Category: Uncategorized (Page 1 of 2)

Winter Trail Grooming at DTE Energy Foundation Trail!

DTE Snow Fox

Please Help Support the Costs of Winter Trail Grooming at DTE Energy Foundation Trail

Please purchase a grooming badge and sticker from us for $25 if you use the groomed trails at DTE this winter.  All badge proceeds go into grooming costs – fuel, equipment maintenance, etc.  Grooming badges will be mailed out on Friday of each week.  Please display them proudly, hanging them from your saddle, pack or jacket so that everyone can see you are a supporter!

Purchase DTE Trail Grooming Badge

https://squareup.com/store/PotoMBA/

This winter, the Potawatomi Mountain Biking Association is embarking on an effort to give DTE Energy Foundation Trail users an epic “Four Season” trail experience.

We have planned out three groomed loops at DTE to give fat tire bikers, cross-country skiers and snowshoers the ultimate winter flow trail experience. The three loops will include all of the Green Lake Loop, the “lowland” parts of Big Kame just west of Green Lake Loop, and (hopefully!) all of the 8 mile Winn Loop which formally opened last August. These three groomed loops – Green Lake (5.2 miles), Kame Lowlands (just over 1 mile) and Winn Loop (8 miles) – will provide just over 14 miles of winter groomed trail to explore.

Grooming costs money!

The Poto Chapter uses a snowmobile and a recently purchased Snowdog track sled to groom with two different propriety singletrack groomers designed by Helzemco, a design, prototyping and fabricating engineering firm located just north of Chelsea. The Snowdog groomer cost around $4,000. Add to this the costs of fuel for the groomers and parts, maintenance and labor, and grooming becomes a worthwhile, but costly endeavor! For this reason, we are asking you, our groomed trail users, for targeting giving to fund the costs of grooming at DTE. If you are a regular groomed trail user at DTE, please consider donating to the cause. This is best done by clicking below and paying directly into our DTE Trail Grooming Fund.

The groomed portions of the trail have just recently been marked with maps and directions. Look for signage and maps on the trail and at the trail head off M-52. We will also soon be identifying each of the three loops with the DTE Winter Trail Groom Arctic Fox logo on this page. Green Loop will be marked with fluorescent green versions of the logo, Kame Lowlands with fluoro blue and Winn with fluoro orange. We will also be posting more information on groomed trail etiquette on the trail head kiosk.

What is “Winter Groomed Trail Etiquette”?

When sufficient snowfall exists on the trail (typically 4”-5” or more) such that it would impede regular foot and bike use, we will be grooming the trail to provide for a hard, compacted trail tread (surface). While this trail tread is firm, it still does not lend itself to normal season foot and bike tire use. Normal foot use will “post hole” (create deep depressions) and normal bike tire use (under 3.8”) will “pizza cut” (create deep, meandering channels) in the groomed tread, rendering it less-than-satisfying for all users. For this reason, when trail is groomed, it is:

ONLY OPEN FOR USE BY FAT TIRE BIKERS, CROSS-COUNTRY SKIERS AND SNOWSHOERS.

The equipment utilized for these uses all create “floatation” which suspend the user on the top of the trail tread without “breaking through”. We respectfully ask that normal foot and narrower tire mountain bikes stay off the groomed trail and turn their use to the plethora of other non-groomed trails and pathways in the local area. Fat tire bikes should be over 3.8” in width, and run under 10 p.s.i. in each tire (around 5 p.s.i. is typical).

For updates on groomed trail conditions throughout the winter, please visit our DTE Trail Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/dtetrail

DTE Trail – Winter Snow Grooming Map (PDF Document)

Enjoy your winter trail experience!

Follow link below to donate to the DTE Trail Grooming Fund.

Donate to the DTE Trail Grooming Fund

https://squareup.com/store/PotoMBA/

Fat-Fest Bike Race

Saturday, January 26, 2019 at 10 AM – 3 PM

Join us for a fat filled day of racing and fun. Support the Poto Chapter with this fundraiser race. All profits will go directly to the Poto Chapter. The course will be groomed provided we have snow. We plan on utilizing Pinckney recreations campground, the closed off portion of silver hill road, silver lake’s beach, and of course we will head out on the ice. No snow? No problem! If we don’t have snow we will set up a fat cross style race, really we want any excuse to get outside and have some fun while supporting our favorite group of mountain bikers. Registration is open. There will be an “A Group” race (45 minutes plus a lap) and a B Group race (30 minutes plus a lap)

Register on BikeReg – Poto Fat-Fest Bike Race

Facebook Event Page – https://www.facebook.com/events/2163087880596675/

Hosted by Plot-Gnar Promotions, Wheels in Motion, Potawatomi Mountain Bike Association

Location: 8555 Silver Hill Rd, Pinckney, MI 48169, USA

Adopt a Trail Segment – Adopters Needed!!!

Did you know that the Poto MBA’s trail maintenance needs are higher than EVER before?

1) Our chapter has more trail mileage than ever before! AWESOME!!! But, it’s a significant increase in maintenance for an extremely small volunteer base.

2) We still have trail to build at DTE. But, the Green Lake and Big Kame loops are now well established and have transitioned into maintenance mode.

3) Lastly, many of our chapter’s flagship trails are on state land where precautions are in place to protect the threatened Massasauga rattlesnake. What does this mean for us? We have to maintain the trail corridors on a much more frequent basis, and this is a SIGNIFICANT amount of work. More than ever before. The TC’s really need help with this.

Trail coordinators are seeking trail section adopters, regular mowing help, and routine maintenance at the Poto MBA trails listed below:

Poto

Brighton

Morton-Taylor

Sharon Mills

We are actively seeking YOUR help. This means you! And your brother. And your friends. And their friends, too. If you would like to help, please send an email to volunteer@3.23.157.82 and indicate which trail you want to help maintain. Your message will be forwarded to the appropriate Trail Coordinator.

Help is needed at DTE Energy Foundation Trail, too! For DTE, we have developed  maps (Green Lake map and Big Kame map) for section adoption and a Sign Up Genius for volunteers. Reserve your section today before it’s gone!! You may also email volunteer@dtetrail.org if you have questions specifically about maintenance needs at DTE.

Never volunteered before? Not sure what a section adopter means? You can click here for a reference guide.

Thanks for volunteering! Don’t forget to log your volunteer hours! Tracking the time you contribute to a trail and reporting it is one of the most important things you can do to help us build and maintain great relationships with land managers.

Bike Alliance of Washtenaw

The Potawatomi Mountain Biking Association is proud to announce our partnership with Bicycle Alliance of Washtenaw. Their mission is to foster better bicycling opportunities and outcomes in and around the greater Washtenaw area by sharing the collective resources and knowledge of area organizations and enthusiasts. Look for future Poto chapter events on the official BAW calendar.

BAW has a a local summit planned on February 11th in Ann Arbor during which they will discuss actionable solutions for the upcoming year around the themes of Community, Culture, Education, and Infrastructure. Consider participating in the summit to bring some mountain biking perspective to the table. This would be an excellent opportunity to have a break out session to discuss trail ettiquette education, for example. Hope to have some Poto MBA representation there.

BAW website: https://www.bikewashtenaw.org/

Summit: https://www.facebook.com/events/353365395132733??ti=ia

Abominable Snowman Ride 2017

bumble

Abominable Snowman Ride 2017

December 9, 2017, 12 p.m.

Event content: Join us at the 2017 Abominable Snowman Ride at HIGH NOON on Saturday, December 9th at the Glenbrook Yurt in Pinckney Recreation Area. Ride as much or as little of the Poto trail as you would like. There are many options! Woody will have chili ready for the riders and he’ll have the fire going. The griddle will be ready as well for any hot dogs you’d like to bring. Cold temps and snow have been ordered for the weekend. Please bring wood to help keep the fire burning into the evening.

9th Annual Black Friday MTB Ride

Register for the 9th Annual Potawatomi MBA Black Friday MTB Ride

Join the POTO Chapter as they lead a fun group ride on Black Friday. After the ride Wheels In Motion will provide pizza and beer! Come out to the 9th Annual Black Friday MTB Ride at Rolling Hills and Hewens Creek Parks in Ypsilanti Township on Friday 11/24 at 10 AM. This will be a no-drop group ride and is a great chance for novice MTBer’s to get exposure to single track riding and be a fun way to burn off that Thanksgiving feast and get a jump start on getting fit for 2018. The ride will be about 14 miles long covering ~6.0 miles at Hewens Creek and ~7.0 miles at Rolling Hills along with some connecting road & trail between the two parks. For those who haven’t ridden or rarely ride at either trail, Hewens Creek is a flat, winding ride through meadows and new growth forest which is great for beginning riders. The RHP trail on the other hand twists and turns through 4+ miles of forest and rolling hills that provide a great opportunity to improve your bike handling skills and 2.5+ miles of open meadows. The 1.2-mile West Meadows loop on the west side of RHP includes beautiful open meadows and some fun pump-track like riding on the Munger Mounds.

Meet at the Rolling Hills Lodge at 9:45 AM and then we will head out by 10-10:15 AM. After the ride, we will have some pizza and refreshments at The Lodge at about 12:30 PM. Rain date will be Saturday 11/25 at 10 AM.

Please register in advance at Event Brite to attend so a good estimate of riders can be made for the pizza and beverages.

Register for the 9th Annual Potawatomi MBA Black Friday MTB Ride

Look for changes in schedule on the Rolling Hills or Hewens Creek forums on the MMBA website or the Poto MBA Facebook page or Poto MBA Twitter account.

Please park in the MTB trail head parking lot: enter the park, go straight through the traffic circle and park in the first lot on your right next to a big pavilion ~1/4 mile west of the circle. The Lodge will be about 200 yards away on your left.

There will be a gate charge to enter RHP. It is a Washtenaw County Park so if you already have WCP sticker you are good to go.

Last but definitely not least, we have to thank DeWight and crew at Wheels in Motion for supporting the MTB community by sponsoring this event and paying for the food and refreshments since its inaugural event in 2009

Batman Ride

Batman_Poto_RideRide the Poto, backwards, at night on October 13th! The Batman Ride will be staging at the Silver Lake Parking lot. Arrive at 7:00pm and ride at 7:30pm. We will have a first group of faster riders doing the full loop, and a second group of “normal” riders doing part of the trail. After the ride, we will have a campfire and typically riders bring food to share. Come out and ride the Poto backwards with lights!

What you should bring:
1. light
2. back-up light
3. cell phone
4. trail map, tools, survival gear (just kidding – no man left behind!)
5. food/beverages/change of clothes for post ride

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