Fat Bike Fest at Hillside / Elk River, Minnesota / Refreeze @ -7 Degrees / Ice Age...

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Sunny and -7 at the start of a twisty, climbing and switch back fat bike race through about 16 miles of the the woods in Elk River. Ya race what Mother Nature gives ya...

Good turn-out on this Sunday morning, the crew kept the fires going all day.

 Strong field at the front. With the tight singletrack, a 5 bike group stayed together for the first lap at about 50 minutes. Jeff  Hall made his move at the start of the 2nd and final lap, charging ahead and leading into the singletrack.

The riders in the front group were all riding the twisty singletrack at a lively pace and came into the finish spread out a bit, but all putting in a good ride. Jeff finished 1st in 1:41.

Good talking to the racers and I met Jeff Young. It turns out that our paths had crossed back in the mid 1990's, 20 years ago. I worked for a company for 30 years and it turns out that Jeff Young worked summers at that company. Also by the jacket he was wearing, a "District 23 Hare Scrambles" jacket, off-road motorcycle racing. A good friend of mine, Craig was also an acquaintance of Jeff's. I have met many guys that over the years have ridden and /or raced both motorcycles and mountain bikes. Good people with like interests kinda revolve around the same worlds. It was good talking with Jeff Young who is a very good mountain biker.

 I had some good riding myself this day. Able to catch a few shots of Jeff Hall weaving through the woods. A real nice set of trails up here in the woods of Elk River.

Jeff Hall bringing it home in 1:41, at -7 degrees in the north woods of Minnesota. Six races on the LAMERE Cycles Fat Bike, 5 wins and 1 second place. This bike fits Jeff's riding and skills very well!

Ride on Fat Bike...

Firing Up The Fat Tire Bikes / Night Ride Along da Minnesota River Trail

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A winter night bike ride along the river is as good as it gets...the fresh snow is pure and the reflection give the trees ghostly images.

  This was a night of new snow during the day and a great time to spend, not only time on the bikes, but around a campfire. With the temperature hovering about 7 degrees, the warmth of the fire felt inviting.

  

Riding around the campfire...Ride on!

Fatbike Frozen Forty / Great Lakes Fat Bike Series / Fat Tire Mountain Bike Racing in Minnesota

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If the name fits, use it..."Fatbike Frozen Forty", frozen it was. The temperature at the start of the Frozen was -4 degrees with a breeze at 18 mph. Welcome to a Minnesota Winter challenge.

I prepared myself for the day as team manager for LAMERE Cycle Rider Jeff Hall, knowing that I would be out in the elements for about 8 hours. The goal is to keep the liquids, liquid. Insulated bottles along with a small soft insulated pack inside my normal backpack were the key to success.

The goal for Jeff Hall was to ride consistence laps, each lap was about 10 miles. he would need to be finished with 4 laps, 40 miles, in less than 4 hours. The cold was OK, Jeff commutes 5 days a week all year long, 50 miles round trip, with the coldest rides to work this year were about -16 or -17 degrees. It is just riding at race pace we had to factor in. With 3 races the past 3 weeks and Jeff winning 2 and finishing 2nd at the other race, we knew his speed would be good.

With the cold temps and distance, he started fast, but did not panic. He let the leaders shake it out. Brendan Moore and Justin Piontek dashed out to the lead. Jeff stalked them and turned up the power after an hour and went to work...picking off Justin and then it took Jeff about 2 hours to get Brendan in his sights. They rode together until Brendan had to stop for a bit, Jeff slowed down to let him get back on, but Brendan couldn't get back up. The last lap Jeff turned it up and won by a bit over 5 minutes. Brendan finished 2nd and the One and Only Hollywood Henderson powered into 3rd place to stand on the podium! Good day for LAMERE Cycles with 1st and 3rd places. Jp "Buzzy" LaMere finished a strong 13th place @ 4:08.That's damn good for the owner of his own bike company to get out and experience the real deal of Fat Tire Bike Racing in a Minnesota Winter. The Man can walk the walk and talk the talk...good to be part of an effort to build, race and adventure on an awesome bicycle.       

 The start was tight and fast with the exhaust hanging in the air. 40 miles of prime singletrack at -4 degrees, it will either kill ya or make ya stronger...

 Jeff pushing hard over two hours into the race. The bike was working perfect, tire selection was spot on and Jeff was feeling great.

 Brendan was pushing a fast pace and is always one of Jeff's top competition.

 Token photo of the team managers bike and pack on a twisty section out on the trail. I got in some good riding and was able to make contact with Jeff several times each lap. I enjoy being able to be a part of the race scene and get on my bike. It is all an adventure for me. 

 Jeff at the truck...40 miles, time 3:40. Time was a course record and another 1st place for the LAMERE Cycles. That is 4 wins and 1 second place during the Winter Fat Tire Race Season for Jeff Hall.

 The owner and the LAMERE Cycles top Man, Buzzy LaMere. Living the dream.

 Jeff welcoming his LAMERE teammate and top Hollywood Cycles rider / owner of Hollywood Cycles up to the podium. Hwood also walks the walk, pedals the bike.  

Brendan Moore 2nd, Jeff Hall 1st, Hollywood Henderson 3rd.

That's a frozen 40...Ride On!!

Great Lakes Fat Bike Series / Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout 2015 / Fat Tire Bike Racing

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The Fat Tire race season is in full swing with three weeks in a row of racing and 2-3 more races over the next 4 weeks.

This Saturday found us in Northern Minnesota at Crosby. "The Whiteout" is one of the Great Lakes Fat Bikes Series races. With a low snowpack, the race was sure to be fast and slick, 3 laps, a distance of 30k.

 Toeing the line with Hollywood, he jumps to his patented fast start.

 Good to see Jim McCarvill looking Pro with his DT Swiss kit.

 The youngster was rolling on his LAMERE bike.

 At the end of lap 1 Jeff and Jesse were out front and scorching the course. First lap was at about 24 minutes. Jeff had a 30 second gap at 20k and put the hammer down, riding his fastest lap over the final 10k.

 Jeff crossing the line at 1:11:52 over a distance of 30k, giving him his 3rd win in the Series.

 The sun was out at the end of the race and good to talk over the days events.

Ride On!!

2015 Timbersled Mountain Horse Official Video - Snow Bike Conversion Kit

Penn Cycle Fat Tire Loppet / Minneapolis, Minnesota / Great Lakes Fat Tire Series 2015

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Setting up the pit the morning of the Penn Cycle Fat Tire Loppet. Plenty of LAMERE Bikes, not so much snow after the warm temps the previous week. This morning the temps were cold, 12 degrees with a 15 mph wind out of the north. Good winter racing weather. The course was altered because of the low snow conditions, the race was to be a 24k distance and it would be three 8k laps. About 19 minutes a lap for Jeff Hall and Jesse LaLonde. This race was, Jeff said "like a short track race, on the gas from the start to the finish".

 Jeff geared up and ready to rock and roll!

 Start from the gun was fast and furious.

 Josh Bauer, Jeff Hall and Hollywood pegging it for the woods over the hill.

 Josh, Hollywood and Jeff together chasing down Jesse who was out front.

 Jeff feels good to follow Hollywood's lead for the first mile. Then Jeff and Jesse put the hammer down and dropped the chase group.

 The two racers that battled it out the week before at the Cold Fish Cup were once again locked in a high speed showdown...

 Jeff leads into the final lap firing on all cylinders. Jesse would jump ahead on a long climb, Jeff marked him, got on Jesse's wheel and powered ahead. Jeff lead into the final corner as they entered the final straight to the finish. Jesse slipped out a bit, Jeff turned the corner under control and jumped ahead for the sprint win.

Two Elite Fat Tire Racers putting on a show of power and trading wins in two races in two weeks... 

 Sprint win!

The Ole Grizzled One and Jeff.

 Team LAMERE on the top of the Podium.

Thanks to Pat Sorensen and Penn Cycle for supporting Mountain Bike Racers and Mountain Bike Races.

 Jesse LaLonde 2nd, Jeff Hall 1st, Josh Bauer 3rd and Pat Sorensen.

Winding down on the ride back to the truck with Jeff and Josh.

Race On!