The mountain bike season shifted from the granny gear to the middle ring this past weekend with three events alone in Wisconsin. Special reports from Cable Off Road Classic, and the St. Croix Woolly plus a look ahead to the weekend and a couple other items to note.

With extended winter in Birkieland including a rare Pisten Bully grooming in May, it was pretty evident that the CAMBA trails, in particular the singletrack, would not be ready for the annual and popular CAORC. Instead of changing dates, race officials altered the course, running mainly on gravel surfaced forest roads which resulted in a fast course and finishing times in the "long" race right around one hour. CAORC regular, Aaron Sturgis, files a report from Cable:

One of the cool things about the first MTB race of the season is being able to toe the line with the racing community that you have been away from for months.  And with the spring that we have been having, many thought it would be June.  But the folks in Cable got together once again and put on a fantastic race considering the weather.

The Cable Off Road Classic course this year was altered a bit due to the fact that Cable was digging out of snow just two weeks prior.  The single track had just dried up enough to open up on Friday but we all know what 200 riders would have done to them.  So the right decision was made.  And I will tell you that the alternative course was the best alternative course possible.  This years course was a mix of gravel roads, fire lane roads and railroad beds.  It included fast gravel, slow gravel, blacktop, punchy climbs, climbs that wouldn’t end, rocky descents, and mud pits.  IT WAS AWESOME!!

It had rained over night but by the time we rolled to the start the rain had stopped.  Either way, I think everyone was grateful just to be racing.  The pace was fairly calm at the start as we rolled down Rock Lake Rd.  Aaron Swanson, Nate Lilly and Todd McFadden would jump to the front and turn the screws just a bit to see how everyone would respond.  Five miles in the lead group was sitting at about 15.  But slowly and methodically the lead guys began to punch the hills and by mile 8 the group had tapered down to about 10.  I dropped off the back of the lead pack on one of the steep climbs.  I knew I didn’t have the miles in the my legs to keep the pace up.  Good thing I wasn’t the only one.

Two separate chase groups formed and that pretty much sums up the rest of the race.  The race became a race of chasing.  It was about taking turns and hoping to real riders in.  But with no single track to even the field and bring riders back, my race slowly turned into a great training ride through the Chequamegon forest!  Which isn’t a bad thing.

Taking this years CAORC was Aaron Swanson on his cross bike followed by Nate Lillie on a single speed and Todd McFadden on a 1x11.  Go figure.  For the ladies it was Diane McFadden rolling across first with Sara KJ in second and Ann Sudoh rounding it out in 3rd.

I think Swanson summed up this years race best, “It sortahad that old school MTB feel this year -- back to when there wasn’t zillions of miles of single track available.  It was challenging it’s own right and required some good skills & efforts.”

Par for the course, Mother Nature played with the mountain biker minds but the terrain cycling Gods showed favor for the lovers of dirt as Woolly Bike Club confirmed in a tweet: "Rain pre-Woolly, and Tornado Warning post-Woolly, but great weather during the day. God must have wanted everyone to race their bikes today." Mountain bike racing it was as Minnesota riders were joyful of the tacky hero like dirt.

Corey Coogan Cisek, 2nd Elite finisher, provides a recap from the border across the river:

I was thrilled to get in a mountain bike race after such a long, cold spring spent waiting!  While I am feeling fit from training at The Fix Studio and racing my road bike, my mountain bike time was limited to one hour prior to the Wooly.  Not surprisingly, my bike felt heavy and cumbersome at the start—so much heavier than my cyclocross bike!  Like everyone, I was also taken aback by the heat.  By 1:10, when the Expert/Pro class started, it was a very humid 85 degrees, and the single track had dried to tacky with rare wetter spots.  I think most of us imagined further rainstorms or at least seasonable temperatures.  My bottles did not have ice, and I did not prepare to pour ice water over my head as I often do in hotter races. 

 

The women’s field went out fast with recent high school graduate Sophie Marchiando leading out.  Within the first half mile, Sarah Jansen took the lead and opened a gap.  While I chased hard, after a lap, it became totally clear that I would not see her again!  (To answer the question that everyone was asking after the race, who is Sarah Jansen:  She recently moved here from CA and is a professor at Carleton.  Expect her to be mixing it up with the Pro ladies this summer!) After lap one, things were a bit lonely, as huge gaps opened within the women’s field, so that the race felt like a time trial effort. 

 

Two things really excited me about the race.  We had a large women’s field (for Minnesota) with many of the riders having moved up from Sport since last season!  Also, they did something novel with the Comp field, having them race a section of single track on the first lap that the Expert field omitted.  This gave the Expert ladies just enough of a time gap that we weren’t overwhelmed by passing Comp riders.  One of the big challenges of getting women to move up to Expert and stay there has been their fear of getting “run-over” by the Comp men.  Organizers take note: anything you can do to give the Expert ladies some breathing space is much appreciated!  (Photo: Kyia Anderson)

Race #1 in the WORS was also impacted by the weather forcing a changed date due to the late winter, awesome spring. Large solid fields once again rolled to the line for racing in the countries largest series. Tyler Gauthier provides a recap from the day's shreddin' on his website:

It is not very often in racing when your legs are screaming "go" and your body yells back "no." It is most always the other way around. I suppose if you start to do this racing thing long enough your bodily experiences will find a new way to surprise you more often than not.

The site of Iola is always a good one. It is site of a new day, new opportunity, new goals, but the re-resurrection of  MTB fun. Training and racing accumulates a bucket full of pain and frustrations but bring everyone's same struggles to one venue and all becomes worth it. The unique thing about knobby tire bikes is we all share the same passion and love for the sport and no matter what ones experience in the past days or weeks WORS brings us together. Ahh yes, it is good to be back...

Minnesota Mountain Bike Series, Minnesota’s 10-event regional mountain bike racing series, is a Silver Sponsor of the Minnesota High School Cycling League.  Part of their sponsorship of the MN League is providing Race4Free events, where high school students (9th through 12th grade) can try mountain bike racing in the Citizen class for free at selected MNMBS events.  Race4Free dates in 2013 will take place at the Bluff Rider’s Charge June 2nd in Mankato, at the Great Hawk Chase July 14th in Duluth, and at the Border Crossing in River Falls, WI on August 4th

The Copper Harbor Trails Club will be hosting a skills instructor certification course in Copper Harbor on June 27th, 30th. The course will be a hands on training for conducting beginner to intermediate level coaching, and preparation for leading group rides or MTB guiding in the back country.  The course is currently full but still taking registrations for a waiting list. 

A busy month of May for Wisconsin  racers continues with race #2 in WORS heading north to Rhinlander for the Crystal Lake Classic, site of the RASTA Rally held two weeks ago. The course is described as "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."  (Photo: WORS)

Ride the Keewenaw - The Copper Harbor trails based out of Houghton, MI will be host to a busy weekend of guided trail rides, skill clinics including jumping and demonstrations concluding with a "Party in the Park" at the Copper Harbor Park Saturday night. 

Keep the wheels moving!