Midwest MTB Report: Special Edition Birkie Fat Bike
It's hard to believe that just over a week ago we were enjoying mid winter conditions in the upper Midwest before a serious warm up melted the majority of snow. The UP and a few select places in northern locales are enjoying late season fun spring skiing conditions but many outdoor enthusiasts have made the transition to spring activities including cycling. For fat bikers the winter season was a good one with great riding conditions reported throughout the midwest, albeit a bit icy at times. Fat biking continues to see massive growth. As long as there is some type of surface to roll on, fat biking is good and the enhanced opportunities as a result of fatter tires makes the fun factor high. The race season cumulated for many fat bikers last weekend with the National Fat Bike championships held on the famous Birkie trail which included over 700 participants. The Birkie trail is closed during the winter months to fat and mountain bikes but opens the trail for just one special day for the Fat Bike Birkie. We have two reports including first hand recaps from third place finisher Brendan Moore and first time participant Wallace Alexander. Fat Bikers will get another chance to race with Giants Ridge hosting an event this weekend. Forecast is calling for cooler temps and a hard freeze the night before should ensure fast conditions. (Note: canceled Wednesday evening) The first mountain bike races in the Midwest are weeks out, but a couple of notices coming in including a statement on the mountain bike race at Maplelag, Laddies Loppet.
Third place finisher Brendan Moore files a report with a nice recap on the technical aspects of fat biking. Should be noted that legendary mountain biker Ned Overend was second. Age has not slowed down the 59 year old rider. Blessed with incredible lungs, people are astounded how he can finish in front of area fast guys like Moore, Jeff Hall, and Jesse Lalonde to name a few. Ned is a light weight rider that has incredible power to weight ratio which helps him fly and float down the Birkie trail. Here is Moore's report:
The Birkie Fat Bike race can best described as a white carpet rollercoaster ride. For those that have done some of the trails out in Fruita like Zippity Do Da, this is like that but a wider trail and fatter tires!
The race itself was very tactical this year with Ned, Will Ross, Jeff Hall, Cory Stelljes, Justin Piontek, Jesse Lalonde, etc all hammering at the front. We had a solid group of about 8-10 of us through 2/3 of the race. There were no less than probably 40 significant attacks/accelerations, but it took the loose snow in the last 7 miles (? not sure the exact point but basically where the two courses overlapped at the finish) to break things up. With probably 5 miles to go I was 5th wheel behind Cory Stelljes, Ned, Ross, and Hall when Cory hit some loose snow at the bottom of a very fast descent and had a yardsale. I got around him (BARELY) but lost momentum and contact with the leaders, as it was full gas when he went down. I could see them the rest of the race but couldn't catch them all. I did catch Jeff with ~2 miles to go. I saved my energy for one last push as we hit the 1k mark, and it was just enough to hold Jeff off. Needless to say, I was cooked at the end. Due to time constraints with family, Wolf Tooth, etc 90+% of my riding is just commuting to and from work and I certainly don't practice accelerations when commuting, though I usually do have a 10-15lb backpack on...and I know Jeff would tell you the same thing! In the end, I do think Will Ross was the strongest guy out there on Saturday, and he deserved the win. (Photo: Kelly Randolph)
On the tech side, the bikes were relatively the same as last year with plenty of Carbon Fiber out there and LOADS of Hed Big Deal rims. The tires run at the Birkie this year didn't change either with most on low rolling resistance oriented tires like the husker Du's, Dillingers, etc. One very interesting tech note that was different was the increase in adoption of 1x10 or 11 drivetrains there were. Many people are realizing that a properly sized front ring, 28-32 for most folks on a fat bike, and a wider range cassette is perfect even for hilly terrain like at the Birkie. Everyone in the lead group was on 1x10 or 1x11 drivetrains and not one had an issue (even in Cory's crash his Wolf Tooth chainring held the chain!). Those using 1x10 had our Wolf Tooth GC cassette extender cog, or one like it, to make the cassette have more range for the very steep ups while still having that big gear for the downs. Jenna Reinhart, who won the womens race by a huge margin had the same setup as I did with a 34t up front and 11-40 in the back with our Wolf Tooth GC40.
First time participant Wallace Alexander checks in with a report including the bullet highlighted version and the long version:
Epic Saturday:
- Fat Bike Birkie!
- Beer and wine
- Wicked hot sauna (200°F!)
- Archery out of upper story of a barn
- French chicken dinner
- Golden Goat from Colorado
- Honkey Tonk radio show
- Moonlit ski on narrow, glazed tracks (sketchy!)
This year's Fat Bike Birkie was quite the day: 800 fat bike racers, nearly 50 km of the American Birkebeiner trail and lots and lots of tough climbs and sketchy descents.
This was my first time racing the Fat Bike Birkie and I was lucky enough to race it with 4 Kenwood Racing teammates. I had heard mixed reviews from last year's race,"It was awesome" and "It was awful" so I wasn't really sure what to expect and really had no idea how long this race would take. Was it going to be 2.5 hours or 4 hours? I also had no idea what to wear on my hands. I wanted good control of the bars but I sure didn't want to freeze my hands after a couple of hours.
Luckily, the conditions were great (3 days before the race the overnight low had been -31°F). The temp was 30°F as we left our cabin and rode to the start. Riding the 5 miles to Telemark also gave me more confidence what to wear. Upon arrival at Telemark, we were greeted with a ton of fat bikes. It really does make for a fun scene when the fat bikes are just everywhere.
The roll out was calm but after about 1 km the rider in front of me just suddenly washed out and crashed. This kind of set the stage for the day; riders would be riding along and the next thing I knew they were down. I probably saw this at least 7-8 times. At least the snow was soft for crashing!
The course went out the Birkie skate trail and turned around at 00 and came back on the Birkie classic trail. The trail conditions were pretty good but got softer in the last 10 km. It was at this point that the downhills got even sketchier. It was kind of like a muddy cyclocross race where there is one good line, and it's rideable, but if you get out of that line bad things happen fast.
I finished well and was really happy my hands weren't frozen. There was a large tent where there was an expo and hot brats and cold beer. Both tasted good and helped for the ride back to the cabin. Thanks a lot to the organizers and volunteers, I'm already looking forward to next year's race!
Looking Ahead
Summer is a ways away but planning is already underway for many events and another great season of mountain bike racing is on tap.
Dennis Kemmesat announced this week details of the Ottercreek 55 at Harmon Lake near Mandan, North Dakota on July 11th. A new bench cut trail with some flow sections, all along a reservoir in and out of coulees makes for a fun ride. I had a chance to ride there last summer and was great prairie single track riding. Participants will not be disappointed! There will be six hours of live music to welcome racers in from 1, 2, or 4 lap races around Harmon Lake. More details on their Facebook page.
This coming labor day weekend will be the 25th annual Laddies Loppet mountain bike race hosted by Maplelag Resort. Although not part of the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series this year, the weekend promises to be a fun filled event with old school mountain bike racing including a more traditional cross country race on Saturday and short track racing on Sunday, highlighting the weekend. Other events on tap include races for kids and first timers, bike yoga, lake jumping, Sunday night bonfire, in a family orientated atmosphere with home cooked meals. A great end of summer mountain bike gathering!
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. |