Inaugaral Mountain Bike Ride Of 2008

The third great Keweenaw blizzard of the year began yesterday. The whole state of Michigan had fallen victim to rather unhappy weather. It didn’t change our plans, though. My friend, Pat, and I drove through the blizzard, then the winter storm, then the rain. We completed our trip this morning and did a 10 a.m. ride at Pontiac Lake Recreation Area. PLRA is, in my opinion, the best trail in lower Michigan. No, I haven’t ridden them all, but I’ve ridden some of the best.

I was willing to forego our ride, today, but Pat insisted that we were going to ride since we just drove 550 miles to get here. We met up with two of his friends and ended up having a great ride. Halfway through the ride, I was smiling and laughing and thinking, “Wow! What a great trail for the first mountain bike ride of the year!"

With all the snow in the Keweenaw, mountain biking is a slightly distant thought, but there’s a race tomorrow at Pontiac Lake. This is why we fought the blizzard to be here.


This is US-41 just south of Calumet during the blizzard. Look carefully. There is a plow truck in front of the pickup truck.


This is US-41 between Chassell and Baraga.


There is something strangely beautiful about the Keweenaw Bay at its worst.


The Keweenaw Bay. The white-capped waves look small. In reality, they were at least three feet high.


We were expecting to get pretty muddy at PLRA. We wanted before and after pictures.


This is what the guys looked like after the ride.


They felt like they were in a lineup because I made them turn for another picture.