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Volunteers

Defeat of Jesse James Day’s Parade 2017! Volunteer’s needed!

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 at 2pm (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:

Sign Up Form

Also if you can please print, sign and bring the waiver (PDF) to the parade (we will have some on hand day of for your convenience):

Questions? Contact the CROCT parade volunteer chair : Aleasha Markley.

 

 

Trail work

CROCT to build new public trails in Faribault

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:

 

Advocacy, People, Volunteers, Youth

Downtown Bicycles to support CROCT-NCS youth summer mountain biking camps

Tom Bisel, CROCT Member, CVVC Founder and President and Owner of Tom’s Downtown Bicycles, will be helping support our CROCT-NCS youth summer mountain biking camps!

Tom Bisel
Tom Bisel

Online 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.

You can also follow Downtown Bicycles at their Facebook page or Twitter feed.

Advocacy, Clubs, Competition, Fundraisers

Snow Crush 2017 – Recap, Results, Pictures!

Startline (photo by Griff Wigley)
Startline (photo by Griff Wigley)

Making the most of a sparse winter, CROCT staged a successful fatbike race in January, hosting 84 hardy racers in the second annual Snow Crush.

Held on Saturday, January 14, the Snow Crush was a true community event – run by CROCT, sponsored by F-Town Brewing, supported by Milltown bike shop in Faribault, and held at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault.

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)
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).

Full results are posted online, as are three galleries of photos:

Following the race, everyone retired to F-Town Brewing for an after-party and awards, and Faribault radio station Power 96 posted a nice write-up on the race as well.

Advocacy, Competition, Fundraisers

Registration now open for the Snow Crush Fatbike Race and Fundraiser – Saturday, January 14, 2017

1 Comment

For the second straight year, CROCT is teaming up with F-Town Brewing in Faribault to host the Snow Crush fatbike race and fundraiser at River Bend Nature Center on Saturday, January 14, 2017. Registration is now open! Here’s the PDF poster:

Snow Crush 2017
Snow Crush 2017

Just like last year, racers will ride a beautiful groomed trail through River Bend’s forest, prairie, and river bottoms.

Racers on Course
Racers on Course

We can’t be sure it’ll be as delightfully frosty as last year! See the 2016 results here, and on Facebook, photos of racers and of the event.

Icebeard
Icebeard

To suit a wide range of fatbike riders, we are offering three race classes:

  • advanced: four laps of the course, 16 miles total
  • intermediate: three laps, 12 miles
  • beginner: two laps, 8 miles

Register online now at the discounted rate of $25 or at River Bend on race day for $30. Note also that we’ve made plans for a back-up date in case uncooperative weather prevents us from running the race on January 14.

RBNC
RBNC

In addition to enjoying the fun at River Bend during the event, racers and spectators can head to an after party at F-Town Brewing for awards, beer, hot food, and product demos by Milltown Premium Adventure Goods, Bikestud, and others. We’re grateful to all the event sponsors: F-Town, Milltown, Tandem Bagels in Northfield, Stoke Coffee Roasters of Northfield, and 45NRTH.

The full schedule of the day’s events:
12:00PM: Registration & race setup at River Bend Nature Center (1000 Rustad Road, Faribault)
12:45PM: Racer meeting
1:00PM: Start for advanced and intermediate (16 and 12 miles)
1:05PM: Start for  beginners (8 miles)
4:00PM: After party with pizza, beer, music, & awards at F-Town Brewing Company (22 4th Street NE, Faribault)

2016 After Party
2016 After Party
Fundraisers, Volunteers

CROCT fundraiser! Volunteers needed to march banners for DJJD parade

Join us September 11th in the Defeat of Jesse James Day parade as a CROCT volunteer! Responsibilities include: wearing a cool CROCT T-shirt (that you get to keep!):

CROCT t-shirt sample

marching with a banner (from 2-4 pm):

DJJD parade volunteers banner 2015

and looking like you LOVE biking and trails (easy!).

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.

We will begin staging at 1 pm, in the parking lot of Cornerstone Church (Google map link).

In addition to filling out our volunteer signup form:

DJJD parade volunteers signup form

please print, sign and bring the waiver (PDF) to the parade:

DJJD Parade Waiver

Children are welcome!

DJJD button 2016

Questions? Contact the CROCT parade volunteer co-chairs, Sarah Jansen and Aleasha Markley.