ICE RACE PROBLEM!!!!

Dave just phoned to say the ice on Rogers Lake is unusable.
"Officially" the races are off.
But unnofficialy, you are all invited to join him on Lake Nokomis in South Minneapolis
at 10:30 AM Saturday Jan, 26th.

Ok Folks, Well Minnesota weather has reared it's ugly January head and after frigid temps and several attempts to get down to a usable surface and not much help from the weather, our normal site at Roger's Lake in Mendota Heights is not going to be able to be made usable this year. Because of all the freeze and thaw cycles and the recent very cold weather there is a very poor native ice surface under the snow and what results even from running a very strong snowblower across it is just not going to work even if we could flood over it. Plows don't touch it, they just ride over it. What we have is multiple layers of ice and snow all stuck together. Not something we can make usable. There is one place where the ice is already in pretty good shape and we could all gather and have a little less formal racing event. Lake Nokomis, in Minneapolis just off the main beach, where the pond hockey was run last week has a pretty good surface out past the 2 rinks that are still being maintained. The run up is a good length and the roads between the ponds could be used for racing. What we can't do is get as "Official" as we would like. We would have to make things a little simpler, and just have a group of people gather for a little outdoor recreation, in a group, with ice bikes, at say, 10:30 am, on Saturday the 26th, We would use a modified timing system, so we are not quite so obvious. We could hold all of our usual events, and keep track of results but registration will be only with the timer and there will be no cost for participating. Helmets are still required! If this was to happen, you could park in the lot at Lake Nokomis if you are willing to pay into the paybox, not sure about the cost, but their website states that it ranges from .50/hr to 1.25/hr, the machine will let you know and can take coins or credit/debit cards. The other option is to pull through and drop off equipment near the main beach and then park on the road outside the pay area, only a short walk. There is a porta-potty on site, and the warming house will open up at 12:30pm. We would hope to be done sometime around 1:00pm. We will be operating outside the normal maintained skating area and want to limit our impact on the skaters as much as possible (ie: go around the maintained area). Because of this we may need to move a small amount of snow depending on what the weather brings us Friday night. If we get some bring a shovel. The rest of the course is ridable now,a little rough, but the best we are going to get without out postponing and doing a lot more work. After the races we will pick a place to gather in the area where we can get together to warm up and maybe pass out a few prizes and hash over the results and generally brag about our accomplishments and commiserate about what a poor biking winter we are having. The setup crew will start about 9:30am and if you want to help out feel free to show up, Dress warm, ride carefully, and remember it is only about 90 days till the Ironman! Dave K. MnHpva Pres.

Directions Lake Nokomis is North of the Highway 62 Crosstown and about a mile East of I-35W. Cedar Avenue, AKA Hiway 77, crosses the SW corner of the lake. If coming North on Cedar, turn right after the bridge, on E. Nokomis Parkway. We will gather just offshore from the main beach on the NW side of the lake. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1576442 shows a rectangle defining the area where we will meet. Zooming out should allow you to determine how to get there from wherever you are. If you have a slow connection, switch the view from Hybrid to Map.