Preface: I spent 9 incredible days of riding in back-to-back exotic (for me) locations famous for their mountain bike trails. I’ll lay them out in the manner that makes sense to me with liberal bragging thrown in for good measure. Week 1 was in Copper Harbor, Michigan for a work retreat that included daily riding. For week 2 I got on a plane to meet up with old friends on a desert adventure we’d been planning for 6 months.

It’s damn dark up here at 6am, but there are a dozen bikes lined up on the fence outside and our tour guide is handing out maps. Aaron Rogers is our local guide, the president of the Copper Harbor Trails Club and viciously fast on the local dirt. I guess that’s how it is when you’ve built most of the trails yourself. Inside the lodge we’re eating breakfast, filling Camelbaks, making a last minute gear check and getting our layers on right: not too warm and not too cool for the early morning Michigan Upper Peninsula weather.

The trails. That’s what you want to hear about, right? First a word on the setting. I moved to the midwest (in winter. great idea) for work and have been trying a little of this and a little of that to get my fix of the type of singletrack riding I had grown used to back east in the Philadelphia area. Try as I might the fact remains: there is a lot of prairie around here. It can be great for things like a gravel metric ride, but big climbs and long descents are few and far between unless I want to do some serious highway miles to get them. And drive we did to get to Copper Harbor Michigan. Seven hours in the car through Wisconsin and then the Upper Peninsula to the tip-top of the finger that jabs into Lake Superior. The scenery was beautiful – we went through a tunnel of trees that was miles long, saw no less that three bald eagles, a coyote and many deer. If you’re doing a five day, four night trip like this a little driving won’t kill you, and I got to see some unfamiliar parts of the country that were rugged, remote and picturesque. OK, now on to the riding.

It’s amazing. Every damn last foot of singletrack was impressive. I’ll admit I’m a cheap date – give me a halfway decent bike, some dirt to roll on, and some trees to dodge and I’m happy. But the dozen people I was riding with had true skills, including the entire mountain bike development team responsible for bringing to life the rig that won the world downhill championships this year. If they were digging these runs, you know the trails are good. The terrain went from rocky, rooty big-drop downhill-type runs to cush cross country tracks through the pines. The finishing touches were being put on an A-line style run down from the top of the peak, right next to a set of boardwalk switchbacks that take you down (or up) the steep face of Keweenaw Mountain. With the right basket of technical riding skills you could lace together several days of grinding climbs and extended, beautifully flowing descents that leave you looking like this:

Folks, this is what “Bike Stoned” looks like

The photo above was taken at the bottom of a trail simply named Flow. Recently completed, it is a masterpiece of switchbacks, whoops, ripping ridge lines and the sweetest, plushest dirt I’ve ever rolled a knob on. We all looked like Dave when we reached the bottom: blissed out in the realization that this is work. On our final day we took advantage of the shuttle service available from Keweenaw Adventure Company. You can believe we chose Flow a few times that day. Throw in some descents of Woopidy Woo and we were all feeling just right.

My coworker estimated that over $30K of bikes were on this trailer

Did I mention the accolades? I’ve spent enough time praising these Michigan miles so here’s a ringing endorsement from IMBA (and they know about this sort of thing): Copper Harbor has the distinction of being one of their “Epic Rides.” That’s a hell of an honor since there are only 48 in the world that the association has designated. All you have to do is air up your tires, grab a map and hit the trails in this order: Copper Harbor Loop, Garden Brook, Woopidy Woo, Garden Brook, Blue Trail, Dza Beet, Here We Go, Ma Maki, Say Hello, Dza Beet, Simeh, De Deet, Red Trail, Clark Mine Road, Pauls Plunge, John Lincoln Green, Manganese Road, Ma Maki, Der we Went, Stairway to Heaven, Copper Harbor Loop to Trail Head. Do yourself a favor: check out the interactive map here and watch the videos that accompany most of the trails. I particularly like reminiscing about Stairway to Heaven.

So there you have it. If you’ve got the opportunity to get to the north country, or are looking for a centrally located destination for a sweet riding retreat, hit up Copper Harbor. You won’t be disappointed. There are rustic cabins to toast your riding buddies and tell tales by firelight at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, gear outfitting and shuttles at the Keweenaw Adventure Company, and tasty post-ride grub and beers to be had at the Mariner on the main strip in town. All in one spot for your riding pleasure. Bring your legs, your skills and your camera – they’ll all be well used up here.

Not only is mountain biking great for elementary school kids – it’s also helping addicts on the road to recovery in Rockford, MI. In partnership with the Grand Rapids police department, Guiding Light Mission created a program called “Recovery Riders” to help drug and alcohol addicts overcome the challenges of sobriety. The basic premise is that mountain biking can be tough – just like recovery – but in the end it’s both positive and rewarding. The group took its first trip yesterday to Luton Park for a ride.

If the participants are anything like the mountain bikers I know, they’ll soon be replacing their substance addictions with a new addiction: mountain biking. Not that that’s a bad thing – mountain biking every day is a great stress relief and increases physical fitness. I just hope there won’t be a need for mountain bikers anonymous in the future.

Singletracks member Outdoornut clued me in to the latest issue of IMBA Trail News where they talk about the 5 newest IMBA Epic trails added this year. Here’s a summary from east to west.

photo posted by rodrodriguez2003

Pinhoti Trail (North Georgia). The Pinhoti Trail is sorta like Kokopelli’s younger, forested brother with 100 miles of point-to-point singletrack linking some of the best riding spots in north Georgia. If you like technical riding with a decent amount of climbing, Pinhoti is your man.

photo posted by Outdoornut

Spruce Knob (Seneca, WV). Outdoornut gives Spruce Knob 5-stars and it’s easy to see why from the photos. The main 15-mile loop is comprised of technically demanding rocky and rooty singletrack set amid pristine scenery. IMBA helped get this area removed from the 2009 Wild Monongahela Act which would have prohibited mountain bikes in the area so ride it now and enjoy!

photo posted by copperhippie

Copper Harbor Trails (Copper Harbor, MI). This is actually the second trail in Michigan to receive IMBA Epic status and from what we’ve read here on singletracks the trail is “Totally AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”. Extensive wood bridges make this trail both sustainable AND fun to ride.

photo posted by dauw

Curt Gowdy State Park (Cheyenne, WY). We’re pretty stoked to see Rowdy Gowdy got the Epic nod after just a few years on the scene. The trails at Curt Gowdy have something for everyone and feature scenery that’s tough to beat.

photo posted by bstill30

Plains of Abraham (Mt. St. Helens, WA). Singletracks members may know this one as Smith Creek Epic but now that it’s an IMBA Epic I suppose it’s time to get prim and proper with the trail description. This is rugged, beautiful terrain and if you plan to tackle this one you may want to consider bstill30′s advice and pack “energy bars, warm clothes, and a flashlight for good measure.” Awesome.

Emerging from a dark tunnel on Gold Camp Road in Colorado Springs, CO.

We’ve profiled some unusual MTB races here in the past (ones that go through brewpubs, parking structures, etc.) but this is a new one for us: A mountain bike race through an underground mine in Greenland, MI. The course is a 4 mile loop that includes roughly half a mile underground where riders will be required to provide their own lights. One description of the underground portion I read said it would be tight and that tall riders may need to dismount in places (yikes!). No need to bring your GPS on this course

The AP even picked up this story and the race organizers are scrambling to organize more details due to the sudden interest in the race. These sites seem to have the best info at the moment: MMBA Northeast Chapter and ExploringTheNorth.com. Who’s up for an underground MTB race?