Dyrdahl Memorial Pine Lake 200 Pushed Back 1 Week

Image from the 2019 Gerald Dyrdahl Memorial Facebook page

In a year where seemingly everything is or could be cancelled, we consider it good news that the Gerald Dyrdahl Memorial Pine Lake 200 near Gonvik, Minnesota, is still a go. However, it is being pushed back by seven days.

Today via email and social media, the Cor Powersports sanctioning body announced that the annual season-opening laketop cross-country event would be pushed back to the weekend of December 19-20 due to a couple of important factors.

First, there’s the weather. It’s been chilly but not overly cold for the last several weeks in northwestern Minnesota, and with that there’s ice but not a ton of ice on Pine Lake. Local organizers are reporting 5-inch thick ice in some areas, which is a decent start, but no sub-arctic plunges that serve as great ice-makers are in the immediate forecast.

Beyond that, there are stringent COVID-related restrictions in place in Minnesota until December 18, so holding to the original December 12-13 dates would have been difficult anyway – especially if the Sportsman’s Lodge on the shore of the lake was again going to be a big part of the festivities.

The one-week delay helps in both matters.

“This decision will aid in more time for making ice on the lake, push the event outside the current restriction, and give us time to continue working with local authorities to ensure the event will be safe for our racers, fans, and the local community,” Cor Powersports said in its announcement.

We’ve always loved the Pine Lake event – it has wonderful local support from organizers and is a great way to kick off the season for the cross-country crowd.

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