Minnesota State Championship Series

RED WING -- Apparently, it was the crash heard round Memorial Park.

But if you thought the crash looked ugly, you should have felt it.

Yes, that was me, at the beginning of the Expert race, doubled over after I was unable to avoid the two racers whose wheels locked up together in front of me.

"Don't do what they just did," Race Director Adam Schmidt warned the Comp racers as they looked on.

So it wasn't the best start. For me at least.

Others like Comp racer Jeff Colbert, of LCR, fared much better. Colbert took first in his 40-44 age group and 8th overall in Comp.

"It was a great race," Colbert said.

The weather was hot -- very hot. The dirt was tacky, from fresh rain the day before. And the course was fast.

In other words, the day was delicious.

"It's definitely a singletrack mecca," said Peace Coffee's Ton Tran.

More than 300 racers turned out Sunday, up significantly from last year's turnout, Schmidt said.

Not that it was easy.

After a quick section of rolling hills to break up the pack, the course quickly became a highspeed roller coaster of singletrack twists and turns. (Affectionately known as the "woop-de-doos").

About two thirds into the lap, racers were greeted with Red Wing's infamous "Stairway to Heaven" climb that had more than a few racers walking their bikes.

"There's no air back there," Colbert said. "It's hot. There's loose rock. It's really a tough climb."

And even then, the lap wasn't done. There was still another fun chunk of singletrack climbs and descents to be had.

"The course was really well set up by the Red Wing Mountain Bike Club," Schmidt said.

"It was a great crowd, great weather, and great race."

Troy Melhus is a St. Paul writer and Expert racer for the Peace Coffee Racing Team. He can be reached at tmelhus@mac.com.