Border Battle Recap

This past weekend's race was the first Border Battle between the hugely succesful WORS and the seemingly tiny MNSCS series.
The course was new - Whitetail Ridge in Riverfalls, WI.
I wasn't expecting much as I had been on vacation in Door County all week and was no where near racing form. The previous week was spent relaxing near the water, kayaking, wine tasting, drinking beers in the afternoon, bonfires, beers in the evening and eating constantly.

Still, I needed the points to be counted in the overall, so I registered.

The course was awesome. Mostly singletrack and not that much climbing. It flowed very well and was a nice mix of bumps, elevation changes and some technical spots. There were fields for passing and even giant "PASSING LANE AHEAD" signs. It felt like I was heading up to Lutsen.

The weather was perfect - mid 70s and sunny. We did 4 laps and I didn't try to do much due to my vacation condition. Still, I managed to hang with some groups, pass people (in the fields even!) and finish. It wasn't great and I wasn't expecting anything much more, but I did a little better than I thought I would. I managed to not cut anyone off - although I did leave the course due to an accident directly in front of me and I heard someone behind say that I cut the course. Right.

Overall the race was awesome. People were mostly friendly on and off the course. One thing that stuck with me as I called out a pass was the comment of "BURN IT! BURN IT!"

Right before the start there was someone's tent that went flying due to the wind. Now, normally you'd think that's kinda normal, but this thing was WAY up in the air, maybe 50ft up and it flew across the field the event was in, probably 250ft before crashing down. From where we were it appeared noone got hit as it wasn't your small sleeping tent. It was of the EZ UP style. Yikes.

If you get a chance, point your bike towards River Falls and hit this trail - it's a blast!

I'll be skipping Laddie's Loppet this year (sad) so my last race will be in St. Cloud. I'll have to see if I can work off the extra 5 or 6 pounds I accrued from vacation to do well at the Jail Trail.