First Ski Day

Sunday I drove to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to catch some early season snow. Early season out west usually means late October, but around here, it signifies (generally) late November. Though Marquette has already gotten hammered with a few feet, Marquette Mountain isn't open for a week or two, so I headed to Brule.

Brule claims a base of about 24", but only about half of the hill was open; they appear to be blowing the snow into heaps and spreading it out. Despite the limited access, the skiing wasn't too bad. My first run down the mountain, I jumped onto a closed, ungroomed run because it looked fun; about half way down I realized that the top layer was glare ice, and I biffed it trying to carve a turn. I made it the rest of the way down unscathed and stuck to the open runs. Early in the day the slopes were fairly icy as they are currently 100% man-made snow, but after being skiied for a few hours, the top layer got chopped up well enough, making for better turns.

I have to say that the staff at Brule from the bartender to the lifites to customer service was all friendly with top-notch service. I have been to better areas, but have never gotten better service or care than at Brule. Though not the greatest skiing conditions ever, the experience was great, and since the hill was only half open I'm even more stoked to get out soon and hit some bigger stuff!

Rossignols New Contest

Winsome new limited edition stuff from Rossignol by "Confessing your ski sins." I'm not sure what tat REALLY means, but it's worth a try.

January is Learn to Ski Month

As I was checking snow conditions for Sunday's ski session I stumbled across this:

https://www.skibrule.com/images/pdf/LearnToFree.pdf

Free skiing AND rentals for beginners?!? Crazy! Now you can get all your friends who get fat and lazy in the winters out to see how fun skiing and snowboarding are!

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First Snow

It has officially gotten cold here in Door County. The last few days the mercury has been hovering jsut below 30f, and there is about 3/8" of snow on the ground. Not enough to ski, but enough to be torturous. Yesterday morning I headed out on the MTB for an 1h15m, and saw the first snow of the season on the trail - the funny snow-pellety stuff. A few of the local riders have been doing trail maintenance in Peninsula State Park on our singletrack section of the mountain bike trails, and it has changed drastically from rough and shake-your-brains to fast and much more flowy...sweet to ride. You should definitely come check it out in the next few weeks before the snow piles up!

I think this weekend that I'll be heading to Ski Brule in Iron River, MI for some downhill skiing. Brule's a pretty decent hill with enough terrain to spend a day, and I've got a bunch of free passes, so I may as well use 'em.

Sunday I hit the trails at Peninsula State Park with a group of locals calling themselves "The Faithful." it was 31deg. during the ride and everyone showed up in their insulated XC ski gloves. Yours truly forgot his helmet, and Brian F. offered to make one from his Carhartt hat and some bubble wrap, but I didn't plan on crashing, so I just went without.

Now I ride a pretty good amount, but these guys are amazing to ride with. Brian F is an elite XC skier, Erik in a world-ranked surf ski racer, Freddie races Expert XC, and a few others, all faster than me. I can generally keep up with these guys on the road, or the flats, but as soon as the terrain points up or the handling gets tricky, I get dropped. My goal for this winter is to work on climbing, riding at and anaerobic level, and focus/picking good lines, which will help to improve my riding economy.

I am beginning to plan out my racing season with a focus on the Wisconsin Endurance Mountain Bike Series (WEMS), and one or two 24-hour races. In the past I have never really laid out a training season appropriately, but this is the year to do it. I have a few good references to consult, and (finally) the self discipline to get out and do this on my own. We'll see how it goes...

Moab - Part 1

So it's getting cold up here in the nortland, which means that the cycling is limited, so I decided it was time to take a week out west for some primo riding. I called my bro in Ft. Lauderdale, and my buddy Phil in Boulder, and the three of us met in Denver to head to Moab.

The three of us, as well as a week's worth of gear and Phil's bike (Kennen and I rented) loaded into Phil's Aveo and set out for Moab on Friday, October 24. The way out was pretty uneventful, but a longer drive than we anticipated, so no riding on Friday.

Saturday morning we decided to ride a classic, so after we picked up our bikes we headed for the Slickrock Trail. We arrived at the trail and Phil realized that he had forgotten his helmet. While Phil went back to the cabin for hid lid, Ken and I rode the practice loop; I maaged to crash pretty much right away, but nothing serious, so no big deal. By the time we finished the loop Phil was back, so we headed out on the trail. Slickrock is pretty much unlike anything I have ever ridden. On some of the short, steep climbs I could put mu chest on my stem and still not lose traction. Oh, and you follow painted dashes on the rocks...pretty crazy. Anyway, Slickrock was a super fun trail with lots of short steep climbs and descents, and you really get unreal traction on the rock surface - it's really like sandpaper. The scenery was something to behold, too. bumpy rock as far as the eye could see and valleys/canyons/cracks everywhere, usualy right along the trail. Don't look down! The best way I could put it is "moonscape," but the pictures speak for themselves.