Monday, February 15, 2010

3rd Annual John Larson Memorial Ice Race

A friend and I attended the 3rd Annual John Larson Memorial Ice Race on February 14, 2010. The race was held on Long Lake in Isanti, MN which is just a short one hour drive north of Minneapolis up MN-47.

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The track was massive! One of the largest I’ve seen for an ice race. This, of course, isn’t saying too much since I’ve only seen a few events. I heard someone say it was over two miles long! I couldn't get close to capturing it with the camera, but here's the panorama anyways:

track pano

Before the race started, the national anthem was sung as a rider road around part of the track with the American flag. I really thought it was a nice touch and more events should consider it.

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The race was three hours long and broken into two 90 minute halves with a 30 minute break between the sections for track cleaning.

IMGP6746track cleaning

There were 27 bikes in 25 teams. Many teams had multiple riders. One team, #17, did the first half solo!

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For the start, the bikes were lined up into three rows of ten with #1-#10 in the first row, #11-#20 in the second row, and the rest in row three.

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During the break in between the races, the teams worked on their bikes. Some just needed gas while others had to replace parts. Many of them re-tightened the ice screws back into the tires.

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The second half started with everyone lined up in their finishing order from the first half. It was just a long line of bikes that quickly spread out after the start.

2nd half start

The day started as a beautifully sunny day at 18F and ended with a snow storm and dished out more than two inches.

I think it is impressive to see the handlebars below the knees in the middle of a turn and the bike is still stable. The ice studs give the bike a lot of traction.

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I took an amazing amount of photos and video for this event. I took over 350 photos --only 260 photos were worth keeping. I also captured over 40 minutes of videos and cut it down to two videos. A long version at thirteen minutes and a shorter, more lively five minute version.

IMGP6964 #4 winning

The full flickr photo set is here.

Short Video at Youtube: (short video on Vimeo)

 

Long Video at Vimeo:

5 comments:

  1. Excellent! Just what the doctored order. I can see this as an Olympic event! How cool?! Reminds me of the speed skaters. The last pic on the slideshow is my favorite--a wheelie?! Loved this!

    p.s. your video (I saw the short one) is very sharp and clear. Thanks for a nice, much-need winter respite.

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  2. And, I really enjoyed the pictures, especially those with riders wearing bright colors--really stands out! What a nice way to spend the day! Thanks again.

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  3. Thanks for reading, and the very kind words Sojourner! It was a fun time.

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  4. Excellent post and videos!

    I've had attending ice races on my "to-do" list for years and haven't yet had the opportunity. These vids really rekindled that :)

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  5. Thanks Wendyvee. I'm glad you liked it! You should take the time to watch at least one. They are a lot of fun.

    I also have another ice racing post here:
    http://www.everydayriding.org/2010/01/1down4up-ice-race-january-31.html

    and a video from last year:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbDCCMHBOKM

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