Single track 29

Minnesota state cyclocross championshps

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:25:00 +0000

Well our cyclocross season came to a close yesterday at the Minnesota state CX championships. This was the only race this year that just the juniors had their own race. All the fast guys from this season were in attendance. Zach got a decent start and began moving up. On the last lap he had caught up to Jake Richards ( two time winner of the Chequamegon Short and Fat)
The two battled it out right up to the sand pit that was about 50 yards from the finish. Zach took the inside line and jumped off and started running right away while Jake tried to ride it.
That was all it took for Zach to get the jump on him and sprinted away to take third in the 15-18 junior race. You couldn't have asked for a more exciting finish and I couldn't have been more proud!
As another race season comes to a close I would like to thank Vassago Cycles for all of their suport.

Time to catch up

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Well I've definitely been slacking off in the blogging department lately, so it's time to get caught up.
When you last heard from us we were about to head back to Duluth for race #10 of the MNSCS. This race was the hardest and most challenging race of the season. I had great start, I got the hole shot in my wave and led all the way up the first climb and was the first into the single track.
Things continued to go well until midway through the 2nd lap when I came off a 2 foot drop a little sideways and burped my front tire. I tried, but was unable to get it aired up. Latter I discovered that I had torn my rim strip. My first DNF.
Zach was also having a good race until another racer yelled passing on your left and then came around on his right instead and ran him into a tree. Zach came back to finish third in his class for the day. We found out when we got home that he had fractured his wrist!

Next up for us was the Chequamegon fat tire fest. The largest mountain bike race in the U.S. we entered the Short and Fat race which is a 16 mile point to point race with 850 racers and a mass start! Zach earned a preferred start position ( the front 50 ) from his finish last year. The start of the race is the most dangerous thing I have ever done on a bike. When the gun goes off you have a lot of people tring to fit into a small space.
I caught Zach early in the race and we played cat and mouse the rest of the way. His wrist was hurting him and that's the only reason I could keep up with him. We ended up finishing 70th and 71st, he took me at the finish. I bested my time from last year by 2 minutes.
Here I am about 100 yards from the finish.

Next up was the 11th and final round of the MNSCS race series. Going into the race I was only 4 points out of 3rd place for the season. It was a great race season with the top four in my age class battling every race. All of us had beaten the other three at least once during the season. I end up 4th overall for the season after completing 9 of the 11 races. Zach skipped the race to let his wrist heal. Because of all of Zach's injuries this season he was only able to do 6 of the 11 races. He ended up 3rd overall in the points for the season. Well done!

We skipped the first cyclocross race of the season to let the wrist heal some more. So our first race was our home town race and it had been raining for three days. It was going to be very muddy, perfect cross weather!

I set up my Fisticuff with fat tires and disk brakes and had a blast. It handled the mud like a champ.

Zach decided to race the Optimus Ti because we hadn't fully converted his Fisticuff from road duty. As you can see it was pretty wet. Zach had a good race and finished 2nd in 15-18.

Yesterday Zach did the Wirth Classic Cup race and there was a huge turnout, 114 racers in Zach's race.

Zach is still having trouble with his wrist so we set up his Fisticuff with flat bars which doesn't bother him as much. He had a good day at Wirth, 2nd place in 15-18.

MNSCS #8 / WORS #8 : TREK BORDER BATTLE !

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:50:00 +0000

The annual MNSCS - WORS border battle is our biggest race of both series combining the racers from both series at one event. Having a good showing at this event is one of Zach and my main goals for the mountain bike season. We were both looking forward to this race as it is located only ten miles from our home and consider it our home course.
We both had excellent races, Zach finished 37th overall out of more than 200 racers which earned him 2nd place in his age class.
I finished four minutes back from Zach and placed 3rd in my age class.

Overall, it was a great race and was fun to have so many other racers in attendance.
I do still need to work on my podium pose though.

MNSCS #7 Buck Hill Birch Bump

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:19:00 +0000

Last Sunday was my 50th birthday and what better way to spend it than to race my bike. What a great day it was, my wife and daughter came out to cheer us on.
Zach was lined up at the front of his wave and got a good start. I wasn't so lucky in my wave as I got caught behind a couple of guys who got tangled up.
Zach had a tough race but finished a strong 3rd.

My race went very well, I had some very good racing and finished a close 3rd.
I could not have asked for much nicer birthday, Thank you, Anita, Stephanie, and Zach!

Also thanks to Dana for the great pictures.

RAGBRAI 37: A Fisticuff adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:56:00 +0000

Well Zach and I set off on a 7 day bike ride known as RAGBRAI. This year we decided to ride our Vassago Fisticuffs set up as single speed road bikes. The bikes were great, we didn't miss our gears at all. The weather for the week was much cooler than normal, which made for nice riding and great sleeping.
Here Zach and I are getting ready to start out on day 1.
This is Zach with our friends Tammy and Doug, somewhere along the rout on day 5.
We had a great time and can't wait to do it again next year!

MNSCS #5 Memorial Classic

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:59:00 +0000

This Sunday found us at Redwing Mn. For round 5 of the MNSCS race series. It was another very nice day for racing on a very difficult course. Zach and I got to start in the same wave for the first time this year. I got good start and didn't see zach again until about half way through the first lap where he passed me on the first of two long climbs. We both had a good day, I finished fourth in my age class an Zach finished 2nd in his.

MNSCS #4 Bluff Riders Charge

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:32:00 +0000

Last Sunday my wife Anita and I headed to Mt. Kato for round 4 of the MNSCS race series. Zach couldn't make it as he was off to wrestling camp for the week. The weather was near perfect again for racing. Because of my consistent finishes in my last three races I was called up to start in the front row of my wave.
The course started with a 100 yard dash to the base of the ski hill and then slalomed up to the top, my kind of start!
There was a very tight and steep section that got a lot of people into trouble, I was lucky enough to keep the rubber side down on every lap. My Vassago Optimus TI certainly helped there!
I ended up finishing 3rd in my age class. The guy who finished 1st was so fast he couldn't even stop for awards.
Thanks again to Dana Schoppe for some great race photos

MNSCS #3 Mout Du Lac

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:10:00 +0000

Last Saturday we headed up to Duluth for MNSCS round three. We were not planning on doing this race. After Zach did not finish his first race and then missing the second race due to a dirt bike crash, we decided to add this race at the the last minute. We arrived Saturday afternoon and pre-rode the course. It's a good thing we did, because we changed our gearing so we could make the big climb at the start. We camped out Saturday night and met some very cool people. Sunday was a beautiful day, sunny and cool. The race course was very challenging, It started at the base of a ski hill and went straight up to the top, what a killer! At the top, we entered a very tight, twisty, rooty, single track that was non-stop for five miles. It dumped us out near the bottom of the climb ,so that we could do it again.

Zach started in a wave ahead of me and had a very good race after spending two weeks off the bike. If you look close at the picture above you can see he still can't wrap his pinky finger on his right hand around the grip yet. It didn't seem to slow him down much though.

Zach finished first in his age class and 17th overall.

I, also had a good day of racing as single track is my kind of course.

I finished second in my age class. It was nice to be back on the podium again.

These great pictures were taken by Dana Schoppe

MNSCS #2 Afton Avalanche

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:39:00 +0000

Sunday's race was another large field,179 in my race.
This is a view from up the ski hill of the start of my race.
I got a poor start and got stuck in a huge bottle neck at the beginning of the single track, while the leaders rode away. After I got though that mess, I started making my way through traffic. Afton is probably the the hardest race of the MNSCS series, and it definitely has the most DNF's.
I ended up 4th in my age class again. It was a good race for me.

Zach, on the other hand, got to watch from the sidelines. Saturday nigh,t I had to take him to the ER to get 5 stitches in his leg and get his hand X- rayed to find out he had a broken finger. He was riding his friend's dirt bike and one of his other friends t-boned him with a four wheeler. He should be good to go in a few weeks.
Our team mate Ben Shocky was also at Afton mixing it up with the rest of the expert racers.

MNSCS #1 Erics Spring Cup

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:48:00 +0000

Sunday was a beautiful day for our first race of the season. And it seemed that everyone thought so too, 517 people showed up for the day's races! There were only 189 in our race.
We up graded to Cat. 2 for this season, so the competition will be stiffer for sure.
Zach went off in the wave before me and got a good start.
He held that position through the second lap until he hit a berm too hard and pushed his tubeless tire off the rim and let out all the air. He couldn't get it refilled and had to DNF.
My race went well, I got a decent start and worked my way through alot of traffic for three laps to finish 4th in my age class.

After the race, we ran into our team mate Ben Shockey, and met his wife and son , in-laws and friend Collin. It was fun to meet a great group of people.

Looking forward to the next race in two weeks.

There is one thing better than a Fisticuff

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Mon, 04 May 2009 00:01:00 +0000

That's two Fisticuffs! Yep,I got mine put together this week. I headed out this morning to join up with local roadie group ride. I was a little apprehensive about joining up with these guys with my single speed and having them on their high $ carbon fiber road bikes. I've never ridden that far on a single speed on the road before( 60 miles) but I've ridden with these guys many times before, so I knew what the pace would be like. After about 10 miles, I was sitting in, no problem. We hit quite few bigger hills and I was able to hang with the front group, no problem! Towards the end of the ride, I had several guys comment how surprised that they were that I was able to hang on a single speed.
I had so much fun on the Fisticuff that it's going to be my main road bike for the summer.

The Fisticuff is ready for action!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:58:00 +0000

We finished putting the Fisticuff together last night and took a couple of pictures this morning.
After the photo session It was time to test this bad boy out.
Zach made a few runs at our cyclocross practice barrier before we headed out for some real riding. We hit the road first on our way to our local trails.. The first thing he noticed was how smooth and stable it felt on the road. When we came to short steep climb, he was out of the saddle sprinting and was very impressed by how solid it felt under full power. Then, it was on to the trails where Zach said from the start the Fisticuff made him feel right at home.

For now, we have it set it up as a single speed and will be switching it over to road tires for most of the summer to train for mountain bike racing. This fall will be switching it over to gears for the upcoming cross season. We don't have much time in on it yet but from Zach's initial impressions, this is going to be one really fun bike.

Brown brings the Snickers brown

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:22:00 +0000

The much anticipated Vassago Fisticuff was delivered today by the man in brown. We got it in the stand tonight and installed a couple of parts but didnt have much time for anything else. We have a couple of new parts showing up later this week and we should be able to finish up the build then. So stay tuned we will post more pictures later this week and hopefully some of them will be action shots.

MCF awards banquet

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:06:00 +0000

Last night Zach and I attended The Minnesota Cycling Federation's annual awards banquet. It was a big night for Zach, he was named the Minnesota Junior Cyclocross Rider of the year!
Way to go Zach.

What do you do on Sunday night when it's 0 outside?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:34:00 +0000

Well......... you go for a bike ride of course.
Sunday night the cabin fever took over and Zach and I headed out for a moon light ride. The local trails were hard packed and easy to ride. We were only out for about an hour and half, but it sure was fun.

Cyclocross Nationals in Kansas City

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:38:00 +0000

We took off Wednesday morning and drove to Kansas City for the Cyclocross National championships. We stopped along the way and picked up Jack Hinkens, one of Zach's racing buddies. The four of us got to KC About 5 p.m., checked in, unloaded and picked up our race packets. Thursday morning we headed over to the race sight to get some preriding in and watch the first day of racing. It was a little muddy but not to bad.
Zach (15-16) and Jack (17-18) both raced on Friday morning. Thursday night it rained an then froze, so Friday morning at 9:00 when the junior women raced the ground was still firm until the end when it started to soften up.

Zach was up next at 10:00 and the the course had turned to soup!

Zach got a good start and was setting at about 10th place ( out of 40) after 2 laps when another racer crashed into him and they went sliding through the fencing after they got untangled Zach continued on to finish a respectable 20th .Here's what his bike looked like after the race, there must have been 10 pounds of muck!
Overall it was a lot of fun racing with people from all over the country and seeing the big boys race.
Jack also had a good result and finished 17th in his race.
Jack finishes his race with style!

MNSCS 2008 awards banquet

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Saturday night was the MNSCS awards banquet. Zach and I received our awards for finishing first place in our respective age classes for the series.

The banquet was hosted by QBP. We arrived early and got to take a tour of the facility. That place is huge!!
We received some nice awards, race photos and custom engraved Park multi-tools. A great end to a fun season of mountain bike racing that would not have be possible without the continued support of Vassago Cycles.

Minnesota Cyclecross State Championship race

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:18:00 +0000

Saturday was the Minnesota State championship race for Cyclecross. Zach lined up with 98 other racers to attack very long ( by Cyclecross standards ) and flat course. It was cool and dry, a nice day for spectating. Zach road a smart race, drafting on most of the long straight sections that made up a large portion of the course.
The course was definitely a road racer-friendly course, not so much for us mountain biker types.
Zach narrowly missed a first corner pile-up and finished 33rd overall and 3rd in the state for juniors 15-18. Zach is 15. The sprint for the line
The podium.

Rediscovering what we already knew

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:30:00 +0000

After Zach's last two race's (DNF) we decided to take a week off and regroup. We went for a mountain bike ride at Lebanon Hills, one of our favorite places to play. We decided to get back to what we do best...racing single speed Vassagos.

Saturday was the cross race at the Blaine Velodrome, Zach started out in a large crowd of 67. He got caught in traffic and started in the middle of the pack and worked his way up to finish 16th overall and 2nd in 15-18. With not having a great race he was happy to be back on track again.

Sunday we were at it again, this time at the Lake Rebbecca cross race. It was cold at race time (28) but Zach was feeling good after Saturday's successful race and was ready to go. Zach lined up with 54 other racers. The course had a long straightaway after the start and then they disappeared into the woods not to be seen again until the last 30 yards before the start- finish line. So I didn't see much of the race. Every Lap Zach was moving up, 1st lap:15th, 2nd lap: 11th, 3rd lap:8th, and finished 5th overall for the day! Best overall finish of the year. And back on the Vassago where we should have been all along.

It was a great finish to the MCF cross season. Ths strong finish in the last two races helped earn Zach the title of "Cyclocross Rider of the Year" in juniors 15-18.
There are still two big races left this season, The Minnesota state championship and Nationals in December.

Long weekend of short races

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:38:00 +0000

Saturday was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, temps in the low 60's. A perfect day for racing. the start of Zach's race was about a 100 yard dash on asphalt to 90 degree left turn followed shortly by another 90 degree left turn.
Well, about 2 seconds after Anita ( my lovely wife and Zach's mom) snapped this picture then things went bad in a hurry. The course was poorly marked and the first two guys went right and the next two went left and then the rest at the front stopped and the rest behind did not. There was a large pile up with Zach ending up on the bottom. Everyone got up except for Zach and one other poor guy. Zach's knee was banged up, his bars were bent way back, and his rear wheel was taco'd beyond repair. One of those big guys behind him must have landed on it.
Oh well, tomorrow's another day.
Today, Zach got up and said his knee felt much better and wanted to go to the Green Acres cross race. So after hastily repairing the damage from Saturday, we were off to the races again. Sunday's weather was the polar opposite of Saturday, 36 degrees, 25mph winds, and snow showers! Great cross weather! Zach got a great start and was in 3rd at top of a big climb after the start.

He kept the pressure on and was holding that position down the long decent. It was looking good.

The racers disappeared over the hill for the second lap and I waited for them to reappear for the descent. 3 racers, no Zach. 10 racers, no Zach. 65 racers, no Zach. Finally, here comes Zach carrying his bike down the hill, race over. When approaching a barrier on top and braking hard the brake shoe slipped off the new rim and locked up the wheel sending him over the bars and into the barrier, knee first. Yea, same knee as yesterday. No serious damage, but very disappointed, two DNF's in two days. That is the way it goes sometimes. Next week, will be onward and upward.

MCF round 4

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:30:00 +0000

Round#4 of the Minnesota Cycling Federation cyclocross series found us back in Hudson. The course was very smooth and flat, with lots of turns. Zach got caught in traffic and was in the middle of the pack (54 riders) at the start. He went to work picking off riders one by one until the finish where he ended up 13th overall and took 1st in juniors 15-18.
Zach gives it all at the sprint for the finish.

Cross race #3

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:16:00 +0000

Zach got a great start and setting at about 5th For the first 3 laps. The field was very large, 103 racers. After the 3rd lap he started to fade, after being sick all week and not riding.
He still managed a respectable 23rd and 2nd in his age group (15-18) Good job Zach!

Cross race #2 of the season

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:57:00 +0000

Today was Zach's second cyclocross race of the season, and first cross race on the Vassago Optimus Ti. It rained hard all morning before the race and half of the race was in a swampy area next to the St.Croix River. Needless to say it was very, very muddy. Zach was hoping to do well since this was our home town race. He got a great start which put him in good position before entering the woods.

The sloppy conditions suited Zach's skills, the only real hard part for him was a 50 yard
run up across a very wet, sandy beach.

He finished 13th out of 67 and 2nd in the 15-18 age class. He was pretty happy and quite muddy afterwards.

Biggest race weekend of the year

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:09:00 +0000

Friday night, we headed up to St Cloud MN, for the final MNSCS race of the year. This was a huge race for Zach because he was setting 3rd overall in the points for the year. If he could take first in this race, he could take first overall for the year by a mere 5 points (905 to 900). He and his main competitor both knew what was at stake before race time. Needless to say Zach was a little on edge. We setup my Vassago Optimus TI for him to race, we got it down to only 19.3 pounds.....Sweeeet!

When the gun went off, Zach got the hole shot. He pushed the pace hard the whole race and never let up.
He, not only took first in his age class, but also first overall for the whole race!
I moved up to sport for Saturday's race. I took 5th in my age class and 35th out of 95.
Sunday was the first cyclocross race of the season which was also at St Cloud. Zach got 2nd in 15-18 and 16th overall out of 67 racers.

We would like say a big THANK YOU to Vassago Cycles for their support, and we could not have done it without them.

Chequamegom Fat Tire Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stilwell) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:17:00 +0000

Last Friday after work we headed up north to stay with our friends Dan, Angie, and Tim at their cabin near Seely WI. Which was only ten miles from the start of the big race. Zach and I were entered in the Short and Fat which is the sixteen miles XC race. We entered the Short and Fat instead of the 40 mile because you have to be at least 18 to enter, and neither one of us is 18. We arrived early to get a good starting position for me, because it is first come first serve. With 846 people lining up for a mass start you don't want to be at the back. Zach was awarded a preferred start position at the front of the field by virtue of his race results from the previous year.
The gun went off at 10:00am and the crashing started about fifteen seconds later. Luckily we narrowly avoided the two big pile ups that happened a head of us. the rest of the race went very well for both of us. Zach ended up finishing at 1:00:27 in 42nd place overall and 8th in his age class. I finished 4 minutes back in 76th place overall and 9th in my age class.
Zach at the finish.