Postings Index
Miner's Revenge Race Report
James Bialas, July 16, 2009
Putting a race together is tough. Putting on an inaugural version of such is even tougher. And when you have to build the course before you can even race? Well, that takes an impressive effort. Thankfully, some hardworking 19th century miners got it started by creating a 1/3 of a mile tunnel through Adventure Bluff. Over 100 years later, numerous Red Jacket - BlueSky Health Cycling Team members, fans, and sponsors pitched in to finish out the remaining four and half miles of trails and do all the necessary work to make a race happen there.
James Bialas, seen here in clear violation of the UCI zip-tie regulation.
Some unexpected national publicity generated quite a bit of interest in the race resulting in an impressive and diverse turn out.  The race attracted people from all over the region including many new racers and some familiar faces we don't often see at the starting line.  After preriding the course on Saturday evening, everybody agreed that the technical aspects were very challenging, but it was still a heck of a lot of fun. The goal would be to avoid having so much fun you couldn't stay upright on the bike.

Only twenty people opted for the longer four lap race with Mark Klein breaking the two hour mark, earning him fifth place amongst the men. James Bialas and Bob Carpenter crossed the finish line within 5 minutes of each other in 14th and 15th place, respectively.    Carpenter decided that the steep climbs on the course weren't quite hard enough and opted to do the race on a single speed. Meanwhile, Bob's son, Tom, walked away from the field for first place with a 6 minute lead over the next finisher.
Apparition, or a racer navigating the Adventure Mine?
Five minutes after the four lap race started, the two lap racers left the start line. Getting a good start was critical as numerous racers report that there was quite a bit of traffic problems on the first stretch of single track.  Patrick Szubielak and Steve Vizanko managed to stay ahead of the pack and earned third and fourth in the men's division, both completing the course in just a little over an hour.   Steve Webber earned 15th and Chris Lehto came in in 28th.  Jon Kleimowitz DNFed due to a broken chain.  Tammi Lehto was the sole Red Jacket - BlueSky Health rider in the Women's Division and finished 5th overall.

Despite the challenging course, all riders had a great time and no serious injuries resulted. It goes without saying that the underground portion of the course was definitely a highlight of the race, but racers also had great things to say about some of the singletrack along with unique surroundings provided by an old mining site - it's not too often you get to race your bike through an old building foundation.

Everybody involved is already making plans for next year in what will undoubtedly become one of the highlights of the Upper Peninsula mountain bike racing season.
Mark Klein on his way out of the shaft.