Winter riding

Fat bikes, snow bikes, studded tires, etc. I have dabbled at best with winter riding. I have raced downhill with inadequate skills and equipment, at ski resorts in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Some of the races were wet, with snow melting and temps in the 30’s to 40’s(shorts weather to those who know me). Other races were icy! I have weekend trips to Duluth where the first day we rode the trails and the second day skied at Spirit Mountain. Some of the rides in winter have been along the banks of the River Bottoms trail in Bloomington, an exploration of sorts. These have been on fat bikes or what would now in the winter be called “skinny tires’, my 2.35 knobbies.

I have not explored the winter riding for the past 2 years. Is it due to other inside sports taking up time? Or due to pure laziness on my part; not wanting to jump out of my comfort zone? Or did I just fall out of touch with those who do ride in the winter? Whatever the reason, I will be going out for a few adventures on borrowed fat bikes and hopefully that passion will be rejuvenated to the point you will have to pry my frostbitten fingers off my bike.

Recently I attending the Minnetonka Ice Race and cheered fellow friends and bikers on. The weather was gorgeous and the course circled enough to make the best of us dizzy. Of note was those whom were so confident of their skills they wheelie past the spectators each lap.

Look forward to future posts with snow and smiles!

Cheers!

2012 a year in review

2012 has been a great year. It started out with several roadtrips to Rays Indoor Bike Park in Milwaukee. Trails in Minnesota were open early in the season, which lead to a March day trip with Reed Smidt to Cuyana. We rode a solid 30 plus miles that day at a solid pace. Spent over a week in South Dakota riding as much as I could there. Stayed at a local biker friends place for the week and rode with several locals on different days, even finally making it to Spearfish to ride Tinton trail. Those few shuttles runs were a blast!

July saw some time in Colorado with family and friends. Mary Moncorge stayed with us and raced the Colorado Freeride Fest Enduro stages. The last day she placed first overall and was a fitting reward for her hard work and it was her birthday! Carl Paulson got hooked on DH'ing and I am glad to say he is now the owner of a Turner DHR, so here's to ripping it up next year Carl! A much needed trip to Whistler followed directly after Colorado and Bryan Bakke got to see what lift access is all about. Is was too short of a trip but packed full with adventures, from the long car ride to Whistler waiting for hours due to accidents, to the outside hot tub, the broken cranks mishap, riding with local friend Andrew Prenty and riding in wet, foggy conditions.

Early September, I embarked on another adventure to Colorado for 9 days with girl powered ripper Sarah Featherly. I finally rode Keystone and fell in love! The rocks and rawness of the runs left me wanting more. Time was spent riding with the boys from Royal Racing. Skills were honed and the finale of this adventure was racing the Red Bull Final Descent in Winter Park, a 12 hour downhill race. I lasted only 9 hours, but will be back with a vengeance for 2013, possibly racing all 3 in the series. New friends were made during that race and Sarah was a trooper finishing 24 laps I think.

October was the winding down of the season, but no before leaving for Asheville, NC. I must be honest; I didn't think the trails around Asheville would be epic and as entertaining as other parts of the country. Boy was I wrong! Epic is exactly as I would describe it, especially my 25 mile lost in the woods adventure(thanks to Chris Strout or my inability to remember exactly the route he stated.) Scott Anderson, fellow co-worker at QBP, accompanied me and we rode with local rippers from Industry Nine and XC climbers from Cane Creek. The trip was topped off with Moog Fest. I will be back to this beautiful riding destination.

Wow, what a year and that is just the cribs notes. What does 2013 hold in store? Stayed tuned...