Laddies Loppet Mountain Bike Race / September 2015 / 25th Anniversary Edition

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Loaded for "Good Times".

Destination Maplelag Resort for the 25th Anniversary Laddies Loppet Mountain Bike Race.

 The main event cross-country race is 23 miles long. Some of the best single-track in Minnesota...It is good old fashion roots, rocks and challenging climbs with fast descents. Jeff is looking down the infamous "Lake Drop", if you don't make the turn at the bottom you end up in the lake.

 JP "Buzzy" LaMere is all smiles for the first 10 minutes as he approaches the Drop. Buzzy is riding his LAMERE bike with the lightweight carbon Lauf fork. Jeff is riding his LAMERE bike set-up with no suspension.

Early in the race it was a 4 man group that roared out front. The pack broke up as Jeff Hall pushed the pace. Mason Bacso hung tough and battled for 2nd. This is a course that takes full concentration...and it will test your legs and lungs with the constant twisting through the trees and real deal climbs.

 The man who wrenches for LAMERE, Shea Franken can also rock in the woods. He finished a solid 15th place on the day.

 My companion is my Grandson who is having a good time riding from point to point along the course with me.

 Team Hollywood was working together through the woods with Kristy showing Jay the way this day... 

 Podium shot with Jeff on top followed by Mason Bacso 2nd, Josh Bauer 3rd, Kasey Bacso, Scott Kylander-Johnson, Jake Richards, John Wessling, Sam Elson, John Sandberg and Ben Olson rounding out the top 10.

A huge shout out to Jay Richards and his whole family who are responsible for the event, Laddies Loppet. Huge cash payout for the racers. Good food and a room if you want or like us, we were camping for the week-end. Way to go!!

Day 2 Dawned Green and a bit Soggy From Overnight Rains

 This the bonus of the week-end at Maplelag Resort. Camping and hanging with Hollywood and Rosco, the little man was having a good time walking the dog.

 Hanging around in the woods...waiting for the young racers to come whipping past. Owen is looking pro with his LAMERE kit.

 Riding hard and earning a podium picture.

 Everybody got involved and the little man and his sister rode a lap of the crit with their biggest supporter, Dad.

 Owen had a big day with a a cross-country race through the woods and a crit lap race around the cabins, showing off the muddy jersey.

 The main event crit was a battle of youth and grizzled veteran. With Jeff Hall and Josh Bauer battling from start to finish, trading the lead until the last lap and a sprint finish. Jeff edging out Josh in the sprint, good racing and good times.

 This is, like Father like son mud in the face racing.

 Base camp for Team LAMERE and Team Hollywood for the 25th Anniversary Laddies Loppet.

 Good old fashioned family mountain bike racing...

Party On!!   

Great Lakes Fat Bike Race Series / Solstice Chase

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Winter season has arrived with Team LAMERE Cycles fresh and excited to be rolling again. The morning dawned with 8 degrees and frozen trails with nary a trace of snow. Didn't matter, tires were selected with a set of 45NRTH 4" Dillinger tires mounted up. A studded on the front for cornering on the frozen ground and non-studded on the rear. We also had the Hitching Post Motorsports trailer on hand for our heated garage.

 I believe that the Solstice Chase Race had 290 entrants, a much larger field then last year.

The race took off at 10:00am with temps around 11 degrees, it was winter weather for sure, sans snow on the ground.

 The lead group whittled down to 3 riders within a few miles, this was a 42K distance, about 31 mile race.

 At the end of 1 lap, about 55 minutes the lead group was down to 2 riders, with Jeff Hall setting the pace. It stayed that way until Jeff dropped Adam Bergman on a climb on the 2nd of 2 laps.

From then on Jeff kept the pace high and finished in 1:45, about 5 minutes quicker then 2014 when he won. The gap to 2nd place was about 6 minutes. 

 Yours Truly, the LAMERE Team Manager got some miles in today, good woodsy course was I was able to see Jeff Hall at several locations. The race course crew was out roaring around the trail making sure the ribbons were up and the corners were marked, good stuff.

 Jeff crossing one of the several bridges and ridding his own race.

 Taking it home down the last hill and whooping it up!!

#1 Top Log for the first race of the Great Lakes Fat Bike Series.

Good to see all the Winter racers that we met last year and the Great crew from Cyclova XC "Thanks out to Frank Lundeen"

Race Fat Bike On!!

Lutsen 99er Mountain Bike Race Recap / Better Late than Never / June 2015

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The journey to the shores of Gichigami for the epic "Lutsen 99er" includes a stop for the pre-race dinner at the Subway in Two Harbors.

This is our 2nd trip to travel 99 miles through the North Shore woods, Jeff on his LAMERE fat tire bike and me on my trusty Suzuki DRZ 400 Enduro. In 2014 Jeff finished 2nd and he learned about pushing himself for over 5 hours at race pace.

On our journey in June of 2015 we added Jeff's son Owen to the posse, teaching him about the road trip life of a mountain bike racer. Such as sleeping on the floor of the hotel room and hanging out.

 At 5:45am this is the scene from the parking lot of our hotel on the shores of Lake Superior...classic.

 Fast forward to the Lutsen 99er mountain bike race. A bit of a blur to organize Jeff's bike and make contact with the organizer, Adam. I help out with being one of the lead motos on my DRZ 400 motorcycle. There are 2 other motos leading the long race and we communicate to keep the race on course out front. 

  This is the first time I see Jeff and he's out front 7 or 8 miles into the race. Couldn't believe there wasn't a group on his wheel. Several hundred racers are behind him.

 Hammer time!

 I took a break at about the 20 mile mark because I only have enough gas to go about 95 miles on my full tank, so I sat out for a 10 mile loop. This is where Jeff pops out of the woods with a moto in the lead and he is still alone out front. I am guessing that he was off the front for about 40 miles.

 A ride through the North woods, averaging 17.18 for 99 miles...dang.

 Steve Tilford and his buddy that he brought up from Kansas finally caught Jeff after 40 miles.

 Valuable lesson for the Team LAMERE rider here, was that he could ride solo for 40 miles and 3 months later at the Big One...Chequamegon 40 he put this lesson into action!

 Chasing hard and not giving up, about 30 miles left.

 Big Man damn near grabbed 2nd, with 6 miles left Jeff was down by 3.5 minutes. At the end, the gap was 6 seconds back from 2nd at the finish after a huge push in the final singletrack section.

3rd place with a race time...5:45:51 @ an average of 17.18 mph for 99 miles off road. 462 racers in the Lutsen 99 mile race.

 2/3 of the 99er posse...Jeff and son Owen.

 Moto Mike and Mountain Man Jeff.

 Our ole Buddy, Tim McGrath... Finish Line Finder and the Man that gave me a bike jersey back in 1985. The rest is history, Jeff got his Finders jersey in 1989...Finish Line Finders!

Good mountain bike race road trip and to share it with Owen, priceless. Telling him stories from the old days of racing was fun. Of course we topped off the race day with pizzas at Sven and Oles in Grand Marais and skipping rocks into Lake Superior after dinner was classic.

Ride On!! 

Recap of the 2015 Mountain Bike Race Season with Jeff Hall and Team LAMERE Cycles

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Catching a bit of the last snow in the Minnesota River Valley with Jeff on his LAMERE  Cycle after a full winter of racing the fat tire bike.

 The opening race of the summer season was at the Decorah Time Trial...good competition, Jeff finished 2nd behind Brian Eppen.

 The opening Minnesota Mountain Bike Race Series took place at Buck Hill... Jeff won on his mid-fat LAMERE bike.

 Buck Hill Race

 St Croix Falls Race

The race at St. Croix Falls was a battle with Jesse Lalonde edging Jeff out at the line... Fun race hanging with Owen, Ava and Theo while Jeff raced.

  Mt. Kato Race

JP LaMere, owner of LAMERE Cycles was there with plenty of bikes and put in a good effort during his race. He is out there putting his bike through the paces. JP is out riding and testing his product every week.

 A bit of help from Jeff's son Owen on the bottle hand-ups, Owen raced in the morning and is picking up this thing they call Mountain Bike Racing...

 Jeff and the semi-fat was on the top step again at Mt Kato.

 Hollywood, Kristy and Rosco rocking in their Custom Hollywood Cycles Van...

 Elk River Race

 Choose your weapon...26", 27.5"or 29" tires of different widths. The 29er was the winner for Jeff at the Elk River Mountain Bike Race.

 My transportation to several of the summer Mountain bike races. BMW 1200 GS Adventure with my LAMERE Cycles mounted up. I am riding a 190 frame with 5" tires front and rear on my LAMERE Cycle.

 Elk River Race

 Owen had a good week-end at Elk River racing his mountain bike, earning a 2nd and 3rd place in his two races.

Good times hanging out with Owen at the races.

This is a quick recap of the 2015 summer Mountain Bike Racing Season through mid summer, more to come and I'll catch up with the winter season approaching quickly.

Ride On!!