The Colectivo Coffee Bean Classic mountain bike race returns to Minooka Park (1927 E. Sunset Dr., Waukesha) on Sunday, July 21 starting at 9:30 a.m. with racing throughout the day. The race is part of America's largest state mountain bike race series: Wisconsin Off-Road Series (WORS). Colectivo will pour hot and cold-press coffee all day.
While it is officially a USA Cycling mountain bike event and part of the larger Wisconsin State Championship Series, all levels of riders – from youth to first-time adults to elite competitors – are welcome to ride.
According to the press release, "some of the top cross country mountain bike racers in the nation will race for cash and series points for both individual and team recognition."
Minooka Park is a well groomed park that provides easy access to spectators and families, as several parts of the race are visible at once. The course will provide a mix of challenges for riders, such as steep climbs, technical turns and flowing, fast descents that will test all your bike handling skills. Areas of the course have been improved to make passing a little easier as well.
First timers
There are a number of categories depending on your skill level and the points you've earned through the series. If you've done it a few times, you probably already know where to go, but if you've never participated in a race, and are curious about the event, you can enter the Try-It-Out category for 35 minutes of fun, or you can jump into the Citizen (Cat 3) race if you wanted to race a little longer.
WORS is also providing a Learn-to-Race clinic on Saturday, July 20 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. with Team WORS. It is free to registered racers and includes instruction in off-road riding skills, race preparation and a ride-through of the Citizen race course. All registered racers can pre-ride the course on Saturday as well.
Save $6 by pre-registering for the race, which closes on the Monday before the race, July 15 at midnight.
For more information, visit the WORS event page.
Volunteering
There are also opportunities to help with race operations, who are needed to assist the event and the Colectivo MTB Race Team. Reach out to racedirector@colectivoMTB.org for more information and to sign up. Volunteers receive free Colectivo Coffee, an event shirt and food.
Jason McDowell grew up in central Iowa and moved to Milwaukee in 2000 to attend the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.
In 2006 he began working with OnMilwaukee as an advertising designer, but has since taken on a variety of rolls as the Creative Director, tackling all kinds of design problems, from digital to print, advertising to branding, icons to programming.
In 2016 he picked up the 414 Digital Star of the Year award.
Most other times he can be found racing bicycles, playing board games, or petting dogs.
