Category Archives: Uncategorized

The weather today and tomorrow shows high temperatures and a rain/snow mix. For the next few days the trails will likely be a sloppy mess if temps are above freezing and and ice luge if they are below freezing. Sunday … Continue reading →

Word out of Big M today is that conditions are similar to what we saw over the weekend. Hard pack and fast rolling where there is still a base, icy in places where the base is thin. There is finally … Continue reading →

The Outer Loop is hard pack and fast rolling with some icy patches. Icy spots are primarily on the section known as Road Monkey / The Outback where the snow cover has been thin. The Beginner Loop is hard pack … Continue reading →

Trail held up well this week. Only frozen footprints on the north side. And they weren’t too bad. Rest of trails super fun.

Reports from Big M today are that the trail is fast and firm with some icy patches when the temperatures are below freezing. Thank you to all who have planned your rides during the colder parts of the day. Looks … Continue reading →

With temperatures hovering at freezing or above this week please take care when riding the trails that anyone grooms really. From Marquette to Grand Rapids we’re trying to hold on to our base until some more snow is in the … Continue reading →

Still experimenting with the snow dog so I went out and did a hot lap just pulling a large truck tire. We will see how that works. Just a reminder to Riders new to the sport, we appreciate fat bikes … Continue reading →

Big M received several inches of fresh snow last night! The Outer Loop was groomed today and it is expected it will set up nicely. The Beginner Loop was groomed with the same track sled used for the Outer Loop … Continue reading →

All the trails, hiking and biking, got at least one pass. Snow Dog ran great, right up until the end and then some fuel line popped off. Didn’t burst into flames, yet. And is parked WAY out back… Here’s a … Continue reading →

A few people made it out to Big M yesterday and reports came back that we received about another inch of snow. The base in still in good shape and the trail was described as fast and grippy with worry … Continue reading →

The picture is from Saturday, but we just got another 2 inches of fluffy powder (ungroomable) but three of us are riding at 8:30 this morning, so that should pack it down pretty good and it’s supposed to stay cold … Continue reading →

Big M has not yet been groomed, but it is ridden in. Reports from today were that there are about 3 inches of light fluffy snow out there that is easy to cruise through. Any icy crunchy base from the … Continue reading →

Seeing Erin’s post about Big M and just having walked a section of the SFT (and deciding that it needs to be ridden ASAP) I thought I’d chime in about the Ludington conditions as well. Trail looks to be mostly … Continue reading →

All of the Big M winter fat bike trails have been ridden in over the past week (Beginner Loop, Outer Loop, and Fire Tower). As usual, the beginner loop will be quite bumpy until we receive more snow. The outer … Continue reading →

A group of us rode Big M this past Saturday morning and over all we are quite pleased with how the base is holding given the recent warm temperatures! Some areas are a bumpy and the Southern section of has … Continue reading →

Yesterday the trail received about an inch of snow on top of the existing hard packed surface. Overall the trail should be in great shape for Friday night / Saturday riding with potentially an icy spot here or there. The … Continue reading →

A rider who was able to get out and around all parts of Big M yesterday reported that the trail is in good shape after the unseasonably warm weekend! Thank you to all who used lower tire pressure and good … Continue reading →

I think mornings will be the best option for the next two days, then we get some snow and some cold and should be back in business. I think everyone that got out this weekend, especially at Big M, enjoyed … Continue reading →

The Beginner Loop was groomed on Tuesday afternoon and is in excellent shape! The Outer Loop was groomed Wednesday afternoon and is expected to have set up nicely over night with the cold temperatures! The Fire Tower Loop has not … Continue reading →

After last night’s snow and tomorrow’s dropping temperatures I decided to go out and do a quick groom of the school forest walking and biking trails. They should set up perfectly overnight with 2 to 4 days of magnificent riding … Continue reading →

Big M received several inches of snow last night. The Beginner Loop will be groomed tonight. The Outer Loop groomers will be able to get out tomorrow night (Wednesday).

I went out Sunday night and tuned up the walking trails, all of them, for the hikers and skiers. our trails, with the exception of the outer loop on the north side were in pretty fine shape all weekend after … Continue reading →

The Outer Loop was last groomed on Friday night and most of it is in excellent shape! See photo below! I received a few reports today that the South West side was on the soft side and lower tire pressure … Continue reading →

Mike Reilly and I got all the groomers, the Ludington-based groomers, repaired on Friday, went to a fabulous Valentine’s Day/birthday party, and of course I went out to groom.As it turns out a couple of beers and a couple of … Continue reading →

The Outer Loop was last groomed on Monday. I had the chance to ride it on Wednesday night and thought it set up pretty darn well! There was a soft spot here and there in the clearings and the Road … Continue reading →

Well I started with good intentions… Tracksled broke down about 20 minutes in to the groom, we’re looking at it at lunch. Just got inner loop of north side done. Went to get Rokon, got through the walking trails and … Continue reading →

The Outer Loop was groomed yesterday. The snow is still thin in the low lying areas such as Road Monkey (aka The Outback) making for some bumpy conditions. The track sled also left a few lumps of snow on the … Continue reading →

The biking trails of the Ludington school forest were groomed last night, it didn’t get quite as cold as it was supposed to but it should still be rideable and any and all bike traffic will certainly help the situation. … Continue reading →

The Outer Loop is in great shape. Overall the trail is hardpack and fast! The section named Road Monkey (aka The Outback) is a bit bumpy. The Beginner Loop is bumpy due to not enough snow and some frozen footprints. … Continue reading →

The trail is in mint condition! With highs near 34 degrees today and Saturday, we expect it to hold up. Time to get out and enjoy it! The forecast for Sunday shows a high near 40 degrees, so please keep … Continue reading →

The full outer loop was groomed last night and the groomer noted that the trail conditions may be a bit soft. Some locals are planning to ride it in over the next few days. With some low pressure tire tracks … Continue reading →

All of the SFT trails got a groom of one sort or another. Some got the roller, some got just the ice fishing sled and some got the pan. It didn’t get as cold as it was supposed to, but … Continue reading →

The Outer Loop was last groomed on Tuesday night. Groomers attempted to groom the Fire Tower Loop last night, but were unable to do so due to heavy/wet snow conditions. Overall we anticipate the trails to be soft this weekend … Continue reading →

The track sled is back in action! Groomers are headed out tonight and will focus on getting the outer loop in excellent riding condition. The Fire Tower Loop will not be groomed tonight. There are plans to groom it later … Continue reading →

Joe Sanders took his first laps on the tracksled today. Grooming the walking trails of the SFT south side. I took the Rokon and a tire and cleaned up the hiking tracks and posted some signs at lunch. It should … Continue reading →

I got all of the singletrack trail’s a path through the disc off and I did a bunch of the walking trails as well with the track sled. It’s currently blowing 3o knots outside so we’ll see what develops but … Continue reading →

Big M received 6-8 inches of fresh fluffy snow and it is still coming down. The forecast says it will continue through tomorrow. The beginner loop was groomed this morning and will be again this afternoon. The outer loop has … Continue reading →

Trail conditions are good. We survived the meltdown, there is still snow, and the trails are pretty smooth overall. The forecast calls for cold temperatures and fresh snowfall over the next few days which should make for some good weekend … Continue reading →

Half of trail was groomed on Sunday before the track sled experienced unfortunate mechanical issues putting it out of commission. Groomed sections include Corkpine, Bullwhacker, and the Fire Tower loop down to Steinberg Rd. The remaining portion of the Northern … Continue reading →

We didn’t get quite enough snow to groom but we got the perfect amount to ride in again. There are at least three sets of tracks through the school forest trails and Memorial tree and at least two sets of … Continue reading →

The trails are currently in decent shape with some patches of grey ice. There is supposed to be a big storm Saturday night and we are tentatively planning to groom on Sunday.

Light fresh snow over the groomed trail made any icy spots grippy and the trail rolled really well. There are warmer temps and a rain snow mix in the forecast for Thursday and Friday, so riding should be avoided. The … Continue reading →

Four riders laid down tracks in the Ludington SFT trail system today in prep for tomorrow’s Wednesday night ride. It is supposed to stay below freezing and there is a potential for some more snow so the Ludington school forest … Continue reading →

I’m sure we’ll get one or two more blasts of winter after spring break, so we might be able to groom something up for a short period. But for now, I think we’re done… And the beach isn’t all that … Continue reading →

SFT is amazing and should stay consistent until noon or so on Saturday. Literally the best trail since we’ve been grooming. Park downtown and enter trail at A on this map. Only the trails in the SFT are groomed, the … Continue reading →

Hopefully we don’t get a bunch of snow tonight. Got around most of trails with roller ’til I broke hitch on the ice fishing sled. Then I had to go get tires to finish.

Waiting for the blizzard to die down to see what happened out in the woods during the latest Polar Vortex-like blast. We sure had a great weekend though. Hope everyone got a chance to get out while they were so … Continue reading →

The outer loop and little loop were groomed late in the week only to get covered by 4-7 more inches Friday and Saturday night. The trail did get ridden in by those that worked hard to get around the Udell. … Continue reading →

All of the school forest trails at this point are dialed in, five stars, fantastic. We are however of course supposed to get 1 to 3 inches of snow tonight which should be fine to ride in Saturday morning.

$20 bucks at Briggs and the groomer was back in action. Did all the bike trails and most of the walking trails before I smiled clutch two. Some poor soul rode the entire system on what appeared to be a … Continue reading →

Well my best efforts to groom 5.2 miles of trail for my brother’s 52 birthday ended when the bold holding the sled to the groomer snapped as I crossed Bryant Road this morning, .5 miles into my grooming run. So … Continue reading →

So I was a bit optimistic with my last report. The warm day and rain never really materialized so trail conditions stayed at “mid-winter” and didn’t harden up into spring snow. The trail got pretty chewed up on Saturday from … Continue reading →

Got out and groomed everything with the tracksled and two tires while it was warm. Should set up nicely for the weekend. 2-3 pounds of air and you should be good. Happy Valentine’s Day.

The little loop and outer loop were groomed on Wednesday. There was 4-6″ of more snow since the day before. Thursday is supposed to be well above freezing with some drizzle but temps are supposed to drop down Friday so … Continue reading →

4 inches of wonderful snow was groomed Tuesday afternoon just in time for a forecasted 4 more inches Tuesday night. Both the little and the outer loop got the treatment. Working hard to make the upcoming weekend just as good … Continue reading →

Just laid down a set of tracks so that when the snow stops there is a recent track to go through.

The struggle is real but we’re thinking we’ve got this thing as good as it can get considering the situation we just got out of and are getting into. Little loop is good to go. Wide tires and low pressures. … Continue reading →

We’re chomping at the bit to go ride ourselves and enjoy the trails, here’s an update. We’ve spent all week getting the trails back into shape after the big storm. Skiing, tracksledding, snowshoeing and now we have Dave out with … Continue reading →

We are slowly opening up the Ludington School Forest trails, both hiking and biking trails. We might get them open before the rain comes, but then we’ll have to close them again. Nothing is rideable at this point. Might try … Continue reading →

No promises about this weekend. Think of it this way… from Thursday on we’ll be working as much as we can to get trails as rideable as possible. In other words, snow shoe or ski. Give er a shot but … Continue reading →

We’re doing our best to make things rideable but it may take the better part of the week. We’re doing multiple passes without weights and pans just so we can get the 12+inches of snow to cooperate. Maybe by the … Continue reading →

Killer grooming session tonight. In a good way. Got 100% groomed. Rescued roller and smoothed out most of the walking trails with 50# of weight in the pan. Then Got around north side with the roller and 20# pounds so … Continue reading →

How quickly a trail can turn to mash potatoes and how quickly there’s no evidence of a soul ever riding it let alone 50 racers. Between the end the race yesterday and today, Big M received another 2-3 inches of … Continue reading →

Wow….finally a dump. The Udell Hills received nearly a foot of freshies this week. Even nearby Wellston didn’t get this much. Everything is groomed and seems to be setting up quite well. The roller stopped rolling because the snow was … Continue reading →

Update – The groomer is back in action, and everything has been groomed with the exception of the northern section of the orange loop. Most everything the southern section of the north south through trail is also not been groomed, … Continue reading →

Everything but the two southern loops, the loops south of Bryant, have been groomed. I’m not sure how it will set up, the snow was really weird of course, but it’s better than nothing. And we’re supposed to get a … Continue reading →

Perfect condish, tasty barrels all weekend. Augh….tasty barrels.

Trail is in pretty fair shape. There are some patches of ice, very limited, but they do catch you by surprise. The balance is thin snow or dirt. Very rideable, 3.75 out of five stars.

Just got back from the evening ride and the trail is in great shape. Just enough fluff on top to provide some grip but not enough to turn it into a slugfest. Forecast for the weekend has temps staying below … Continue reading →

To say it’s been a light year for the groomers would be an understatement. Big M has only needed to be groomed once (late last week) and so far this week, can be ridden in without grooming. Temps were high … Continue reading →

Ludington School Forest is amazing right now. Just enough snow to smooth it out. With temps rising to above freezing right now rides before noon are probably your way bet. That pic is from Tuesday, we rode in another 3” … Continue reading →

I set tracks through the Ludington school forest and the disc golf this morning. The trails didn’t get as much snow as the roads, I think most of that stuck to the trees, but there is an inch to 2 … Continue reading →

Ludington received about 3 inches of snow Thursday night and a group of seven or eight of us road in the SFT loops. The trail Saturday morning should be fantastic. Hopefully we continue to get couple inches of snow per … Continue reading →

Looks like the groomer 2.0 for the Ludington School Forest is ready. Apparently it’s shorter and a little lighter. Excited.

Thanks to the efforts of many of the members of the Shoreline Cycling Club, our section of the NCT in Lake, Mason and Manistee Counties is open.  A quick tally of man-hours driving home last night, purely a guess, but … Continue reading →

I thought I was done grooming, guess not… The Ludington School Forest Trails, with the exception of the Orange Loop, and a TON of disc golf were groomed this morning. We’ll ride in the Orange Loop tonight and then if … Continue reading →

The outer loop and little loop each got a groom with the recent dump we received Monday night. The jury is still out on how it’s going to set up but we’re still hoping this weekend will rock with night … Continue reading →

Should be free of ice pretty soon, then, a couple days to dry out and that’s it. Thanks everyone that used the trails this winter we only had one instance of riders riding when they shouldn’t, but I think those … Continue reading →

Our snow took a big hit over the last few days. Lots of ice now so studs are mandatory.

Kudos to the folks in Ludington. Everyone knew well enough to stay off the trails Wednesday and Thursday. I put a fine tooth comb to the slush that was the Ludington School Forest trail system last night. It should set … Continue reading →

Right now we are shaping up to have great spring snow riding this weekend! We groomed Tuesday evening and I hoping no one ruts it out between then and when temps are supposed to drop Thursday evening. We will regroom … Continue reading →

The little loop and outer loop were groomed Tuesday evening.

Trails are awesome. I think we’ll be fine through this little thaw Wed and Thurs, just might not be able to ride in the late afternoons. Thursday afternoon might be sketchy, just go with 2-3 PSI to start and if … Continue reading →

First full run with new track sled. Trails closed now. But should be good Monday after work.

At lunch yesterday I threw a frame around an ice fishing sled we had as a groomer a while back, it’s been in my garage as we’ve not had a winter like this since we started grooming operations. The idea … Continue reading →

The little loop is decent but the foot of snow we got last weekend does not pack very well and the outer loop is soft. Uphills are currently almost impossible unless you are only running 1-2 psi. We are planning … Continue reading →

The outer and little loops were both groomed last night. Seems like the trail is finally setting up really well. There was less than an inch of very light fluffy snow overnight but that should not degrade things much if … Continue reading →

It is amazing what just pulling a truck tire around trails with a solid base can do. I was the first one around so, the first pass was soft but very rideable. When I went back over my tracks for … Continue reading →

Brutal grooming session tonight, all I could pull, after getting stuck twice with groomer in the first 100 yards, was the truck tire. So I got around the trails with that, moving the snow off. Hopefully that will set up … Continue reading →

The outer loop and little loop are both groomed but there was 8+” overnight so things are soft. Going to try to groom tomorrow and get some better compaction.

It’s kind of killing me not to groom the Ludington School Forest this morning but the snow is really grainy and it would not set up by the time people would probably start riding it. So, dust off your XC … Continue reading →

The trail held up well through the different thaws over the last few weeks and as of last Sunday afternoon we still had about 99% snow coverage with a couple bare spots and some patches of grey ice. As of … Continue reading →

I went over the Ludington school forest trails with a variety of grooming apparati. When it freezes tonight it should be pretty good there are several spots that are glare ice, so studded tires, if you have them, would be … Continue reading →

Great primer on fat tire etiquette. Starting mid day Friday through Saturday evening the forecast indicates the snow will be above freezing and very soft. Please do not ride during that window of time. Sunday is looking like it should … Continue reading →

The little loop and big loop were groomed. Firetower loop was not groomed. 100% snow coverage and no ice! Riding should be great tomorrow. Snow pack should easily make it through this next warm patch. Sunday morning is looking awesome … Continue reading →

Looking at the forecast I do not know that there will be any grooming done this week in the Ludington school forest. It looks like Riders have stayed off the trails during this thaw for the most part, the few … Continue reading →

Right now it is looking like riding at the Big M is going to be amazing if you can catch it in the mornings Saturday and/or Sunday. Friday night and Saturday night are both supposed to get below freezing so … Continue reading →

All of the fat bike trails were groomed yesterday and should be in great shape. Just a quick reminder, when snow temperatures go above freezing please stay off the fat bike trails to avoid creating icy ruts.

All trails groomed last night, and I hit the walking trails as hard as I could, but they are still very rough from walking. It looks like there is a two day warm up in the future this weekend so … Continue reading →

I went out late last night and groomed the Ludington school forest walking trails with the drag to try and knock down some of the footprints, the biking trails were very good so I didn’t do much of them. I … Continue reading →