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The day of the ice bike races dawned chilly, at minus 1
degree F. We had space on the trailer for only one Cab-Bike, and
Shelly had made the trip in 2004, so it was Eggbert and Dale's
turn. Here Eggbert sits on the Sports Rig trailer.
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Dale drove down to the track that we had cleared on
Saturday at Rogers Lake in
Mendota Heights, where St. Thomas Academy provides lake access and a
warming area for the Minnesota HPVA annual Ice Bike World
Championships.
The World Championships acquired that title in 1998 when a search
revealed no other regularly-scheduled ice bike races. But even
before their elevation to championship status, the MNHPVA ice races had
been a local tradition since 1991.
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About 27 entries were registered, and there were a couple of
extras. The pit area was crowded with a wide variety of ice
vehicles. Conditions were unusual this year, with a frozen sleet
surface under the snow that resembled ordinary pavement, so that wheels
and even plain rubber enjoyed an unaccustomed advantage over blades.
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 Eric Ware rode an upright mountain
bike to first place in the 200-meter flying start sprint, and he also
placed eleventh on a Supermicrobike by Jeff Caswell.
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Bike-builder Ray Brick's grandson Josh Galardi rides LSR
(lean-steer Red) which he piloted to 16th place in the sprint.
Ray rode the similar LSG (lean-steer Green) to 9th place.
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Josh also rode Biohazard to a 24th place finish in the
sprint. Here, he tries it out on the drag-race course.
In the background is Dave Krafft's 1972 Moulton.
LINKS
Wheeled
trikes
Trikes
with blades
Others
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