News and Updates
June 27, 2010 - Thank You to all Volunteers & Participants!
With day three of the Superior Bike Fest now coming to an end, a big "Thank You" to all those who volunteered and raced. We hope that everyone came away with satisfaction of being part of the 2010 Superior Bike Fest and invite you to come back again next year. Until the SBF website is up-dated you can find all the results at www.superiortiming.com.
June 26, 2010 - Day 2: Road & DH
Road racing is under way this morning and afternoon as cyclists challenge the 35, 55 and 100-mile venues. Last night's crit went great despite a couple rain shower during the pro/cat 1 & 2 race and the last race of the night for the masters 45+/55+. This afternoon will kick off the mountain bike events with downhill at Marquette Mountain starting at 1pm. For full results on all SBF events go to www.superiortiming.com.
June 25, 2010 - Superior Bike Fest HQ opens @ 1pm
It's here! The weekend we've all been waiting for and it's not too late to register. Stop by the Marquette Commons in downtown Marquette this afternoon and register for any one of the five events this weekend. The Twilight Criterium sponsored by the Landmark starts at 4pm today and wraps up at dusk. The pros are scheduled to race at 6:30pm.
June 19, 2010 - Jaycees Beer Garden & Entertainment at SBF
On Friday, June 25th, the Marquette Area Jaycees Beer Garden will be held at the Marquette Commons during The Landmark Inn’s Twilight Criterium. Gates will be opening at 5:00 p.m. and music and entertainment will run from 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. The Beer Garden will feature beers from Anheuser-Busch/Griffen Distributing, as well as wine and sports drinks. There is no cover charge so come down and enjoy Superior Bike Fest and take advantage of the great entertainment. I.D.’s will be checked. The Marquette Area Jaycees are very excited to be joined by Flat Broke Blues Band at this year’s beer garden. Sponsored by the Marquette DDA and Anheuser-Busch the Flat Broke Blues Band plays a large variety of blues, rock, soul and R&B. They are great addition to the Beer Garden and will significantly add to the excitement down at the race. The Marquette Area Jaycees will be holding a raffle featuring great prizes from Anheuser-Busch including a Michelob Ultra TREK Hybrid Bicycle as the grand prize. Raffle tickets cost $5 each or $20 for 5 tickets. All proceeds of the raffle will support the Jaycees, so that the organization can continue to give back to the community through various events including the Special Olympics Softball Tournament, Children’s Easter Egg Hunt and Children’s Museum Celebrity Art Auction. Contact any Jaycee for tickets or email mqtjcs@gmail.com for more information.
June 13, 2010 - Great Pre-race Registration Rates!
The SBF restructured its rates to make it more affordable for USAC and Citizen racers. By using an ala carte system, you can select which events you want to race and pay a flat fee for each one. Sign up by June 23 to avoid the next fee increase and the last minute rush.
June 9, 2010 - Superior Bike Fest is on Facebook
We want to be your friend! If you haven't already received an invite, log on to Facebook and search for the Superior Bike Fest and click on "Like" this will be a great way to keep in touch with the Fest and other racers.
July 9, 2009 - 2009 Race Photos
The 2009 Superior Bike Fest photos by Imagine Photography will be live at 5:00PM today! Check out the link (the password for the gallery is listed as the hint).
July 9, 2009 - Bike Race Socks
Hi Everyone, SBF socks are still for sale. Please e-mail jillgrundstrom@freichevy.com if you are interested.
June 22, 2009 - Marquette Arts and Culture Center event listings i
Here are some event listings from MACC for those of you coming to town. Also, the MACC group will be hosting Children's Activities at The Downtown Commons on Friday before the Twilight Criterium. Stop down and check it out!! Their website is http://www.mqtcty.org/arts.html June 22-PWPL & MACC Present After School Explorers for kids 1st through 5th grade to explore mysteries of the universe through stories, science and art. Mondays from 2-3:00pm. Call 228-0472 or 226-4323 for more information. June 22-PWPL Organization for Bat Conservation program 7-8:00pm 226-4323 for more info. June 23-PWPL Travel Journal book Binding with Betsy Rutz 11:00am Ages 8-12 226-4323 for more info. June 24-Pine Mountain Music Festival presents Bergonzi String Quartet Children’s Concert. Free at 1:00pm PWPL Community Room. 482-1542 for more info. June 24-Pine Mountain Music Festival presents Bergonzi String Quartet Concert. At 6:30pm in Reynold’s Recital Hall at NMU. $25 general and $10 student/child . 482-1542 for more info. June 25-Marquette City Band Concert “Great Patriots” at Presque Isle Park Band Shell. Starting at 7:30pm. June 25-PWPL Corinne Rockow Family Concert 1:30-2:30 pm all ages 226-4323 for more info. June 25-The Marquette Beautification & Restoration Committee presents Paul Albert, Marquette City Arborist, Marquette’s Budding Arboretum followed by a walking tour of Mattson Lower Harbor Park. Wear comfortable shoes. Luncheon 12-noon, Landmark Inn., non-members welcome. For more info, visit www.mqtbeautifications.org. June 26-NMU Film Symposium at the Mead Auditorium 10:00am-5:00pm. June 26-Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum School of Rock Middle School kids meet to jam. 226-3911 or visit www.upcmkids.org for more info. June 26-28-Superior Bike Fest begins. Mountain bike races, a circuit race and Twilight Criterium. Visit www.superiorbikefest.com for more info. June 26-Screening of Anatomy of a Murder at the Marquette County Courthouse 7:00pm. June 27-The Marquette Beautification & Restoration Committee presents 2nd Annual Garden Extravaganza at NMU from 8:00am-4:00pm. For more info, visit www.mqtbeautifications.org. June 27 & 28-Superior Bike Fest in Downtown Marquette. June 29-WNMU Screening of Anatomy ‘59: The Making of a Classic Motion Picture John Pepin, independent film maker hosts presentation and reception in the Community Room at PWPL 228-9510 for more info. June 29-PWPL & MACC Present After School Explorers for kids 1st through 5th grade to explore mysteries of the universe through stories, science and art. Mondays from 2-3:00pm. Call 228-0472 or 226-4323 for more information. June 30-PWPL Food Art program 6:30-7:30 pm 226-4323 for more info.
May 26, 2009 - Massages at SBF
We have two wondeful certified massage therapists (who are also members of the Marquette Mountain Ski Patrol) coming down to help all of you crazy bikers! Anne L'Esperace will be available: Friday at the Criterium on The Commons ice rink (or inside with registration) from 7-10 PM, Saturday at the YMCA under the trees from 1-3:30 PM, Sunday at Presque Isle near the band shell from 9:30 AM-12:00PM. Natalie Rossow will also be available on Saturday for the Road Race, time and location to be announced. All massages are $10 for 10 minutes.
May 26, 2009 - Pavement
Road Racer, GREAT NEWS! MDOT is replacing the pavement from the southside of MQT to the crossroads intersection. This construction will be completed by the day of the State Championship Road Race (pause to wipe sweat from brow and calm your breathing).
May 26, 2009 - Jim's Tuesday Evening Musings
1. There is a friendlier Mountain Chase course coming your way. 2. Online registration is being re-activated through active.com with special pricing for your patience! Watch daily, should be up this week. 3. The much anticipated SBF Racer Bible should also be coming your way this week! Our web designer is putting on the final touches! This will have all you need to know about the SBF including race start times and registration cut-offs, bib locations, awards specifics, course and downtown maps, and various race logistics.
May 26, 2009 - CRITERIUM RIDERS- PAY ATTENTION TO THIS!!!
Race order and start times are different than previous years. Please be sure to closely read the SBF Race Bible so that you do not miss your event! If you absolutely cannot wait for the much anticipated bible to come out, and feel like a little kid on Christmas morning in regards to this information, please e-mail jillgrundstrom@freichevy.com and she will let you know your event time.
May 26, 2009 - Kids at the Superior Bike Fest
The Marquette Arts and Culture Center, headed by Nikke Nason, will be downtown on Friday at The Commons hosting activities for kids! If you are a racer or spectator with children (or young at heart yourself,) please be sure to stop down. You may even see Jim and Donn making chalk drawings on the bare ice rink . . . definitely a sight to behold!
May 26, 2009 - New Sponsors
Hi Everyone! Be sure to check out the Sponors and Preferred Restaurants pages weekly to catch our new additions. Elizabeth's Chophouse (located right on Front Street) has recently come on board, along with our favorite Italian place, the Casa Calabria, the Northland Pub at The Landmark, Uprfont and Company (our gracious Friday evening awards host), and the fastest and tastiest sandwich this side of Lake Superior, Jimmy John's.
April 13, 2009 - New Sponsors
Be sure to check out our updated Sponsor Page! We have some great new people on board with us!
April 13, 2009 - SBF Ambassardors
Are you a frequent SBF rider who wants to go the extra mile? Become an SBF Ambassador and help us spread the word about our event! Please send your mailing address to jillgrundstrom@freichevy.com and we will send you a packet of event posters and race registration forms to be distributed to your community. Help us make this the best SBF yet!
March 9, 2009 - Marie Peasley joins again as Silver Level Sponsor
We are proud to welcome back our wonderful Web designer, Marie Peasley, as a Silver Sponsor! Please check out her fundraising efforts for polio eradication! http://www.raceforpolio.com.
March 9, 2009 - The bells will be ringing!
Great News . . . we have doubled the bell count for Friday night downtown! Not only will Jilbert's Dairy be sponsoring again, but Marquette General Hospital will join them in presenting the cowbells to our spectators.
March 9, 2009 - The doctors are in . . .
It is our honor to announce the sponsorship of Upper Michigan Cardiovascular Associates at the Silver Level and Orthopedic Surgery Associates of Marquette at the Bronze Level! Thanks to each group for their continued support of the SBF!
March 9, 2009 - We are now on FACEBOOK!
Check out our group page on Facebook (Superior Bike Festival, yes, we made it pretty easy)! Everyone is welcome and be sure to invite your friends!
March 9, 2009 - Negaunne Iron and Metal joins on
Negaunee Iron and Metal has joined the Superior Bike Fest again for 2009 as a Silver Level Sponsor and will present the digital scoreboard for the Friday night Twilight Criterium.
March 3, 2009 - MGH signs on as Platinum Sponsor
We are proud to announce that Marquette General Hospital has joined the Superior Bike Fest as a Platinum Sponsor for 2009!
March 3, 2009 - Upper Penninsula Health Plan joins as Silver Spons
Upper Penninsula Health Plan has joined the Superior Bike Festival family as a Silver Level Sponsor for 2009!
February 19, 2009 - Coming for 2009 . . .
Here is a little taste of what is coming- 2009 Michigan State Road Racing Championship, lower Citizen racing fees, new Twilight Criterium Race schedule, Circuit Race course change pending. More details to come!!
June 17, 2008 - Jamie Smith to speak at Down Wind Sports
The crowds of the Superior Bike Fest Friday Night Criterium are in for a treat this year as veteran race announcer and long-time roadie Jamie Smith provides the color commentary under the lights of downtown Marquette. A Roadie Happy Hour with Smith will be held Saturday June 21 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Downwind Sports in Marquette. Everyone is welcome to hear Smith’s tales of life on the inside of professional pelotons. He’ll be also selling and signing his new book from VeloPress, Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer as well as answering questions.
June 16, 2008 - Richardson Jewelers and Seiko
Richardson Jewelers and Seiko are back for the 2008 SBF. The Pro,1,2 Men and Women's Omnium Overall champions will each receive one of the beautiful Seiko watches. The 24 mile XC male and female winners will also receive one of these very nice watches. Thank you Richardson's and Seiko!
June 16, 2008 - Health Net's Frank Pipp at 2008 SBF
We're excited to have Frank Pipp riding for Health Net racing in this year's SBF. Here's your chance to race with one of the country's top professional rider's.
June 16, 2008 - New DH course video
Here's a look at the new DH course, top to bottom. http://quickstopbike.blogspot.com
June 16, 2008 - Corvette Club to provide pace cars
When was the last time you had a Corvette as a pace car? The Marquette County Corvette Club will be out in full force escorting all of the races through Marquette County.
May 2, 2008 - New Crit Schedule, more racing!
We've listened to you and we agree, longer crits! Check out the new crit scedule to see the changes. We've also added additional lighting along the course, just in case. What a great way to spend the longest day of the year.
April 14, 2008 - New Junior rider discount!!
We want to do everything we can to encourage young rider participation. Therefore we've come up with new pricing for riders 17 and younger. 35 bucks will get them into any and all events over the weekend. For 35 bucks, they'll be able to race the Friday night crit, the Saturday road race and the Sunday circuit race. We do have a XC deal for kids 14 and under also. We're currently updating our registration pages. So get the kids fired up and we'll see you in June!
April 12, 2008 - Chocolay Ace Hardware ready for this year's SBF
A KMK founder and member has taken initiative in supporting the growth of local involvement in USA Cycling road events. Tom Mahaney, owner of Chocolay Ace Hardware has committed to privately support, develop, and fund a local road racing team. Funding sponsorship is also being provided by Kent Jenema of Peninsula Pharmacy. The team will be a USAC category 4 and higher race team participating in events throughout the Midwest. This sponsorship will allow more racers to attend races while defraying a portion of the cost involved with travel, equipment, and entry fees. Mahaney will be the director of the Chocolay Ace Hardware cycling team and hopes to provide a team where “weekend warriors” can reach their potential through teamwork and also a place where younger riders can be supported in there climb through the ranks. The team has had a spring training camp to kick start the season. Although the first race was cancelled due to bad weather, the team has a full schedule including the Duluth Classic stage race, Superior Bike Fest, and Superweek. Other supporting sponsors include KMK, Signs Unlimited, Bontrager and the Sports Rack. Roster: Cat 4 Chris “Topher” Chase Tony Lackey Blu Tenbrink Dave Grant Wes Pernsteiner Cat 3 Derek Anderson Jeff Juntti Greg “Stumpy” Steltenpohl Eric Chase Ben LaForce Tom Mahaney Andy Langlois Cat 2 Tyler Jenema
April 8, 2008 - Exiciting Changes for 2008
This year we've bumped the weekend's cash purse to $9,100. We've also added categories. Cat 3's, Cat 4's, Master's 35+ and Master's 45+ are now separated. We've also moved up the start time for Saturday's road race to 11:00 AM for that little bit of extra recovery from Friday night. This year, all awards will be given after each race following the 15 minute protest period. For teams traveling up, we've arranged rooms at one of our accomodation sponsors at a discounted rate. 89 bucks per room, fill it up with riders. That also includes an excellent breakfast buffet. Please email us for details as this is a first come, first serve deal and the number of rooms are limited. Check out the 2008 race bible for more details.
April 8, 2008 - The 2008 SBF is now part of the MBRA series calend
For the first time ever, the 2008 SBF is now part of the Michigan Bicycle Racing Series. If you're looking for points, here's three days of racing to earn them.
April 4, 2008 - Superior Bike Fest Article in Marquette Magazine
Superior Bike Fest The story has it that the plans for Superior Bike Fest were hatched by a couple of Ski Patrollers on Marquette Mountain’s chair lift in the middle of winter. Whether it was the view alone that inspired them or the fact that the view included the course for the Mountain Chase bike race, we may never know. But that day, Donn Wolf and Jim Grundstrom, part of the Ski Patrol crew that put on the Mountain Chase, were thinking less about skiing than about a bigger and better bike race. Their summit meeting (so to speak) set the ball rolling. The Mountain Chase expanded to include a popular new road racing event. Donn and Jim agreed to share race director duties. And they renamed the enterprise ‘Superior Bike Fest’ to reflect its wider scope. The Superior Bike Fest has boomed in the three years since then. USA Cycling, bike racing’s governing body, now sanctions several events, attracting top competitors from Maine to Arizona. The number of riders has increased from 85 the final year of the Mountain Chase to around 500 last year. And spectators have discovered the thrill of the race: thousands of them gather in downtown Marquette to watch the Superior Bike Fest’s Friday twilight criterium. If you’re not a cycling aficionado, ‘criterium’ may sound like arcane legal or scientific jargon. Rest assured it’s way more exciting than that. A criterium is a bike race held on a course of closed streets in an urban setting. Cyclists pedal laps for a specified time, trying to stay with the pack. If the pack circles around and overtakes you so that you’re a lap behind, you’ve been ‘lapped’, and you’re out. The first cyclist to cross the finish line after time is up wins. Most criterium racing, said Donn, takes place in slightly less-populated sections of a city, such as old industrial areas. But Superior Bike Fest’s directors are just crazy—or visionary—enough to put their course in the heart of downtown Marquette. “Riders are just blown away to find themselves riding in the streets of a real city,” Donn said. You can imagine what a blast it is for spectators, too. They’re an arm’s length (should they be so foolish as to stick out an arm) from a swarm of cyclists zooming by at speeds up to twenty-eight miles per hour. Cycling, even at these velocities, is still a silent sport. If you’re listening closely as the pack passes, you’ll hear breathing and maybe a whirr of spinning chain. They come upon you with the swift silence of a cougar taking down its prey, gone before you can focus your thoughts or your camera. It takes your breath away. If that intrigues you, you can take the next step and participate. Superior Bike Fest has ‘citizen’ categories for the amateur racer in each of its five major events, including the criterium. There are even two one-lap classes in the criterium for kids up to age 12, and the effect on young riders is electric. “These kids' eyes are like silver dollars when they cross the finish line,” Donn said. There’s no charge to enter the youth classes, so your kid can get a taste of racing and it won’t cost you a cent (at least until he or she gets addicted to the rush and requires you to purchase a high-end racing bike). Saturday’s road race takes riders out of the city and into the countryside. The pro classes race a 100-mile course that loops twice through Gwinn and Palmer before returning to the starting point in Marquette. Too far for you? Try the 55-mile or 35-mile versions. Rather ride your mountain bike in the road race? There’s a class for that too. There’s even a non-competitive touring category for riders who want the fun and logistical support of the race without the pressure. The old Mountain Chase lives on in Saturday’s downhill event. The concept of the race is pretty straightforward. You start at the top; you end at the bottom. Between you and the finish line is a single-track path twisting back and forth across Marquette Mountain. The curves are expertly banked, designed by trail architects Doug Pennala and Mike Brunet to optimize the physics of getting to the bottom as fast as your daredevil soul will allow. This event is almost as spectator-friendly as Friday’s criterium. You can observe from practically any point along the trail, as long as you earn that right with a little uphill hike. Sunday’s cross-country race is another holdover from the Mountain Chase. The eight-mile single-track course circles Marquette Mountain. You can ride the one, two, or three-lap category, or get a couple of buddies and enter the three-lap race as a team, each of you taking one spin around the course. The circuit race at K.I. Sawyer on Sunday morning is sort of a cross between a criterium and a road race. Cyclists loop a 2.2 mile course for a set amount of time that varies by class, starting and finishing at the W. There’re plenty of spectator opportunities there, too. And there’s plenty of incentive to give a couple of events a whirl yourself. Besides cash prizes, the Fest awards riders points for all events in which they compete. Riders with the highest totals get the Omnium award—an overall prize for the Renaissance man and woman of the Bike Fest. You don’t have to be the best at one thing; you can do reasonably well in several categories and rank. Or you can just watch. That’s okay too. This year’s Superior Bike Fest is June 20-22. Check out www.superiorbikefest.com for details on all of the events.
June 27, 2007 - The 2007 SBF is now in the books
Thanks to everyone for making the 2007 SBF the event that it is. Great racing, great people and a great time made for an unforgettable weekend of cycling. We're already planning the 2008 SBF so keep your calendars open. We hope to see everyone back next year. In the meantime, enjoy the summer and keep on rolling those wheels..
