Race Report: Mont Du Lac - Mud, Sweat, Gears…

Riding last weekend was pretty amazing. I drove to Golden Valley on Friday night, and packed up the car Saturday morning with a couple good friends and blasted up to Duluth. We stoped at Mont Du on the way hoping the trail would look rideable. Splashing through the puddles in the car on the road leading up to it we quickly realized this was probably a bad plan. We drove into West Duluth and unloaded the car at Haines and Skyline Pkwy. Too bad it was so foggy so the spectacular views were hidden, but awesome riding nonetheless! We made our way up the Skyline a few times going down towards the water and then back up. I wish I had those kinds of hills to ride all the time!

On the way back to the car along the boardwalk, the rocky beach was too tempting, I had to ‘ride the surf’ of Lake Superior.We also had to ride over the lift bridge to Park Point…I mean walk our bikes over the bridge……we definitely did not ride them over the bridge…of the hundreds of times I’ve been to Duluth, I think I’ve only been to Park Point in a car. It was really fun to see it from this perspective!

We loaded up on some carbs at Belisios in Canal Park after the ride…this place was really good but maybe a little too upscale for those just coming off a three hour mountain bike tour of Duluth. The hostess ‘suggested’ we sit in the bar area, haha!
Sunday morning driving to Mont Du for John and Mat to tear up the Citizen class…the ground did not look ‘tacky’ as some had hoped and predicted. This race turned out to be the muddiest event I’ve ever done. John’s first mountain bike race hardly turned out to be that! More of an adventure race is what it was. By the time the Comp/Expert classes lined up at 1, I figured either the Citizen/Sport riders will pack it down (like the first MNMBS race at Salem) or chew it up even more. Unfortunately…it was the latter. Ridiculous amounts of mud stuck to everything. By the time I figured out the best way to go about this race I was halfway through the first lap. I sped up fast running the bike, riding the bike, carrying the bike – momentum, steady, and staying committed was key. I started to pass lots of riders and I was feeling really good. I rode most of the second half of the first lap.

I took the now shredded grassy hill before the road climb to clear off as much mud as possible while staying in a forward motion preparing for lap 2 (final) to really gung ho and figured I could drop at least 15 and maybe 20 minutes from what I did the first lap…yep that’s how unprepared I was for this type of race at the start. I felt strong. Up the road real steady, almost to the top, and ‘clink’ my cranks lock. I get off check the bike, spin them backwards andthey started working. Start going again, then the same thing 100ft further. I tried it two more times, basically I was going to have to run/carry my bike the entire second lap or risk breaking lots of stuff. I decided to call it…along with about 50% or more of the field. I love a challenge and I really got myself amped up for the second lap, so that was a bit frustrating. All in all, I feel it made me a better, more confident, rider technically and I did have a lot of fun.

John and Mat solved nothing in their Giant Anthem vs. NRS battle – so the yapper flappin for the two and half hour drive back to GV was very entertaining. That will be fun to watch at Mankato on the 27th.