Tag Archives: River Bend Nature Center

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.

Competition, Fundraisers, Sponsors

Snow Crush 2016 was a hit: see the photos, race results, and more

SnowCrush2016

65 riders competed in the 2016 Snow Crush Fat Tire Bike Race  at River Bend Nature Center (RBNC) on Jan. 16, raising over $2,000 for both CROCT and RBNC.

Snow Crush 2016 race results:

Snow Crush 2016 results

Article by Jerry Smith in the Faribault Daily News: Fat tire bike race warms up River Bend Nature Center on a cold day

Faribault Daily News front page Snow Crush 2016

See all the tweets on the event via the hashtag #SnowCrush2016.

Photo album: Continue reading Snow Crush 2016 was a hit: see the photos, race results, and more →

Competition, Fundraisers, Sponsors

Fundraiser! CROCT & River Bend Nature Center to host the Jan. 16 Snow Crush Fat Tire Bike Race

SnowCrush2016

We are teaming up with River Bend Nature Center (RBNC) to host the Snow Crush Fat Tire Bike Race this coming Saturday, Jan. 16. It’s a fundraiser for both organizations. RBNC’s Education Coordinator  Kaytlan Moeller & CROCT president Marty Larson teamed up to put the event together:

RBNC Education Coordinator Kaytlan Moeller CROCT board meeting at F-Town Brewing

The Snow Crush poster (PDF) has details on the entire day’s activities:

Snow Crush 2016 poster

Visit the Snow Crush Fat Tire Bike Race page on RBNC’s site to pre-register for some savings. And check the Facebook Snow Crush event page for the latest updates, including a race map and a video from a fat bike group ride last winter.

We’re also thrilled to have these sponsors supporting the race:

F-Town Brewing Co., Milltown Premium Adventure Goods, Tandem Bagels, Stoke Coffee Roasters, 45NRTH, hvh Engage, and Matt Shimon Creative.

Snow Crush 2016 sponsors

F-Town Brewing

Uncategorized

The River Bend Winter Ride. A poem by Bill N.

Bill N, winter fat biking, River Bend Nature Center. Photo by John R Bill N, winter fat biking, River Bend Nature Center. Photo by John R Bill N and John R

CROCT member Bill N penned this poem after a recent fat bike ride at the River Bend Nature Center in Faribault. With an assist from John R.

The River Bend Winter Ride

Considerate pause
Today’s bitter cold
For Fat Bikers
Young and Old

Bundled uncomfortably
We ventured outside
With tingly numb thumbs
Hope to warm as we ride

Frost builds on a beard
Or else pink on the cheek
With eyes on the trail
We occasionally peek

In the woods nothing moves
Only crystals and white
The only warm thing
Is today’s sun so bright

No critters are out
And the river is hard
This wind is for sure
Making drifts in my yard

There isn’t much talking
Above the steady crunch
Of 2 Buds and 2 Lous
Packed snow is their lunch.

For over an hour
The pedals we turned
Not to measure this ride
By just miles we learned

One last turn one more hill
Oh goodness we’re done
It’s warm in the shelter
This ride’s memory… fun.

Group rides, Photo album

CROCT organizes a group ride at the River Bend Nature Center in Faribault

With the gorgeous and ample snow in Rice County, we moved our group ride to the River Bend Nature Center in Faribault yesterday instead of a return visit to the MN River Bottoms as planned back in January.

It turned out to be a good decision. The grooming of the two-way doubletrack trails by members of the Faribault Flyers club was perfect, making it easy to share the trails with XC skiers, one of whom joined us for much of our group ride.