Minnesota Mountain Bike Series

And the Muddy Mountain Bike Series Continues, lucky for us Mt. Kato can take a beating. Despite nearly five inches of rain over several days, the race day course was 100% rideable. No pushing here. Well….truth be told I did push twice but this was due to my absolute failure to impersonate a mountain bike rider and had nothing to do with the trail. Granted, the course for each race was the traditional Citizen course as there were trees down in some areas. Still, the majority of the trail was tacky with some standing water on the frog pond loop and the back loop. Despite this, the trail held together well with some riders claiming the course was getting better as the day went on. The organizers made the extra effort of providing a bike wash which was greatly appreciated while at the same time removing all evidence of less than ideal course conditions!

For those of you following the Squid Box vs. RichZilla discussion on the MORC Forum (2,200+ views), I feel compelled to comment despite having no authority to do so. The interesting part of the discussion began with SquidBox delivering an (as far as I know) unsolicited Pre-Race Report. This by itself is not that interesting save one thing. SquidBox delivered the report in the third-person a la Ricky Henderson. In my mind, this makes the report a Pulitzer Prize winning post and I applaud SquidBox. In addition, I will be anxiously awaiting further reports for each race. I do not promise to follow his advice, but I will read. By the way, the Bushism didn’t hurt either. Despite this masterpiece, I am calling the discussion a draw as RichZilla got me pumped to get to the race and get smoked. Right on RichZilla!

The weather on race day was phenomenal with a mix of clouds and sunshine through the morning. As the afternoon approached there were sunny skies with temperatures in the 80s. Registration went smooth and there was plenty of food and good music as the day went on. MNMBS riders got their first taste of the new “wave start time” signs put in place to minimize confusion related to wave starts. Admittedly, I noticed them after my race as my pre-race focus is on trying not to fall over. 

Special thanks to the folks handing out water at the beginning of the Kato Climb. It is hard to imagine a better location for water hand offs during a race, with the slow climb and straight trail ahead. Whoever thought to put the water there is a genius! The Shimano Kid’s race was the most exciting part of the day. Watching those kids rip around on the striders is a good time. Who needs pedals anyway? The next race is the Wheelhouse Classic in Red Wing so make sure to look for the SquidBox Pre-Race Report and hope to see you there!