Midwest MTB Report
A great weekend of mountain biking as mother nature dished up some pleasant weather making for great racing and riding. This weeks report includes highlights from both the Minnesota and Wisconsin series races, a report from the grueling Maah Daah Hey 100, Strava Ride of the Week, News and Notes and the look ahead.
Maah Daah Hey 100
The legendary Maah Daah Hey trail was host to the Maah Daah Hey 100 which also featured a 50 mile event. Although the temps were not as hot as some years, the race once again proved to be a grueling cycling endeavor for those that entered. There were no two riders from the same state in the top 10 which included a couple riders from Canada. The total distance in the long race checks in closer to 106 miles and features almost 12,000 feet of climbing. North Dakota is not flat folks. I completely admire the folks that roll up to the start line, in particular a guy like Barry Buhr of Duluth who is arguably one of the fast downhill mountain bikers in the Midwest but then rips out a 100 miler for "fun". Also completing the race this year for the second time was former Birkie director Bill Pierce who was also the top "Master" competitor at 56 years of age. Talking to the folks that have participated, it is a race where taking care of the little things is critical to ensure a finishing time along with mental endurance to ride anywhere from 10 to 17 hours. Peder Arneson took on the MDH 100 for the first time which was also his first ever mountain bike race and provides a full recap:
(Photo by John Schilling)
We arrived in Watford City on Thursday in order to have extra preparation time for the race on Saturday. Race Director, Nick Ybarra, also hosted a small group ride from CCC Campground for anyone arriving early that day as well. The ride was a great opportunity to see the first few miles of the course, especially the Never Ending Switchbacks. Seeing how good of condition the trail was in is a testament to the commitment that Nick, Lindsey, and the other volunteers from the trail crew have for this amazing place. The rest of the evening and following day was dedicated to making sure that our bikes were prepared and drop bags were ready to go with food and supplies for the race. Also, since we were in the area, it was great to finally see the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Race day got going very early since the race started at 6 AM. Weather-wise, we expected high 80's temps with a steady headwind throughout the day. To get us ready to tackle the many miles ahead, Teddy Roosevelt himself showed up to give a rousing speech prior to the gun going off. Since this was my first mountain bike race, and I have spoken with many veterans of the course, I knew it would be smart to start slow in preparation for the heat of the day. My plan was to ride with my brother until around mile 50 and assess how I felt from there. I expected things to get very tough after Aid Station 2 as we made the trek to Wannagan Camp. The first few miles were very slow with many stops due to congestion along the switchbacks but as soon as we crested the top of the climb, the race really kicked off. The trails were in excellent condition all the way through Aid Station 1 and it also felt relaxed. I took in plenty hydration throughout this portion and made sure to pay attention to proper nutrition.
(Photo by John Schilling)
Once passing through Aid Station 1, I began to look forward to Devil's Pass and the many vistas prior to descending into the Little Missouri River Valley. However, once we neared the crossing, my brother's rear derailleur, started to fail. After attempting a trail side fix, we progressed to Aid Station 2. Arriving at the aid station, we met up with the family (our very much needed support crew). Once refueled, and with a jury-rigged rear derailleur on my brother's bike, we set out again. I stayed with him until the next checkpoint but decided to continue on my own as I was feeling very good and was concerned about keeping a solid pace on the many climbs to Wannagan. If there is an portion of the course that puts any doubt regarding your ability to finish, the stretch between stations 2 and 3 is it. Aside from the relentless climbs, the heat takes a toll at this time of day more than any other. I did feel that I was beginning to dehydrate and ran low on water for the majority of this section, so each checkpoint was vital for refueling and taking in calories. Add this to my lingering IT Band issue and I had to take a very measured and steady approach to the rest of the ride. I was so relieved upon reaching the descent into Wannagan Camp. Not only was it like an oasis in the desert but my family was there with everything I would need to finish the race. Also of note was that my brother had to pull out of the race at 67 miles and he was there to make sure I had what was needed, too. Aid Station 4 proved to be the best one of them all, and I want to thank everyone that provided support there throughout the day for the cheering and making sure the bikes could keep on going for the last 26 miles. So, after a quick refuel, I took off from the station and progressed to Medora. This section went extremely quick compared to the last 30 miles and I felt I could really get into a rhythm. I was able to ride during a beautiful sunset with perfect temps and the night riding didn't really begin until about 10 miles to go. Once I hit the last checkpoint, I was on familiar trails and knew what to expect, so even in the dark it was smooth sailing! As much as I was looking forward to finishing, the descent into Medora is a great spot to just enjoy being on a mountain bike. Once hitting pavement, it was an easy ride into the finish area with familiar faces all around! Overall, this is one of the most rewarding and difficult events I've taken part in. It's amazing to be able to ride such a pristine trail through the wilderness over the course of a single day! I want to thank Nick, Lindsey, and everyone who volunteered at the race or has helped maintain the Maah Daah Hey Trail for making the experience unforgettable!
Singletrack Escape - Minnesota Mountain Bike Series Race #6
The "Jail Trail" located on the southern outskirts of St Cloud was host to race #6 in the Minnesota series. The course is buffed and fast and maintained nicely by the Mid Min Cycling club.The race serves as the main fundraiser for the maintenance and upkeep of the trails and offered a nice Salsa frame through a raffle. The race moved up earlier in the calendar this year from it's usually later September date that not too long ago was held under steady rain and temps that had ever popular and entertaining MC Kris "waxoftheday" Anderson walking around in a down coat with winter designer boots from Europe. With the earlier date, course work and fine tuning occurred under one of the worst summers ever for mosquitos, especially in wooded areas outside of metro locations. However, Sunday dished up ideal weather as the recent high dew points abated for fresh conditions that led to fast tight racing on a course that reportedly has over "300 turns" which the locals said "we don't count, we just ride".
(Weaving through the tight and twisty. Photo by Ben Olson)
The tight racing was seen up and down all the classes as even the expert race saw times where less than a minute separated 15 places. Bothers Mason and Kasey Bacso battled at the front for the top spot with Kasey edging out brother Mason by just two seconds. The ageless John Sandberg nailed down the third spot only 15 seconds behind Mason. The next 7 spots were around 3 minutes from the third place finish!
Local star and Midwest fan favorite Kyia Anderson took the win on the home course, edging out Robin Williams and Eleanor Bacso averaging around 30 minutes per lap.
The marathon class offered a cash prize for the first place finisher to each of the top male and female overall winner. Endurance beast Ben Doom battled with fellow local racer Gnate Hackensack to take the win after four and a half hours of racing by 59 seconds! They were the only two riders to knock out a numbing 9 laps and nearly 50 miles of racing. Looking at the lap times is interesting to see how tight their race was. Another local rider, Matt Abel, rounded out the top three.
The local mojo continued in the female marathon with Pamela Nielson going home with a extra $100 bucks, the only female rider to record 7 laps with Denise Ward and Pamela Gonzalez rounding out the top three respectively.
Anderson, who along with fellow cyclists that raced, were instrumental in pulling off the race stated on a social media post that the event couldn't of happened with all the great local support. Anderson also provided a full recap on the event:
The 11th annual Revolution Cycle and Ski Single Track Escape did not disappoint. We had a great crowd, perfect weather, and perfect course conditions. Construction on the far end of the course caused organizers to reroute Max’s Option (named in honor of the late dog that helped remove much buckthorn on course) but that led to a more interesting climb and some new, somewhat euro lines on the downhills. Racers reported good flow, good challenge and overall good times which is the goal for all organizers in putting on events.
Quantified Mechanix Kids Comp got things underway with ½ a lap of the course. The Boy’s race was won by Nico Alexander and girls by Gracie Gujer who did awesome times of 14:00 and 14:52! Citizen was won by local MMCC rider Ted Schmid of the Revolution Cycling Team (who has been a long term supporter of the trail!) and Sudie Hall. Ted and Sudie had times of 27:51 and 30:06. Sport overall was taken by Kyle McKimpson and Becca Hackensack (Revolution). Thanks again to Becca for the continuous efforts on trail trash removal! The Comp overall was taken by Calvin Sandberg whom we believe might be just slightly related to long term power house John Sandberg! Race director and Revolution Co- Owner, Benjamin P. Doom took the win in Marathon for a second year in a row doing 9 laps with about a 1 minute gap over Revolution rider Nate Hackensack. All other riders did no more than 8 and the announcer was quite impressed with the effort that both decided to test each other on another lap through the rocks when not required for anyone but top 2! Pam Nielsen once again took a win in women’s marathon with a nice margin.
The Lamere Cycles Elite/Pro marquee events at the Revolution Single Track Escape were taken by a somewhat loosely retired Kyia Anderson (Team Podiumwear/Revolution) with a large gap, and Kasey Bacso in the sprint over Mason Bacso (Kuhl). John Sandberg took a convincing third with Paul Hanson of Team Nicollet not far behind! Thanks to Paul for coming back after the horrific year 1 experience with a bit of an intestinal dilemma. 2 nd in the Women’s Elite/Pro went to Robin Williams (Mercy/Specialized) who was about 1 minute over Eleanor Bacso (Maplelag) who took third.
It was awesome to see that Ben Doom and Kyia Anderson were able to repeat the wins from 2015 after doing much of the background and day of work to put the race on. For those who were initially concerned with the announcer’s attire, it is truly my hope that the mid race debut of the 1986 American Breezer (made in St. Cloud MN) and associated period kit validated the lack of rubber boots and neon tights in the summer heat! Was a blast to see everyone and while a ton of work for the volunteers we look forward to the event year after year!
Hixon Forest Epic - Race #7 Wisconsin Off Road Series
Race #7 in the Wisconsin Off Road Series was held at Hixon Forest. The Forest features 800 acres of bluffland overlooking the Mississippi River Valley in the heart of the Driftless Region–La Crosse, Wisconsin. In the early 1900s, a group of citizens including members of the Hixon family raised funds to purchase area blufflands to save them from additional quarrying and logging. Soon after deeds were exchanged, the lands were donated to the City for preservation and recreation. In modern times, the City of La Crosse Parks and Recreation Department works with local organizations to build and maintain world class trails and facilities for hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, and mountain biking.
The City of La Crosse Parks and Recreation Department's mission is to enrich the community through stewardship of the environment and through provision of quality recreation, facilities, and fun. Bringing the WORS races to La Crosse matches the mission and puts the city on the map as a mountain bike destination, race organizers state. The trails served up one of the more challenging races in the series as overall elite female winner Leia Schneeberger stated on a social media post:
This was one of the toughest races in the WORS series. I was terrified. There was a 2 mile climb we had to grind up both laps for about 15 minutes. Then we had to rely heavily on our handling skills in some of the gnarliest singletrack I've encountered. Eventually the course opened up to some smooth and flowy trails where you could pick up and maintain some good speed and provided me a chance to throw the hammer down. I ended up really enjoying the course after all was said and done". Leia took first place honors in a time of 1:33:46 which was two minutes faster than second place finisher Emma Swartz who shares the same town as Leia, Madison Wisconsin. Rounding out the top five were Anna Ganju, Lindsay Guerra, and Lisa Krayer.
(Leia Schneeberber racing to the win in Hixon Forest Epic. Photo by Extreme Photograpy Unlimited)
The men elite race had a different feel at the start line with Nathan Guerra out of the action due to a broken collarbone and usual suspects Brian Matter, Tristan Schouten and Cole House to name of few not in attendance as well. This left the door open for the out of staters who showed up including Peter Karinen from Calumet Michigan who took the win. Fast guy from Minnesota Dominic Talerico nailed the second spot, Ben Senkerik was third, Caleb Swartz was fourth and Ray Nelson, from Woodstock, IL rounded out the top five and represented the third out of stater in the top five, Nelson that is.
Strava Ride of the Week
This week's ride of the week goes to Patrick Crary. Pat competed in the Maah Daah Hey 100. Pat had completed 104 of the 106 miles which was the actual distance before succumbing to a flat while he was "sitting" in fourth place. Pat was unable to fix the flat so he attempted to complete the distance by walking and hiking out. At that time, severe heat exhaustion set in and he had to walk up to the nearest road, one mile from the finish and get a ride in the last mile. Pat ended up going to the hospital where he spent the night under observation while being treated for severe heat exhaustion. Tough luck for sure, nice job Pat on the effort and getting a KOM during the ride. Glad you came out of the hospital okay.
It's Electric
Electric bikes continue to create a buzz. The Wall Street Journal published an article on a high end mountain bike that could take the sport to a different level and possibly open doors for a select group of riders.
Grant for Shreds
While the Loppet Foundation moves forward on expanding not only their facility operations, good news recently coming in for the group in the form of a generous grant to be used for the development of more mountain bike trail and ultimately more racing opportunities.
Looking Ahead
Michigan's' most popular and largest point to point race takes place this weekend in the UP of Michigan in the communities of Negaunee, Ipsheming and Marquette. Various distances for riders to challenge themselves on the tumultuous terrain featuring atv trails, forest roads, bedrock climbs, and eventually a gradual decent on the famous Noquemanon ski trail to Marquette. The 48 mile race always brings in the top dogs of the Midwest racing for big cash in the top spots. This year will be no different except TJ and Chloe Woodruff who are in final preparations for the Olympics.
(Matter, Schouten and Hall, Ore to Shore 2005)
Great Hawk Chase - Minnesota Mountain Bike Series Race #7
Unable to secure a permit from the city of Duluth to host the race at Hawk's Ridge on the north end of town, the Cyclists of Gitchee Gummi (COGGS) have relocated the race to Spirit Mountain. Spirit Mountain no stranger to hosting mountain bike events on a what is truly a pure mountain bike course including the Spirit Mountain Mountain Bike Festival held in the early 90's, the Powder Monkey and Green Man Festival in the 2000's. The cross country scene disappeared when Spirit Mountain added a alpine slide and developed a downhill mountain bike trail system featured flow and purpose built trails transporting an incredible amount of material which has raised concerned by some area individuals and the erosion that has occurred. The course this year is being reported by locals as old school with lots of climbing and "techy" downhills. The Sunday cross country is part of the series but also part of the big Duluth Bike festival which will feature enduro and downhill racing at Spirit on Saturday, group rides, skill clinics and pretty much something for everyone interested in cycling.
(Mudder this weekend? Photo by Duluth Bike Festival)
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 |