2022/23 Winter Trails Report
While this winter hasn’t been as long and snowy as we’d like, it did give us some solid conditions for fat biking! A huge shout out to the volunteer groomers for building multiple bases (the hard part) and working with what we were given. Riley (grooming sponsored by Team Velo; thanks!), Mosquito Creek, & Owasippe all had perfect conditions at one point or another.
Another shout out for all the folks who purchased grooming stickers this winter! The financial support keeps the machines running and the stickers remind all the volunteers how much their work is appreciated. Stickers are still available for purchase here!
Prep those snow dances for later this year!
Winter trail report farewell 2022
And just like that, another Spring is here! Winter 2022 brought lots of snow, great temps, plenty of sun, and some really, really, rrreeeaaallly good riding throughout the MEMBA system!
Winter trail report: 3/4/22
Hopefully you found some of the good conditions that were around last weekend because it’s looking like we’ve reached the end! If you want to get out on the ice, today’s likely your last chance. The good news is that 50s this weekend should be a nice kickstart to making our way to spring riding! We’ll be back in freeze/thaw territory which means fragile trails, so please take care and we’ll all be kicking up dirt in no time!
Tonight’s final Friday Night Lights ride at Owasippe has been cancelled. We’re grateful to have at least gotten one in this year and look forward to trying again next year! Are you interested in Friday night rides throughout the rest of the year (at any trails)? Let us know!
Winter trail report: 2/25/22
Last weekend’s bits of snow ended up making (some) trails surprisingly rideable! The mixture of sun, upper-freezing temps, and some more snow late this week should make for a decent weekend of trail conditions (at least at Owasippe)! Keep in mind there’s likely still plenty of ice despite what you see; ride accordingly.
Winter trail report: 2/18/22
Say it ain’t so! Wednesday’s warmth and rain really went to work on all the trails, causing the cancellation of the Friday Night Lights ride at Owasippe and postponement of our Winter Trail Celebration at Riley on Saturday 😔 Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more details as we will definitely not be skipping the opportunity to celebrate all of the groomers’ hard work, whether there’s snow on the trails or not!
Winter trail report: 2/11/22
Hard to say how the trails are handling last night’s peculiar weather, but safe to say today’s not the day to hit the trails while temps are in the upper 30s! We’ll get out and groom tonight ahead of the refreeze to clean things before the weekend where we can (Riley, MC, & Owasippe confirmed). The conditions below are how things were running as of Thursday.
Next Friday (2/18) is Owasippe Friday Night Lights followed by our Winter Trail Celebration at Riley on Saturday (2/19) from 10am-noon! Let’s celebrate winter trails and grooming. MEMBA volunteers, groomers and board members will be on hand with cocoa and cookies eager to meet with folks who are using the trail. Be sure to stop by and say hello before or after your bike, ski or snowshoe!
Winter trail report: 2/4/22
MEMBA is proud to announce a partnership with Team Velo City Cycles! Team Velo City Cycles is sponsoring winter grooming of Riley Trails for the 2021-2022 season via a generous donation towards winter grooming expenses. Riley’s been in great shape this winter thanks to an active grooming crew, if you haven’t had a chance to check it out, get out there!
Winter trail report: 1/28/22
Tonight is the first of three Friday Night Lights rides at Owasippe! As you know, the trail closes as dusk, so these three events are your only chance to ride Owasippe at night! Grab your lights, toss on an extra layer, and come check out what all the buzz is about.
And to those of you that answered our call for snow dances: THANK YOU! Lots of fresh new snow around the whole network and once again, considerably different conditions from last week’s report! Pretty much everywhere is soft with all of the fresh snow, so drop down to a couple PSI and get out there!
Winter trail report: 1/21/22
tl;dr: Ice. Lots of ice. Snow dances, folks! That being said: the beach is looking 👌 from GH to Port Sheldon (prepare for some wind this weekend though)! In other news, we have our first winter trail report dedication! This week’s report is dedicated to the fine folks at Motion Dynamics Corporation. Have you gotten fat tires on the 14 miles of groomed bliss at Owasippe yet this winter?? Incredible, right?! That’s due to brand new grooming equipment we were able to purchase for the O with a generous donation from MDC! It’s community support like this that makes the trails around here so special and please help us give a huge thanks to MDC for keeping us rolling all winter long!
Winter trail report: 1/14/22
Happy Friday and welcome to the long weekend! Winter trail report #2 brings us the results of a frigid start to the week, midweek meltdown, and late-week freeze. The trails seem to have made it through the warmup without significant damage and the silver lining is that those temps made for lovely base building!