AMR had two participants in the WORS #2 at Crystal Lake, Ross Rushin and Arild Haugene. Both raced in Sports Cat 2 and both won their age classes. Ross was # 4/16 overall, and Arild # 10/110 overall.
The track was about 15 miles (2 laps), and in a very good condition. A mile with gravel road and double track from the start straightened out the pack before we went into a very nice but challenging singletrack. The trail was a mix of singletrack, doubletrack with hills and cornerings, and the trail was pretty fast. No scary jumps – good for the older bikers! The race was a great experience, worth the drive up to pleasant Rheinlander.- Race Report by Arild Haugene

Great Job by Ross and Arild- Next WORS Race will be Battle of CamRock June 1st 2014 in Rockdale, WI

Race Report by Travis Säler (Stork)- Saturday found these two monkeys marking off our transition area for the 6 hours of bradys run which isn't to far off of the Ohio Line just inside PA.
This was to be Julies first mtb race this year and her second ever. With a new Trek Cali SLX Carbon wrapped with some new XR2 tires she was prepared and a little nervous...okay a lot nervous.

The co-ed duo field was filled with some pretty good teams but we had entered this race to get Julie some trail time and experience with passing & being passed on the trails. Never the less I still put in some efforts and rode steady & smooth which always pays off in an event like this. Going out of the gate in a blaze of glory never helps (most of the time those riders are hung over the bars just out of sight from the effort). I prefer to wind up to speed and carry it steady for a while. 
I even did a lap on my single speed once it rained. The mud was thick and given the never ending ups and downs of the course the 37T x 21 was a little tough at moments.

Julie stayed dry for her first 2 laps but no one was able to avoid the mud that came as a result of the rain. She made some wise choices and rode within her limits. Even finishing a 4th lap with a broken master link on her chain. I was so proud of how she handled the situation by not shifting and running some of the steeper climbs. I still cant believe the chain didn't come completely apart.

Well we hung on for a 4th place finish out of a dozen or so teams so heres to a few "happy Angry Monkeys.

Stork

-Race Report by Travis Säler (Stork)

2 Part Race Report by Joe King & Muse Davis

Race Report by Joe King:

We had a perfect day for a mountain bike race.  The sun was shinning and the trails were dry but not dusty -- if anything they were tacky but there are so so so many rocks it hardly mattered.

There's a You-Tube video from my Go-Pro here, http://youtu.be/6mpG9JSmJD8. Above.

The you-tube gives you the idea of a Le Mans start but what it doesn't show we started running at the bottom of a long hill. Besides being a bit gassed when I got on the bike, I left the bike geared for mounting half way up the hill.  The video shows about 10 people going past as I struggle to get the bike out of the small ring.

The first two laps were really hard and I struggled to keep a good pace.  After that I went into a bit of decline.  Still the other racers are so relaxed and polite and the Kettles are gorgeous.  The loop is a bit less than 10 miles and three loops were on the menu today.  It's almost all single track with some steep climbs all of which are littered with large round stones.  A few of the climbs had loose stuff as well.

I took two falls, the first is on the video where a large round stone in the center of blind corner stopped my forward progress instantly and I fell over.  My ankle turned funny and I could not for the life of me get unclipped.  I was about to try to take my shoe off when I finally just lifted myself up with aid of a tree. That's my upper-body workout for the year completed - check!

The second crash was similar in that I failed to notice the large, loose round stone in my path.  This time I went over the bars and hit my head.  I think I'll be wearing a souvenir of this incident on my forehead for about a week.

I was really happy to finish the course still smiling.  In fact, this is a really fun place to ride.  The rocks make you feel like a punching bag but one loop at a tourist pace would be a gas.  There's nothing super technical like the man-made stuff in Lake Geneva. There are flowing sections (still rocky though) and there are plenty of technical bits.

Before the race, Angry Monkeys Racing teammate Muse Davis and I were sitting around talking about doing the 6 hour or 60 mile course. Yea, before getting beat up on this 30ish mile course this seemed like a really good idea.  Next time, I think I would skip the 1-loop, 1-hour preview of the course.  Notice I said, "next time". These WEMS events really are fun -- I'll be smiling for days.

Cheers,

--joe

Race Report by Muse Davis:
The middle-Wisconsin weather was finally perfect this weekend for my first ever MTB race. The temps were between 65 and 72 and the sun was out. I brought my brand new single speed Ritchey P-29er that I had been building up since October—though I had put a few miles in on it on local trails, this would easily be the most I’d ever ridden it. Since I had not owned a mountain bike since early 1994 (no kidding), there was a lot of new technology and geometry to get used to. I had my first suspension fork and the first disc brakes of my life. I have put off learning how to deal with tubeless until I get more used to all the other technological ‘advances.’

            Met up with Joey about an hour and a half before the race. We were both doing the 3 hour/30 mile race, so there were plenty of suffering 6- and 12-hour victims to watch in the infield. There was the obligatory LeMans style start, this time requiring maybe 120 yards of running, mostly up a pretty steep gravel road. Joey disappeared into the pack as I plodded along in the back and tried to remember the last time I went running. Once on the bike I was able to get several positions clear of the absolute back end before we headed into the singletrack.

            The course was a fantastic 10 mile loop through rolling woods with plenty of large rocks and roots to keep it interesting. Not a lot of flow, at least for a guy still trying to make a 29er corner after nothing but CX bikes offroad for a decade or so. We wound our way around several tight valleys and were really only out of the woods for a couple of times through a power line cutover. After 30 minutes I recognized my unsurprising mistake of going out too hard. Could have used a lower gear for any of the 5 or 6 medium length climbs that kept popping up. Traction was good and the course was dry but not dusty—the best condition it’s ever been in for a series race, I’m told.

            I came through the end of the first lap in reasonable condition, but really started hurting after another 4-5 miles. There was the occasional (extremely courteous) pass by the serious 6 and 12 hour folks, which was one part inspiring and two parts demoralizing. I wish I could say I fought on bravely for the duration, but the truth is that about 3 miles from the end of lap 2 I was thoroughly cooked. I crept past the start/finish for the second time and tapped out. I never saw Joey again during the day but I expect he did well.

            Big learning curve for my first race. Get the starting pace right. Get a lower gear. Do an internet search of upper body and core strength that road and track people don’t use and maybe try to get some of that. MTB people are super mellow.

And I have to do this again. When I heal.
- Muse.