Moronacity

My hope of being inspired became a realization this weekend. Friday, I was invited on a night ride in Copper Harbor and turned that down in favor of a mighty filling dinner that my friend, Amanda, and I made. We chased it with some Cabernet Sauvignon and mocha cheesecake. THAT was followed by plenty of beer.

Saturday commenced the festivities for the Keweenaw Cup – the two-day cyclocross event split between Copper Harbor and Michigan Tech. The Copper Harbor course was at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge and was a tad brutal, so I rode my Jamis mountain bike instead of my Jake the Snake cross bike. I did not have a good race, and we’ll leave it at that.

Post-race, I grabbed my camera to get some photos of my team mates doing the men’s races. As I was heading out, I was invited to ride with some of my friends from Marquette and Ishpeming. I turned them down. After about fifteen minutes of seeing their little mountain biker congregation on the side of the course, and after being invited several times, I finally succumbed to their invite and led them on a tour da Copper Harbor.

We sped down Say Hello to the Ma Maki trail. We danced with death along the trail formerly known as Cliffs and Bridges and swooped down the Stairway to Heaven. Four trails and a long descent later, we found ourselves at the lowest point of the trail system at the bottom of Garden Brook. We climbed Garden Brook halfway to the epic trail in progress: the Brockway Mountain Trail.

Stairway to Heaven is a long stretch of trail, formerly known as Clyde’s Slide and Clyde’s Crack, that has been bridged to allow easier access and an alternate root to the trails from town.

The Brockway Trail is simply amazing! Aaron, our trail man, has spent most of the summer building this long trek that will eventually lead to Brockway Mountain. It is mostly climbing, of course, but the ride back is long, fast, and full of smooth, banked turns. I felt quite light and airy coming back down. The views from the trail are quite amazing as well. You can see the layered landscape of the hills from certain sections of the trail. Doing this ride near the end of peak color added so much to the already spectacular views.

After our descent along the Brockway Trail, we climbed the rest of the way up Garden Brook to the Mountain Lodge where the races were coming to an end. We decided to end our ride with the two trails that draw many visitors looking for a bit of abuse: the Red Trail and Paul’s Plunge.

I was shuttled up to the Mountain Lodge to my vehicle because my legs couldn’t pedal up any more hills. I headed back to town and concluded my Keweenaw Cup Saturday at The Pines/Zik’s Bar for a spaghetti dinner for the racers. We had some excellent entertainment and excellent beer for the rest of the night.

I did about 20 miles and three-and-a-half hours of riding that day. I was happy, to say the least. Day one of the Keweenaw Cup was finished, and day two had more joy to bring.

A view of Lake Medora, south of Copper Harbor.

I awoke, Sunday, rather groggily, and packed my things up to head back to Houghton for day two of the Keweenaw Cup at the Michigan Tech Trails. I began my day acquiring pictures of some spectacular views I’ve often witnessed on my way to and from Copper Harbor, but never actually stopped to enjoy.

To be continued . . .

Another spectacular view of Lake Medora.

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Today’s Menu

Breakfast
Cheese Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce from The Library

Lunch
Milkshake
Some Halloween candy

Dinner