. My mentality was pretty shot after about three hours of riding and I was ready to pull the plug but it was 3am and I had no one to come pick me up because I was already 60+ miles north in Clearwater, MN. I thought about turning around but that would put me back into Minneapolis around 6am. I would continue on and make it to Little Falls before I had Maggie(who was on her way up to the lake house in Brainerd) pick me up around 6:30am. Finished 113 miles in just over 6 hours. I struggled because of some intrusive thoughts, fueling improperly and just being lonely. A good experiment though, made me ready for Wausau 24.

You've had a very interesting summer of racing from Nationals (which was a fast and intense XC), Lutsen 99er, marathon racing in the series and everything else in between. Training for all these events is very different but yet it seems like you have been very competitive in all of them. Going into this season, did you have any particular race you were dialed in to or just riding, training and racing for "fun"?

Haha, when you say it like that it does sound a bit puzzling. My biggest goals for the first half of my season was to try and re-win Lutsen 99 and then win Wausau 24. Everything else in between was just to get me in shape and doing it for fun. Lutsen went poorly for me, a fueling issue caused me to get knocked out of the lead group with 15 miles to go, which was a huge disappointment but thankfully I had Wausau 24 to attempt. I've raced pro XC for years but never once did I go to nationals, this year I had the opportunity because I was coaching a dozen juniors through the National Center for Youth Development who were out there competing, so I decided to race as well! That was an incredible weekend seeing them all do amazing on such a demanding and challenging course, it was also so hot and humid. I really surprised myself with my race and was ecstatic I finished in the top 20 without having much high intensity training.

With that said on racing for fun . . . Safety Pizza and Jiyou . . . tell the readers what this is all about and how the two might be connected?

Jiayou or #jiayoulife was something I came up with in 2017 and it was a way for me to tone down the seriousness of cycling. I lived in China for a few years and most of the people riding bikes there were using it for transportation and not competing. They'd be riding in the streets with their daily clothes on. I started racing and riding in a t-shirt and bibs to keep myself grounded. There was more to cycling than riding fast and being very serious. I want to be competitive but I also want to have fun doing it. A t-shirt was my expression to show other racers that I can still be fast but don't need to be in a full kit, i've since competed in high level races around the country in t-shirts. The safety pizza came into play in 2021. The bike shop I work for - Angry Catfish sells them. A lot like jiayou, it's the way I express to other riders/racers that this sport is supposed to be fun and not so serious all the time. Plus it's always fun to hear people say "I love the pizza" or "safety pizza!!!".

What's on tap for Josh the remainder of the season?

I was looking at doing Ore 2 Shore but I think I'm going to take August off from racing anything big, maybe a few local races. I have a pretty stacked fall racing schedule with Chequamegon 40, Iceman, local CX races, potentially one or two UCI races but finishing the season off with CX nationals in Louisville both SS & Elite fields.

Anything else you like to add I didn't touch on here?

I just wanted to share my deepest gratitude for everyone that follows along on my journey and that supports me. Inspiration can go a long way, I'm inspired by many and I hope that whoever inspires you, you take that and run with it!

I also have a whole race recap from Wausau 24 here: https://powerofbauer.wordpress.com/2023/07/31/wausau-24/.

Thanks for reading and thanks for sending these questions!

Wausau 24 Results

MNMBS #7: Detroit Mountain Shakedown

Detroit Mountain was host to race #7 in the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series on a postcard day. Despite being the fourth series race in the same number of weeks it always pulls in riders from the area that might not race in the southern and eastern locales and provides a nice balance for the series. The venue is also host to a high school race in the fall.

Being that the race is only a half hour away for me, it is always on the list for me to attend. The course layout this year was the same as last year, utilizing a few trails on the east side before transitioning to the west side, and utilizing the fast flowing track that borders the western flanks for the city owned property.

The start features a straight up climb, the “bunny hill”, which helps sort out the riders, especially in the larger fields. Once on course, there is no letting up on the "pedaly” which requires not only great fitness but mental toughness too.

Although the Elite field wasn’t as numerous as in other races, it was tight racing from start to finish, top to bottom. State series leader and a local from the greater Rochert area, Chris Ziegler blasted off the start and never looked back as he took the win. After Chris, Keith Moors, Jeff Colbert, Mike Ruehle, and myself battled for position and the remaining spots. Jeff would hold on to second overall and I was able to break free from hard charging Mike and Keith. It was a very fun course, very fast conditions (albeit a bit dusty), and was great having so many family members in support. The last lap was especially rowdy as, like the previous weekend, I diced it up with Louis Morrissey who helped pull me through the last lap as he was completing his marathon race. Very fun!

Pam Colbert took the win in the Elite women's race with Elizabeth Wray, and a return to racing Mandi Hibbert, rounding out the top three. Marathon titles went to Jeremie Ven Ryswyik in the male division and Leah Miller in the female division. Up next in the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series is the Tioga Thrillseeker outside Grand Rapids on August 13th.

Detroit Mountain Shakedown Results

Looking Ahead

Maah Daah Hey

The Maah Daah Hey 100 race course takes riders across one of the most majestic single-track adventures in the world, with miles of uninterrupted trail through the heart of the rugged Badlands. The event will push competitive riders to their limits while giving every participant an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Earlier this year we featured John Peter who was sharing his experiences of managing his mental health and a return to the Maah Daah Hey 100. Unfortunately, a training accident put him on the sidelines after suffering a concussion and will not be able to participate. Thankfully he is back on his bike and outside! His latest update is on his YouTube channel.

Maah Daah Hey 100 Website

Maah Daah Hey Trail Association Website

Great Deer Chase

The Swedetown trails in Calumet, MI will be host to the Great Deer Chase event, offering distances and categories for all ability levels.

Great Deer Chase Website

Ore to Shore

Registration remains open for the iconic Ore to Shore, Michigan’s largest point to point race. The course traverses some of the most scenic terrain available in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

The 48 mile race starts in downtown Negaunee, which is the “birthplace” of iron ore in Michigan, as the riders pass through many local historical mining areas, finishing with a view of Lake Superior and the final destination of Marquette. Big checks for the top finishers!

Keep the wheels moving!