In October You Just Gotta Be In The Woods On 2 Wheels / Yamaha / BMW / LAMERE Cycles / Ride

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A last foray into the Northern Minnesota forest on the Yamaha WR450 before we move back to the cities for the winter.

 Fall is in full swing on this ride...Speaking of fall...riding the edge of the deep mud hole, I clipped a hidden rock in the brush and got bucked off into the middle of the water. Dang near ended up flopping in, but some fancy footwork kept me upright. All good, ended up with my boots full of swampwater. With temps this day right around 37 degrees it was good not to get any wetter.

This was a good, about 40 mile day on the saddle. Got back to the cabin at sundown dodging the deer along the way.

 Also riding the BMW F800 GS a couple times a week. Exploring the country roads outside the metro area. Generally about 140 to 200 miles in a day is a good balance cruising dirt roads and with mix of 2 lane curvy pavement. Topping the ride off rolling back into the city on the freeway with a bit of AC/DC rocking in my earbuds.  

 Always a treat to pull off a gravel road and have a snack.

 Another opportunity that has come along from time to time is to be involved with a photographer that shoots videos and photos for the running events. This involves me to transport a guy shooting video off the back of the BMW. This was the "Twin City Marathon" event.

Meanwhile Back at the Cabin

 The last few tasks that needed to be performed were the pulling the boats out of the lake. 3 boats total, The speedboat was out earlier, so it was the sailboat and the pontoon. We handled the sailboat, towing it to a landing and pulling it out with our pickup. With the pontoon, it is a cruise across Whitefish Lake and dropping it at the marina. They pick it out of the water, winterize it and it is stored at their location. This is an annual event where as we load the mountain bikes and transport them over. Then it is an 18 mile bike ride back to the cabin. Good times!  

 Mountain Biking in October

 JP LaMere rolling on his branded mountain bike, LAMERE Cycles owner and also test rider. This day he is racing the Marathon race at the last "Minnesota Mountain Bike Race Series" race. The course is set-up in the "Whitetail Ridge Trail System". 

This was the last race of the Minnesota Race Series, The Border Battle. This was a make-up race from the original scheduled race. Nice to be in the River Falls woods during the Fall. Trails were in good condition and a, more open feeling in the deep woods with the foliage dropping it's leaves.

Jeff Hall raced this day, 9 races this summer in the Series. 9 wins, 9-0 for the season. It has been several years since he has done the whole Series. He won the Minnesota Series several times in the early to mid 2000s.

He enjoys being on the bike in the woods on the week-ends as he commutes 5 days a week on his bike. 50 miles a day round trip. That is the riding he does to stay fit and uses the ride to throw in some speed work for certain races.

This summer we traveled to 3 big mountain bike festivals. In Grand Marais, MN "The Lutsen 99er" 99 miles, he finished 2nd. In Marquette, MI "Ore to Shore" 48 miles, 2nd place. In Hayward, WI "Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival" 40 miles, 7th.

A very good Mountain Bike season with a variety of terrain and travel experiences along the way. 

Meanwhile...

The non-racer doing a bit of exploring.

A good day on the bikes along the Minnesota River south of Louisville Swamp. A rainy 47 degree day made for some good adventure. With all the late season rain in Minnesota, the River flooded over it's banks and washed out portions of the trail. This created backwater to flood and dam up the creeks. With a bit of scrambling we were able to cross and made a big loop to return to the car. it was a chance to explore some of the local gravel roads.

October, good month to be out in the woods!

Ride 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!! 

Lutsen 99er / Mountain Bike Marathon Race 2014

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On the road to the Lutsen 99er Mountain Bike Race, in Two Harbors, MN. Subway pre-race dinner @ 10:30pm Friday night. Still have about 50 miles to drive, foggy, with very low visibility made the last 50 miles interesting.

I got to sleep on a couch @ about 1:30am, up @ 4:30am, race start @ 7:30am. 1000 Mountain Bike Racers.
Ready for a big day on the 400 Suzuki chasing Jeff on his mountain bike for 99 miles.

 The fog was thick off Lake Superior as the 1000 mountain bike racers left Lutsen Resort and rode down to highway 61 heading north a few miles and turning up a pavement section climb before turning off on to gravel.

 The riders were still in the fog for the climb up away from Lake Superior. The front of the pack began to spread out and Jeff Hall was right up front. Looking clean and fresh as the legs warmed up, I think he was surprised that I was coming up alongside on the Suzuki. 

This is Jeff Hall in the black and white with the Foundry kit.

 I came up alongside Richard on his dirt bike up front, he was leading the 39 mile race. His brother was racing the 39 mile mountain bike race. I hooked up with Jesse and Blake as we were out front of the 99 mile race. These guys looked ready to rock with their KTMs, muddy and all knobbied up. This was going to be an adventure.

After riding a moto in the North Star Road Bike Race 2 weeks ago, I have had some awesome motorcycle rides amongst bicycle racers...It is great to see the races develop out on the courses. I was riding a BMW 1200GS at the road races and I'm riding my Suzuki 400 all knobbied up for this Lutsen 99er. The road races were about 98 and 84 miles. This mountain bike race is 99 miles off-road. Jeff averaged 16.85 mph for 99 miles off-road, with a time of 5:52:31. The first 4 finishers were 15 minutes ahead of 5th place. They were rocking up there!   

 Early in the race, still a bit of fog and a good size pack.

 On the narrower stretches several miles into the race the front pack whittled down and the tempo started to pick up...the race was on.

 Pacing off the front with Jesse we had to on occasions, gently have drivers pull over to the side of the dirt roads to let the racers by. As we rode into the aid stations we could give updates and make sure that the racers stayed on course.

 When one is on the bike for over 5 hours it is important to hydrate and eat, on the mountain bike or a dirt bike. Jeff fastened a small pouch on the front of his jersey. He carried everything from turkey jerky, power bars to gel packets. I carried a couple cans of "Rock Star Zero" energy drinks along with a leftover subway ham sandwich and of course several Power Bars. Gotta eat and drink to keep maximum power. 

 It was out on the outer double loop on the second go round that Jeff decided to put the hammer down and thin the pack of about 11 riders to the final 4 racers. That section of the course suited Jeff as it was a bit more rugged and narrow. Jeff is out front in top photo and 3rd, drinking in the lower photo. 

 This was shortly before Jeff put on a push to split the group.

Jeff is #205. The final 4 were sorted out and out front all the way to the finish for the next 50 miles.

 One of the motos chasing me through the woods ahead of the racers...

 The guys are skirting some puddles and roaring through the middle of some that span the whole road. They were really moving now.

 The water was flowing across the trail as there was a large beaver dam along the left side of the photo.

The pictures say it all...Hammer!

 It all comes down to this sign, 10 miles to go after 89 miles. Either the body has it or ya just survive...They were still together, the pack of 4, Jeff Hall, Michael Naughton, Garth Prosser and Kasey Bacso. The riders had the hammer down and as they rode into the muddy bog section. Jeff hit it hard, Garth and Kasey dropped off the back. Jeff and Michael pulled away with Jeff gaining a small gap. Michael put on a surge and Jeff couldn't match it. Michael crossed the line in first with Jeff 2nd.

 Jeff Hall @ 2nd place @ 5:52:31 @ 16.85mph average speed / 99 mile race shortened about 3 miles.

 Cracking a smile after a ride through the North Shore Forest on 2 wheels.

 I came up on a racer with a "Finish Line Finders" jersey, it was long time team member Tim McGrath. I was on my motorcycle with my helmet and goggles on so Tim did not recognize me right away but I yelled out my name and he gave me a high 5. Good to see Tim out there racing.

 Podium shot / 1st: Michael Noughton @ 5:51:49 / 2nd: Jeff Hall @ 5;52:31 / 3rd: Garth Prosser @ 5:52:43 and Kasey Bacso not shown, who earned 4th and was in the lead pack till a few miles out.

All the bikes the morning of the race before unloading to have an adventure in the the Minnesota North Shore Forest. Total of 36 hours, traveled 700 miles by truck, bike and motorcycle. 3.5 hours of sleep...back home by 3:00am Sunday.

Ride On!!