Last year we had such a great turn out and everyone seemed to have a great time being a part of the parade that we decided to do it again! We raised a good amount of funds that helped pay for dirt, tools, and more for the local CROCT trails. Most impressive though was the multitude of people asking what’s CROCT? That starts a conversation about who/what CROCT is and what this volunteer organization is doing in/for Rice county.
With your help we can continue to get the word out and get more people interested in riding and supporting local trails! Join us September 10th in the Defeat of Jesse James Day parade as a CROCT volunteer!
For those of you whom will be new to this here is what to expect and what is expected of you:
#1 Wicked cool new T-shirt to wear this year!!! Which will be handed out at the starting point at cornerstone church!
#2 March in a parade, carry a banner, make memories, wave to folks along the way, and enjoy the company of great people! (laughing with your “Banner Buddy”!) We will begin staging at 1 pm! Ready, set, go, to march at2pm (make sure to arrive by 1:30 to grab a shirt, sign waiver, heckle the pre parade pep talk, and be assigned a banner)! We will begin staging at 1 pm, in the parking lot of Cornerstone Church(Google map link).
Children are welcome!
#3 Smiles and looking like you Love biking and trails (easy!)!
Remember: We need at min 76 people to help out but the more people we get the less trips you have to make down the parade route!
WHY SHOULD YOU DO THIS???
We need to get the word out about CROCT in order to raise funds to support our active and expanding trail building and mountain biking education projects. If you like what CROCT is doing in your area this is a great way to support this volunteer organization and we can’t do this without you!!! Who doesn’t love to experience a parade from the inside out!
If you are willing to help out and volunteer please use the link for the sign up form:
We are excited to announce that this spring, summer and fall CROCT will be building a 3-4 mile, multi-use trail at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault. The trail will be open to the public, in addition to being an outdoor eduction resource for the school, where students can learn how to build sustainable trails and how to mountain bike.
The joint CROCT-Shattuck St. Mary’s School venture is part of Shattuck’s commitment to community outreach. An ultra runner and biker himself, Shattuck President Nick Stoneman is one of the key forces behind the project. Thank you, Nick!
The trail will also be a great resource for the Cannon Valley Composite Mountain Bike Team, comprised of high school students from various high schools in the Cannon River Valley.
CROCT will pursue this trail building project, in addition to building trail at Faribault’s Teepee Tonka Park.
We are thrilled to be expanding into Faribault and to welcome Milltown’s Todd Trembley to the CROCT Board. A Faribault Resident, Todd brings a wealth of expertise. He currently coaches the Cannon Valley Composite Mountain Bike Team.
If you are interested in helping build these trails, please contact CROCT President Marty Larson at martini.ss@gmail.com. Trail building is fun and rewarding, not to mention a great workout!
Last Friday, Marty and CROCT Board Members Jeremy Bokman and Sarah Jansen surveyed Shattuck’s land:
Tom BiselOnline registration for the mountain bike summer camps opens tomorrow. Scholarships are available through Melissa Bernhard (MBernhard@northfieldschools.org). Please contact CROCT Board Member Sarah Jansen (guild44@gmail.com) for any additional assistance, or if you are interested in volunteering to help with the camps. We will NOT let income be a barrier to participating in these camps.)
The three summer mountain biking camps run for one week (June 12-16, July 24-28 and July 31-August 3). Bisel, who is committed to “giving kids the tools so that they can succeed on two wheels”, will be offering mountain bikes for rent for $25 (for the entire week!). Bisel is excited to see more and more families out riding bikes together, noting that Northfield is a great community to ride your bike, whether on road, gravel or mountain bike/fat bike trails.
Downtown Bicycles will also check over summer camp participants’ bikes, in order to make sure they are safe before the classes commence. “We’re just here to help”, Tom explains, “one of my roles as a bike shop owner is to be a resource to all the cycling communities in our area”.
Bisel opened his shop eight years ago, when he noticed a lack of support for the growing active community in Northfield. Since then, Bisel has supported numerous efforts to get kids on bikes, not just volunteering his time, but also donating bikes to Northfield Public Schools.
Thanks Tom Bisel!
Those interested in the summer mountain bike camps may also be interested in local bicycling Advocate and CVVC Member Bruce Anderson’s Nature Immersion Club, at the Greenvale Park Community School. The class begins today and continues every Thursday evening (6-7:30 pm) through May 18.
Anderson describes the class as follows:
“Nature Immersion Club gives kids the opportunity to learn how to bike safely on Northfield-area streets, gravel roads, and off-road trails, and go on outings to experience and learn about the natural world. Rides will be taken to the Carleton Arboretum, St. Olaf Natural Lands, Hauberg Woods, Sechler Park, and McKnight Prairie for hikes, nature photography, and bird, tree, and wildflower identification. The emphasis will be on having fun in nature! Parents are welcome as well! Don’t have a bike? No problem — we will help you find one.”
Exciting things are happening for kids’ biking in Northfield!
Please contact Bruce Anderson (bruce@sustainablecommunitysolutions.com) and/or Community School Co-Coordinators Kathryn Lozada (klozada@northfieldschools.org) and Laura Berdahl (lberdahl@northfieldschools.org) for more information.
In 2015, we hosted weekly Monday night group rides, plus an overnight trip to the Cuyuna Lakes MTB Trail System:
In 2016 we added mini-clinics at the start of the weekly Monday night group rides:
For 2017, we’re hosting three Youth Mountain Bike Camps (3-hour clinics each day for a week).
Description: Learn the basics of mountain biking from the IMBA certified mountain bike instructors at Cannon River Offroad Cycling & Trails (CROCT). The camp will consist of lessons on the operation of the bike (brakes, shifting), basic body position, skills (cornering, climbing, descents, ratcheting, front and rear wheel lifts), and terrain challenges (logovers, skinnies, switchbacks, bermed & flat corners). A variety of group games, some bike maintenance tips, and open riding in the Sechler skills park will be included.
The camps run Mon-Thur, either 9-noon or 1-4, with a rain make-up day on Fridays. If the Sechler trail is closed due to flooding, other city or school district parks in Northfield or Dundas will be used.
A mountain bike safety check is required a week or more prior to a camp, performed at no-charge by Downtown Bikes in Northfield. (A limited number of mountain bikes will be available to rent for the week.) Participants must wear a helmet, and carry their own water (bottle cage or pack) and a snack.
June 12-16: 9 am-noon, ages 9-13 – Lead instructor: – Griff Wigley July 24-28: 1-4 pm, ages 14-18 – Lead instructor: Ted Siefkes July 31-Aug 3: 1-4 pm, ages 9-13 – Canceled
Online registration opens on Friday, April 14 at the NCS website.
Here’s a draft PDF of the page describing the camps. It will appear in the summer 2017 NCS brochure that will be sent to all households in the school district:
This year’s Snow Crush included three distances to suit racers of any ability. Reflecting the growing popularity of fatbike racing in Minnesota, this year’s field was a third larger than in 2015, when 65 racers turned out. Gorgeous 20-degree weather helped draw a crowd, and made the tracks for the 6, 12, and 16 miles races nearly perfect.
Leaders in the 16-mile race (photo by Jim Wellbrock)
Charles Wolf (St Peter) won the 16-mile race advanced race in1:22:58, taking a narrow two-second win over Mitch Brekke (Albert Lea). Nick Zawadski (Minneapolis) finished third in 1:23:33. Chelsea Strate (Minneapolis) easily won the women’s 16-mile race in 1:35:10, ahead of Robin Williams at 1:42:40.
In the men’s 12-mile intermediate race, David Chlet took the win in 1:17:00, followed by Scott Perkinson at 1:19:55 and Tony Lema at 1:20:11. Kris Brazil (Faribault) won the women’s intermediate in 1:24:26, ahead of Megan Beer in 1:28:08.
In the 6-mile beginner race, Ann Paulson and Mike Rost (Faribault) won, 1:20:20 and 58:00, respectively. Anna Perkinson took second place in the women’s beginner category (1:23:50), while Ben Lema took second (1:00:00) andAndrew Tubesing took third (1:03:00).
