MMBA: Northeast Chapter

The Knucklebuster Off-Road Duathlon

88chemic — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:54:58 +0000

This event is SATURDAY, but you can still register!!! Click HERE for more details.

The Knucklebuster Off-Road Duathlon

Date: Saturday – 7/24/10

Time: 8:00a.m. start time. Registration will close at 7:40 a.m.

Location: Midland City Forest, 2840 E. Monroe Rd, Midland, Michigan 48642

Event: 2-mile trail run/ 8-mile mountain bike/ 3.1-mile trail run

Helmet is mandatory throughout entire bike portion.

Course description will be provided before start and is your responsibility to know. It will be well-marked on race day.

Rust Shaker 2010

88chemic — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:21:37 +0000

We haven’t even reached the one year anniversary marking the creation of the MMCC mountain bike trail and there is already a race event scheduled. Mark your calendars for April 10th and then head over to the Mid Michigan Community College website for more information… bit.ly/RustShaker

‘Walk Bike Midland’ Plan Up For Vote

88chemic — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:46:26 +0000

Show your support of the ‘Walk Bike Midland‘ plan that is up for vote by Midland’s City Council on Jan. 25th. Email your council members and encourage their support. If you can, please attend the council meeting 7pm @ city council chambers.

City Council Members include:

Tom Adams (ward 1): tadams@midland-mi.org

Scott Gaynor (ward 3): sgaynor@midland-mi.org

Maureen Donker (ward 2): mdonker@midland-mi.org

Bruce Johnson (ward 4): bjohnson@midland-mi.org

Marty Wazbinski (ward 5): mwazbinski@midland-mi.org

More details can be found here…

http://bit.ly/Walk-Bike-Midland

Thanks to Curt Peterson and many others for their efforts! Curt cites many benefits that the proposed plan will bring:

Lower crime rates.
Healthier citizens and workforce.
Bicycle Friendly Communities always on short lists of best places to
live. (6 in US News’ latest Top 10)
Higher property values - Housing adjacent to bicycling facilities sell faster and for 9% more (Brown County, WI)
Consumer’s Survey on Smart Choices for Home Buyers finding that trails
ranked the second most important amenity out of a list of 18 choices
Safety improvements: e.g. 8X increase in bicycle use = no increase in
bicycle accidents (Portland, OR)
Bicycling tourism, events, and retail = $1 B in Colorado (CO DOT)
Lower cost transportation for citizens

An interview with Gary Fisher…

88chemic — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:39:48 +0000

I listened to an audio interview of Gary Fisher today. It is about an hour long and worth checking out. He talks about his early years, racing road bikes, cyclocross and how he and his riding buds started to build “klunkerz” that became the first mountain bikes. Fisher was one of the first to take this sport to the next level. Now he serves as “the inspirer” within the Gary Fisher company. He reveals the direction that “his” company is trying to take biking, as we look into the future.

The interview takes place in a noisy coffee shop and has a lengthy musical intro, but once you get into it, I think that you will enjoy it too. Click the link below to the MP3 file, or subscribe to the bikescape podcast in iTunes.

Interview with Gary Fisher – MP3 link

Also check out the bikescape blog: http://bikescape.blogspot.com/

I’d like to check out the movie Klunkerz sometime too. Does anyone have it?

Tagged: bikescape, Gary Fisher

Kids Bike Race (Midland)

88chemic — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:43:43 +0000

This is a very last minute notice, but your son or daughter (age 11-14) is invited to compete in a bike race. Here are the details:

Northeast Middle School in Midland
Friday, November 20, 2009 @ 4 p.m.
Meet at Cinder track
The race is only 20 minutes long
FREE!
Ages, 11 to 14
Any type of bike, helmet required.
Parents must sign a waiver.
Participant ribbons given
Contact Steve Weckle (989) 600-5152

Tagged: Kids Race

Blower Brigade Deployment…

88chemic — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:11:16 +0000

If you have ridden MMCC lately, you know that the trail is buried in leaves. Thankfully, many of the orange marker ribbons are still in place from the trail build last Spring. Jim Crissman (DirtPo) has posted in the MMBA NE Chapter forum, that we clear the leaves for safe Fall/Winter riding. If you have a gas blower or a rake and strong shoulders, reply to Jim’s post. We need to declare a time and deploy the blower brigade. Thanks for any of your help.

http://mmba.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=93945

UPDATE: Thanks to Jim Crissman and Ken Eddy for checking this task off of our list. The MMCC Trail is ready to ride again. Join up with the group ride at MMCC on Sunday Nov. 15th @ 10am, if you aren’t gunning for a deer. No worries, the buckslayers are not allowed to hunt on MMCC property.

Tagged: Mid-Michigan Community College, MMCC

Winter Youth Spin Classes…

88chemic — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:05:13 +0000

The Tri-City Cyclists have organized a youth spin class that will meet at Smitty’s Iron Works gym in Midland. The class begins January 2nd at 8:30am. Kids will need to be able to fit a standard stationary bike. Adults are welcome to join, however, the kids get first dibs on the bikes. Adults can BYOBikes and trainers, if necessary.

If you want to begin the 2010 bike season in prime form, contact Steve Weckle at (989) 839-2024 or and get signed up!

…I forgot to mention that there is no charge for this class.

Tagged: Smitty's, spin classes, youth

Iceman Prep Ride…

88chemic — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:30:03 +0000

This is the final week of preparations before Saturday’s 2009 Iceman Cometh Challenge. A group Rail Trail ride is planned for Wednesday Nov. 4th at 5:15 pm sharp. Meet at the Sanford main trail head (where the bathrooms are). Bring a light if you have one.

Good luck to all of the “Iceman” participants! The weather forecast looks promising. I hope that their calculations are accurate. Stay safe, have fun!

If you are planning to be in the 2009 Iceman, click on the comments button below and post your name and any tips that you may have for first time Iceman riders (like myself). It would be interesting to see which of our chapter members (and/or followers of this site) will be competing. See you in the beer tent at the finish!

Here is the “Iceman” Schedule of Events

Or see link: http://www.iceman.com/raceinfo/schedule/schedule.php

Friday, Nov 6, 2009

12:00n – 11:00pm Packet Pick-up (Grand Traverse Resort & Spa)

12:00n – 11:00pm Concessions Open (Grand Traverse Resort & Spa)

12:00n – 9:00pm Ice Cycle Expo (Grand Traverse Resort & Spa)

Saturday, Nov 7, 2009

7:30am – 11:30am Late Iceman Packet Pick-up (Downtown Kalkaska)

7:30am – 11:30am Late Slush Cup Packet Pick-up (Timber Ridge)

9:00am ICEMAN START (Downtown Kalkaska)

9:00am SLUSH CUP START (Timber Ridge)

10:00am Food Tent opens (Timber Ridge)

10:00am First Slushie finishes (Timber Ridge)

10:30am First Iceman finishes (Timber Ridge)

11:00am First Bus to Kalkaska leaves Timber Ridge

2:30pm ICEMAN START – PROs (Downtown Kalkaska)

3:15pm SNO-CONE RACE (Timber Ridge)

4:00pm Pro’s Arrive Last Bus to Kalkaska leaves (Timber Ridge)

6:00pm Ice Capades Awards Party (Grand Traverse Resort & Spa)

Tagged: group ride, Iceman Cometh 2009

Busy October!

88chemic — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:07:27 +0000

Sorry readers, it has been a busy October. My MMBA NE Chapter postings have really petered out. That’s not to say that there is nothing going on. Everyone (but me) is still hitting the trails hard before the snow starts flying. Last minute preparations and training sessions for Iceman are happening all around us. Get on Steve Hoffman’s email distribution for regular group ride notices . Yes, I am registered for Iceman and yes, it is going to kick my a- -!

Safety concerns: We were notified recently by IMBA/MMBA to dismantle any teeter-totters on MMBA sanctioned trails. This is due to some discrepancies in their insurance coverage. We believe that the teeter-totters will be re-installed as soon as the issues are resolved. Please do not try to “fix” them, just ignore them for now and forge ahead. Thanks. Also, be careful riding during the Fall season. The combination of slippery wet leaves and hidden tree roots can really kill your buzz quickly.

Several have been asking about the trailhead location at Mid Michigan Community College (MMCC). As you enter the main parking lot at MMCC from S Clare Ave (old 27), you will find the trailhead about 100 ft (across the lawn) from the NW corner of the lot. You will enter into a wooded area between the school and the road. The 10.1 mile loop will conclude on the South side of the same lot. We hope to work with MMCC to develop some trail signage in the near future. This is a wise ride destination during the rainy season, as it is on high ground and sheds water quickly.

Thanks to those who participated in the Pain Haven race and our 1st annual Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day. Both were successful events and we look forward to growing them in 2010. Thanks to the City and County of Midland for their help with both events.

Glad to see so many familiar faces at “Race Across the Sky” the other night in Saginaw. This inspiring documentary movie is about the Leadville 100, a now legendary mountain bike race in the sleepy mining town of Leadville, CO. The Leadville 100 is an out and back race that begins at an altitude of 10,200 ft and climbs to 12,500 ft. It challenges all riders from the elite level like Lance Armstrong, to those only competing against themselves for a chance to say that they completed the “Leadville”. It was cool to see mountain biking on the big screen and learn of the riders who had to overcome many challenges to finish this race, not to mention seeing Lance’s feeble attempt to fix a flat tire. Maybe we could consider creating our own “movie night” and show some mountain bike flicks at a venue of choice?

As we get into the hunting seasons, keep in mind that you may be sharing the woods with others, less visible. I know that Midland City Forest and MMCC are posted “No Hunting”…probably others too. I will try to get clarification on this and post an update. May as well remove the whitetail from your riding tights until next year, just to be safe.

As mentioned before, I would welcome others to contribute to this site. It is easy to get you authorized to become an author. Or submit a story to me and I will take care of getting it posted. Or if you can capture any ride imagery or a post-ride video of Steve H singing karaoke at Ruckles, I would gladly post that too. Send to:

Until next time, keep the rubber side down and your extremities warm!

Tagged: Iceman, MCF, MMBA, MMCC, Race Across The Sky

Pain Haven Photos…

88chemic — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:32:41 +0000

Pain Haven 2009

I have posted photos from the Pain Haven race to our Flickr group. It is possible to download these images as well as order prints. Thanks to Doug Fowler for providing us with his photographs. If anyone else has photos from the race, please consider sharing them on our Flickr (or some other means). If you have a free Flickr account, you can post images to the MMBA NE Chapter Flickr group. Enjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/935398@N20/

Update: Above link is now correct.

Tagged: Pain Haven, photos, race