Mountain bikers seek new outlets this summer after canceled race
Blazing new trails
July 5, 2011
,The Mining Journal
ISHPEMING - The one thing that the Upper Peninsula certainly does not lack is terrain. Rocks, forests, large hills that can possibly be considered mountains gives the U.P. nearly everything under the sun.
For a mountain biker, that makes it a really good place to be.
In lieu of the annual Superior Bike Fest - which would have taken place at the end of June, but was canceled due to an unsustainable budget - area biking has taken a look past regional racing, and in some aspects toward just getting more people into the sport.
"We're the only (exclusive) mountain bike team in the Upper Peninsula, but there are other teams that have popped up in the area, which is showing the popularity of the sport and that it's growing," said Tyler Gauthier, the director of the Culver's Mountain Bike Racing Team in Ishpeming.
Gauthier began the race team two years ago as an outlet of the Range Mountain Bike Club, which is made up of bikers from Negaunee, Ishpeming and west Ishpeming. Gauthier has relied in past years on the Superior Bike Fest to deliver a fun racing environment on his home turf, so the cancellation of the race was a huge loss to the local racing circuit, leaving only the Ore to Shore Mountain Bike Epic in Marquette County in August.
"It wasn't so much a shock - it was more of a disappointment," he said. "Anytime you can race in your hometown for your home crowd and sleep in your own bed and get prepared for a race of such stature - I mean last year it was the Michigan State Championships - it holds a lot of value.
"It was definitely a disappointment to see such a big race leave our area."
Now Gauthier is focusing his efforts on his individual goals as well as the future of the club.
He is competing in both regional and national races at this point, and is also planning on competing in the national championships in Sun Valley, Idaho, this summer. There is also the Ore to Shore race scheduled this year for Aug. 13.
On top of races, Gauthier has high hopes for the still developing Culver's team.
"My plan as the director of this team last year was to get it up and running, to get the recognition and sponsorship money rolling in so we can sponsor some guys," he said.
"In the future I have the plan to create a women's team and a junior team, but we're too young in our development to spread that much money around right now.
"We don't have that youth development but it is definitely in the plans."
While Culver's is invite only, it participates directly with the Range Mountain Bike Club. As of recently, the two groups have ammased a large amount of interest for mountain biking in the area. They hold rides weekly on Wednesday nights, which have proven popular in recent weeks.
"On a nice night, we can have upwards of a hundred people show up to one of our rides. The popularity of the sport is growing and the interest is there and it only helps in our town of west Ishpeming and Ishpeming," Gauthier said.
The two groups stick mainly to the Range Mountain Bike Trails for riding, which spans from Negaunee to west Ishpeming and offer more than 60 miles of single-track biking trails.
Luckily for the mountain and road biking enthusiasts in the area, there is no shortage of scenic routes and quality trails in the area and the entire U.P.
At least all these trees, mountains and mud puddles make dealing with the loss of such a unique local race as the Superior Bike Fest just a little bit easier.
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