These pictures are a few selections from our fatbike beach ride today along Lake Michigan. These bikes are built (I guess “purpose built” is the fresh marketing term) for the sand and snow, and this time of year is when we get to enjoy them to the fullest. With most of the seasonal folks long gone, we have the beach to ourselves. We certainly could ride them in the summer — and we do on occasion — but if the beach is crowded it becomes a bit more of a hassle.
It’s awe-inspiring to see how much the beach can change in such a short time… in this case, overnight. A strong surf yesterday left the beach smooth and well-wetted, making it thoroughly rideable and very fast. These conditions contrasted dramatically with our previous ride, which had us riding mostly in the water because the top 4-5 inches everywhere else was like quicksand. The variety we encounter only gets more interesting once the temperatures drop below freezing, because we start to see ice and snow formations that can come and go just as quickly.
No snow today, but it was an inauspicious start for Liz when she slow-mo-toppled after hitting a patch of soft, dry sand. Even so, conditions were beautiful and she bounced back quickly. Temperatures were in the mid-40’s (F), but felt warmer due to the bright sun and our black clothing. We headed south into a strong headwind, but the wind is a bit less of a player at the speeds that these bikes roll, so it wasn’t really much of a hardship.
We ended up at Amsterdam Beach in Cedar Grove, which amounts to about 1/4 mile of waterfront. It’s a park mostly for locals, but it’s not exactly public; it falls somewhere in between, because you’re supposed to be resident of the township to use it. Incidentally, it’s the Town of Holland, if you’re keeping track — see a pattern? Liz and I used this spot to pretty good effect eight years ago, when we held our wedding there. It’s a privilege to be able to ride four miles down the beach and get to this spot; it holds a lot of meaning for us both. On this day, it was deserted, except for us.
After our brief respite along with some reminiscing, we headed back north, enjoying the boost from our trusty tailwind. The shape of the shoreline forms a big, long, eight-mile crescent. Our exit point was at the northernmost visible point while we were starting at the vertex. The white house (barely visible as a speck, at first) is our point of reference, the place where we pull off the beach and bike the 1/2 mile on roads back home.
