Welcome to Bike Minnesota, I am Addison Aleman and this is where I will be talking about my experiences being part of a mountain bike team. Throughout this I will talk about a majority of the places I raced at and my experience at each of the locations. Not only will i talk about the places i raced at but also the terrain and details around the park.
Lake Rebecca
September of 2024 this will be my 3rd and last time having the opportunity to race a lake Rebecca. After a long summer of racing and putting in effort and dedication to the team it was time for the race season to start. Lake Rebecca is probably one of my least favorite races because I am so familiar with it and have raced and practiced so many times. Lake Rebecca’s terrain is fun if it’s your first or second time there, but after going countless times you’ll probably find it gets repetitive and boring. For starters, there is basically only 1 main mountain bike trail that is 13.25 miles long. There are not many interesting features at lake Rebecca but if you were to ride there you will find some vigorous up hills and drops. This trail is near a lake so there are lots of turns loops to fit more trails into a smaller amount of space. The race itself is not fully on the trail. If you ever race with MCA you’ll find they love to start the race either in a field or a giant hill.
At lake Rebecca the race starts in a field but ends on a huge gravel uphill. You will find the gravel road to be very dreadful and feel like it goes on forever. Going uphill on gravel isn’t always easy if you’re not positioned right and have everything on your bike correct. You may find your back tire start to slip which will slow you down in the long run. On the specific course there are a few bridges on tight downhill turns and if you’re going fast enough you might just fly right off the bridge and crash. On top of all that, the lake Rebecca race usually takes place in September so it tends to be on the hotter side. There are points throughout the race where it is just in a span of grassy fields. It gets hot and there are always bugs while you’re trying to focus on the race. Although it isn’t my favorite race or trail to ride on, it is still a good trail that is nearby especially for going on a quick ride.
Whitetail Ridge
3rd race of the season. My favorite race. If you ask any of my coaches what race I do the best at every single year they would probably say white tail ridge. I love everything about this race. Even though it starts on a gravel hill this is typically where I am able to get ahead of other people and find basically where I will be for the rest of the race. This race is pretty technical but it is so much fun. Either people love or hate white tail ridge.
There are a couple harder spots on this trail, that if you have never rode this trail, you might find it really challenging. One of the hardest spots of this race for me is a very slow uphill turn that is almost 180º. I have fallen off my bike too many times to count at this spot and if someone is in front of you, the chances of you falling are much higher especially if you don’t have good control over your bike. Whitetail ridge is one of the smaller mountain bike trails, as it is right off a highway and is fairly new. They have around 5 miles of fun single track that you can ride on. For most of the trail it is very flowy but some spots are harder than others. The most challenging parts are definitely the uphills with a lot of roots and the drops. The drops are somewhat hidden and there is no warning for them so you kind of just have to commit to the drops. This mountain bike part also features a small section of a pump track with large bridges and jumps. If you ever find yourself racing with MCA you will find that they take the race off the course and modify the way the race goes. For example, it starts on a gravel service road that wraps around a water tower and the race ends in a grassy field by the road. If you are ever looking for a fun and quick ride I would highly recommend whitetail ridge.
Monarch at carver park
All season I practiced at the monarch. Every Tuesday and Thursday, every week, all summer. I personally enjoy riding at monarch for many reasons. Some information about monarch mountain bike trail. Monarch is recently built and has lots of fun features and trails. They have 4 main trails.l ravine rush, grimms grinde, easy rider and paradise. Personally, paradise is my favorite with ravine rush coming in at a close second. Paradise is not a super long trail but there is a fun technical bike part close to the end of it. Some features included in the bike park are jumps, bridges, drops, switchbacks, and much more fun stuff.
I find paradise to be the best trail to get the best training in especially for races but it is also just a run trail to ride. Ravine is a very close first but paradise has the fun features making it first. If you are looking for something a little less technical but still very fun I would recommend riding ravine rush. Ravine rush is pretty long but it is very flowy with a good variety of uphill and downhill and a few fun jumps along the way. Ravine rush is mostly in the woods so it doesn’t get too hot during the summer times either. Monarch is located in carver park reserve so it is only about 35 minutes outside of the twin cities. This is a good place to ride if you’re looking to get a few hours of riding in at a fun trail. Since monarch was recently built and they are constantly updating the trails and adding new features, the trails tend to be much smoother with a lot less rocks and roots on the trail. With that being said, you will find that the trails are very easy to ride through all four of them in a short amount of time. If you are wanting a fun place to ride at, I would tell you to go ride at monarch
