Racing, Minnesota River Bottoms

The only guy in the intermediate class  to ride the first deep water hole. 

 My second race of the year was at the Minnesota River Bottoms on Saturday. The top notch race was put-on by Pat Sorensen of Penn Cycle and several other volunteers including the Penn Cycle Race Team.  The weather was terrific, warm and sunny for most of the day. The racing kicked off at 10 am with the intermediate class and the beginners immediately after. I'm a little biased since I helped layout the course and Penn Cycle is my team, but it was awesome. We were able to make a complete loop by running a  second trail parallel to the existing one. On race day the newer trail was very bumpy, if we had snow it would have been smooth and fast.

Intermediate race leaders 

 With the warm temps overnight, the racers were greeted by a surprise when they rode the section along Nine Mile Creek. During the evening hours the creek level went up enough that it was necessary to ride through standing water on top of the frozen creek. I thought this was about the coolest thing one could ride during a race or any ride for that matter. I was looking forward to plowing through the water when it was my turn. As the day wore on the water level rose enough that the advanced class had about a half mile of it on the final lap.

Staying warm as the racers cruise by, out at Nine Mile Creek

good turn out for a winter race with very little snow and  competition with two other races being held on the same day in the twin cities.

 The race was a success with approximately 50 racers and will be back next year. In true Penn Cycle race fashion, a ton of schwag was given out, including a 9 Zero 7 frame. Check it out next year and pray for snow!