Community, Nature and Bikes
Photo by Drew Palmer
By Chris Loud
Sun contributor
A local nonprofit aims to bring brand new, eco-conscious multi-use trails and a bolstered mountain bike community to Leelanau County, to provide more outdoor activity options for people of all ages, and to help locals rediscover the natural wonders in their own backyard.
Recently, Cody Sprattmoran and Molly Steck started “Bike Leelanau”, hoping to combine their passion for mountain biking with their Leelanau roots. Their knowledge, experience, and excitement for the sport, and the love of their home peninsula, has already produced winery-centric bike nights, family friendly outings, and creative partnerships with local companies and organizations like Suttons Bay Bikes, 45 North Vineyard & Winery and Epicure Catering.
The goal is to bring the community together through inventive happenings all over the county, and spur interest in new trails for all levels of bikers. Bike Leelanau is also there to help other groups with complementary interests. “At the most basic level, Bike Leelanau is a sounding board, a group to show support to other groups and organizations interested in bike culture in Leelanau County,” said co-founder Sprattmoran. “It’s all about improving quality of life with locals and people from out of town groups to help other groups.”
Sprattmoran grew up in a house off a dirt road in Leelanau County. After college in Maine, and studying abroad in New Zealand, she came back to Leelanau and worked in early childhood development before pursuing her passion for mountain biking. If her life major is outdoor lifestyle, her minor would be child development and education. Her mom ran a local preschool and her dad was a teacher. Her family was really involved in the local community. At a young age she was able to observe her mom as a female activist, which inspired her a great deal, and made her feel like it was possible to be a strong community leader. One of the many initiatives Bike Leelanau will focus on is getting more women involved in mountain biking, which Sprattmoran believes is an underrepresented group in the sport.
Another main concern is the lack of outdoor options for kids who aren’t necessarily into traditional team sports. It’s part of Bike Leelanau’s mission to make sure the revamped bike culture in the area extends to kids and young families, and not just expert riders. Nature deficit disorder is something parents have become more and more concerned with, now that screens have supplanted many outdoor activities. And fighting that means going beyond getting out on the soccer or baseball field. It’s important to get out into wild nature, and Bike Leelanau aims to help bring access to nature, while limiting the human footprint.
“Leelanau County is the right place for trails because it is the missing link, said co-founder Steck. “We already have so much to offer in other aspects—National Lakeshore, plenty of water recreation, hiking, and of course road biking. Mountain biking trails are a no-brainer. There is a demand for them. It just seems like the perfect fit to incorporate bike trails here.”
Steck grew up in Traverse City, and her husband is from Suttons Bay. She lives and works in Leelanau County. Her wishes for Bike Leelanau and the region are simple, thoughtful, and optimistic. “I truly hope locals and tourists alike will not only be able to enjoy amazing trails, but also form friendships and help to build a like-minded community focused on healthy, happy lifestyles.” Steck’s zeal is apparent when she talks about the sport, and she wants to share with others that feeling she gets when she rides. “I love mountain biking because it gives me mental clarity. There is just something about breezing through the trees on my bike that makes me giddy. The physical benefits are just a bonus.”
Sprattmoran and Steck have a love/need relationship with mountain biking, no question, and they’re betting others in the area might feel the same way. But beyond that, it’s the “like-minded community” aspect that brought them back and kept them here in Leelanau.
After working at the Leelanau Children’s Center for several years, Sprattmoran spent some time living away from home in search of great trails and mountain bike culture, stopping for a while in the mountains of New England. She found great trails, but something was missing. Then in 2015, she happened to be back in Leelanau during the big wind storm that left the area with extensive tree and structure damage. Sprattmoran recalls the incredible showing of solidarity that took place throughout the region. Construction workers helped cut and move downed trees, food was shared with those without power, and people really came together. This past fall, a large storm hit her region out east. Sprattmoran said she didn’t see a single neighbor the entire time they recovered from the storm. That was the defining moment for her, and soon thereafter, she packed up her life again and moved back home.
But it wasn’t just a bad experience with a storm and a lack of neighborly action; Sprattmoran noticed that the mountain bike culture in many of the places she visited was missing the core foundations of community. They didn’t feel inclusive or supportive, and they didn’t feel like Leelanau.
So Sprattmoran and Steck decided to bring the trails to an already amazing community, with beautiful terrain begging to be seen, explored, and further preserved. Sprattmoran’s enthusiasm was never more apparent than when she started to speak about some of the natural wonders within Leelanau County that many locals don’t have access to, and some didn’t even know existed.
Her voice popped with excitement when she mentioned kettle lakes, which are lakes formed by glacial activity. As a glacier recedes, chunks of ice fall off the edge, which is called ice calving. The chunk of ice is then buried underneath the glacial outwash, which is generated by streams of meltwater flowing away from the glacier, depositing sediment across the land. When the ice chunk melts, the kettle hole is formed. Sometimes the kettle is fed with groundwater, creating a kettle lake.
The results are small, relatively deep lakes that seem to occur in unexpected places. Because of their small surface size, you might pass one thinking it’s a shallow puddle or pond, when in some cases they could be 30 feet deep, or more. It’s this hidden, surprising depth that makes the kettle lake alluring, and they’re right here in Leelanau County. One of the goals is to have little plaques along the trails identifying some of these formations. That’s just one example of the natural treasures in the area that could be more accessible to bikers and hikers with more multi-use trails.
In the months ahead, Bike Leelanau hopes to solidify plans for some ambitious events and collaborations. You don’t often think of agriculture and biking together, but both rely on researched, careful use of land. Bike Leelanau wants to host events where people can explore farms by bike, learn about the farmers, and hopefully connect people even more to the land. There is even talk of biking through an edible forest, learning about the forest along the way, and then enjoying what nature has to offer. The idea is to grow appreciation for the land by way of the bike, which will then hopefully lead to even more conservation efforts.
They’re also working with the Disability Network of Northern Michigan to acquire a hand pedal trike, to be available at Bike Leelanau events for people who want to test out mountain biking but might not normally be able to take part. It’s all about inclusion in the experience.
Sprattmoran told a story of a man who came to one of the events who said he hadn’t rode a bike in ages. As soon he got out on the trail, he was a kid again. There’s something about riding a bike that brings out the inner child. Plus, it’s a low impact activity. No matter your age, as long as you can bike or trike, you can feel like a kid again. So why not experience that on a beautiful trail, out in nature, just minutes from home? Bike Leelanau hopes to make that happen for Leelanau residents and visitors.
So what can you do? In short … BIKES. They want to have a fleet of bikes so they can provide them for people at their events. That way, anyone can come out and try the sport without worrying about a financial commitment. If you want to donate a bike, find out about upcoming events, or further get involved with Bike Leelanau’s mission, visit their website BikeLeelanau.com to find out how you can help.
