Duluth Ashland Trip

Jon had a couple midweek games on the schedule this season which makes it easier for Jonell and I to both get away and attend.

First Midweek game was in Ashland vs Northland. Worked out for Jake to come over as well so we all hooked up. New rink for us and loved the atmosphere and energy from the student section.

Had the opportunity to check out a new lodging establishment and garner some new ideas making it a successful business trip as well.

Tough barn for away teams to play in and getting the win was big, no matter how achieved.  

Winter had't arrived to what many refer to as the "Northland" and was able to check off a few more areas to ride on the bucket list. Above being Max Fierak's "Hidden Gem of the North". A Enduro track built by Max and friends that had a fantastic rawness to it. More so with the leaves and wet conditions on the day.

Hit up Mount Ashwabay for the first time. Great system, really liked the recent builds that were a mix of hand and machine built.

Spent a night in Duluth and caught one of the longest ships ever to glide under the lift bridge on the waters of Gitchi Gummi.

Sampling the local artesian. Filled up before hitting the road!

Sneaking in one more ride at my favorite trail in Duluth, Piedmont, before shut down for dirt riding on the season.

Great tech riding!

 Hooking up with Jake and Anna (and Sully the dog) in the evening for a hike and dinner. Awesome Midweek trip!

Thanksgiving 2018 Jens Confirmation

Thanksgiving is always a special Holiday as it is one of the few Holidays we aren't "open" at Maplelag. Every year the group composition is different with family and friends. Some family can't make it and new friend and family can. Much to be grateful and thankful for. 

This years group at the head table. 

Jonell loves setting up and decorating and every year is different, always unique, special and amazing.

No lack of laughs with Madeline.

Deb and her donuts.

Arts and crafts with Meredith. 

Winter came early. Ice for skating and snow for skiing. Helps burn off those calories!

Morning ski with Jake, and Jack and Cole Johnson. 

Sunday of Thanksgiving celebrated Jens's confirmation. Super positive Pastor Steve.

Robin big part of all four boys lives.

Parents.

Family.

Hauling blocks in the afternoon for winter wood burning stoves. 

Empty Nesters Engagement

Big changes in our house this fall as all the boys are off and Jonell and I are empty nesting!

Rare moment all four boys home and together this summer before heading off to different locations.

Has become a tradition now to do a ride with Jon the day before he leaves. Rolling through a rock garden on the Maplelag course.

Ready to depart for a fresh start at University of Wisconsin Eau Claire where he will be playing hockey and majoring in business.

Up next to depart was Jack. He is attending the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in Hyde Park, NY. Jonell and he drove out.

Stopping at Niagara Falls along the way.

Ready to depart!

At school getting the whites. Jack and I visited the campus last fall. Beautiful setting and top notch environment for culinary arts.

We didn't expect to have the house cleared out this fall but Jens made the decision to attend the new North Star Christian Academy in Alexandria, MN. He didn't leave until mid September but started online classes late August.

Incredible new facility. Locker room above.

Staying with the Tim Jackman family along with another teammate. Tim played 13 years in the NHL.

Started games the end of September, praying with the opponent after. Not often you see this today. Fantastic stuff.

Although Jake has been out of the house for some years, big news for him and his girlfriend Anna as they became engaged on a late September trip to Red Lodge, MT!

Engagement pic lakeside.

It's definitely different in the house with everyone gone but very happy for all the boys and excited for the opportunities that lie ahead and the fun midweek adventures with Jonell!

Laddies Loppet 2018

Labor day weekend at Maplelag marks the annual mountain bike weekend, Laddies Loppet. It is a weekend we look forward to each year as we have established some great friendships from not only the race but the years of racing mountain bikes and the people we met over the years.  As has been the case in recent years, Laddies Loppet is the only weekend we get to see some of these folks.

The first race was in 1990. I started mountain biking that year and got hooked. On days off from working as a cook for the Concordia Language camps in Bemidji, I'd come home and build singletrack, mimicking the trail I was racing on. Figured it would be good for training and skill building. That fall decided to put on a race and there were 29 people. Flash forward to 2018, we are now part of the Minnesota Mountain Bike series and over 300 riders compete over the two days.  .

Thursday night gathering with friends and family. The Matt Johnson family has been coming a day early and always nice to catch up with them in person. Matt handles all the sponsorship and promo work for me after volunteering a few years back and I am extremely grateful for his efforts.  John Wessling flew in from California to join us for the Wednesday night TT we had to pre-ride/test the course and gap student Livia helping out this fall. 

I've put a lot of hours on the leaf blower over the years and it was time for a new one so last minute pick up by Jonell and Meredith which turned out to be a good move. The new one works like a charm. Starts quick, clears everything in its path (relatively speaking) and makes for a sweet riding surface. 

 Blowing out singletrack.

 Best part....testing it later!!

Takes a lot of work and help to pull off the race. Good friend Denny who I've posted before about helping out the final week, day before and than racing as well. 69 years young machine!! Thanks Denny for all your help.

Of course Jonell taking care of many behind the scenes tasks. 

Most of the Maplelag team. We were very close in taking the team title this year but came a few points short. All good, great group of people and very proud of each and every one.

Good friend Steve Wenzel racing every Laddies Loppet since 1990.

Scott Olson out for a visit with his shirt from 1990. Always good to see him. Scott still riding, hasn't been on mtb for a few years but keep trying to get him out. Pounding miles on the road. All good.

One of the highlights of the weekend is riding on the course with some of the riders after it's all buffed from racing and trail work. Sweet ride with Calvin Sandberg, Ben Olson, and Tucker Hibbert.

Thanks to everyone that came, helped out and the sponsors of course. Recap on Skinnyski.com Thanks to Bruce for the great photos and behind the scenes tech work.
Keep the wheels moving!

Duluth Bike Festival Enduro/Trail Work

It looks like this summer will go down as the first one I haven't pinned a number on for a cross country race. I was really hoping to hit up the MNMBS series race at Cuyuna, but life came up. All good. The weekend before I did get over to Duluth for the Bike Festival there that was two days of downhill, Enduro, cross country and short track cross country.  Enduro has a feel of the old days of cross country racing but not the 2 hour steady suffering. The only time xc races haven't been sufferfests for me where the mud races. Those days appear to be long gone with the regulation of riding on wet trails stricter than the border patrol. I made plans to race the Enduro and it worked out to go so I went over late Friday night.

I didn't get a chance to inspect any of the courses the day before which was tough as two of the stages were gnarly rocky downhill tracks, including the techy rock face on "Calculated Risk". However, the way things worked out I was able to inspect the two super tech stages that were helpful but didn't get the confidence to try and clean the rock face on Calculated. Wrote a recap on Skinnyski.com if interested in more details.

Talking race strategy with Jake in between stages. More like, surviving on the bike. There is a good vibe in Enduro. Not super competitive and nervous energy like the XC races can get but more a camaraderie between everyone on keeping safe, clean and smooth.  

Riding clean through the upper Greenman run, crazy rock tech section, being hunted down by super fast Casey Krueger.

Jake launching off the rock face on Calculated. Jake would go on to take second to Sam Kemp who is a classic hard core fearless downhill dude.

After a full day of Enduro, we switched over to the XC bikes for the short track. I couldn't get out of the third gear but we wanted to support Mason Bacso and crew for the efforts they put forth to put on. Surprised not more STXC, especially in the cities. The Buck Hill series mimics the effort somewhat as STXC and hard to be equal to the goodness there.

Refueling at OMC Smokehouse with Anna after a full day of racing before heading home. Boy that hit the spot. Great place to check out in Duluth.

Another reason why I maybe haven't done any xc is the energy put towards trail work on the Maplelag mountain bike course. This summer has been great for trail work, especially when I get the kids to help. It is a total body workout and saps a lot of energy, especially when dew points are high like this summer.  Add horrendous deerflies and mosquitoes it takes a lot out of a person but I still love working in the woods.

We've also cleared more deadfall this year than other years, again boys have been great help.

We burned a lot of firewood last year so we had a lot to replace.

Cutting deadfall, dead trees and widow makers probably more a risk than regular planned logging. We've had many close calls, of course the two accidents with my dad, and can never be to careful.

Green truck taking a hit from a birch that didn't fall as planned.

Not a bad spot to split wood.

The tops of birch trees that are dead but have good bottoms for firewood are the most dangerous. If we left alone, they would eventually fall on the ski trail.

Another fallen oak. Day before Laddies Loppet bike race. Should of been taken down earlier but missed this one. Bottom two thirds cut up into blocks, firewood for the winter.

Thanks  for the great help this summer boys!