Winter trail conditions are still great if you ride in the morning.
CAMBA Country got a late February frosting of snow, so the forest is just gorgeous again. Our groomers are back out packing down the tread on the 65 miles or so of singletrack we maintain all winter.
With the forecast calling for sub-freezing nights to keep the trails firm and afternoon temperatures in the 40s, the riding will be best in the morning, or at night for those with good lights. If you live south of us where the groomed trails will not be rideable soon and want to get some great end-of-season fat biking in, I encourage you to get up here soon. Those are all signs of spring, so please check our trail conditions page before you head out to the trails to ensure you get the best experience.
While you are perusing our website, be sure to check out the Events Page, as registration is open for a bunch of fun races, clinics and rides. All of these outdoor events will have Covid-19 protocols in place to ensure participants are safe. This will mean wearing masks at registration/bib pick-up, and in the initial start areas. The earlier season events will require organizers to have little or no time spent indoors. If you are interested but still concerned about your health, be sure to look at the precautions planned for each event as different organizers have different safety plans.
This year CAMBA has added a new Men’s Weekend MTB Clinic, which is filling up quickly.
Registration is still open for the Women’s south clinic.
If you do want to register for any of these, I suggest you do so soon. Pent-up demand for in-person events is driving early registration. In fact, CAMBA’s North Women’s Weekend Clinic up in Ashwabay is already sold out. The South Women’s Clinic and brand new Men’s Weekend MTB Clinic still have some openings, but will both certainly fill, so sign up today if you are interested.
If you have done one of these clinics in the past, you know riders of all abilities have fun and improve their skills. We will have to make some changes this year, moving the indoor learning and meals outdoors. Despite the changes, we know you will have a great time and be a better rider when you are done.
Beautiful fall colors, a choice gravel route, catered meals and full mechanical support make the Tour de Chequamegon sell out every year.
You should also register soon if you are interested in riding with me and the crew from Fyxation Bicycle Company on the Tour de Chequamegon Bikepacking Weekend. Even though that ride is not until the first weekend in October, this year spots have been reduced to 40 people to make camp less crowded. And the fully-supported weekend of fun touring some of the tastiest gravel in CAMBA Country typically sells out by the end of April every year anyway, even when we allow 50 people on the trip.
Racers aching to get off Zwift and actually try to pass real human beings riding actual bicycles that need air in the tires on doubletrack or fire roads should register for the Borah Epic and Gravel Epic, scheduled for June 5th this year. That event is limited to 1,000 people but was more than 30% full within days of registration opening. The Borah Epic was started by some of the Borah Teamwear crew down by Coon Valley who have cabins up this way, and they have been very generous supporters of the CAMBA Trails.
And once again registration is open for the Chequamegon MTB Festival, the granddaddy of mountain bike events in CAMBA Country. This year’s race will be Saturday, September 18th and the plans are to finish in downtown Cable with a huge outdoor party. Once again, the event organizers care as much about creating a fun race as they do about your health. They are working with local community and health officials on a safety plan with social distancing, mask and other necessary protocols in place.
With vaccines becoming easier to get and the outdoor events offering the safest ways to gather, the CAMBA crew has a few ideas for some other new events we might try to pull together yet this year, so stay tuned. Like you, we really miss getting together in person, but also care about the health of people who live, work and visit CAMBA Country. Hope to see you soon.