Red Hawks fare well at Wolf River Rendezvous

Tiffany Seering led the team with a first place in her age group and a fifth overall in the women's sport division at the Wolf River Rendezvous mountain bike race near Shawano, Wis., today. Christa Kussmann finished second in her age category and ninth overall in the citizen field.

On the men's side, Bryan Nell took seventh place in the sport division in the 19-24 age category and 83rd overall. Jonathan Paretsky placed 11th in the age category and 108th overall. Nell recorded a time of 1:25:11.2 on the roughly 10-mile course that included technical singletrack sections and wide-open farm lanes. Paretsky's time was 1:31:31.2.

Cameron Arndt, racing in the men's sport Clydesdale division, placed 5th in his age (34 and under) and 11th overall with a time of 1:36:28.5

Seering put in a time of 1:31:01.6 on the same course as the men, while Kussmann's time was 1:18:48.8 on a track that was roughly three miles shorter.

The Wolf River Rendezvous was race number 11 in the 12-race Wisconsin Off Road Series. The Red Hawks will travel to Indianapolis next week to resume collegiate competition hosted by Butler University.

Wednesday Time Trials

Bryan: 10.00.91
Jon: 10.03.36
Tiffany: 11.31.12
Cameron: 11.49.46
Christa: 13:44.97

Distance approximately 5k on the Ceresco Prairie Trail.

Baring it All for "Peace"?

Gennifer Moss, aka Earth Friend Gen, gives quite a show in Portland, Oregon. “Earth Friend Gen” also known as the naked cyclist rides her bike completely nude in front of tourists and commuters. Moss says her behavior is an effort to promote peace.

Seering Reaches Podium in St. Cloud

The Ripon College Red Hawks cycling team participated in the final mountain bike race of the Minnesota State Championship Series Saturday, Sept. 20, in St. Cloud. First-year Tiffany Seering led the Hawks with a time of 1 hour 15 minutes 7.3 seconds on the 12.5-mile course. Her effort was good enough for third place in the women’s age 19-34 sport division.

Senior Bryan Nell finished right on Seering’s heels — just 1.5 seconds behind her — to finish seventh in the men’s 19-34 sport class. Classmate Jonathan Paretsky secured eighth place and sophomore Steven Siewert placed ninth.

Racing in the citizen class, junior Christa Kussmann took fourth place in the 19-29 age division over a shorter 7.5-mile course. She completed the course in one hour, one minute and one second.

Wednesday Time Trial Times

Bryan: 10.05
Jon: 10.24
Steven: 10.50
Tiffany: 11.16
Cameron: 11.25

Distance approximately 5k on the Ceresco Prairie Trail.

Red Hawks Endure Fat Tire 40

Four members of the Ripon College Red Hawk Cycling team participated in the Fat Tire 40 off-road bike race from Hayward to Cable, Wis., Saturday. The 40-mile race on portions of the famed American Birkebeiner ski trails, forest roads, snowmobile trails and other wooded lanes is part of the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. This year marked the 26th anniversary of the annual event which is the largest mass-start off-road bicycle race in the United States.

Seniors Bryan Nell of St. Germain, Wis., and Jonathan Paretsky of Eagle River, Wis., led the Red Hawks. The pair crossed the finish line together in a time of 3 hours, 38 minutes and 53 seconds. The two placed 1,192 and 1,193, respectively, in a field of nearly 1,700.

Tiffany Seering, a first-year student from West Bend, Wis., finished approximately 12 minutes later with the clock at 3:50:41.2. Her effort placed her 1,351. Christa Kussmann, a junior from Beaver Dam, Wis., crossed the line at 6:10:33.8.

The Fat Tire was a monumental undertaking for all four of them. I told them to have fun and to consider it more of a training ride than a race. I'm extremely happy that each of them finished safely.

The race began at 10 a.m. in the city of Hayward under threatening skies. Occasional light rain showers persisted until steady rain began to fall midafternoon. The rain brought dropping temperatures and created muddy trail conditions.

Bryan, Jonathan and Tiffany all finished before worst of the rain. The weather certainly made things difficult for Christa in the final stretch of the race. It was not the best of circumstances for her, but she can be very proud of finishing.

Photos from the race.

Fat Tire 40 Weekend is Here!

I'll be heading up to Cable this afternoon with Tiffany, Christa, Jonathan and Bryan for the Chequamegon Fat Tire weekend. The 26th annual festival sponsored by Trek is set for Sept. 12-14. The field, capped at 2500 riders, has been filled since March.

The main event, the Chequamegon 40, rolls down Main Street in Hayward at 10 a.m. as it has since 1983, while the Short and Fat, the 16-milerace, starts in Cable at 10 a.m. Both races finish at event host Telemark Resort east of Cable.

In 1983 at the first Chequamegon Fat Tire Fest, 27 riders pedaled north from Hayward, finishing then at Lakewoods Resort. From that humble beginning, the race has grown into the largest mass start mountain bike in the country, with 2500 riders in both the short and long races.

Festival director Gary Crandall once again used a lottery in March to select the riders for the September races. Nearly 1000 riders got turned away as the Chequamegon Festival continues to hold its total registration to 2500 riders, making the race one of the most popular mountain bike events in the country.

Several special events are planned for the 26th running of the race. The Cable Hayward Area Arts Council (CHARAC) and the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival will co-sponsor the Bicycle as Art contest. Artists can enter either 2D or 3D bicycle art. On Sept. 12 from 5 to 8 p.m. a Meet the Artists reception will take place at Telemark Resort. The exhibit will be open to the public that Friday evening and all day Saturday.

At 1 p.m. Friday, CAMBA (Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association) will offer trail tours out of Telemark Resort, showcasing their singletrack trails in the area. Vendors will be on hand all weekend, starting on Friday with Trek displaying their new line of mountain bikes, including the new Top Fuels.

Saturday's races are preceded by Children's Bicycle Parades in both Cable and Hayward at 9 p.m.

The Chequamegon 40 will use the same course as last year. A dry summer has left the course in great shape, with a minimal number of mud holes. The 16-mile Short & Fat starts in Cable and will use the traditional course that leads the riders south on Randysek Road then onto logging roads south of Telemark Resort. Expect the first Short & Fat finisher just before 11 a.m., while the winner of the Chequamegon 40 should reach the Telemark Resort finish line sometime shortly after noon.

Seering Leads Red Hawks at Illinois

First-year Tiffany Seering (West Bend, Wis.) led the Ripon College cycling team with a second-place finish Saturday in the cross country race and a third place Sunday in the short track.

Seering's second- and third-place finishes were highlights for the Red Hawks in their second collegiate competition.

The men started things off Saturday at Kickapoo State Park just west of Danville, Ill. Senior Cameron Arndt (Madison, Wis.) finished the cross country course as the highest placed Red Hawk in 13th. Senior Bryan Nell (St. Germain, Wis.) was just behind Arndt in 18th. Nell was followed by senior Jonathan Paretsky (Eagle River, Wis.) in 21st, while senior Steven Siewert (Waukesha, Wis.) finished in 32nd.

Seering's second-place cross country finish was complemented by a ninth-place finish by junior Christa Kussmann (Beaver Dam, Wis.). Seering returned Sunday to take third in the women's short track race on the University of Illinois campus. Kussmann improved a spot from Saturday, taking eighth on a wet and muddy course that better resembled a cyclocross course.

Nell was the best finisher for Ripon in the men's short track event with an eighth-place result. Siewert was right behind him in ninth, while Paretsky and Arndt finished in 13th and 18th, respectively.

As a team, Ripon finished in 13th place (out of 17 teams) in the cross country event and eighth (of 10) in the short track.

Photos from the cross country race.
Photos from the short track race.