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!

MMBANE Site Stats…

 

Monthly Site Views (not including author)

 

 

Believe it or not the MMBA: Northeast Chapter site has some readers.  Our numbers have steadily increased over the last few months…thanks!

There is a lot going on in the local mountain biking scene (new trails, a new bike shop, on going trail maintenance, group rides, races, skills park – coming soon and more).  If you are a mountain biker and are enjoying this stuff, you should consider becoming a member of MMBA (Northeast Chapter).  Your support generates revenue that helps us continue to develop at the local level, as well as supporting the MMBA’s work at the State and National level.

If you are interested in being a contributing author to this site or have suggestions for it’s content, please contact thadhallberg[at]gmail[dot]com.  Please don’t hesitate to use the “comments” areas under each post…you can contribute here anonymously or (better yet) revealed.

BTW…the Northeast Chapter (MMBA) forum discussions have also increased.  This has been a great addition to the MMBA site!  We are encouraging all chapter correspondence to happen here.

We are about due for the next Northeast Chapter meeting…stay tuned for details.

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!

NEW TRAIL!!! Help Wanted…

THIS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY…

Here is your opportunity to get involved with the cutting in of a brand new trail. Work sessions are scheduled for this Saturday May 2nd at 2pm and again on Sunday May 3 at 2pm. Meet at the MMCC (Mid-Michigan Community College) main parking lot, which is off old US27. Take US127 North to Mannsiding Road Exit – turn right (East) on Mannsiding Rd for 1/4 mile, then turn left (north) on old US-27 for approximately 1/4 mile. Go in the main MMCC entrance and we’ll meet at the first parking lot area. 

The trail is completely marked, so we just need to get this cut in for use. We’ll need folks to bring rakes, loppers, axes, shovels and we’ll need a few chain saws for the big stuff as well.

This is going to be a great addition to our trail offering! It is across the highway from Snow Snake ski area, on property with actual elevation change. Approximately 1000 Ft. of elevation change over the nine miles of trail! We can’t have too many workers for this project…come and be a part of it.

Contact Steve Hoffman for more details: 989-430-7082 shoffman813[at]sbcglobal[dot]net

Mini Bridges Built…

 

Hilary, Jim, Gary, Dave, Matthew (Tom & Thad not shown)

Thanks to the crew of efficient bridge builders, we cranked out 11 mini bridges in under two hours!  Special thanks to Jim Crissman for rounding up the materials (at the Amish Home Depot), prepping them and providing us some dry shop space.

 

We will be analyzing the low-lying wet areas of our trails and use these mini bridges to protect them from wear and tear.  Please stay on the bridges whenever possible, while riding (thanks).

Another work day will be necessary for installation of the mini bridges.  We are proposing the weekend after Mother’s Day.  More info to follow.

MMBA Annual Meeting and Expo

Jim was intrigued by this Kevlar beauty!

Sunday morning, a bunch of us dirtlovers boarded the minivan to Lansing for the 2009 MMBA Annual Meeting and Expo.  We arrived around 10am ready to transition our thoughts back over to mountain biking.  The expo consisted of 50 or so booths…bike shops, organizations, MMBA chapters (not Northeast), private sellers, and more.  In the far corner of the large room was a presentation screen and stage.  Throughout the day a variety of presenters spoke to a relatively small gathering of mtb enthusiasts.  I tuned into a rep from Village Bike Shop, that described in detail the proper way to fit a bike.  Ryan Schutz (IMBA) was there (with his radio DJ voice) and coincidently, presented the “gateway” concept.  The gateway is a mountain biking destination that offers a trail system, as well as a pump track and a skills area.  We listened as Ryan showed slides from recent pump track builds, including the Lee McCormack design that we are considering for Midland City Forest.  We hammered him after with questions and learned a lot.  It may be possible to get some IMBA help with our pump track build.  Jim Crissman represented our NE Chapter, for the volunteer awards ceremony.  We have a small group of dedicated volunteers (I’m not complaining), but I learned how small our chapter really is.  Prizes were awarded to those with 10+ hours and volunteer of the year…congrats to our Jeff Adamcik.

MetroSouth Chapter tool trailer

Now I can see how the Northeast Chapter is controversial…we are barely on the map in comparison.  We did, however, have a larger representation than the Northern Chapter.  There were two enclosed trailers proudly displayed by other chapters.  The trailers had sponsorship logos on the outside, tools carefully mounted on the inside and a gas grill.  No tapped keg that I could see.  Other chapters were promoting their trails at booths and selling t-shirts, jerseys and even beer mugs!  It would be great if the Northeast Chapter could generate a few ideas to increase our membership in 2009.

Well spoken Jim Crissman represents!

There were some deals to be had 50-60% off on good stuff…especially if you wear x-large or small sizes or ride odd sized bikes.  We all managed to support the economy, buying gear, food, and Bell’s draft beer.  Gary Putt demonstrated his best power shopping skills, disappointingly resulting in minimal finds.  Jim hit the jackpot at the silent auction.  He won so many auction items that he had to write them on his hand, to be able to remember them all.  Watch out for the DirtPoet himself, on course at the Copper Harbor Fat Tire Festival race…one of many auction items won.  We arrived back in Midland in time for dinner with mountain biking on the brain…it won’t be long now before we’re back on the trail!

Northeast Chapter meeting/ride…

Copied from Uncle Jimmi’s MMBA forum post…

A meeting will be held Wednesday August 20 at 7:00 PM sharp at none other than Midland City Forest. 
Bring a chair or stool or be prepared to sit on your bike, this meeting will be held at the main trail head parking lot. 
We will have a productive 30 to 40 min meeting followed by a lap through the forest for those who want to ride. Lights won’t be needed and we will do 2 groups, fast and slow. 
On the agenda for the meeting will be discussing the possibilities of holding a race before the season is over. 
Setting a date for the next meeting so it never goes this long between meetings again. The position of Secretary for the chapter. 
Adding a skills area and skills options to the existing trails at the MCF.

…hope to see all interested riders there.