Tag: <span>Buck Hill</span>

MN High School mountain bike race at Buck Hill MN High School mountain bike race at Buck Hill MN High School mountain bike race at Buck Hill MN High School mountain bike race at Buck Hill
The Minnesota High School Cycling League held its final mountain bike race of the season today at Buck Hill in Burnsville.  I volunteered to take photos primarily of volunteers, teams, sponsors, and whatever else I could find of interest in and around the pit and start/finish areas.  I got a few action shots but there were other photographers assigned to taking those. I’ll add links to or embed their photo albums here as soon as they get them published.  Alas, I burned through two batteries on my camera taking 500+ photos and didn’t have enough juice left to take podium photos. Hopefully someone else did.

Update 11:20 pm:

Update 10/29 10:45 PM:

See the large slideshow of 155 photos (recommended) or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow:

Events Organizations Photo album

Eric Guse with his son, RyanI raced again this week at Penn Cycles’ Thursday Night at the Races at Buck Hill.  But it felt like my first-ever mtb race since last week’s race in the Beginner Class was, um, special. Why? I showed up at the 7:30 pm starting line, only to see about a dozen kids, most if not all under 13.  I spotted a dad nearby, Eric Guse, who appeared to be lining up to race, too. But he’d already raced and was there to accompany his son, Ryan.

I felt more than a little foolish but at the advanced age of 62, I’m starting to get used to age-related embarrassments so I shrugged it off and started out leisurely aside Eric. But after a few minutes, I decided to go as hard as I could until I approached the end, at which point, I’d stop short of the finish line.  I really didn’t want to be on a podium, denying one of the kids their chance in the limelight.  

Sydney Carlson (2nd from left) and familySo I passed one kid after another until I could only see one more, about two minutes from the finish line. As I got closer, I could tell it was a young girl, her blond pony tail flying.  She was fast, though, and my only realistic opportunity to pass her was on the long, gravelly downhill right before the finish. It was not to be. Her family was there cheering for her and that seemed to motivate her to go faster. I just kept right behind her to the finish where I pulled aside before crossing the line.  I learned later that she was Sydney Carlson, and she finished third. Two boys finished 2-3 minutes ahead of her so I probably would’ve lost to those guys even if I’d gone out hard from the beginning. Dang kids.

I asked one of the women workers at the finish line why nobody told me that the Beginner Class was really a kids class and she explained that normally, they do have a dozen or so adults in the class so they split the awards by age: 17 and under and 18+. Ahhhhh.

The Penn Cycle folks rubbed salt into my wounds by awarding me first place in the 18+ Beginner Class.  At least no one laughed loud enough for me to hear when I went up to accept my $10 gift card.

Penn Cycles' Thursday Night at the Races at Buck Hill Penn Cycle owner Pat Sorenson (right) and staff, Thursday Night at the Races at Buck Hill Penn Cycles' Thursday Night at the Races at Buck Hill
As you can see from these three photos and others in my album of 180+ (large slideshow) it’s quite a festive atmosphere. Props to Penn Cycle owner Pat Sorenson (on the right in the center photo) and staff for a great venue.

swag: Thursday Night at the RacesSo last night I raced again at Buck Hill, only this time in the Recreation Men Class.  Two laps, a slightly more difficult course than last week, 59 riders. I finished 50th.  Complete results here.  I passed one rider, right at the end, which, I must say, was quite satisfying.

And I lucked out: my name was drawn for some swag. I got good pair ($25) of mountain bike gloves (which I really needed) and a "Thursday Night at the Races" t-shirt.

Competition Photo album

Penn Cycle Thursday night MTB race at Buck Hill Penn Cycle Thursday night MTB race at Buck Hill Penn Cycle Thursday night MTB race at Buck Hill
I’ve got a blog post coming about my first ever mountain bike race in the dirt: the first 2012 event in a series of Thursday Night Mountain Bike Races at Buck Hill in Burnsville.

But it’ll take me a few days before I get it written up and I wanted to get the photo album posted quickly.

See the large slideshow (recommended) of 182 photos or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow:

Competition Events Photo album