A little snow wasn’t going to deter this bicyclist who is powering through the fluffy stuff on a fat-tire bike. Fat-tire bikes have allowed bicycle enthusiasts the ability to ride year round and races like the Lutsen Norpine Classic are now being held for these riders.
A dedicated section of Cook County cross-country trails are now open for both bikers and skiers — between Ski Lift Road in Tofte and Cascade Lodge near Lutsen.
Biking advocates, including Lutsen 99er co-founder Mike Larson of Cascade Vacation Rentals, have been working with the Norpine Trail Association board of directors for two years to broaden the use of cross-country ski trails in Cook County to include fat-tire bikes — the first area in the state to do so.
“Part of our challenge was that the laws that govern these trails don’t address bikes or how bikes should pay for the use of the trails,” says Larson. “They were written long before fat-tire bikes existed. I give a lot of credit to the Norpine Trail Association board for being pioneers in this arena.”
The first step was to open the trail between Lutsen Mountains and Cascade Lodge (between Lutsen and Grand Marais), which is about 16 miles long, for the first Norpine Fat Bike Classic last year. Now they’ve agreed to share the trail for an entire year with some stipulations. See this web page for more details: www.visitcookcounty.com/winter-trail-conditions/ winter-biking-trail-conditions/
“This is a big win for fat bikers,” says Peter Spencer, race director of the Norpine Fat Bike Classic. “To have the trails open for an entire year – not just a few days – is huge. We’re really grateful, and hope that this proves that bikers and skiers can co-exist.”
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