For those who are new to the mushing world "scooping" is our endearing term for the at least twice daily "cleaning" of the dog yard! Oh, and by the way, this will not actually be a "daily" update, the name was just catchy! Remember to scroll down to read past entries. Thanks for stopping by!
Sunday, March 14, 2010 A quick note to let you know that all is well. Who would have thought that the UP of Michigan would have very little snow and over 50* temperatures the second weekend of March??? We decided in the best interest of our dog team to pull out of the Copper Harbor 150 to avoid any injuries to our 4 legged friends. Lots to do and some rest needed all around! More later!
Ryan Redington - 2010 Iditarod
Thursday, March 11, 2010 As we are getting ready for our last race of the season, the Copper Dog 150 in Michigan, we can't forget to follow Ryan on his Iditarod journey!! (Click on words for link) We will be out on the trail this weekend so it is up to all of you to keep track of him for us!!
Monday, March 8. 2010 If you click on the photos above they will enlarge, and in the first one you will see something I have NEVER seen before at a sled dog race : a musher in bare feet!! That is our friend Maggie enjoying some down time at the starting area of the Wolf Track Classic in Ely, MN, this weekend. The temperatures reached well into the 50* and eventually due to the melting snow, they had to cancel the 10 dog race. As we waited to see if the temperatures would drop and the clouds would come out so the race could begin, Matt noticed that one of our tires was falling apart! Our friend Sam Huber came to the rescue and helped Matt change the tire, although if you look at the last two photos it sort of looks like Sam was doing the majority of the work while Matt and the others supervised his efforts!! Thanks Sam!
Saturday, February 27, 2010 Those of you who have attended the last two races will recognize this banner that our South Shore School Team members made for us! It is great! Don't worry, we will get your buttons back to you after the race in Ely next weekend. Matt is one of the key note speakers and he is going to speak on our South Shore and other classroom connections! It is high time everyone learns just what an important part of the BRR Team all of our students and teachers are!! The Ely race is approximately 130 miles and the team will have 10 dogs. Matt is out right now determining which BRR athletes will compete!
The start at sunset, beautiful!
This photo thanks to the UP200 web site
Max, Doug, and Amber on the couch!
Dennis was only 13 seconds behind Matt!!
Monday, February 22, 2010 (thanks for the photos, Amber) The Monday following a race weekend we are always extra thankful for our jobs that allow us a vacation day to recooperate! The Midnight Run in Michigan was so much fun. The dogs have bounced back from the long, multiple runs of the Beargrease and were ready to go. As we trained this season for the longer distances we didn't have any plans of winning this one, but that didn't stop us from racing in the least! The Midnight Run is about 100 miles with a 5 hour rest in the middle. The top 10 finishers had amazing runs, but we enjoyed and participated in the Race within the Race - the race of the Old Guys!! Dennis Laboda, Keith Peppler, and Matt, enjoyed every moment on the trail together and they all did very well. Matt beat Dennis by just a few seconds and Peppy was not far behind! Our handling crew of Max, Amber, and Doug, did a great job and Mother Nature cooperated by not providing any snow storms for us to drive in. It was a great weekend. The next race is the Wolf Track and at a new distance of 130 miles it might be very interesting for BRR fans!!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 We are almost ready to head to the UP of Michigan for the Midnight Run. We always have such a good time visiting with friends and enjoying the snowy surroundings. We are sure this year will be no different! Here is what you all have been waiting for! It was hard to decide but the BRR Team for the Midnight Run is:
Charlsie Panther Dimitri Vargus Dick Mak Hattie Gretchen
Saturday, February 13, 2010 Happy Day before Valentine's Day everyone! We are getting ready for the Midnight Run in MI next weekend. Rest assured, the team is running great! After training 14-16 dog strings it sure seems strange to be handling only 10-12 dogs, and the race team will actually only be 8 dogs! Matt is going to have a hard time deciding which 8 make the team. We will have BRR trading cards for any students who come to find us in Michigan, so watch for the Pirate Flag and come and say hello! Ryan is running the Klondike 300 in Alaska right now so cheer him on!
Photos from Beargrease 2010
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010 We are fine, disappointed, but fine. It is too early in Alaska to call Erin and Ryan, and no cell phone coverage in Finland, MN, late last night to call in with updates for you so here it is: Racing the John Beargrease it is said, is like racing three or four shorter races, just all at the same time. We had the highest of highs and then the lowest of lows this race. There were times when we felt nothing could hold back your BRR team, and times we questioned if going on was the right thing to do. We went to race the John Beargrease, to compete with some of the greatest mushers of all time, and to enjoy the company of our dogs and friends for four days. We did all of that! The dogs just plain got tired at about the 300 mile mark. We are proud of what they accomplished, as they too were competing against the best in the world! Besides a sore wrist or two, pretty much everyone (including musher and handlers) just needs a day or two off, and then back into training. We had the most amazing handling crew and can not thank each of them enough. You guys are the best. Thanks to Erin and Ryan for keeping everyone updated. Now, time for a nap.
Thursday, January 28, 2010 As promised here is the link to Erin and Ryan's web site and the page that they will be blogging on for us. http://www.callintrailkennel.com/beargrease.html We will try hard to remember to call them when we have reception on the cell phones to give them updates from the trail. You can also go to http://www.ifan.tv/ There is a $10 fee for signing up for the ifan coverage but they will be covering many many of the events , live , sort of like ESPN but on a much smaller scale! They will have cameras at the bib draw, starting line, out on the trail and much more. Might be worth the ten dollars! Also, the John Beargrease web site will have race info for you, that info and Erin's blog are free!
**Announcing your 2010 Bark River Racing John Beargrease Marathon Team**
Calvin, Charlsie, Flake, Panther, Rat, Mak, Dimitri, Xini, Gedikwi, Vargus, Gretchen, Hattie, Coors, and Richard!
These 4-legged athletes are ready to tackle the Beargrease Trail! Go BRR's Pirates of the South Shore!!!
This puppy has found a new friend!
The team is ready to take you for a ride! Click on the photo to enlarge.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 Since the White Oak Race we have been busy preparing for the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. Can you believe it is less than two weeks away? Training is going well, lists have been made, the trailer is almost ready, and wait until you see our new parkas!!! Boy, oh boy, are we going to look terrific!! Daughter, Erin, has agreeded to blog for us again this year so be sure to check in for those details. http://www.callintrailkennel.com/
Again this season South Shore Elementary School is following along with our journey and they are as excited as we are. Next week is South Shore's Winter Olympic week, a week of winter activities and outdoor fun. They have friendly competitions and learn the importance of teamwork. Sort of like racing sled dogs! We have been invited to attend the closing ceremonies on Friday and to join in the fun. The week of winter fun ends with some of our South Shore friends joining us at the Beargrease! Throughout the years South Shore has been behind us win or lose, and we are so proud to have them on board again for 2010! We also have heard from several classrooms in Hermantown and are so glad that those classes also continue to follow BRRR and to use mushing as a fun way to learn. We will be by to visit some of you after the race season.
Remember that Capt'n Matt and the BRR Pirates will be flying the pirate flag again this year and will have pirate eye patches for all of you who come to the race!
There are several days of training left and many miles to go before we can announce the 2010 Bark River Racing John Beargrease Marathon Team. There are still 19 BRRR 4-legged athletes working hard to make the race team, even two yearlings who are still in the running (yes, Ryan and Ed, they are Junior/Vargus pups!)! We are so proud of all of the dogs, especially, of those youngsters! Selecting the team comes down to who has the best attitude at this point in the season, as all of the 19 contenders have the ability to run the close to 400 miles. It comes down to who proves that they want to do it the most!
Matt and Calvin
Monday, January 11, 2010 (thanks for the photos Amber!) What a fun filled weekend we had! The first race of the BRR race season, the White Oak Classic, was great. Andrew's team was: Rat, Coors, Elmer, Preacher, Dimitri, Fly, Doodah, Earwig, Hattie, and Herman. That team has an average age of 3 years old, with six of the dogs running in their first race! We are so proud of them. Matt's team was: Calvin, Charlsie, Flake, Mak, Richard, Panther, Xini, Gedikwi, Gretchen, and Vargus. We were the 2009 Champions of this race, and the "A" team came in 7th this year. Not to worry race fans!! Last season your BRR athletes were trained to run at a much faster pace than for the 2010 season. Although we love the White Oak Classic race, it is the John Beargrease and UP200 that we really are focused on for 2010. Our pace for the White Oak was right on for what we hope to run run in the longer races!! Hold on to your mukluks everyone the race season has just begun!! Matt, Andrew, and the dogs were not alone out on the trail we must note! In addition to Sue, Christa, and Paula, BRR had new handlers join them at the race. We welcomed Doug, Amber, and Zyon Evans to the BRR handling team! They did a great job and many hands made for light work. Thanks guys and come back any time! Erin, competed in the Copper Basin 300. She was running a wonderful race and the dogs were strong and steady. Then as life would have it sometimes, Erin got the flu. Didn't the Flu Bug realize she was running one of the toughest races in the world?! Nope. So she had to scratch in the best interest of her dogs as she can not have outside assistance for dog care on this race. On the upside she told us that she really learned a lot about check point procedures when running a race without handlers. That will come in very handy as she works toward her Iditarod goals. Check out who is on the UMD Home page this month http://www.d.umn.edu/
Andrew and Elmer
It's race time!! Click on photo for link to the White Oak Race
January 7, 2010 This weekend is a busy one for BRRR and our family. Matt and Andrew are both running the White Oak Classic in Deer River, MN and daughter, Erin, is is running the Copper Basin 300 in Alaska!! If you are in the area, Deer River that is, stop by the truck and say hello!! Click on the photo and you will be linked to the race web site where you should be able to find information on the race!! Wish us all luck!
Yeah!! Erin and her team just took 2nd place in the Knik 200! We are so proud of you Erin!
Erin at the race start, photo thanks to Barb Redington
January 3, 2010 As we are busy with rides, Adventures (really had a great time with Michelle and Carol!), training, and getting ready for the first race of our season, daughter, Erin is pretty busy herself! Erin is competing in the Knik 200!! Erin left the checkpoint (only one in this race) in 3rd place, per a phone call from our Alaska family. We will let you know as soon as we do the outcome of this race. For her first 200 miler and one of her Iditarod qualifiers for 2011, this is fantastic!! We are so proud of you Toad!
Happy New Year from everyone at Bark River Racing!!
Christmas Day 2009
Merry Christmas Everyone! Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
We are just too cute!
Sunday, December 20, 2009 We could watch puppies play for hours! These two little guys enjoyed taking turns sitting in a food dish!! We spent the day with much of our human family - celebrating Christmas a bit early. We gathered together with three of our girls, their spouses, our grand children, and Grandma and Grandpa Rossi. We ate too much food, laughed way too hard, exchanged wonderful gifts, and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. Life is good!
Sunday, December 13, 2009 (click on the photos to enlarge) We have snow!! Usually we get 1-2" of snow almost everyday here on the South Shore due to our proximity to Lake Superior. However, this week we got dumped on and one measurement had us at over 20"! The sleds are out and the dogs are happy. The snowmobile said "no way" when we suggested that IT break trail for the dogs, and so it was up to the teams themselves to break open their sled trail. It was breathtaking to watch the teams as they worked together to find their footing in the deep snow and how almost effortless it appeared. It is not effortless nor its it easy! For those of you who have had a chance to experience walking through close to two feet of snow,you understand the effort it takes to walk down the driveway, these athletes broke trail, in shifts, for 18 miles!! This musher had never had a chance to see the dogs work in this way before, as I usually get the team when the weather is perfect and the trails the same, it was an awesome experience!
As you will see Mushers do clean up well!! Click on photo for a movie, thanks to Aunt Jill and Sonia for a few photos to share!
...and two become one.
Yes that is a camo hat!
Bestman, Matt, with a few things to say!
Thursday, December 3, 2009 Well, only two days left until Andrew and Christa's big day! We are all very excited about the upcoming wedding. We will post photos asap of all the fun to share with you. Erin is home, although husband Ryan had to hold down the fort in AK. They have two Iditarod teams racing this year, so training can not go on hold for two weeks to come play with us (needless to say both the Bride and the Groom understand!). Sonia will be coming home from Florida to join us. She will have a rude awakening as we have temps in the 20's and FL is in the 80's!! Even with the wonderful distraction of two weddings this fall, training is going well. Dogs are all looking great and we are right on track with our 2009-2010 training schedule. To date the most rewarding part of this year is coming from watching our yearlings develop into sled dogs! These are the Bug and Olympic litters and they are really something to watch in action. At 18 months you can hardly tell them from the 5 year olds.
"...you've got a little somethin' right there..."
Saturday, November 29, 2009 You can all thank Erin (our eldest daughter) for suggesting a little archiving of the Daily Scoop was in order. You can find past entries on the Archive page but this change should help the Scoop to upload quicker for you. We are all still full from our Thanksgiving Dinner and still enjoying each other's company. Training dogs is so easy with four or five people around to help hook up, feed, and scoop the yard. Now if we could just get a little snow!
Mailing Address for both BRR locations: Bark River Racing 16435 Bark River Road Herbster, WI 54844info@barkriverracing.com
715-774-3971
