Kerrie Berg always wears a smile no matter how hard the mountain bike racecourse is. Berg competed in the Lutsen 99er last year. No word whether she will race this year or not.
The Lutsen 99er began in 2010 with just 80 participants. It has grown every year and this year more than 1,200 racers have signed up. On May 6, organizers announced that the 2014 event had been sold out. The action starts Saturday, June 28 at Lutsen Mountains at 7:30 a.m.
The Lutsen 99er is actually three races—the 99er, the 39er and a 19-mile option. All three courses take advantage of the topography of the North Shore. The Sawtooth Mountains overlooking Lake Superior provide a Category 3 climb for riders at the beginning of the race. The climb, up the Caribou Trail, ascends 1,000 feet in five miles. Once over the ridgeline, the course winds through the boreal forest on forest roads, ski trails and snowmobile trails, eventually looping back to Lutsen Mountains for the finish.
After the racing is over and awards have been handed out—custom axes made by Lutsen 99er Bob “Thor” Heinzen—there will be a post-race party at Papa Charlie’s on Lutsen Mountain. Come out and catch The Broken Spokes!
For more about the Lutsen 99er, visit the website where you can see an exciting movie trailer about the event which was produced by local filmmakers Beau Larson and Karl Hansen. To see the action, visit www.lutsen99er.com, click on “race” and then “movie trailer.”
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