New to Sw Minnesota

[huckit]

Howdy all, bran-spankin new to minnesota and lookin to see what the biking scene is like up here. As long as it has two wheels I'll ride it, but mainly I'd classify myself as a mountain biker. However I do train on a road bike and play on a free-ride. I'm originally from Colorado and most recently spent 4 years in Georgia going to school. I've been on a bicycle for longer than I can remember and don't plan on letting up any time soon. I'm looking to get on the xc racing scene and maybe someone can tell me how that whole scene is., maybe how competetive the classes are, what teams are prominent etc etc. Also, are there any roadies out there that do group rides when the weather gets more pleasant? Well that will get things going if anyone reads this. Any info is greatly appreciated!
Ryan

[bigwheel]

Hi Ryan, Welcome to MN.

I can't answer all of your questions, but you did come to the right place. MORC is a pretty active group, with all types of riders and racers.

What brings you to SW Minnesota? I thought that was all farms and windmills.

[grizzly adam]

Welcome aboard! Nice to see new people. Where is SW MN are you? I'm in Eagan. Ride mountain and road.

There's a XC series here. You can find more info about it here (www.mnscs.com). It's a pretty decent series. Good group of people.

As far as group rides go - you'll have no problem find those. A lot will be posted here, as well as some local shops in the area doubling as a start/stop place for rides.
My team, Bent Crank Racing (www.bentcrankracing.com) also has some group rides, on and off the road.

Look forward to meeting you!

Adam

[TML]

Welcome to Minnesota Ryan. Like Adam and Bob both said there's plenty going on and you'll meet a good share of great people on the message boards. There'll be plenty of group rides to tag along with and you're always welcome to post your own so someone can join you.

MORC is a great organization and is doing a ton to improve the amount of legal trails in MN. Poke around the site, check out some trails and join up if you like what you see.

I see you are in GIS, me too. I hope settling in goes well for ya and I look forward to meeting you on the trail someday.

--Troy

[smeulebroe]

Welcome! Like the Grizz said we have a state series, check it out. I'm a part of the Bent Crank Racing team also. A fun bunch of guys and girls. As far as your area I don't know if there is a bike shop in Monti. But south of you in Marshall there is the Bike Shop located on Main St. They used to have Tuesday night mountian bike rides at Camden State Park and some road rides on the weekend. There's also a mountain bike race there in August at Camden State Park. Call Dave Horstman at the Bike Shop 1-800-967-2609. Look forward to meeting you.

[sooky]

Ryan,
I live in marshall and go biking in the camden state park. It is about 45 minutes sw of monte. You should give it a try. Nice trails.

[huckit]

snow date jan. 29 2005, broken ankle....note to self-don't do stupid sh*t....

anyways, thanks all for all the info about happenins around here, has helped out tremendously in my planning for training and the upcoming race season. Hopefully you all are having a better off season than I...

[Tim Wegner]

Just for everyone's information--MORC and IMBA are meeting with bike enthusiast from the Marshall area next week. We will be discussing the possiblity of doing some work on the trails at Camden State Park.

I did a presentaion to the Minnesota DNR state parks managers about 2 weeks ago at their meeting in Hutchinson. The park manager and assistant park manager from Camden were both very interested in improving the trail system in the park. I think there are several people from the Marshall area coming to the IMBA sponsored trail school this summer.

I would urge riders in Minnesota that you get involved with trails and attend the school so you can learn proper trail construction as well as the steps needed to construct a legal trail system. Remeber MORC's new promotion "There Are No Trail Fairys." Trails do not just appear, they are the result of groups getting involved in the process, establising relationships with the land manager, gaining trust and ultimately performing the work to create a killer trail system.

You can register for the trail school by contacting Erik Gerrits. Check out the forums for the IMBA TCC school and you will find contact information for Erik.


Tim Wegner