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Ringing in the New Year… Fatbike Style

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Snow Snake Fatbike Maps
Map of the Snow Snake trails. Click for bigger image.

I don’t know about you, but this time of year I’d like to thank the genius that decided to put 4″+ tires on a mountain bike that allow cyclists to ride through the winter months. As the snow piles up, my workouts this time of year typically involve either a trainer and Spinerval videos in the basement or possibly the XC skis if I wanted to get in the woods. But 2017 is off to a very different start thanks to the folks at Snow Snake Ski & Golf in Harison, MI. They’ve created almost 6 miles of super-fun trails for fatbikes and spent both the 1st and 2nd on my Salsa Beargrease with good friends from Alma (my old college stomping grounds).

One of the best parts about the trail is that it’s only a 30-minute drive from our cottage at Houghton Lake, so getting down there for a ride is an easy trip (just about the amount of time it takes me to get to the trails at Fort Custer in Battle Creek from our home. On my third visit, I decided to pay up for a season pass and look forward to several more rides on the trail this season. Best 40 bucks I’ve spent in a while.

Eric and Jeff at Snow Snake
Jeff and me enjoying a break for a quick photo sporting WSI Cycling colors.

While it’s a pretty long video, I managed to capture all three loops (twice) on my GoPro yesterday and likely will substitute it for a Spinerval video in the basement at some point this season. And, unlike my January 1st ride, I managed to keep the wheels down and didn’t crash this time!

Enjoy the video below and hopefully it will inspire you to get out for a ride. Or, at the very least, it should give you something different to watch while you’re on the trainer this season. If you’re looking for a good excuse to ride with a bunch of other fatbike riders, be sure to come on out to Fat Fest Relays on February 25th in Battle Creek at Binder Park Golf Course. I’ll be there with my fattie and hope to see you on the snow!

Disclaimer: Enjoy the cheezy music on the video. Figure it was better than listening to me heavy breathing for an hour and twelve minutes. 😉

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Harvesting Time Outside

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If you are anything like me, I took a friend’s advice (who started cycling the same time I did and has surpassed me since then) by getting outside before work for a run—any run, just run and enjoy the morning.

I did, slower run, but the stars were bursting and, aside from a skunk who wanted to show me the exit to the woods, it was one of those painless deeply cathartic exercises that makes you happy and ready to face the day. Thanks Doug for the advice. Even though I will not be able to get on my bike again today (early morning start and late evening work dinner), I harvested some outdoor time before ‘old man winter’ forced me into solitary winter interval training.

There is about a month left before the Iceman Cometh Mountain Bike Race, and the culmination of fund raising for the MADC Family Support. Check out the website. If you have a family caregiver who would like a retreat, there are events starting as early as October 6. Spread the word! http://alzheimers.med.umich.edu/live-well/

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Last day of Summer

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Everyone has a day where, at the end of work, the gravitational pull of the couch and a bag of potato chips is very strong.  Today was one of those countless days for me.  Thankfully, I know that the only way to combat that demon is to prepare in advance…putting my bike and all of my gear in the car is half the battle, the other half is making the trip to the trailhead before I get home.  On the way home tonight, I was going to stop at Island Lake for a quick loop before the autumnal equinox darkened the woods.  Instead, I went to a place that I have heard of many times, but never tried-The Tree Farm in Novi.

I got there about 5:30pm and  put my WSI/Team Active knicker and long sleeved shirt on, seemed a tad cool for me.  As I went to the trailhead, I ran into a guy who was just getting ready to roll as well.  Since I have never ridden the trail before I asked him where the trailhead was, he said that he was on his way and was happy to show me.  He was riding a Niner, full rigid, single speed–I knew I would not be waiting for him!  I asked his name and he said in a British accent Paul.  I immediately wonder if he knows Gary, the other British guy I ride with (what a silly thought it was, but it was my thought, none-the-less, so I say nothing.)  Bad thing about accents on the bike, if someone warns you about a long drop off a log jam and you cannot understand them, chances are you will find out the hard way what they were saying–I did, spectacular crash off the top of a log jam in the first 5 minutes of the ride.

After that, it was just a nice flowing pace on a semi-technical course through the woods in southeast Michigan.  I made a new fried (which is always the way these impromptu exploratory rides seem to be) and had a nice training ride on the last day of summer 2014.  Not too much longer to the Iceman.  There will be a lot of miles and crashes between now and then.

Don’t forget to check out the fund raising that is the focus of the Iceman race for me.  We are over 1/3 the way to our goal to raise $3,000 for Alzheimer Family Support at the University of Michigan.  See you on the trails!

Jack Miner

http://www.active.com/donate/AlzheimerFamSupport

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Ride to the Stadium

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I have been riding with WSI/Team Active for about 7 years and racing for about 5 of those. Before I was adopted by the Team Active family, I did a couple group rides with my fraternity brothers. These group rides happened once a year (for 24 years!) from Birmingham Michigan to the Big House in Ann Arbor. This last weekend, was the annual event and after I describe this gathering, you will know why I was an easy convert to a cycling enthusiast.

The Friday night before our annual ride, we all get together along with our spouses at one of the rider’s homes to catch up. I have known many of these guys since 1980 and some of them knew each other when they were in diapers. (We joked about the fact that long before ‘keg stands’ some of these guys may have been done ‘sippy cup stands’). We carb load (excellent pasta and cheeses) and have some of the best wine in the country and then we try to retire to our respective homes before it gets too late. Some Saturday mornings are easier than others, but the older I get, the more intent I am in enjoying the morning ride instead of having a pounding headache until we reach the Ann Arbor Township line. This year, I was at home double-checking my gear, well in advance of 11pm.

Our ride starts early in the morning because we want to stay ahead of the traffic and ensure we have ample time to get to the Big House and ‘tailgate’ before the game. I leave my house in West Bloomfield and ride the 15 miles to Birmingham by myself with my lights on. It is a very cathartic ride, rarely do I see more than 5 or 6 cars on some of the most travelled roads in Oakland County. 5am is just a little early on Saturday for most people to be out, let alone on a bike so I am sure people are wondering what I might be doing until they see that I am dressed from head to toe in the University of Michigan cycling team gear, and on game day! (Then they might at least suspect that I am headed toward Ann Arbor.

There are about 25 to 30 of us who ride and everyone is at all levels of experience and fitness. To say there is a no-drop rule would be a complete lie, but we do try to stay together in small groups. There are so many people and we are so spread out, often times, we have no idea if anyone has had a mechanical until they roll in after we have been standing around for 30 minutes. (So much for being our brother’s keeper!) I doubt we have ever taken the same route twice, and this year we went more south than previous years because some of the roads were under construction. I am not that familiar with the route but I was out front with Steve Frank pulling into the 11 mph headwind from the south. We missed a turn and by the time Steve and I turned around, the main group had already made good progress toward our final check point (a party store at Plymouth Road and North Territorial).

This is a false flat and there was a crossing wind and the two of us were well separated from the group. This group ride suddenly felt like a road race. Steve is a spinning class instructor and very solid, so I tucked in behind him and he started to pick off the back of the group one by one. They would try to hold on to my wheel, and I was doing everything I could to hold on the Steve’s. After about 5 minutes, Steve said that was all he had and we were still 1/10th of a mile behind the lead group. I pulled for a couple minutes and gave Steve a chance to catch his breath, then he got in front again and started to narrow the gap again. We narrowed the gap, but did not catch them before our final stop. When we rolled into the party store, the lead group said they were going so fast because they thought that Steve and I were on a parallel road trying to beat them to the check point!

At this final stop, many of the group grab a quart of beer (which conveniently fits nicely into a standard water bottle cage) and we have our own victory lap complete with the champagne of beers for the last 6 miles to the stadium.

When we arrive at the stadium, we do a bit of a tour of the tailgating area and then find where we stowed our change of clothes and commence to celebrate our 50 + mile ride to the stadium (and that we all made it one more year). It is great to see these guys every year and do something that is so enjoyable. It is a nice long ride for me and it underscores the miles that still need to be completed before the upcoming IceMan Cometh Mountain Bike race. Go Blue and Go WSI/Team Active Racing.