First MN MTB Series Race - Inver Grove Heights - Sat 21st

Once again rain and wet conditions were the theme of this year's race. Unlike last year, however, the race was not shortened and then the rain stopped half way through the race making the race course sticky and slow. The race conditions were very similar to Mont du lac last year; thick mud, slipery corners, low speeds, but unlike Mont du, the race course is relatively flat.

We picked up Doug Swanson, dropped off Kiera with Anne and Stella, and headed to the race. Thankfully, Scott got an extra set of rims ready complete with mud tires friday night. Scott pulled his mud tired out out of the car saturday morning at the race site only to find the front flat and the rear tire low. He put 30lbs of air in and hoped for the best.

Scott got a clean start and worked it way up to 2nd place by the end. His tires held too much air and cornering was a bit slick. Sara went to the front at the start and stayed there for the duration of the race for the win. Our Bontragger Jones Mud X tires worked perfectly! Thankfully, we were able to get the big chuncks of mud off our bikes for the car ride back to Doug's. Scott must have spent 3 hours that night washing the bikes, then another couple hours the next day after we got home doing some more polishing. He is meticulous about our bikes; new chains, cables, housing, and brakes on their way with the later thanks to Ron Raymond.

On our drive back to Duluth, we stopped in Forest Lake. Turns out we were very lucky to have been just north of where the tornado hit. (The paper says a funnel cloud touched down twice in Forest Lake, but didn't cause much damage with the majority of the damage was just south of us). One of my sisters and dad were with us. My dad just got out of Abbot, where he was for a few days after getting airlifted there for what initially was thought to be a heart attack (on his 72nd birthday). He was diagnosed with pericarditis and, thankfully, is doing well.

A big thanks to Anne and Stella Swanson for watching Kiera while Scott and I raced! We could not have raced without Anne's generousity of her time and Stella sharing her toys! The girls even took a bath together! Kiera is looking forward to playing with Stella again......