Tag: <span>Pioneer Press</span>

Published March 4, 2012 by

Pioneer Press outdoors editor Dave Orrick: fat biking in the snow

St. Paul Pioneer Press outdoors reporter Dave Orrick I met St. Paul Pioneer Press outdoors reporter Dave Orrick on Friday night at the Ironton American Legion where registration for the Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout was being held.

He’s got an article in today’s PiPress titled New bike trails offer winter riding. (You can follow Dave on Twitter: @DaveOrrick and @OutdoorsNow.)

The real boast of Cuyuna Country in snow season is 10 miles of trails encircling Sagamore Mine Lake designed, cleared and, yes, groomed, specifically for winter mountain biking. On Saturday, 57 racers tested their skills against the course as part of Whiteout.

His video commentary:

Handlebar-cam of me riding the Haul Road on the way out of the Yawkey Unit of Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area near Crosby, Minn. Sorry for motion sickness, but this was my first time on a snow-covered trail. The Yawkey trails were open to winter riding this weekend — normally they’re summer only — as part of Whiteout, a celebration of the park opening 10 miles of fat tire winter mountain biking trails.

httpv://youtu.be/y1AcZSkMeYM

His video interview of Aaron Hautala:

Aaron Hautala, president of Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew, talks why he got hooked on fat tire mountain biking in Minnesota.

httpv://youtu.be/8DbHvXy_kdE

Update: Here’s a photo of the article:

Cuyuna Whiteout in Pipress

Media People Trails

Aaron Hautala Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trails Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout Dave Orrick Pioneer Press

Published March 3, 2012 by

Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout, Day 1

DSC07760 DNR manager Steve Weber & Whiteout volunteers DSC07761 Aaron Hautala and Dave Orrick
I rolled into Crosby-Ironton yesterday afternoon for the Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout and noticed the new billboard on Hwy 210 just west of Ironton. I have a photo like that from last summer’s  Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Festival Grand Opening. DNR manager Steve Weber and a gang of registration table volunteers greeted me at the Ironton American Legion. And I then had the pleasure of meeting Aaron Hautala, Creative Director at RedhouseMedia in Brainerd and newly elected president of the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew (CLMTBC).  He was spinning lies to St. Paul Pioneer Press outdoors reporter Dave Orrick, who’s evidently planning on having a feature in tomorrow’s Sunday PiPress.

DSC07767 DSC07769 Nick Statz and daughter
The plan was to pre-ride the race course at the Sagamore Unit at about 6 pm but the high daytime temps and sunny skies had softened up the packed snow so much that Cuyuna dirt boss and race director Nick Statz was worried we’d create deep ruts and ruin the course for Saturday’s XC race. He suggested we all ride the Yawkey Unit instead and we agreed.

DSC07783 DSC07775 DSC07782 DSC07781
We first headed back to the Yeti spaghetti feed at the Legion where Nick Statz’s daughter introduced me to her personal Cuyuna Yeti.

Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout 2012 night ride in the Yawkey Unit; photo by Aaron Hautala
I didn’t get photos from the amazing Yawkey Unit night ride and our close encounter with the Cuyuna Whiteout Yeti but Aaron Hautala has a blog post up titled Night Riders where he has a photo slideshow.

Competition Trails

Aaron Hautala Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trails Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout Dave Orrick Nick Statz Pioneer Press