MMCC Group Ride…

Group ride (tomorrow) Saturday August 8th, Mid Michigan Community College at 9am sharp!  Weather permitting.

Tonight! Wednesday Group Ride @ MMCC

If you are looking to get a ride in tonight, you should hook up with the group at the Mid Michigan Community College (MMCC) Trail.  If you don’t already know, the group leaves at 6pm sharp from the main parking lot. The 10 mile loop will take a little over an hour to complete (Vaughn says that the trail and lap times are improving).  Usually, the ride concludes at Ruckle’s (in Clare) for a brew and a bite.

MMCC is in Harrison, MI…see older posts or Google it for more info.

Wednesday Ride (tonight)

It is a perfect night for a group ride at Burns Rd tonight.  Departure from the parking area at Burns Rd is 5:30pm.  Bring a mug (or cup) for a post ride beverage, so that Jeff can return his keg.  See map… http://bit.ly/v0Nez

I wish that I could participate tonight.  Have fun!

New MMCC Map Images…

 

MMCC Trail (Harrison,MI)

These are from the GPS data retrieved from last nights amazing group ride.  If you haven’t already participated in the Wednesday night group ride…you should!  It departs at 6pm  sharp! Historically, it has taken place at Burns Rd, but lately at MMCC.  We will try to keep you properly informed.  The images are from the Garmin 405 and it’s new collaboration with Google Earth.  It’s a great and easy method for making maps!  Enjoy.

MMCC Trail (Harrison, MI)

MMCC Trail Now 100% Complete

This Wednesday’s ride (June 3rd) will be at Mid Michigan Community College trail at 6pm sharp! The trail is now 100% complete and ready to ride. Course is 9 miles long and begins at the MMCC main parking lot on Clare Avenue.

Directions: US-10 west to US127 North. Take Exit 168 Mannsiding Rd – turn right for 1/4 mile. Turn left (north) at stop sign on Clare Avenue for 3/4 mile to main MMCC entrance. Or plug 1375 S. Clare Ave, Harrison, MI 48625 into your GPS. We’ll be in the parking lot closest to the road.

No worries…Red Wings are off that night!

MMCC Trail Nearly Complete (Now Ridden)

MMCC Trail (not completed)

Enough with the rakes, loppers and axes already…we’re going ridin’!  The new trail at Mid Michigan Community College has about 2 miles left to be cut in, but we were eager to ride it. Wednesday night a great group of riders met and did exactly that.  I plotted the 8.1 mile route on my GPS to give you a visual.  The combination of the heat and hill climbing earned us a spot at Ruckle’s (in Clare) for post ride beers, burgers and laughs.

A big thanks to Vaughn Murray and Steve Hoffman for their leadership and dedication to this project.  I could almost name the many others that volunteered their time as well, but I’m sure that I would miss someone.  Thanks to all that helped!

Stay tuned for details on the next build project…a mountain bike skills park at Midland City Forest, that will include dirt jumps, skinnies, drops, teeters and a pump track.  Approvals have been granted and we are finalizing the design.  Until then…RIDE!

First Group Ride at NEW MMCC Trail

This Wednesday’s ride will be at the Mid Michigan Community College Trail in Harrison. We’ll be leaving the main parking lot at MMCC at 6pm sharp. Figure on a 45-50 minute drive from downtown Midland. The weather forecast for Wednesday is PERFECT (sunny and 80 degrees) and we’d really like to get a good turnout for the ride this week – guaranteed worth the drive!

We’re really excited about getting on this trail. It’s set in a beautiful forest with massive trees (some that we ride under) and rolling hills. This trail sports some long, gentle climbs (a few not so gentle) and is completely dry. I don’t think we’ll need a single bridge, which is really great for these recent soggy days. Once we get this trail ridden in with a few bikes it should be fast (big ring?). A nice combination of mostly fast flowing trails (like Hanson Hills) some tighter technical trails (Burns Rd), with a couple short sections of hilly two tracks (Iceman). What’s not to love?

We made great progress this past weekend thanks to a really nice turnout for the trail work session on Saturday. We’re close to having the entire loop cut in, and should be able to easily navigate around the few sections still needing work for our ride. At this point, we probably have around 7-8 miles ready for riding, with perhaps 2-3 miles to go. We’re shooting for a 10 mile loop when all is said and done.

Directions: Take US-10 west to US-127 North about 12 miles to the Mannsiding Road exit (exit 168). Turn Right on Mannsiding Rd. for approx 1/4 mile to Old Clare Avenue. Turn left (North) on Old Clare Avenue for approximately 3/4 mile to the MMCC main entrance parking lot on right.

FYI: Some of us will be working on the trail during most of Wednesday afternoon, before the ride. If you’re interested in joining us , give Steve (430-7082) or Vaughn (205-5909) a call.

Ride on!

Steve

Group Ride @ MCF

 

 

Hilary, Gussie, Gary, Jim, Thad (w/camera)

3/27  Last Friday a small group gathered at Midland City Forest and took to the singletrack.  We enjoyed a relatively dry ride for Spring time in mid-Michigan.  If you haven’t already, dig that bike out of the garage and join us for the next ride (TBA).  

Contact thadhallberg[at]gmail[dot]com to get on the contact list for future rides and other chapter events.

Get that bike back out!

 

Studded Tire

Don’t let the snow put a damper on your mountain bike riding. There are several tires on the market, that are made for blazing trails all Winter long.  At the upper end of the spectrum are the Nokian Extreme 294 studded mountain bike tires.  These bad boys from Finland have 294 carbide steel studs, extra beefy sidewalls and a special cold weather compound.  Kenda Klondikes offer similar quality and construction, with fewer (100 count) carbide steel studs.  Continental Spike Claws grip the snow and ice with either 120 or 240 counts, with a lesser grade hardened steel stud.  At the lower end are further studded offerings from Nokian, IRC and Innova.  These tires range in price from $40 to $100 per tire.  If you can’t swing this, try running a non-studded, open tread, knobby tire with lower tire pressure.  The open tread will self-clean while you ride.  Or consider a studded tire on the front, to keep your front end from washing out in the slippery spots.  Keep in mind that the studs are only effective on ice and hard pack.

My knowledge is based on some internet searches and information from our local bike shops.  I am hoping to have a couple bucks left over after our holiday shopping to put toward a set.  If you have further information to share on Winter riding, I invite you to leave comments under this post.  Also, take some Winter riding photos and post them on our Flickr group!  My two Flickr contributions are pretty weak…taken from my cell phone.

Check with Ray’s Bike Shop about a Sunday group ride in the Winter months.