Wren Sports recently announced a drop bar version of their Perseverance bar. It's built for long distance unsupported bike adventures with an emphasis on all-day comfort and wilderness utility. The expedition geometry and integrated aero loop make it a unique option for adventure bars. The Perseverance drop bar is currently in production and will be available at Wren December 2022. The cockpit is a tough part of your bike to get just right and that goes even more so for long distance adventures. The stress on your hands, the ability to have gear carrying flexibility, and the need for multiple riding positions makes finding the right handlebars extremely important, but also really difficult. Wren sports is currently in pre-production with a drop bar version of their Perseverance Bars. It's a handlebar that they've built specifically for epic, unsupported adventures and their goal is to strike the balance of maximum comfort and adventure utility. Riding With the Perseverance Bars These bars were new to me on so many levels I kind of can't believe they've been such a great fit so far. For starters, I've never customized my cockpit outside of pretty standard and traditional drop bars. I've long admired the trend in wider gravel bars with swept drops but just haven't made the switch. I also only did my first gravel century just this year and have never ridden with aero bars. In a lot of senses I've been a pretty traditional adventure cyclist who hasn't wandered too far from your out-of-the-box gravel bike. The wider hoods, shallower drop, and integrated aero bar were new to me and so much fun to try out. I was so stoked when they showed up on my doorstep about 10 hours before driving away to the Filthy 50, a local gravel race in Lanesboro, Minnesota. Then two weeks later I had a local overnighter planned and I got to load up the handlebars with a full width tent which had never fit on my handlebars before. Climbing in the wide hoods and grinding in the shallow drops felt extremely natural. The Filthy 50 race was uniquely dry, dusty, winding, and slippery and the extra width gave me noticeably more handling confidence. Now to be fair, these are really purpose built for expedition bikepacking and less for gravel racing. I rarely get out for more than a 3-day bikepacking trip but felt like the advantages carried over really well for shorter adventures and day gravel rides as well. For non-climbing and non-maneuvering, I would personally prefer the hoods to be a little narrower and just flare out to the existing width of the drops. I'm pretty short at 5' 6" and the width at the hoods is definitely more than I need. Hand Positions & Mounting Options The only extra hand positions you really get with these bars is in the integrated aero loop as well as more places to rest your hands on the flats. Some people will wish the aero loop wasn't integrated and others will love that it's always there and ready to send. I'm pretty fidgety even on long rides and enjoy full stretching out, giving my back a break, and getting out of the wind in the aero bars. The aero loop also gives more mounting options for devices, lights, and cameras. One thing I really love is that the width of the bars gives room to strap a full width tent right up front. I don't have an ultra light bikepacking-specific tent with short poles and both of my traditional MSR 2-person tents have plenty of room to attach to these bars with bikepacking straps because of the extra width. All the Numbers The most notable specs are the width at the hoods and the size of the aero bars. At 530mm width at the hoods, they're just about the widest handlebars you'll find. The Redshift Kitchen Sink handlebars, for example, come in four sizes and 530mm is the widest. The Salsa Cowchipper bars comes in eight sizes with 520mm being the widest. There are a few wider options than the Perseverance drop bars but not many. The second point to notice is the large integrated aero loop at 250mm in length with a 78mm rise. I can't find length specs on the Redshift Kitchen Sink or Farr Aero Gravel Bar but the Perseverance loop appears quite a bit bigger which allows for you to be fully stretched out and tucked downward and the other brands bars' integrated loops only seem to scratch the surface of that. Full Perseverance Handlebar Specs 530mm width at the hoods 105mm Drop 29 degree flair 6 degree backsweep from clamp to hoods Clamp Diameter: 31.8mm Drop: 105mm Flair: 29 degrees Material: 6061 Alloy Finish: Anodized Gold/Bronze with Black Decals Aero Loop Specs Rise at the Nose: 78mm Backsweep from Clamp to Hoods: 6 Degrees Length: 250mm Width at Base: 301mm Tube Diameter: 22.2mm Aero Bars for Adventure Cycling? I'll be the first to say that the aero bar threw me for a figurative loop. I think of them for ultra distance racing but less for adventure riding. Cons are that you can't take them off because they're integrated. Pros are that they give you more hand options for long hard days bikepacking on mixed terrain and wind plus they give your back a break and allow you to stretch out. These are definitely not for everyone, but for certain riders these are going to be perfect for their exact needs on bike adventures. With a 301mm width where the aero meets the handlebar, this particular aero integration is fairly wide which is going to give you more control than racing aero bars to navigate tricky terrain right from the tucked position. It should be noted that without the armrests (currently in preorder with expected shipping of November 2022), the aero loop is not really an option for long periods of time. You'll definitely need the arm rests for longterm comfort which is also another expense. Even though these bars are built for longer unsupported adventures than I've tested them out for, I really like the comfort and confidence I can feel instantly. The aero loop will likely be more than I need most of the time but I like the having the option to stretch out. Being a short rider, it'll be interesting to see how the 530mm hood width will play out over time, but for now I know it's already hard going back to the narrow bars I was once used to. I think the nicest thing is to have a full range of position and gear attaching options for the spontaneous and varied adventures that lie ahead.

We just dropped new Nxrth trucker hats that prominently sport every single color in the gravel rainbow: Brown, light brown, and another brown. These hats look great on anyone who has a head and they support all of the community, stories, routes, and events that The Nxrth shares throughout the year. Shop Nxrth Trucker Hats HERE.

Ride With GPS and Komoot are two mapping tools used to discover, plan, organize, and share bike adventures. In this story we compare them head to head and share our thoughts on which one may be a better option for each type of riding and planning. Jump to Section 1. Overview 2. Pricing 3. Route Editing 4. POIs & Highlights 5. Social Sharing & Adventure Discovery 6. Unique Features: Ride With GPS 7. Unique Features: Komoot 8. Ride With GPS Wins if you... 9. Komoot Wins if you... OVERVIEW: Ride With GPS vs Komoot White both tools target the same overall goal of planning adventures using a map, the focus of Ride With GPS and Komoot are pretty distinct. Let's break down the focus and audience of each platform which will translate into the unique features they offer. Ride With GPS Ride With GPS is for map creators who want more advanced tools to create and organize highly detailed rides and routes. It's an incredibly powerful too for those who spend hours drawing lines, cataloging POIs, analyzing rides, and take pride in architecting detailed routes using many different routing tools at the same time. You simply won't find this level of detailed organization and customization in Komoot. Komoot Komoot is focused on crowd-sourced adventuring, deep social sharing, and photo-centric story telling around the globe. For those looking to follow the stories and adventure highlights of explorers all over the world and then plan the adventure yourself using the community's favorite highlights as your guide, Komoot is your best friend. NOTE: Many of the strengths of Komoot are heavily dependent on user volume. Komoot currently has a massive presence in Europe but has a significantly smaller base in the USA which makes the benefit of user generated content less significant in many places. Pricing Ride With GPS has 3 monthly tiers: Free, Basic, & Premium. The Basic plan is $7.99/mo and gives you advanced route planning on the mobile app. The Premium plan is $9.99/mo and gives you the full suite of web-based tools. The Free version allows for basic route planning and ride recording. Komoot has two pricing models: Komoot Maps and Komoot Premium. Maps are all one-time payments and give you permanent access to voice navigation and offline maps for the geographies that you pay for ($3.99 for one region, $8.99 for a region bundle, or $29.99 to permanently unlock the entire world). Komoot Premium is $5.99/month and includes World Map access, personal collections, live-tracking, multi-day planner, on-tour weather, safety contacts, and more. Route Editing We'll get deeper into this section with each platform's "Unique Features" but for now I'll just say that this is an area where Ride With GPS dominates. Both the desktop and mobile route planner are extremely easy to use and are packed with high powered advanced tools unmatched by Komoot. Komoot's route editor is much more tedious and and has a significantly simpler toolbox to use when trying to meticulously plan perfect routes. It's a slower process with fewer options to customize. Points of Interest (POIs) & Route Highlights Ride With GPS's Points of Interest (POIs) are created for each individual Ride With GPS account. You can add POIs to any of your maps for any reason to mark anything you want. They are uniquely built into the maps that you choose (or dynamically available in a POI library if you use a Club account) and they won't show up in the map building tool for the general public unless they're viewing your unique route. Komoot calls these "Highlights" and they're 100% crowd sourced and built on community generated content for everyone to use. The downside is that you can't add private POIs such as "Camping in my uncle's backyard" or temporary POIs like "Race day headquarters" but the upside is that the entire globe is covered in the adventuring community's best route highlights, photos, and tips for anyone to go exploring. Every Highlight and photo is rated by the community which makes planning incredible adventures significantly easier. Social Sharing & Adventure Discovery Komoot owns this category. The entire platform is built around photo-first adventure discovery, community generated map highlights, and ready-to-ride collections of the world's best places to explore. The social feed is deeply inspirational and the biggest names in gravel biking and bikepacking are constantly sharing their ride galleries, map libraries, and tips to take their adventures and do them yourself. While Ride With GPS is a really powerful planing tool, its strength is less in discovering new adventures through community sourced mapping highlights. Ride With GPS's tools like "Inspect" and "Heatmaps" are really great for finding new places to ride, but they end at drawing great lines on a map. Trail level photo content is sparse and community sourced tips are non existent outside of individually created maps. Similarities We don't dig into every feature in this article. Several features exist in both platforms and are at least comparable. "Surface Types" is a feature of both platforms and I haven't found it to have any accuracy in the region that I live in either platform. Both platforms have Safety Tracking and Privacy Zones which are an important part of staying staying safe on and off the bike. There are many other features they both share. Now let's break down their unique features they each have. Ride With GPS Unique Features Ride With GPS has an extensive toolset for advanced route editing, adventure planning, and deep organization. Let's break down the main features are exclusive to Ride With GPS. Global & Personal Heatmaps Heatmaps are indispensable for finding out where everyone else rides (Global Heatmap) and seeing a live log of where you've ridden (Personal Heatmap). If you're exploring a new area, there's no better way to find some of the most popular routes than seeing where the community is doing the most riding via Heatmaps. Inspect Tool Touch a point on a map and see the most popular routes going through that spot. Without the context of community generated photos and tips, I don't find it very useful as it only shows personally created routes that get a lot of engagement but this doesn't actually aggregate any crowd sourced information about that route. Ride Metrics If you like analyzing post-ride data, you're going to love Ride With GPS's deep stack of metrics. There are over 26 metrics that are fully customizable during your ride and their post-ride metrics are going to give you a lot of data to pour over when you're done. Bike Maintenance Log A fun way to keep track of maintenance, repairs, and upgrades for each of your bikes. Custom Cues Create cues that say whatever you want them to. These are supported in TCX files for Garmin devices, Wahoo devices, and the mobile app will read them aloud just like a normally generated turn left turn right cue. Clubs & Organizations If you're an organization or club, this is the clear winner for organizing, customizing, and embedding various route libraries and POIs that can dynamically be pulled into maps of your choosing. Colors, layers, images, categories, routes, links, and POIs can all be fully customized to your needs and the ability to give free navigation and offline use for your members/customers. Plus a Lot More Both the deskop and mobile applications have a lot more tools and custom configurations at every point of your process from planning, to riding, to organizing and they're regularly adding more. I don't expect them to slow down adding new tools and features in the future as they're hyper focused on helping map lovers and organizers plan using as much data and efficiency as possible. Komoot Unique Features Komoot's strength is less in mapping tools, metrics, and organization and more in social and community tools. Tools that inspire users to explore the world and have the most fun getting from point A to point B. Trail View This is the "Google Streetview" of off-grid trails. If you've ever studied satellite images trying to guess what the surface is like and if the trail is actually passable, Trail View is going to be a life saver. Komoot uses artificial intelligence to pull all public photos of trails and pin them to where they were taken on the map for everyone to use. The result is trail-level photos of any place any Komoot user has taken a public photo of a trail on a route. No more guessing whether that obscure line on a map is a hidden gem or a total bust. Pioneer & Expert Gamification Base on community cues and up-votes on Highlights, photos, and tips, Komoot gives points for all the activities and regions that you've recorded activity. This is a fun way to build your expertise and social influence within the app as well as finding the best adventurers to follow Sport-Based Route & Highlight Searching Use the Discovery tool to select routes and highlights based on the sport you're interested in such as road cycling, gravel riding, and bikepacking On Tour Weather Plan daylong or multi-day adventures and see temperature, precipitation, wind direction, and sunshine for any point in time on the map. Crowd-Sourced Highlights This is mentioned earlier in the article but i's worth repeating here because Komoot Highlights isn't just a similarity to Ride With GPS's Points of Interest, it's a it's really a unique feature that makes Komoot stand alone. Highlights is a rich user generated global library of the best places to ride, stop, and explore. They're all filterable by sport type, voted on by the community at large, and logged with rider tips so that you have the easiest time having the best experience from point A to point B. Personal Collections This is another feature that does exist in Ride With GPS but I think Komoot does it much better. Personal collections are a way to show off your rides, routes, highlights, story, and photos all in one beautiful place for the world to see in their Komoot social feed (or embed on your website). For other users, these are an incredible way to discover new places to explore and be inspired by brilliant photography and gorgeous bikescapes. So Which is Better, Komoot or Ride Withg GPS? Cut to the chase...you want to know which is better right? Well of course it depends. Their features and tools are built for similar but different audiences and the best platform is going to be the one that meets your planning and riding goals. Ride With GPS Wins If... You want to build a library of personal (or organizational) mapping assets that you can customize and organize however you want You care about advanced planning and analyzing using the most data available You prefer customization, tweaking, and analyzing over social sharing You are a club or organization who needs advanced organizational and embedding tools for your members. Komoot Wins If... You want to use the community's favorite crowd-sourced highlights, tips, and photos to plan your routes. You're looking for ready-to-ride collections of routes, highlights, and photos from other users' libraries Sharing the best parts of your ride and discovering the best parts of others' rides is more important than personal customization tools and metrics You only need offline maps and voice navigation and don't want to be locked into a paid subscription

The 2022 Filthy 50 took place on a beautiful windy day on October 8. If you want to relive this year's Filthy 50 or just see what the ride feels like, check out this 5 minute blitz set to a questionable soundtrack.

In the final part of "Intro to Winter Fatbike Ultras", we talk with four experienced ultra athletes about their top tips for researching, planning, and preparing for your first winter fatbike ultra. If you're signed up for your first event or curious about trying one someday, check out these tips and then start planning. Winter fatbike ultras aren't for everyone. They require critical planning, training, and mitigation of serious risks. The Nxrth is partnering with Jamison Swift, Co-Founder of the St. Croix 40 to present a 3-part series on winter fatbike ultras. We'll walk through: Who should consider winter fatbike ultras What risks you need to be aware of How to pack your gear How to stay warm and dry Food and water planning Much more Read the introduction Here or catch up on Part 1 (Races, Risks, & Resources) and Part 2 (Food, Water, Gear, & Staying Warm) PART 3 OF 3: #1 Tips From Experienced Ultra Athletes Of all the adventure cycling disciplines, it's hard to imagine a micro niche that requires more planning and preparation than fatbike winter ultras. These events take participants to the coldest, most remote places. Riders spend long days and dark nights alone in the harshest weather with no support. In the final installment of "Intro to Winter Fatbike Ultras", we ask seasoned ultra veterans what their number one tips are for trying your first winter fatbike ultra. Here they share their personal experiences of planning for success and learning some lessons the hard way. James Kiffmeyer: My most important lesson for winter ultras was a training ride I did that I expected to be easy. I started in beautiful weather, 28 degrees outside, I assumed I had nothing to worry about. Roughly 15 miles into the 30 mile ride it warmed up a bit more and started to mist. Due to the wet sweat I already had built up, and the mist coming down, I got incredibly cold. I didn't have any way of drying off on the trail, and it brought home the true danger of the combination of wet and cold, even in relatively mild conditions. It doesn't matter if it is in the 30s or in the -40s, if you get wet down to your core, it is very likely going to end your ride early, and could be very dangerous. Staying dry by moderating your energy output, adjusting layers, protecting yourself in whatever way it takes, is critical to completing a winter ultra fat bike ride. That lesson served me well during many ultra races, where I learned to reduce layers and find that balance of staying warm while never being warm enough to sweat significantly. Amanda Harvey Clothing and gear choices are personal. There is no one perfect piece of gear that everyone needs. So experiment, borrow gear from friends, be open to things not being perfect but working good enough. When I was first getting into ultras I was stressed about getting the right gear, it kept me up at night. It's a slow process dialing in your bike, clothes, and boots. There's depth of stuff in the community, so if you need to borrow something, ask! We want to see new folks join this niche sport within a niche sport. Sue Lucas I'd say my #1 tip is do your research. Read everything you can about the race you are planning on doing. I know I read everything I could find on Arrowhead 135 back in the day. I remember scouring the old AH forum over and over again reading every post that was written. I also read all the race reports I could find and talked to race vets. By doing your research you are not going in blind to an event and you can learn so many things that can help you out in a difficult situation. Another big tip I would say is to believe in yourself. That Leadville 100 race quote by Ken Chlouber " You're better than you think you are, you can do more than you think you can" really sums up what people can do if they believe in themselves. I know that is always my race mantra and it's served me well. Paul Fickle The most important lesson I've learned from Winter Ultra's is to test your gear, especially clothes. Just like summer biking clothes, there are lots of fancy winter riding clothes that work well for a certain size range of humans. If you're outside that range they might not work as well for you. I've heard all kinds of rave reviews about different winter clothes from people and then tried them out on long winter rides and found them to be lacking. The clothes that will work best are the ones that fit you the best. Period. Don't cram or stretch yourself into that cool new thing. Ride with the clothes you have and find out for yourself! Do the work! It always comes back around to that. Do the work. There's just no getting around it. You'll never know how a thing works for you out in the cold long night until you've tried it. And I can't wait to try more! Trying Your First Winter Fatbike Ultra Throughout this series, we've talked through many of the risks, logistics, and insider tips for trying your first winter fatbike ultra. Every ride and ever rider is different, so do your planning and make sure to train and practice long before getting to the starting line. If you try your first event this year, let us know. We'd love to hear your story and hear the lessons you learned along the way.

The Tour de Chequamegon is an annual 3-day supported and catered bikepacking trip along the Wisconsin route of the same name. This year, organizer Dave Schlabowske started an equity program for 2022 with Brooke Goudy & Devin Cowens offering 5 BIPOC and gender equity scholarships. See the event recap, photos, and way to support next year's event here. Story by Dave Schlabowske This year the Wheel & Sprocket Tour de Chequamegon started a week earlier than usual. With that timing and a warm dry summer and early fall, the colors were not as popping as in years past. And because the event was the same weekend as Cable Fall Fest, we started at Telehenge rather than from the town of Cable parking lot. That did offer a new opportunity for a great group photo next to the elevator shafts that are all that remain of the former Telemark Lodge. For the latest on the exciting future of the Telemark property, see what the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation has planned. Another change this year was a new grant program to try to increase diversity on the guided ride we lead each fall and tempt more people of color to visit and ride in the Wisconsin Northwoods. The program was created and managed by Brooke Goudy and Devin Cowens and by all accounts, the first year was a great success. Brooke and Devin and five BIPOC riders new to bikepacking joined the 30 other people who signed up, and everyone had successful rides and enjoyed the challenge of pedaling the hilly gravel roads through the Chequamegon Forest for three days the last weekend in September. I have to say, it was pretty cool to have such a stacked group of pro ride guides this year. In addition to Brooke and Devin, we also had Tom Schuler, Shane Hitz and local super volunteer Jerry Wright back! One of our experienced Wheel & Sprocket ride support crew came down with Covid and had to skip the event this year, so I filled in for him. That meant I was not able to ride along and take a bunch of photos like I usually do. So our pics are limited this year, but you can see all the images I took and download high resolution files on the event gallery on my photoshelter site linked below. This guided, organized ride, which follows the Tour de Chequamegon route, was designed to introduce people to bikepacking by removing some of the barriers that might keep people from trying it on their own. So while riders must carry their own gear, navigate the route and camp each night, the ride is supported by Wheel & Sprocket with ride guides to help during the day, a support vehicle with mechanics in case of a breakdown, and we cater the camp meals. For about two thirds of the people who join us each year, this is their first experience bikepacking in the forest so this is an ideal ride to include an equity program. The ride also attracts some more experienced bikepackers who just enjoy the glamping aspect of catered meals, great local craft beer in camp and the Wisconsin tradition of Brandy Old Fashioneds Friday night. The diversity grant program was such a success this year that Brooke and Devin would like to continue it next year and perhaps expand it to more than five BIPOC grant spots. We fund this program with profits from the Hungry Bear 100, a small gravel race in Cable, WI that I organize each spring. That race only attracts 200-400 riders, and we try to keep the registration price low, so the profits we can devote to this new diversity program are limited. In order to expand the program Brooke and Devin created, we will need to pay another BIPOC ride guide. To help raise the additional revenue for those and other costs associated with additional grant recipients next year, we are seeking some new sponsors, but also selling new Tour de Chequamegon shirts and hoodies. All profits from the the Tour de Chequamegon, Hungry Bear 100 and Life Above 8 merchandise sales will go directly to the diversity program expansion.

Lisa Gose-Nelson was sick of medical challenges weighing her down while sitting on the sideline watching her husband Chris' adventures. In 2021, she did her first Filthy 50 and proceeded to do eight more 50+ mile challenges since then including this year's 2022 Filthy 50. Read her story of overcoming challenges and finding the life-changing love of riding gravel. A year ago, I made a major life change due to a medical condition that cropped up with March 2020 Covid. I spent 8 months in chronic pain - partly due to a bad hand injury (bike crash) and partly due to expected post long-Covid consequences that flared a few very nasty, lifelong, auto-immune issues that I have lived with. People ask me what it felt like – I can’t explain it better than the pain was like walking or sleeping on fire and sharp rocks. I actually purchased eight new mattresses during this time period because I could simply not get comfortable. With the support of my family, I started to track everything I did including what I ate and all of the symptoms that followed food and drink I took in. Every day I wondered how I would live the rest of my life feeling the pain I did - I did not see it. It was a lot to get through and the good news is today I am 98% pain free. A little more than a year ago I re-dedicated my entire life to feeling better, eating better (mostly clean and vegetarian), having less pain, and embracing physical and emotional well-being. Part of that was taking a huge step forward in challenging myself to ride and exercise more, in new ways and to places that push my comfort level. I took on a new, less stressful career, and I learned how to sleep again. I had my bikes fit by Paulie at GO Physio – he gets physical challenge and bike fitting; he is skilled true Doctor of Physical Therapy. All of this brought me to the Filthy 50, 2021, I finished it on a tandem bike that my husband Chris and I bought for our 30th anniversary. I had never ridden a gravel ride and it changed my life. Funny enough it was also our first, true tandem ride and we are still married. I am a work in progress, we all are, and I hope we can all share our story and support and encourage each other. This past weekend I finished my 2nd Filthy-50 on the tandem bike. A week ago, I would have finished my first solo gravel at the Heck of the North - but more importantly I fought through unexpected flats on the route and had a third at the trailhead. I was mostly on my own, I worked out a plan to get back and had a great time, I was so proud of myself! Not only was this my first solo gravel ride; it was also the first time I changed tire tubes out on my own. Rookie mistake - I did not check the inside of the tube – that wire shard got me three times, live and learn! Here is the better part of the story - in the last twelve months I have finished eight 50 miles +, 1000+ high elevation endurance challenges, including some high elevation mountain hikes. Until the 2021 Filthy I had never achieved even one challenge that was 1000+ elevation. I have taken on strength training, positive mental conditioning, started to bike camp on the Fox bike camping race, increased my Pilates practice and I am officially ready to start my instructor training and certificates with Basi Pilates – they have a focus on healing and inclusion. The Filthy handed me a terrifying challenge and I finished it. When 900+ people start the ride and finish to talk about it is exciting! Starting this at age 53 is a whole new world and is refreshing. Why I got into gravel - frankly I felt like I was missing out sitting on the sidelines watching my husband Chris and wanted my own story to tell. Being in the elements, outside and away from everything brought my appreciation back for being in the moment. At the beginning I thought I would like to listen to music when I am riding on gravel. Now I like hearing the crushing sound of rock and the wind noise and feeling the air - it brings a gritty sense of joy. I extend a heartfelt thank you to Trenton J. Raygor (Filthy-50) and Jeremy Kershaw (Heck of the North and the Fox), Dr. Paulie Glatt (GO Physio), Tonka Cycles and my life partner Chris Nelson and all of you who are the most embracing and supportive people and inspire me with your incredible power and inclusivity! My gravel bikes: 2022 Surly Midnight Special and a 2021 custom Co-Motion Java Tandem

The 2022 Heck of the North took place on Saturday October 1st in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Josh Kowaleski of Pointed North Photography was at the mile 97/47 capturing mid-ride gravel portraits. Enjoy this mini gallery... Photos by Josh Kowaleski. To see the full gallery of portraits, visit Pointed North Photo.

The ~600-mile-long Northwoods Route is a circumnavigation of the western half of Lake Superior, primarily following gravel roads, relatively smooth two-tracks, rail trails, and short sections of pavement through thick forests and along countless lakes of all sizes. Route developed by Bikepacking Roots and featured here with their permission. This loop has been created to be inviting to riders on both mountain or gravel bikes, and riders will find that resupply options are relatively frequent along the way. Singletrack alternates and trail networks along the way offer options for riders looking for more technical riding opportunities - loaded or unloaded - and to experience the many unique trail systems built near communities along the way. The loop is closed by utilizing the passenger ferries that travel to Isle Royale National Park to cross Lake Superior. This connection requires some planning since the ferries do not run daily, and the lake crossing will require an overnight stay on Isle Royale (see the FAQ below for more information on these ferries; note that bikes are not allowed anywhere on Isle Royale other than at the docks and main campgrounds). We also encourage riders to spend an extra day or more on Isle Royale to experience some of the many miles of hiking trails. See additional Northwoods Route information and download the guidebook and full 350+ waypoint/POI GPS file on Bikepacking Roots' website: Bikepacking Roots is an 8,000-member-strong 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing bikepacking, growing a diverse bikepacking community, advocating for the conservation of the landscapes and public lands through which we ride, and creating professional routes. Disclaimer: If you choose to ride this route, you do so at your own risk. You are 100% responsible for being prepared for all conditions and making sure that biking these routes is legal. Before riding, check local weather, road conditions, closures, and property ownership. Obey all traffic laws and follow land use restrictions. Do not ride these routes without proper safety equipment and navigational tools. The accuracy of these routes cannot be guaranteed neither can we guarantee that these routes are on public property. TheNxrth.com and its contributors are in no way liable for the personal injury or damage to property that may result from cycling this route or any other routes on this website.

Balancing the responsibilities and changes of motherhood is a lot of pressure. Here Maria Drews shares her thoughts on prioritizing hobbies, relationships, and reclaiming parts of her life that are just for her. Look for her at next weekend's Red Granite Grinder which will be her first gravel race. Follow Maria on her YouTube channel.

Registration for the Snow Crown 2023 race series opens Sunday, October 9th at 10:00am central. 150 spots will be open for series entries. Can’t make all 4? That’s ok, they take the best of 3 races. Also, series riders get entry to the end of year party (Green Bay Country Club) and prizes. The Snow Crown series is here to remind you that winter doesn't have to suck anymore. Giving you something to look forward to, they just announced the opening of the 9th annual 2023 4-race series opening this weekend on October 9th at 10am. Individual race registrations are also available, but you must register for the series in order to be eligible for series prizes. The race is a point based competition taking your best 3 scores with categories all the way from beginner to elite. 1 point for each place that you finish (1st place = 1 point, 10th place = 10 points, etc.) and the lowest scores win. The events are exclusively fat bike events and all rigs must have 3.8" tires or wider. Snow Crown Series Race Dates and Locations: January 7 | Shelltrack: Manitowoc, WI January 21 | Fatty Shack: DePere, WI Feb 4 | Fat Camp: Suamico, WI Feb 11 | US Fat Bike Open: Green Bay, WI Equal Prize Payouts For Men and Women in Every Category Okay, this is pretty neat. The races and community around this series are fun enough but they've also got prize payouts that are equal for men and women and they're also equal for all four categories of Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Elite/Pro. So equal prizes are truly up for grabs no matter who you are and no matter what category you're in. To learn more about the Snow Crown series or to get registered, visit their website.

James Morrow is a bike bag maker and race director in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Today we chat about bags, races, fatherhood, and how hobbies turn into more than hobbies. Morrow Packs on Instagram Photos: Studio 13, Ryan Stephens Photo, and Rob Meendering You're in the U.P.? Whereabouts and what's it like up there? I started Morrow Packs in Iron Mountain, MI (my wife’s home town) but have since moved to Negaunee, just up the hill from Marquette. Iron Mountain is beautiful country (I mean, it’s the U.P. right?) it has that small mining town feel, laid back. Not a big cycling community presence, but it’s on its way with many new single track trails right in town. Tony and I and a handful of other mountain bikers grouped up and actually built a couple of trails up on Millie Hill with permission from the local trail network: Berm Cruise, Berm City, and Section 30 (the jumpline). As much fun as it was helping create trails and building, it is very nice to have Marquette and Ishpeming trail networks just outside my back door now. Now to just ride and volunteer. How did you get into making bags and what made you take the leap from hobby to business? A couple summers ago my brother in law (Tony) and I started riding together a bunch and started dabbling in bike-packing. Buying a bag here and there, but once they were all on the bike, they did not compliment the bike at all (bikes are supposed to look cool). After asking around to a few different bag builders what the process and cost would be for some custom bags, it just made sense to take a crack at it. We had just had a baby girl and I was at home a lot so why not fire up a new hobby with all my free time. (That one was a joke). The leap to a legit business all comes down to the demand and not wanting to hide anything from “the man”. What's the Lone Wolf and what made you bring the race to Iron Mountain? The Lone Wolf Gravel Race was a route that Tony and I would ride often. We could leave right from town and hit gravel within 10 miles and get way out of town for a few hrs. It’s mostly truck trail and is pretty remote for 30 miles. Spring of ‘19 Tony and I were riding the route when we ran up on a very large “mangy” grey wolf trotting in the same direction as us. It took a glance over its shoulder at us (he was not spooked) and hopped off the road as we cranked it up to get passed him. Yes, very unnerving hoping he didn’t want to pass us. So yeah, it is a beautiful route that I thought had to be showcased. And now you know where the name comes from. We had a great turnout of amazing people, about 78 signed up and 64 showed up and all finished. We ran it through the non profit cycling team I had started a year prior, Iron Hills Cycling Team, and used the proceeds from the race to purchase helmets for kids in the area. We were able to get about 20 Helmets on kids with the help of the local bike shop U.P. Sport and Spoke. We plan on doing it all over again this fall too. Lone Wolf is scheduled for October 8th 2022. Lone Wolf Race Video Video by: Trent Lutzke You're a full time Dad; how do you juggle business, events, creativity, and fatherhood? Without the support, love and patience from my amazing wife Jen, I cannot do any of these things. She is awesome and believes in me. Love you darling! I just keep moving forward and having fun with it all. The moment it starts feeling like work I’ll back off. But for now I’m enjoying making bags for so many cool people and their bikes, planning a race that people come to and enjoy, riding my bike, and of course being a husband and father.