2011 MNMBS race season recap

Well now that 2011 is over it's time to recap our race season in the Minnesota Mountain Bike Race Series. Our first race of the season was a very wet affair.
Zach and I had great race, single speeding was definitely the way to go in the sloppy conditions.
It's hard to see in this picture but it was pouring buckets!

This picture shows how deep the water was getting on the course.
When I came across the finish line Zach was there waiting for me and I didn't recognize him at first because he had changed colors.
My second race of the season was at Afton Alps ski area.
I have done this race for four years now and this was one my best.

Next up was the race at Mt. Kato, a tough course with a lot of climbing.
Always fun to show off for the camera.

Next up was Buck Hill. A very hot race.

Then after that was the Dirt Spanker race. It was the hottest (hardest) race we have ever done!

Next is one of my favorite races the Great Hawk Chase in Duluth.

My last race of the season was at Maplelag resort.

What a beautiful spot to ride.

These two pictures were taken at the same time, from different perspectives. It looks like I'm about ride into the lake! Overall it was a great season. It was my best in the last three years racing as a cat 2. I took first place in the series in the 50+ category. Once again we were riding our Vassago's throughout the season, they ROCK!

Ray's indoor MTB park Milwaukee

Last weekend we went to Ray's in Milwaukee to escape the cabin fever of a long winter here in Wisconsin.

This place was a blast, lots of fun obstacles, a pump track, a jump track, and an XC course.


And of course the foam pit!



The hardest part is getting out of the foam afterward.

It's a great place to ride in the winter! check it out............Ray's

MNMBS end of the year awards party

With another season of mountain bike racing under my belt it was time for the annual MNMBS awards party. I had a pretty good year, I finished 2nd overall in cat 2, 50+. It was a very muddy season and racing on my single speed Vassago all season definitely was a huge contribution to my sucsess. Thanks Vassago!

Cross racing on Jabberwockys

With mountain biking season over, Zach and I decided to do a little cross racing on our mountain bikes.
We had a fun time passing guys on real cross bikes after starting at the back. Zach finished about two places ahead of me and finished at about the middle of the pack.

MNMBS #9 Great Hawk Chase

Yes it was another muddy race in Duluth, but this one had some dry spots as well.
Zach and I had a great time at this race because the course was about 95% single track and located in a beautiful area.
Zach had one of his best races of the year, finishing 17th overall out of 125.
I also had a good race, we both ended up in 2nd place in our age classes.
I am looking forward to race here again!

MNMBS/WORS #8 Bontrager Border Battle

The border battle is our biggest race of the series. This year there were nearly 700 racers and almost 250 in our race. This was also the hottest race that I ever remember doing. I decided to hold back a little at the start because of the heat.
That tactic payed off on the last lap as started catching the guys who got ahead of me at the start. The heat was starting to take it's toll on all the racers, I was in a good spot to over take the guy who was running in 2nd when I clipped a tree with my bar and found myself laying in the middle of the trail looking at the sky. I quickly remounted and still finished in 3rd.
Zach also had a good and finished a close 4th place, beating me by almost two minutes.
We were totally cooked after the race, we just sat here for awhile and took turns pouring water over our heads.

MNMBS #5 Wheelhouse Classic

Finally, this was the first race of the season that it didn't start out muddy. The start was long lead out through a mostly flat field. A tough start for us single speeders. But once we hit the single track things started looking up, and I mean up! This course has some of the toughest climbs of the entire series. I moved my way up throughout the race and at the end I caught the leader of my wave and was able to hold him off at the sprint at the finish.
It was my 2nd win of the season and my closest finish. Zach was not so lucky on this day, hit a rock on lap 2 and tore his rear tire and was not able to finish.