MOUNTAIN BIKING
THE ORE TO SHORE
It's a drop from 1,400 feet in Naguenee to 600 feet in Marquette, but don't expect this race to be all downhill By Frida Waara
"The Ore-to-Shore could be the toughest 40-mile mountain bike race in the Midwest," says race director Scott Tuma.
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Like Wisconsin's Birkebeiner ski race in the winter and the Chequamegon Fat Tire Classic in the fall, the Ore-to-Shore Mountain Bike Epic is a sister to the technically challenging Noquemenon Ski Marathon held in Marquette County the last Saturday in January.
 "Over the past two years, Noquemenon racers have told us how terrific our trail is," says Tuma, who also serves as vice-president for the Superior Ski Club, host for both events. "It's time to see how it runs as a point-to-point mountain bike race."
Except for water crossings, the Ore-to-Shore mirrors the Noquemenon. And similar to the ski race, the Ore-to-Shore
will offer two events. Both races begin with a mass start Saturday, August 12, in Negaunee – where iron ore was first discovered in Upper Michigan. The 20-mile race, also named the "Soft Rock," begins first at 9 a.m. from Negaunee's Lakeview School. The 40-mile race, the "Hard Rock," starts a half-hour later at 9:30 a.m. from the city's downtown. Both races finish indoors at Lakeview Arena near the Lake Superior shoreline in Marquette.
Along the course from Negaunee to Marquette, riders will be treated to evidence of the area's mining history passing Cliff's Shaft, Rope's Gold Mine Haul Road and ending up near the Presque Isle Ore Dock in Marquette's Upper Harbor.
"It's a drop from 1,400 feet in Negaunee to 600 feet in Marquette," says Tuma. "But don't expect this race to be all downhill," he adds with a knowing grin.
"Sure there's an 8,900-foot drop in elevation, but from the beginning, riders should be prepared to climb, says race volunteer Dan Hill, an ultra-marathon athlete from Ishpeming. Hill, along with fellow rider and course director Jeff Juntti, helped lay out the trail, which he thinks is different from other regional races.
"The Chequamegon is a mountain-bike race for road bikers. Wide trails with lots of rolling hills," describes
Hill. "The Ore-to-Shore will be a true mountain-bike course with sand, mud, rocks and roots – the whole nine yards."
Other riders in the central U.P. agree. "Any 40-mile race is a challenge just because of the distance," says Dan Jahnke, a 41-year-old competitive skier and biker from Marquette. He adds, "Anyone who has skied the Noquemenon knows how tough this rocky forest terrain can be."
Terrain is also what attracted top female contenders Sydney Ringheim of Hayward, WIs., and Kelly Kimball of Champlin, Minn. Ringheim went to college in Marquette at Northern Michigan University.
"The trails there are some of my favorites," says RIngheim, a longtime top-three finisher at the Chequamegon.
Kimball has been the Noquemenon's overall female winner two years in a row.
"After my experience running a ski race hosted by the Superiorland Club, I know the Ore-to-Shore will be a high-quality mountain bike event," says Kimball.
While top places in most 40-mile mountain bike races finish in 2 to 2 1/2 hours, Hill estimates this race will take longer.
"On an exceptional day with good conditions, you'd be hard pressed to make the 40 miles in three hours.
Who knows what the winning time will be if it's muddy, or there are some unexpected obstacles on the trail."
Hill has already met up with four bears on the trail, and earlier this summer spotted a moose on the course. "You never know what you may see," he says smiling.
For safety, a 3 p.m. cut-off time has been established. If riders don't make it to the Forestville Road
(approximately 33 miles into the "Hard Rock" and 13 miles into the "Soft Rock"), they will be guided off the course and taken to the finish. Competitors who must drop out of the race will be picked up at aid stations and shuttled to the finish.
"We know there are some hardcore riders out there looking for a new challenge, and I think we've got it," says Tuma. "But we want to be sure a whole range of riders enjoy this race."
Officials expect between 500 and 1,000 racers for this inaugural ride, although the course has been devised to safely accommodate 2000.
"We even have a family coming into town for their reunion who plan to ride," adds Tuma.
Lori Bocklund grew up in Marquette with her brother, Tim. Now she lives with her family in Virginia, and Tim is in Minnesota. Their summer visit with relatives back in Marquette includes the Ore-to-Shore.
"We'll rendezvous with the relatives up there and hopefully get some of the cousins to do the ride, too," says Lori.
Tim works in the bike business through QBP in Bloomington, Minn. He describes his job "as the point guy for Salsa Cycles, a recently transplanted Northern California bike company." He has done the "Chequagmy" for years now, and he's excited about riding this new race with his family.
"We are coming to have fun and get a feel for the whole thing," says Tim. "It will be our dose of U.P. paradise," adds Lori.
Aside from the terrain, scenery is a draw for this event.
"I've been riding nearly every day and I think I'm really in good shape," says 28-year-old Mike Brunet of Marquette. "I hope to do well, but no matter where I finish, bottom line is this is an incredible race course
and the view from those granite peaks makes it worthwhile."
Fifty-two-year-old Marty Paulsen of Marquette also rides regularly, but he admits he's in it for the scenery, too.
"I'm entered in the 40 miler, but I'm a F.O.B.G. – Fat Old Bald Guy – at the back of the pack," says Paulsen with a laugh. "I know it's going to take a lot of Power Bars and Gu, but I wouldn't miss it."
We want something for everyone," says race marketing director Suzanne Sharland. "We have designed the trails to be really user friendly for first-time racers and wide enough for safe passing," adds Sharland who says even tandem teams have registered.
"It will be my first mountain bike race," says Lori Tuma. This 35-year-old from Mt. Pleasant is riding the
"Soft Rock" with her two teenage stepdaughters. Peter Holliday of Marquette is also making this first race a family affair. "My son Andy is 12 and we're going to do the 20-miler together."
For younger children, the Marquette/Alger Chapter of Michigan Safe Kids will sponsor the one-mile "Little Rock" and 50-meter "Littlest Rock" events beginning at 4 p.m. in Marquette.
The three-day Ore-to-Shore epic weekend wraps up Sunday with a variety of adventure activities, such as a lakeshore trail run, road ride, kayaking demo, scenic hike and tour of the Tilden Mine. All activities, except for the mine tour, are complimentary.
Details Ore-to-Shore Mountain Bike Epic, Negaunee, Michigan, August 11-13. Saturday August 12: Soft Rock,
20 miles, 9 a.m.; Hard Rock, 40 miles, 9:30 a.m.; Littlest Rock, 50 meters, 4 p.m.; Little Rock, 1 mile race, 4:30 p.m. Helmets required for all events. Hard Rock and Soft Rock entry fees: $55, no registrations accepted on race day.
For more information, contact the Superior Ski Club, P.O. Box 864, Marquette, MI 49855; 1-888/578-6489; e-mail: oretoshore@yahoo.com; web: www.oretoshore.com.
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