Perfect in every way. As long as I am a resident of Minnesota and can ride a bike, I will do my best to get down to Mt. Kato for the Bluff Riders Charge mountain bike race. The temperature was in the 80s with a nice breeze to keep us cooled down. The environment was festive with many children riding and having a good time. The top draw for many kids (including mine) was to climb to the top of the ski hill. Mine did it three times! The Kato Climb section proved to be uneventful as the majority of riders simply formed a line and plodded to the top of the course. I was in a much better place (mentally) on this climb compared to the Mont du Lac climb. I attribute this to the fact I had pre-ridden the course.
Once at the top, the field began to open up which made passing a bit easier. The course was almost entirely dry and very fast. The three power ascents I was concerned with proved to be manageable for me and all the riders I was near. Sheepishly, I was awarded first place out of only two riders in my category and 29th out of the 65 in the citizen group. Regardless, it was a great ride for me as I was relaxed and stayed within my capabilities. I am inspired to continue training and make the MNSCS part of a more active lifestyle for me and my family.
This time the family joined in with my two children competing in the Shimano Youth Series. This turned out to be the funnest part of the day as both kids rode hard and had a good time. The shimano course was 100 times better than the course set up at Mont du Lac. This time the kids were able to ride on a portion of the singletrack they had been watching their parents ride on. In addition, there must have been approximately 30 kids participating with quite a few above the age of 10. Monica got some good video and pictures which are now on Facebook. It was a really good time for all of us. Next stop.........the Firecracker!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Friday!
Well......my wife is coming home tomorrow and I have one mowed lawn and not much else to show. I did learn a few things while she was gone though. First, it is unbelievable how much time I spent getting kids ready, driving to, watching, driving from, and..........you get the picture. Second, I found that I missed the camaraderie of my buddies at the gym. I used to do my spinning with a group of guys in the afternoon. This was difficult to do during the school year so I began spinning early in the morning. I enjoyed the conversations and may begin doing afternoons again for the summer. Third, Minnesota can get hot! It is not the temperature, it is the humidity. I have no idea how people in the south do it. Humidity bites. Thank goodness for air conditioning. Fourth, I weighed myself yesterday and found I am at 212 lbs. Last year at this time I was 225 lbs. but got down to 206 lbs. A bit of a slip but I have set a goal to be under 200 lbs. by September. Fifth, watching my daughter swim and my son play baseball may be the highlight of the summer so far. Being their Dad is the coolest thing in the world. At the end of the day, nothing else matters. Sixth, and last, I miss my wife and am looking forward to her return. The Bluff Riders Charge is Sunday! See ya
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Mt. Kato
I have learned two things since deciding to get back into mountain biking after a 14 year hiatus. First, mountain is a relative term. What one would call a mountain in the Midwest is quite different when considering the mountains in CA or NM. This is a good thing as I am so out of shape I am certain I would be collecting DNFs at races such as Mammoth Lakes (CA) and the Signal Peak Challenge (NM). Second, regardless of where the track is, finishing with a respectable time is difficult (for me anyway) if you have not ridden the track prior to the race. I learned this as I was walking my bike up Mont Du Lac! With this in mind, I ventured out to Mt. Kato where this Sundays Bluff Riders Charge will be held. For $8 one could ride the seven miles of trails all day.
My day began with the realization I will be riding up a sizeable hill at the beginning of the race. Clearly, I was not ready for this as I slogged up the rocky switchback single trail for the beginning of lap one. During this rather unfortunate portion of the ride, I realized I have done nothing during my spinning sessions to prepare for this type of ride. My idea of a hill in spinning was to increase the tension enough to be moving the cranks at 75 rpms. Clearly, there will be no moments of cranking 75 rpms for this biker while negotiating the appropriately named 'Kato Climb.' Once I made it to the top of the climb I made my way through the Frog Pond Loop, Outlook Traverse and the Back Loop. The single track was hardpacked and very fast. The Gets Tight and Cedar Climb sections offered some technical areas and quick descents. There were three areas in which the climbing is enough to get the front wheel off the ground or spin the back tires. Not bad though. I then entered the Killer Toad Loop and lost my sense of direction.
After a couple of bad decisions, I decided to head down to the trail head and get a map. On my way down, a friendly gentleman noticed I was riding on the trail in the wrong direction. As I sat down to read my map, said gentleman mentioned my indiscrection so I let him know I had gotten lost. He seemed to genuinely understand my situation and headed out on his four wheeler laughing. At least I felt like I was not the only knucklehead to head out on this trail without a map. His look and actions let me know he had seen this condition (lack of intelligence) before. Armed with my trusty map and a new found sense of direction, I again took on the Kato Climb........slowly. I stopped every so often to get a sense of where I was and this time I found the Dead Horse section which is a quick little descent. This may have been the most enjoyable section of the trail. From there it was a quick ride through the Maze, Back Home, and Cabin Run to close out the "Citizen" lap.
I completed the last section and started right into another lap. I was able to negotiate the trail without incident. More importantly, I have a general idea of where I can go fast, where I need to slow down, and when to expect the top of the hill. In other words, I should do much better in this event then I did at the Dirt Spanker. In addition, I have used my past two spinning classes to practice the Kato Climb. Hopefully this will help (if only psychologically!) me to get up the hill a little quicker than I did the first three times. More importantly, I hope I learned enough to not have to walk my bike!
My day began with the realization I will be riding up a sizeable hill at the beginning of the race. Clearly, I was not ready for this as I slogged up the rocky switchback single trail for the beginning of lap one. During this rather unfortunate portion of the ride, I realized I have done nothing during my spinning sessions to prepare for this type of ride. My idea of a hill in spinning was to increase the tension enough to be moving the cranks at 75 rpms. Clearly, there will be no moments of cranking 75 rpms for this biker while negotiating the appropriately named 'Kato Climb.' Once I made it to the top of the climb I made my way through the Frog Pond Loop, Outlook Traverse and the Back Loop. The single track was hardpacked and very fast. The Gets Tight and Cedar Climb sections offered some technical areas and quick descents. There were three areas in which the climbing is enough to get the front wheel off the ground or spin the back tires. Not bad though. I then entered the Killer Toad Loop and lost my sense of direction.
After a couple of bad decisions, I decided to head down to the trail head and get a map. On my way down, a friendly gentleman noticed I was riding on the trail in the wrong direction. As I sat down to read my map, said gentleman mentioned my indiscrection so I let him know I had gotten lost. He seemed to genuinely understand my situation and headed out on his four wheeler laughing. At least I felt like I was not the only knucklehead to head out on this trail without a map. His look and actions let me know he had seen this condition (lack of intelligence) before. Armed with my trusty map and a new found sense of direction, I again took on the Kato Climb........slowly. I stopped every so often to get a sense of where I was and this time I found the Dead Horse section which is a quick little descent. This may have been the most enjoyable section of the trail. From there it was a quick ride through the Maze, Back Home, and Cabin Run to close out the "Citizen" lap.
I completed the last section and started right into another lap. I was able to negotiate the trail without incident. More importantly, I have a general idea of where I can go fast, where I need to slow down, and when to expect the top of the hill. In other words, I should do much better in this event then I did at the Dirt Spanker. In addition, I have used my past two spinning classes to practice the Kato Climb. Hopefully this will help (if only psychologically!) me to get up the hill a little quicker than I did the first three times. More importantly, I hope I learned enough to not have to walk my bike!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Dirt Spanker
I boarded a plane on May 20th to do a little fishing with a high school buddy in British Columbia. The next thing I know, June is almost over and I have neglected my new found social media toys. Since then, I have attended a conference in Atlanta, enjoyed a few days with my family in Myrtle Beach, and had my brother and his family stay at our house for a few days. Now, my wife has left for NM for a week leaving the kids and me to fend for ourselves. This should be interesting.
In between all of this, I missed the Afton Avalanche race but made the Dirt Spanker at Mont du Lac. The weather was perfect with the temperature in the mid 80s and the presence of a light breeze. Mont du Lac is a gorgeous location and I soon found it was a challenging course as well. The bar was open in the lodge and there appeared to be groups who camped overnight. The atmosphere was fantastic so if you plan to take your family to an MNSCS race, this would be a good choice. The volunteers were phenomenal which makes these events worth the time and money.
I had never ridden Mont du Lac and it showed. The Citizen course begins with a modest uphill. There were several crashes early on and this made things a bit difficult. Once we made the first uphill, the course transitioned into a single track with steep descents followed by steep ascents. This is where my lack of experience for the course hurt me. I could not get my gearing right and had a tough time in traffic. I would estimate there were 6-7 of these drops and climbs. I wound up walking up at least three of them. Not my best day. I did not know it at the time, but this was by far the toughest section of the course. The rest of the track was fast and moderately technical. The trails were well maintained and the riders were friendly. Unlike Erik's Cup, the field was quite a bit smaller and we became spread out quickly with very little contact with other riders. Overall, this was a very enjoyable ride once I got away from the bigger ascents. The course ended with another climb to the starting area before descending slalom style down to the lodge area.
There were four people in my age category and I placed second. I lost by nearly four minutes to a guy I beat at Erik's Cup by 90 seconds. Regardless, I enjoyed the experience and am looking forward to next year. My son and brother both attended the race. My son also participated in the Shimano Youth Series race and seemed to have a good time. The Bluff Riders Charge is next week and I have a practice run in already. I hope to get one or two more before the race. See ya.
In between all of this, I missed the Afton Avalanche race but made the Dirt Spanker at Mont du Lac. The weather was perfect with the temperature in the mid 80s and the presence of a light breeze. Mont du Lac is a gorgeous location and I soon found it was a challenging course as well. The bar was open in the lodge and there appeared to be groups who camped overnight. The atmosphere was fantastic so if you plan to take your family to an MNSCS race, this would be a good choice. The volunteers were phenomenal which makes these events worth the time and money.
I had never ridden Mont du Lac and it showed. The Citizen course begins with a modest uphill. There were several crashes early on and this made things a bit difficult. Once we made the first uphill, the course transitioned into a single track with steep descents followed by steep ascents. This is where my lack of experience for the course hurt me. I could not get my gearing right and had a tough time in traffic. I would estimate there were 6-7 of these drops and climbs. I wound up walking up at least three of them. Not my best day. I did not know it at the time, but this was by far the toughest section of the course. The rest of the track was fast and moderately technical. The trails were well maintained and the riders were friendly. Unlike Erik's Cup, the field was quite a bit smaller and we became spread out quickly with very little contact with other riders. Overall, this was a very enjoyable ride once I got away from the bigger ascents. The course ended with another climb to the starting area before descending slalom style down to the lodge area.
There were four people in my age category and I placed second. I lost by nearly four minutes to a guy I beat at Erik's Cup by 90 seconds. Regardless, I enjoyed the experience and am looking forward to next year. My son and brother both attended the race. My son also participated in the Shimano Youth Series race and seemed to have a good time. The Bluff Riders Charge is next week and I have a practice run in already. I hope to get one or two more before the race. See ya.
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