Friday the 13th, Snow Day!

After 10 days without snowfall the weather returned to something like winter.  The TC area picked up 4" to 8" of new snow and might have a storm total closer to a foot by the end of Saturday.   This is a great start but high winds and our lack of base still mean that snow kiting isn't happening.   The good news is we have some real cold temps on the way with calm winds to hopefully freeze some lakes this coming week. 

The fresh snow didn't go unappreciated though,  we got up and scored a pow day at Schuss Mountain.  The man made snow base is thick at the ski hill and the pow filled in deep in a few spots due to the wind. :)   Michigan pow days can be found, just get up early and go get it!

More winter is coming, just keep your fingers crossed that it sticks around for a bit. 

- DC

Winter (or lack of it) - Update 1-09-12

I'm sure you have notcied the weather this winter hasn't been anyting like we were expecting.   After a nearly perfect season last year with plentiful snow we were hoping to continue the trend this winter,  Mother nature decided to keep things interesting and withhold our snow.  

Now for the bad news,  the current conditions in the Greater Traverse City Area:  patchy snow cover with no base.  No lakes are frozen with any snow cover.  I have heard reports that Little Glen lake is frozen but has no snow cover.   Lake Skegemog has partial ice, but no one is fishing meaning the ice is unsafe.   Also the Ice Yacht Club is reporting no safe ice in the area.   We have temps in the mid 40s for the next few days so beware of any ice that you find. 

Outlook for the season,  this isn't our first bad winter start.  The lakes are cooling off and will freeze quickly if we get a week of calm cold nights.   We are going to need a lot of snow to try and ride inland.  with out any base from our previous snow events, we need a solid 18 inches to lay down enough base to coat the ground.  If we get ice on the lakes that number drops to 6 inches.   I think we will be game on for some good snow kiting in two to three weeks.  Until then our Ski Resorts are making snow and have decent conditions even with the lack of natural snow.  Boyne invented snow making and has a good base along with Crystal and Schuss mountains.  So go ride the lifts and get in some practice on your board. 

If things improve I will post and spread the word. 

- DC

No Wind - Take a bike to the beach

October 23, 2011 Near Empire, Michigan

The ride started off on the wide beach by Otter Creek,  we found the sand hard packed down near the water and it made for a smooth fast ride and we made great time to Empire.  We had a to take a quick detour in to town as Matt forgot to bring a pump and let too much air out of his tires and needed to pump up as the conditions were much better than expected.  

Once we were back on the beach we got some great looks from people on the beach as we pedaled down the boat ramp and headed north.   Next known obstacle was North Bar lake and it was unknown if that was going to provide a water hazard that we would have to cross. 

Lucky for us the lake wasn’t draining in to Lake Michigan, after passing North Bar the beach started to narrow and we ran in to a few more rocks along the way.  The next stop was at the bottom of the Dune Overlook on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive.  The dune here is about 450 feet tall and very steep.  I had never been down to the bottom here as the climb back up would be a dreadful exercise in one step forward two steps back, but the bikes provided us easy access to this spot.   

Dune Overlook (Note the spots are people trying to climb back up the dune) 

Heading North again the beach started to get rocky as we started to round the point.  I expected to find some rocky shoreline but not 3 miles of it.  The bikes did very well and it sorta became a fun challenge to pick out a line through the rocks.   The large tires acted like suspension and made the ride very tolerable but we did end up dropping our speed considerably.  

We were very happy to see the beach return to sand as we rounded the point into Sleeping Bear Bay,  we knew our objective wasn’t far away now.  Then we found our next surprise remains of a shipwreck sticking out of the sand.

Shipwreck

After checking out the wreck we continued on to an area where the dunes had blown out creating an open area.  I decided to climb up the dune to test the bike in the soft sand while Matt stopped for a snack break.   I was pretty easy to climb the wind packed sand and I wish I had a helmet to rip the decent but played it safe and did a good test of the brakes on the way down. 

I rode up the dune in the background

After the ship wreck it was an easy cruise to the old Canery at Glen Haven,  with our final obstavle being 75 feet of super soft sand as we climbed up from the waters edge to the parking lot.   The ride was a blast and took about 3 and half hours.   I would suggest that it only be attempted in cool weather as being by the dunes under the summer sun would be a great way to get cooked.   and I can’t wait to do another ride along the beach to explore some more new areas. 

 

- Dave

A bit about Fat Bikes:

We were riding Salsa Mukluk’s which sport 3.8” wide tires and are specially built to accommodate those giant tires.   The bike has the height of a 29’er but handles like a 26’er.  Its a very compfortable ride and you’ll feel like you can go anywhere and you pretty much can too!  A big thank you to Brick Wheels for providing the bikes for the ride.  If you want to see a Mukluk in person head over to Brick and see Matt for a test ride.  And check out Salsa Cycles site at http://salsacycles.com/bikes/mukluk/

Big Windy

This Fall has been off to a great start with great wind the past couple of weeks.  We have had lots of West and North winds so far and it looks like the 2011 Water season will wrap up as a great year after a slow start.  

Many recent sessions have been logged including riding the shoal at Platte River and many downwinders along the coast.   As usual the core crew has been representing in good numbers, which is a good thing as its been a bit big to ride solo.   Most recent sessions have been in the 25-30knt range with several days of double overhead waves.  One of the storms had the south lake buoy reporting wave heights in excess of 23' headed toward the south end of the lake.   Nothing up here that big but a few 12-14' waves have been caught and sucessfully ridden. :D

Here is a little video that Farley posted.  Check it out, More videos to fallow when I can catch up on my editing. 

- DC

New Site

Hey All, 

Welcome to the new website,  lots going on to move the content over from the old site and upgrade how things work.  The forum won't be comeing back but look for us to soon be on facebook and twiter more often.   I have a lot of great ideas and content and now that the season is winding down it should steadly apear over the next few months.  

- DC