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 I was told that there wouldn't be much riding during the second half, but I had to attempt this trail that is no longer maintained by the Copper Harbor Trails Club.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.

. . . or do I?

I know when to quit, or do I?

I spent the last two evenings experiencing the giant Houghton social scene at the Keweenaw Brewing Company. Last night, I was invited to party with my friends up in Copper Harbor, and I've decided to make a weekend of it.

If I receive a particular email prompting me to do so, I will head up tonight complete with mountain bike. I'll stay with some friends and we'll start Sunday the best way: Harbor Haus breakfast. Yum. Tomorrow also marks the first regular trail day. We'll spend about four or five hours out there and probably head to Zik's afterward. My plan is to stick around through Monday and get in some wild 'n crazy mountain biking. Oh yeah, baby! It's time to take the plunge with Paul and do some squirrelly Red Trail riding.

Oh, yes. Di will be happy.

Paul's Plunge

I went to Copper Harbor with some friends one day in the early summer of 2007. We were going to ride Copper Harbor. I was nervous after my first racing experience there the previous summer. I knew I was a better rider because I began seeking out technical trails in the fall. In the spring, while road riding with my friend, Pat, I was reading mountain bike books and perusing through magazine articles in search of advice that would make me a better rider. I had a couple months of hard work under my belt and I was ready to test my skills.

Arlyn and Sandy led our ride. I enthusiastically followed, barely making it up the long climbs, enjoying the long descents and finding great excitement in the technical aspects of those trails. I was riding at a new level, a level well beyond that of the previous season. Before I knew it, I was clearing most of the Red Trail! We ventured onto Paul’s Plunge. Arlyn had me lead the way.

“Let me know when we get to the Plunge,” I told Arlyn.

“Ok, just lead. We’ll follow you,” he replied.


The actual plunge part of Paul’s Plunge. It’s impossible to capture the whole plunge and the degree of difficulty with a photo.

I was carefully crossing long, narrow bridges, riding over slabs of bedrock, and smiling the whole way. I yelled to Arlyn, “Are we almost to the Plunge?”

“You’re on it!” he replied.

Oh, shit.

I was nervous, to say the least. I rode it. I hugged the right side of the trail, slowly descending down the loose rocks with my butt hanging off the back of the saddle. I came to the second section of the Plunge and stayed to the right as I descended down some natural steps and . . . which way do I go? Where is my line? I couldn’t decide where to go, lost most of my momentum, and by the time I decided to move forward, I fell over to the left. I almost made it down Paul’s Plunge. I got off the bike to assess the hill. Arlyn and Sandy came up behind me on their tandem and I studied their line as they approached. Next time I would conquer this hill.


Paul’s Plunge – the point where I came to a stop and fell over.


Arlyn and Sandy riding their tandem, Simba, down Paul’s Plunge.

My heart grew three sizes that day.

Copper Harbor became a big part of my life that year. I traveled up there many Sundays for trail work. I rode up there almost every week. I delved into the life of Copper Harbor.