Midwest MTB Racing Report
A quite week of mountain bike racing over the long holiday Fourth of July weekend made for a good opportunity for riders to log in some longer miles, check out some new trail systems, fine tune for the second half of summer racing or just take time off and enjoy the Fourth! This weeks shortened report takes a look at a few mountain bike related items and a look ahead to the Minnesota series race at Lester Park in Duluth and the big PRO XCT race, WORS Cup, which is part of the Wisconsin off road series.
Punching the Trail
MTBR website recently had a post by trial ace Jeff Lenosky on how to "punch" trail obstacles.
Jeff states: "If you spend enough time riding off road you'll inevitably come across an obstacle such as a rock or log that needs to be hopped. The most effective way I've found to accomplish this on a mountain bike is by doing a move I call a 'front touch' or a 'punch'.
The reason this technique works best is because you don't need a lot of speed, which is great if the obstacle is on an uphill or out of a turn, and you can do it with your seat at its full height. With a little practice you'll be able to impress your friends and ride your favorite trails smoother and safer. Here's a few things to keep in mind before practicing this or other skills: most technical moves should be done with your pedals level, one foot will always feel more natural leading, I call this my 'strong' foot. I refer to my trailing foot as my 'weak' foot." (Photo: MTBR)
Check out the full report with photos and video
White Earth State Forest
This past weekend I was able to get a few rides in the White Earth State Forest while at the family cottage near Naytauwaush. I have been riding her the past 24 years and yet to meet another rider! The roads and trails have certainly changed over the years with simple quadlike trails not being visited very often to now seeing traffic on a regular basis by atv enthusiasts. Also, many of the forest roads have been upgraded to provide a nice surface for the snow which to fall upon so the snowmobile trails can be the best possible in the winter time for winter travel. All in all, nearly 200 miles of trails!
One of the favorite routes is the west to east running Norris trail which starts from a low point of 1500ft and eventually climbs over rolling wooded terrain to a high point of almost 2000ft. Needless to say, the ride going back to the low point is a load of fun with high speeds and interesting corners and turns. The more open forest roads you can really get moving. Jonell and I have put some miles on the tandem in years past and the long downhills that seem to go on forever and are really fun with the tandem.
A few years back, I lead a ride from Pinehurst Resort to Maplelag Resort with thoughts of one day running a point to point race. This would be a great location for a gravel grinder type event with many possible scenarios for a 25 to 100 mile event on the awesome network of trails which sits just west of Itasca State park.
I always say this is perfect training for Chequamegon with very similar riding to that found in the Chequamegon Short and Fat and Fat Tire 40 races. If you are ever in the area, be sure to check it out. I have found the snowmobile maps available at Pinehurst resort to be a nice guide but like most trail areas, I just head out and ride until it all make sense.
Riding the Distance
Epic or endurance events have become more and more popular each year with mountain bikers. Many racers are focusing on a few events over the course of the season including ultra endurance events from 50 to 100 miles and or 12 and 24 hour racing and everything in between.. Silent Sports magazine recently feature a nice article by Chris Schotz on 24 hour racing:
"Twenty-four hour racing is largely determined by one's equipment and physical readiness, but it also warrants a premeditated psychological strategy to endure the unknown places the wee hours will take a rider" reports Chris. (Photo: Justin Lund)
Read the full online version
No Time for Lyme
It has been a banner year for deer ticks which means the possibility of Lyme. Even with snow and frost in the ground, the first ticks were out when we hit our first 50 degree days, which is typical of other years from my observation in the woods. If you have followed the mountain bike reports the last few years back, you might of seen I contracted the nasty Lyme disease from a deer tick the spring of 2009. The disease hit me pretty hard and finally feel I am in the clear. I opted out of a iv antibiotic and instead took advice of the infectious disease specialist to push myself and build up the immune system naturally. Initially, I researched quite a bit about Lyme and all the information got a bit overwhelming at times. There is a good article in Dirt Rag magazine, Ticks Suck, that covers the bases nicely, discussing how to prevent getting bit and what to do if you suspect something isn't right. A nice piece with a little bit of humor for this nasty disease. Seems like every week I hear of more people that have been hit and a few really struggling because it wasn't diagnosed early. Being in the woods almost daily recently building new singletrack at Maplelag, I am definitely checking constantly, in particular where the sun doesn't shine.
Related: Man's Ravaging Lyme Disease Eludes Doctors For a Year
Looking Ahead
The top racers in North America along with amateur riders will hit the slopes at Cascade Mountain for a challenging 3.6 mile World Cup style cross country course. Other main events include short track, super D and downhill on one of the most spectator friendly courses in the Midwest. (Photo: WORS)
Race #5 in the Minnesota series heads north to Duluth for the first time this year, hitting up the Lester trail system. The Lester trails have long been a favorite underground place to ride in Duluth until fall 2009 when an agreement with the City of Duluth was established to legitimize and rehabilitate this trail system.
Portions of the race course will use the Lester Park cross country ski trails, snowmobile trail, COGGS singletrack and Duluth Traverse trail. The course begins on ski trail up out of the park to allow for a sprint roll-out and ample early passing, joining the upper eastern Amity Creek loop, descend and crossover the bridge to ascend the western Amity Creek loop. This year the race will descend a new 3 mile section of flow trail - a.k.a. Duluth Traverse Trail - along the Lester River.
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 24th year of racing and promoting mountain bike races. |