Hugh Jass race 4

Here is a video from the 4th race of the HughJass Fatbike series, if you look close you will see my WheelWerks Jersey going through pretty often. I suffered a little in this race, to a 7th place finish. The course was pretty slick and without studs I had a hard time. Studs are ordered and should be on the bike soon. Looking forward to the next round.

Hugh Jass Fatbike Series Race #3

Photo from Hughjass.bike

Over 100 people showed up to race the third round of the Hugh Jass Fatbike series. We finally got some snow to race to make it feel like a real fat bike race. I had never ridden the Alpha trails before, but they are worth checking out if you are in the area. We did 5 laps of the 3 mile loop, starting with a bomb run down the sledding hill, turn and come right back up to separate the field a bit.

Photo from hughjass.bike

There is a 3 way points battle for the series going on between Brad, Dave, and myself. I had been sick the week heading up to the race so I wasn't sure how things would go. It was my lucky day though, as we went into the first corner Brad and Dave got tangled up. Not bad enough to put anyone on the ground, but enough to lose momentum and a few positions. This allowed me to sneak away behind WORS pro Cole Haus and Cat 1 racer Randy Rollins.

They both took off and left me pretty easily. So my first lap was pretty easy, then on the second lap we got into lapped traffic. The Alpha trails are tight so passing is impossible unless the rider pulls to the side. This involved a lot of communication and patience but during a race patience is not always something I have a lot of.

Brad and Dave were able to move through the traffic better than I was and on the last lap were able to work right onto me. I turned it down a bit to recover knowing they wouldn't be able to pass on the single track. It would all come down to the last sprint up the sledding hill.

I gave it everything and it hurt pretty bad, but I was able to hold them off. That is the way it has worked out every race so far. None of us has won a race yet, but we always finish together and consistently in the top 5. It makes for a fun and exciting series.

Photo from Hughjass.bike

My dad has been doing the series as well, and seems to be really enjoying himself, he finished 59th of 96 in the open men class. The promoters put on an event that is fun for all levels of skill and everyone is there to have a good time.

Next race is January 16th in Glendale, WI. Hope to see you there!

Hugh Jass fatbike race #2

 Round 2 of the HughJass series was in Evanston, IL last weekend. The conditions were nasty, standing water and mud.  It was warm out though, it was nice to race in a jersey and shorts on December 12th.

Great photo by Keen Eye Photographs

The course was completely flat, so they added in some cyclocross obstacles to make it interesting.

Scoring by putting your number plate in a bucket.

Brody, Dave, Brad, and Dave.

POS Bike Toss Challenge

Mens Podium

Another great race put on by the hughjass guys and gals. The after race festivities are bigger than any other race I've been to.  DJ's, beer, food, prizes, bike toss, and good times. You should come to the next one, January 2nd in Franklin, WI.

Hugh Jass Fat bike race #1 at Minooka

The Hugh Jass fat bike Series put on by Wheel and Sprocket and Badger Bikes started off last weekend.  It was an extremely well run event, and definitely offered some "twists" from typical bike racing. 

Hammerschlagen

I think the biggest twist was the hammerschlagen. In between each lap you had to hammer a nail into a board in order to pass go and begin your next lap.  I had a hard time with this, it was almost like a duathlon, just when you get done climbing this giant hill you turn and sprint to the bottom then hammer a nail. It was a challenge and made things interesting.

My dude and I getting ready for the start

Gooo!!!!

Unfortunately last weeks snow melted with some rain during the week and left the single track a mess. So the course was made up of entirely cross country ski trail. This time of year that is just the way it goes.  That makes a course that favors someone who is in good shape and can turn a big chainring. 

Currently I am not that person...  Spent too much time drinking beers and hunting deer, instead of grinding gears the last couple months.  So my plan was to start hard, hold on to the top guys as long as possible, then back off  and save some for the end.  

Everything went to plan, I got a really good start. Hung out with the lead 3 guys for a lap or two then backed off.  When I backed off two guys got by, but I was able to get one back on the last lap for 5th overall.

Like I said earlier, it was obvious that the promoters of this series really wants it to succeed.  I was really impressed with the prizes, the turn out, the smooth registration, the timely results, the free beer, and the not so typical bike race routine.