Your 2025–26 winter playbook with month-by-month planning, where to ride for best groomed singletrack, changes for the 25-26 season, and predictions for what this fat bike season holds. Plan a beautiful fat bike season and explore the best of the Northwoods with the community that thrives on cold winters, fresh snow fall, and endless discussions about tire pressure.

When summer hits the Upper Midwest, it’s hard to beat our local singletrack. But sometimes the itch for something new takes over. We’ve handpicked destinations like the rugged hills around Spearfish and the riverside trails of Chattanooga, all within road-trip range of the Northwoods, so you can swap the familiar for fresh trails, big views, and a change of pace. Load up the bikes, pack the snacks, and hit the road. Words by Chris Stindt MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Every year, the Northwoods adds more races, rides, and bike events to the calendar but that doesn’t mean we can’t still dream a little. From mid-summer fat bike chaos to multi-day stage races and under-the-radar alley cats, here are the bike events we’d create if we had unlimited time, money, and absolutely no concerns about liability insurance. MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

After nearly a decade of summer rides, weekend adventures, and everyday errands, we finally gave away our beloved Burley trailer. It marked the end of an era, one filled with slow miles, packed snacks, sibling squabbles, and unforgettable family memories. In this reflection, I look back at what those years meant to us, how that hitch shaped my identity as a dad, and what it feels like to let go of a season that was never meant to last forever.

Some of the best days on gravel aren’t at races, they're the quiet escapes that stick with you. This guide to one-day gravel getaways highlights 12 standout routes across WI, MN, and the U.P. Each destination pairs a dialed-in gravel adventure with great local food, drinks, and post-ride recovery. Whether you’re chasing backroads through the Northwoods, grinding ridgelines in the Driftless, or taking in the Lake Superior shoreline, these routes are made for riders who want to

We just wrapped up the 2025 Gravel, Dirt, & Snow: Best of Biking reader poll. The poll has several regional bike questions but it never asks, "which state is the best for biking on gravel, dirt, and snow?". Well today I'm going to share which state, in my personal opinion, is the completely unofficial and unprofessionally chosen best state for biking in a few categories. MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Photo: Gray Duck Grit

Pictured: Copper Harbor Trails If you’re looking for the ultimate Northwoods mountain bike towns, here they are. From the urban singletrack of Minneapolis to the remote tip of Copper Harbor, these towns offer some of the best trails and mtb community in the region. Whether you're planning a weekend getaway or a day trip, this guide will help you hit the high points of the Northwoods' best riding.

Photo by Josh Kowaleski of Pointed North Photo Inspired by some recent wishful thinking, I decided to jot down some wish list rides from deep down in my cycling heart that I'd love to do some day. Some are long, some are short. Some are stateside and some are in Central America, Africa, and Europe. Will I ever do any of these? Well, one can always hope. MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

The Northwoods is really lucky to have 17+ official bikepacking routes across The Nxrth, bikepacking.com, and Bikepacking Roots. It's a special region with deep, dense, expansive forests, endless miles of gravel roads, and the most lakes and rivers anywhere in the lower 48. Here we share a few more beautiful nooks of the Northwoods that we'd love to see get an official bikepacking route. MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

When the Northwoods chills you into hibernation during late fall or early spring, Bentonville, Arkansas, offers a warm escape for up-north cyclists at about ~10 hours away. This rapidly growing town has become a mecca for mountain biking and gravel, offering hundreds of miles of trails, warmer weather, and plenty of off-bike activities. Words by Chris Stindt Jump to Section When to Visit Bentonville Lay of the Land Why Visit Bentonville Places to Stay in Bentonville Things to

With fat bike season near, we've put together a top to bottom adventure checklist including our top picks for fat bike destinations to ride, events to register for, Airbnbs to pick, and gear you'll need along the way. Start planning your winter and make time for memorable adventures in beautiful places. MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Winter is getting closer and so is the excitement for snow and fat bike season. But will we get snow this winter? Last winter produced very minimal snow and the fat bike season was nearly nonexistent. If this winter sucks for fat biking like last winter, here are 30 ideas to pivot and find some new creative adventures that we cyclists can enjoy.

Get ready for fat bike race season! When the snow falls, it's time to book some races for your winter calendar and text your friends to join in. There are tons of races to choose from and here we choose the 4 most iconic Northwoods races that are essential to race at least once.

Inspired by cool summer and fall nights biking by the lake, we're sharing our new custom mobile wallpaper artwork. Designed by our friend Barry Lachapelle from Bike Gear Database, members of The Nxrth+ can now download this artwork for your mobile phones via the link below.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE Words by Josh from The Nxrth The Nxrth officially kicked off one of the very first days of 2022. It was an idea that had been spiraling around in my mind for a long time and in various forms. Before the launch as well as after the launch, I had a lot of ideas and many of them were quite awful. Here are 8 of the worst ideas I had that never became a reality.

As we conclude the 2024 gravel race season and look to 2025, we're reflecting on where the gravel racing scene is at. Some favorite races didn't take place and some new ones popped up and several other themes have been growing in the community. Check out reflections on the state of up-north gravel racing here.  MEMBER EXCLUSIVE Words by Josh from The Nxrth My first gravel race ever was Heck of the North. I had just started The Nxrth and was a regular bikepacker and sought out

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE Last year, the Filthy celebrated 10 years of gravel. The sellout event has been drawing a wide crowd of cyclists from far and wide to this autumn classic event around the beautiful Root River valley in Minnesota's Driftless region. Event organizer Trenton Raygor was also the organizer the The DAMn (Day Aross Minnesota) until the final DAMn was announced a few years ago. This year, Trenton Raygor brought back The Damn on August 10th and announced there would b

If you're looking to explore new forests, ride the most beautiful remote gravel roads, and meet other bikepackers, we've rounded up a list of 8 beautiful bikepacking events up north. From the farthest corners of northern Minnesota to way up in the Upper Peninsula, there's tons of variety and event formats to discover something new this year.  MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Traditional paved bike touring has had a decline in the last decade while bikepacking is still accelerating. What's causing the shift and how do we even know that this IS a trend? Here we break down some of these trends and offer a few guesses as to what might be contributing to it.  MEMBER EXCLUSIVE Words and photos by Josh Rizzo