Fat bikes in 906 Polar Roll ready to roll through Marquette County
ISHPEMING — Snow biking has been rising in popularity in the Upper Peninsula for the last several years, and a new fat bike competition is ready to roll across the region.
The Blackrocks Brewery 906 Polar Roll is a 35-mile point-to-point race for prizes and bragging rights among riders of fat bikes. The racers in the main event will meet at Ishpeming High School Saturday morning before moving onto the Iron Ore Heritage Trail nearby.
“This is our first year; right now, as of this morning, we have about 230 registered riders,” race director Todd Poquette said. “We’re looking at 90 in the long race that’ll leave here from Ishpeming and roughly 130 or so, 140, in the short race.”
The 35-mile ride ends at Marquette’s Lower Harbor. The 15-mile short ride also ends there and begins on Vandenboom Road in Marquette Township.
“You know, people thought that we’d possibly get 50 to 100 people,” continued Poquette. “We’re at 230. That’s going to grow by the time we close registration Friday night at Blackrocks. We’re just blown away by the response we’ve had from people.”
Online registration closes at 5 p.m. Wednesday. As Todd briefly mentioned, last-chance registration is from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at Blackrocks Brewery in Marquette.
You can go to 906AdventureTeam.com to register. The field is capped at 300 bikers.