The Land of the Yoopers
The rides I do are usually either researched well ahead of time or guided by friends in the area. The Michigan ride on the other hand, was a pure stroke of luck. My girlfriend and I were going to Wisconsin for the Winter Holidays and were keen to do some Nordic skiing. The amount of December snow accumulating in my hometown of La Crosse had been skimpy or nonexistent, so I wasn’t banking on doing any skiing there. Instead, we decided to head to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, snow heaven.
I had been to the ABR trail system for skiing in Ironwood, https://jollyroutes.com/snow-globes-and-snowmobiles/, and it was some of the best skiing I had done. The lake effect weather dumps the fluffy white stuff on that land. Keeping with our eco-conscious attitudes we wanted make our voyage via public transit, which would require a train ride from La Crosse to Milwaukee followed by an overnight bus ride to the UP. We chose an eight-hour bus ride to Marquette, MI.
Given that I did not have Michigan I thought “Well maybe I can get a bike ride in. It will be cold but maybe there is nice path along Lake Superior I can do while bundled up.” Then the follow up thought. “But is that really how I want to do Michigan? There is some great summer mountain biking in the area. Copper Harbor is supposed to be legendary.” And then the epiphany. “Wow. I forgot about winter fat biking!” Furthermore, it turned out Marquette is where fat biking was invented, and on top of that, they had a dedicated Winter Fat Bike Route. Pure Luck. To get as pumped up as I was, check out “Colled Rolled”, filmed in Marquette.
The Ore Dock
We arrived in Marquette at 5AM and took a nap at our hotel before spending the rest of the day settling in. The next day we drove to Sports Rack Marquette. The bearded shop attendant hooked me up with a fat bike. It had a silver frame with black and orange stripes. He also presented me with a map of the trails and gave me recommendations. According to him, the perfect trails for fat biking are the hard and crusty type. If it’s too fluffy the bike sinks, and if it’s too icy there is a lot of crashing. He said conditions were perfect, as long as I went before the incoming storm blew in.
I pedaled off from the bike shop on a paved trail heading toward the lake. Rita was not up for it – she took a picture of me and went to a museum. Within moments the famous Ore Dock loomed ahead of me and I hooked up with a paved trail heading south along the lake. It was cold but I was bundled up and the sun was out. The views of the lake were relaxing. A couple miles down I was blocked by unplowed snow, so I turned on to a quiet residential street. I passed by a kid playing ice hockey in his yard – they had made a rink by flooding an enclosed section. The lake, the snow, the hockey – this was true UP.
The road intersected with a highway, and I made my way back to the trail, which was now flattened down by snowmobile tracks. Here I followed the snowmobile tracks underneath a highway bridge. This led me to the trailhead and a wood garage where they stored the grooming equipment. There was a pink “NTN Snow Bike Route” sign adorning the garage. Time to do some cold rolling.
Noquemanon Trail Network Snow Bike Route
There are roughly 25 miles of NTN snow biking trails, divided into a north and south section which are on opposite sides of the town. The trails could be either be spectacular or unrideable depending on the weather and grooming. I followed the shop attendants’ advice and took a 10 mile loop consisting of seven different trails. The trail sequence was Sepi Connector, Up a Creek, Benson Grade, Two Track Alley, Smiley, Porky Pine Pass, and Grom/Forget me Not/Some name I can’t remember.
Sepi connector was a dramatic introduction to fat biking, with narrow trails, a few steep drop offs (not the deadly type), tight corners, and several uphill climbs. It was a reminder that the trails were built for hiking. Up a creek took me predictably, up a creek. This was a long smooth uphill, and I started to really enjoy the fat bike. At the end it passed through residential neighborhoods, and the trail started to roughen up a bit. There were holes and pockmarks in the trail, resulting in a slower and bone rattling ride. I tested my skills on a few shaky downhills before settling in for lunch at the main trailhead shelter.
It was on the “back end” of the snow bike route that I really started to understand the joy of fat biking. The trails of Benson Grade, Two Track Alley, Smiley, and Porky Pine Pass were long, flowy, and well groomed. Benson Grade took me up a long uphill before I got to bomb down the rolling trails around and back down. It was unabridged cold rolling, and I was flowing.
Cold Rollin’
On the final trails I broke down a bit. First, I took some wrong turns onto a bumpy loop that took me in a circle back to the main trailhead. Then, due to poor signage, I spent several minutes studying the map, trying to figure out how to get back to Lake Superior. Eventually I found the thoroughfare I needed and biked on, before getting the first pangs of leg cramps.
Then, on a long uphill stretch it hit hard. It was the bain of cycling, a leg cramp, and right in the quads! I rested, drank lots of my water (bringing on the urge to pee), and walked my bike up the hill. Eventually the cramp subsided, and I got to the final stretch of downhill. It was long and fast. Some spots were icy, and I had a few startling moments as my wheels slipped briefly and unpredictably while cruising down.
At the end I passed a couple walking their dog and smoking weed. Was marijuana legal here? Likely not, but I didn’t mind. I took a snowy road (slow going) before finishing the ride on the same paved lake trail I took out. And by finish, I mean barely finish. The leg cramps came back fast and hard, I ran out of water, and my bladder was exploding. Pedal, Pedal, coast and sigh. Pedal, pedal, coast and sigh. And then it was done. I found Rita at a restaurant and immediately went to the bathroom. Then I came back, collapsed in a chair, and ordered some chowder.
I went cold rollin’
Ain’t playin’
It’s snowin’, patrols won’t catch me ridin’ dirty,
Won’t catch me ridin’ dirty.
Won’t catch me ridin’ dirty.
I went cold rollin’.
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