Horse Vs. Bike

One would think that any given day in mid-July would be spectacular for mountain biking in the Keweenaw. One would think.

Today held firmly at 58 degrees F and the air was quite lively with a strong wind that was heard rushing through the leaves. The trees swayed with more animation than I was able to muster today. It is summer. It is summer. Yes, it is summer. I keep telling myself that, but it just doesn't feel like it. It feels like spring.

I had to deliver the registration papers for the horse I sold a couple of months ago. I met the new owner at a horse show that was going on at the Houghton County Fairgrounds. I kept watching his daughter ride my horse and thinking to myself, "I really want to ride." They offered several times, and I finally hopped on when she was done showing. I gave the daughter a few tips and made plans to show up to the stable Tuesday morning with baby pictures and a desire to ride. I'll have to pack my half chaps and get my riding boots out.

It certainly is not mountain biking, but over a decade of horseback riding prepared me quite well for my new sport. Balance, strength, relaxed muscles, it is all key to both sports.

Nice To See You Again, Paul!

Thursday night group ride in Copper Harbor . . . the three of us, the girls, broke off from the rest of the group to do a "B" group ride. We did the first part of the Fat Tire course backward . . . well, sort of. We went the wrong way, thanks to me, and ended up at the beginning of Paul's Plunge. "It's a sign!" I said. They agreed, and we progressed down that ever-so-gnarly trail.

I led, and I finally reached the top of the plunge and laid my bike down to walk the plunge in an effort to psyche myself to do it. Amanda went flying by and I just said, "Feck it, I'll follow you!" I got on the bike and did the first part of the plunge like I was an old pro, which I kind of am.

I was afraid because it was my first time doing Paul's Plunge on *this* bike. I did the first part with no problem. The second part was a different story. I knew the line I had to take, but I stopped before going into it. I picked up the bike and went back to try it again. I froze within three feet of beginning it. The third time, with my friends cheering, I did it. I conquered it on my new, squirrelly bike.

Paul, it's nice to see you again.

Copper Harbor Kamikaze Style

It's funny how you can spend three days somewhere without doing much riding. I'm in the greatest place in Michigan for mountain biking and I didn't hop on until this morning.

A grrls' ride occurred a little after 10 a.m. this morning. It wasn't just a ride in the woods with smooth trails and plenty of warm fuzzies for all involved, no. They had me with them and I wanted to try something new . . . or something old.

No one likes the Kamikaze trail. It is one of the oldest in Copper Harbor and built before much was known about sustainability. I was told that there wouldn't be much riding during the second half, but I had to attempt this trail that is no longer maintained by the Copper Harbor Trails Club.

I set out with two friends, Amanda and Rachel, and we rode to the top of the Kamikaze trail and began a wild and fun descent. It was almost as if we were riding through undiscovered country, or rather forgotten country. The beginning of the trail is surfaced with large slabs of bedrock, reminiscent of the slick rock I encountered out west. It had that appearance. We rode down the overgrown one-and-a-half track that which was bordered by various wild flowers and large trees and ferns. The trail surface was predominantly rock and root systems. At one point, while I was leading, we came upon a steep descent that was nothing but loose rocks. It was long and I was quite verbal heading down. "Holy waaaah!" and other weird sounds came bursting from my mouth as I tried to keep my weight back behind the seat and take it easy on the brakes. No matter what I did, my bike was moving forward and the only thing I could do was keep it upright. I successfully completed the descent as Amanda wiped out. I told her that Paul's Plunge didn't seem like it would be much after doing that.

The Kamikaze hill that caught me by surprise. This picture only shows about two-thirds of the hill. Yeah, that's me owning it.

I personally liked Kamikaze, and so did Amanda. Our full suspension bikes made us adequately equipped to handle the nearly insane trail with much joy and wonder. We marveled at the beauty surrounding us as we rode along Lake Fanny Hoe. We're definitely hitting up this forgotten trail, again.

A Di Day

We live in such a society where it is beyond the understanding of many that God simply wants us to slow down. In such a society where multi-tasking, economy, efficiency, and so on are paramount to our role as citizens, we have no idea how to not do anything. Even when we are completely wasteful of our time, producing absolutely nothing besides excess fat, we consume our minds with stimuli from video games, televisions, phones, and iPods. How many people actually take the time to notice how a sunbeam on an ordinary brick wall can bring a smile to their face and allow their heart a little leap of joy?

If you haven't already noticed, I have had a very special day. I decided to make it a "Di day." Sure, I've done this in the past, but none have been quite as successful as today. Even while climbing the last, brutal hill homeward, I found myself smiling as an audible giggle slipped out. Cycling does this to me.

I set out at 2:20, with a backpack containing a pair of sandals, a long-sleeved shirt, if needed, a cycling rain jacket for the predicted scattered showers that never occurred, a phone, money, camera, and hairbrush that was never used, but already in the bag.

Like many of my fellow citizens, I am quite focused on the end and hardly ever notice the means. Today, I chose to somewhat blindly head to Houghton in search of something to do. I really didn't know what. I took my time riding to Hancock. It was very windy all day and I wasn't in the mood to fight it, so I lollygagged a little on my ride. The direction of the wind allowed me to coast through Hancock while braking because the traffic was going slower than my bike. I actually considered passing the cars, but chose to hold my course. I rode around Houghton for a while and meandered over to Michigan Tech and up Sharon Avenue in search of a twist ice cream cone at Dairy Queen. For the first time, ever, I patiently sat in front of the DQ, slowly circling my tongue around the ice cream as I ate it slowly, taking the time to taste it. I felt calm as I enjoyed the view of the sun shining against the strip mall on the green hill across the street.




Michigan Tech and Houghton from the Hancock side of the canal.

Life is short. Eat dessert first. That's exactly what I did. I repeated my roundabout course as I rode back to Michigan Tech only to reverse direction and head back to downtown Houghton. I locked up my bike across the street from The Library and headed in for a long dining experience. I special-ordered a small basil and tomato pizza and drank a few cups of coffee as I slipped into a trance produced my leisurely eighteen mile ride. I said my goodbyes to The Library staff and slipped back onto my bike and headed for the Portage Lift Bridge to journey homeward.



Views of Mont Ripley and Hancock from the Houghton side of the canal.

As I crossed the ridge, a black car with a bike rack, heading for Hancock, honked and the driver waved to me causing me to smile. I have no idea who was in that car. All I saw was a hand. However, they left me full of pride and joy. How fortunate I am to live in such a community. Every time I commute, someone recognizes my bright, green Jake the Snake and they honk or yell my name. Having lived in communities where people were less than eager to greet one-another, or welcome a new member into the community, I absolutely recognize the grace God has given me by placing me in such a warm community where so many people have a strong bond with one-another simply because of a simplistic invention called the bicycle.


Portage Lift Bridge and Hancock.



Quincy mine.

I happily rolled home, and even enjoyed my long climb up White Street and US-41 – the dreaded Quincy Hill – without failing to notice how the sun shone above the cities creating a beautiful, lush appearance around the deep blue Portage Canal as waves thrashed about in the wind.

The newly-formed leaves on the trees created a spectacular view as I rolled closer to home. I felt strong, accomplished, happy. I continued to smile. My heart did flips.


The road home.


This is what I came home to.

2008 Keweenaw Chain Drive

Di racing her heart out.

It couldn't have been any better! I had the pleasure of meeting new people, chatting with familiar friends and acquaintances, and putting forth a great effort on a course that was in great condition! Last year, the course was so dry; my face was black from the sand and dirt. This year, it has been raining off and on, and the trails were dampened enough to keep anything from flying up. My snot wasn't even that black afterwards!

I raced hard beating my time last year and reaching my goal of less than an hour and thirty minutes. I placed second in my age group, twelfth for the women, and in the top fifty percent overall.


The Red Jacket - Bluesky Health Team after the Keweenaw Chain Drive.

National Trails Day in Copper Harbor

Tammi and Dee raking on the Dancing Bear trail in Copper Harbor.

No blog entry yesterday . . . no, I was out making the story happen. It all started at 6 a.m. when I dragged my butt out of bed for National Trails Day. I gathered my gear, had a healthy breakfast, made a healthy lunch, filled the Camelbak, and hopped in the Pathfinder to head for the Ace Hardware in Calumet. I had to pick up a wheelbarrow that is completely unrelated to the rest of this story.

I arrived in Copper Harbor to see the usual faces and the faces I haven't seen since last summer. I exchanged hellos, bear stories, and hugs with my trail friends. I even met up with Dee, a friend of my friend, Erin. Dee and I hit it off right away and formed a new friendship on the greatest of all trail days.

Everyone donned bug nets and were assigned tasks. The temperature reached at least 70 degrees F and, combined with the bug suits and hard labor, caused some serious sweating. One person on another crew suffered heat exhaustion. I immediately started sweating buckets. It felt like I was in a shower.


Dee working on Dancing Bear.

My team consisted of Dee, fellow Red Jacket, Tammi, and myself. Sam drove us to the bottom of Dancing bear with rakes and loppers in hand. The three of us spent several hours raking a thick leaf layer off of the trail and we trimmed back the bushes and trees that were intruding on the trail space. By the time we reached the top of Dancing Bear, I was exhausted, super thirsty, and ready to just get the job done. We had only two rakes, so we traded jobs. I took a raking rest during the top stretch of Dancing Bear and grabbed a rake as we headed onto the Red Trail. I made the decision that we were going to spot rake the Red Trail. Most of the leaf litter was from pine trees and really didn't affect the visibility of the trail. We removed the deciduous leaf litter from the trail and Dee and I raked all of the loose gravel off of the elbow turn. It was my goal to give the more potentially dangerous sections of trail a good cleaning off, and we met that goal. The rest of the two-mile trail was a long, slow hike.


Tammi and Dee atop a giant boulder alongside the Red Trail. A little trail leaves the Red Trail to encircle the boulder. It's amazing what you see when you're not riding a bike.

I ate a sandwich before Dancing Bear, one on the top stretch of Dancing Bear, and a Luna bar towards the end of the Red Trail. I was quite disappointed to find that my Camelbak was sucked dry at that point. It was at this point that Dee and Tammi were getting their feet wet in Lake Manganese.


Dee and Tammi crossing the bridge at the end of the Red Trail. The winter weather had pushed the bridge to the right of the picture. It is normally a straight bridge. It's on the trail crew's todo list.

We hustled like turtles down the road to the Harbor and stopped by the Manganese Falls on the way down. Even though I was dead tired and craving Gatorade like a dog craves a big, fat, juicy steak, I insisted Dee see this great sight since she is only a visitor to the Keweenaw.

Manganese Falls.

Manganese Falls.

We met the rest of the trail crew back at the Keweenaw Adventure Company around 4:30 p.m. We were out there for six and a half hours. That sure explains how we felt. Dinner at the Mariner was to begin at 7 p.m. Some of the guys decided to go ride the trails and Dee and I decided to grab some beverages at the local store. I bought chocolate milk, which disappeared within five seconds of my opening the bottle, Gatorade, and some iced tea. Dee and I shared a bag of bugles on the front porch at the Adventure Company. The black flies were still coming after us, so we headed all the way across the street to Zik's bar for some cold brew.

After a pint, we headed back to the house and chatted with our Adventure Company friends until dinner time. Sam and I opened a couple of KBC Ambers and Rachel caught me up on her summer plans. When 7:00 rolled around, we meandered over to the Mariner for a filling spaghetti dinner. Afterwards, it was fun and partying at Zik's with a live band: the Blackflies. Yes, they got their name in Copper Harbor.

At closing time, we all headed back to the house to chat a bit. After some very strong encouragement to stay the night and hang out and ride the next day, Dee and I both parted ways and went home. We told everyone we'd come back for a weekend camping trip in two weeks. The only problem is that I have races for the next three weekends and Dee leaves in three weeks. We might have to make it a partial weekend camping trip. We'll see. It'll happen. There is nothing like hangin' in the Harbor.

Plan a Cycling Vacation

Vacation time is fast-approaching and people are trying to figure out where they should go and what they should do. This really shouldn't be that difficult to figure out. If you live in Michigan, for example, it would be pretty easy to pop your bikes in or on the vehicle and travel to a cycling destination for fun in the sun on a bike. Michigan is full of wonderful places that are best seen on two ATP-driven wheels. The Keweenaw is one of them. ;-)

National Bike Month tip of the day: plan a vacation around cycling.

Invite a Friend for a Ride

Summer really doesn't seem to be trying all that hard to arrive in the Keweenaw. It hit just under 60 degrees and I threw on my short sleeve jersey and shorts for a ride into work to do an ultrasound. I returned home two hours later to trade in my cross bike for a mountain bike and I hit some nearby trails. It peaked at 60 degrees, so the short sleeve jersey was a good idea. Well, that's what I'm telling myself. It's a good thing I had the trees to break the wind for me, because I could feel some pretty cool gusts on the road. The weather people lied, as usual – the wind far exceeded the forecasted 6 mph.

Even though the weather is less than desirable for this time of year, it is still National Bike Month, and it is the perfect time of year to get a friend out on the road or trail with you. Invite a non-cycling friend and plan to do an easy, social ride in an effort to get them hooked. Remember when you first fell in love? Your friends deserve that, too.

My friend, Erin, did a cycle of training for her degree here in my town. Fortunately, her clinical instructor is a riding friend of mine. It didn't take long to get Erin excited about mountain biking. She was hitting up the Tech Trails and Maasto Hiihto/Churning Rapids with us quite frequently. She also happily took part in the post-ride meals and beverage, read: beer.


I stole this picture form Erin's blog. Left to right: Mike, Cynthia, Di, Kevin, Arlyn, and Sandy. Erin is behind the camera. We are all contained within the Keweenaw Brewing Company. I personally believe that is what Heaven will be like.

I am proud to say that we have done well with Erin's training. She accepted a job in Washington and moved there a couple months ago. Erin's new adventure is our great loss. We miss her dearly, but we are proud to say that the Keweenaw has forever left its impression on her. She continues to mountain bike in Washington.

Serious Bike Love

Springtime is here. Yes, I totally know you needed me to state the obvious. If your bike is like mine, it is sloppily shifting and sluggishly braking. The cables are grimy and loose from cyclocross season and spring road riding. It needs some serious love, much like my body after riding to Copper Harbor (43.5 miles of hilly ouch).

I rode to Copper Harbor yesterday and met my parents there for dinner and the car ride home. My body was d-e-a-d. It wasn't just any 43-mile ride, which is still quite an effort for me, but it was a hard-effort 43-mile ride because I was trying to get there before my parents did. They left Houghton an hour after I left my house, so I expected them to pass me on the road.


Di riding down Covered Road. Don't let the snow fool you - it was 50-55 degrees F and super sunny. It felt soooooooo good.

They caught up with me on Covered Road (US-41) about five miles south of Copper Harbor. I had my own SAG wagon in the form of a white Cadillac with a personal photographer following me into town. I just got new brake pads and the bike stops like a dream, which is a good thing considering the giant descent into the Harbor. I peaked at about 37 mph. Yes, brakes are good.

I met Mom and Dad in town and we did a little jaunt around town and Ft Wilkins State Park all while getting pictures. This ride concluded 50 miles for me. I do believe this is the farthest I've ever ridden.


Di beginning her descent into Copper Harbor by the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge.

National Bike Month isn't just a great time to do long road rides and advocate bicycle safety and awareness, but it is the perfect time of year to get your set of wheels ready for a season of heavy duty rolling. My Kona Jake the Snake is heading in for a tune-up pretty shortly and will shift and brake like the performance animal - er, bike - it is come the next Copper Harbor ride.

Keweenaw Awe

I am very fortunate to live in an area that never ceases to amaze me in a truly wonderful way. In a place where very few can hack it, true beauty is found in the serenity of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

My teammate, Pat, and I returned to Calumet yesterday morning from our race. I hopped in my Pathfinder and took the back roads home as usual. There was a clear sky and the sun was in a spot that made the sky and the lake appear dark blue. The colors were rich and I couldn't but help feel my heart leap as I took in the view.

The following is a pictorial of what I saw.


This road is low in traffic and offers challenging hills and breathtaking views that can make the most mundane ride incredible.


The Keweenaw differs from the Eastern Upper Peninsula that is so well known to Michigan's southern citizens. Instead of roads lined with pine trees, birches and maples highlight the landscape.


Lake Superior offers a panoramic view unique to the Keweenaw.


Many deer can be found down by the lake this time of year. This one decided to walk away from my vehicle.


This deer dismissed me almost as quickly as it noticed me. She decided to meander in the direction of her friend.


This gal gave chase as she ran down the road with me slowly following her. She eventually ran into a clearing on the side of the road and looked behind as if to say, "Ha ha, you can't drive your Pathfinder here."