|
|
Iola Bump & Jump |
|
|
|
Written by Matthew Block
|
|
Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
Iola Bump & Jump
Wisconsin Off-Road Series (WORS) #1
Iola, WI
May 4th, 2008
 | | click to enlarge |
Well Mother Nature has been a bit cruel to us in Wisconsin this spring. The temperatures have been well below normal most of the spring and less than a week ago it was 37° and snowing. Luckily it warmed up enough to melt and dry out for the first round of the 2008 Wisconsin Off-Road Series near Iola, WI.
This race hasn’t changed much over the years but it remains one of the best in the series. The course runs though the sandy, pine forested XC-ski trails and single-track of the Iola Winter Sports Club climbing up and around the base of their 40 and 60 meter ski jumps. It is littered with short, steep, punchy climbs, plenty of sweet twisty single-track and some screaming descents through the ski jump landing “bowl”.
A total of 750 racers graced the event and I duked it out with 130 others in the men’s Comp class. I managed a not so bad start but struggled on the first climbs. By the end of the 2nd of four laps things started to come around and I managed to move up a few positions. I ended up mid pack overall (62nd out of 130) and 6th place in my age division which I am pleased with for my first ride on the mountain bike.
The Bikeman.com kit sparked quite a few comments from other riders and spectators. I don’t think many Wisconsinite’s have heard of Bikeman.com. One racer asked me if Bikeman was a shop from Milwaukee. I said “no…a bit farther away.” Hopefully they check it out!
Matt
|
|
|
|
Team Bikeman: From collecting medals at the Masters World's, to the top podium step of NCS mountain bike races, Team Bikeman has a long history of top performances around the country. If you would like info on becoming a part of one of the top amateur teams in the country, please E-Mail our Team Director.
Following Freye: Team BIKEMAN - Salsa Cycles Pro Rider, Andrew Freye, will share his view of life as a budding professional. Ever wanted to know what it was like to race professionally with aspirations of making it to the big show.... Follow Andrew and find out
; "click to enlarge")
