Today’s Wallpaper Wednesday image of the last ice road crossing comes from our pal John Murphy in Bayfield, WI. John and a small group of fat bikers from Bayfield managed to organize a ride across the ephemeral ice road out to Madeline Island this winter. I try to make the crossing every year, but missed it this year because the ice road was open for less than a week or so.
Living in beautiful Bayfield has many advantages, not the least of which is local knowledge about ice conditions on Chequamegon Bay. There are a number of sea caves along the shore of the peninsula and shore of Madeline Island that you can fat bike to when the ice is solid. Ice conditions on Lake Superior can change daily.
Those who live in Bayfield can get out on the ice on short notice when conditions are perfect. On the other hand, for the 300 or so residents who live on Madeline Island year-round, transportation to the mainland has its challenges. There is a regular ferry service that allows vehicles to cross most of the year, but in the winter, they use airboats to ferry people, mail and other goods across.
The ice road is only open when conditions permit, and with climate change, solid ice has been less dependable and more short-lived. It’s great to see that the North Coast Cycling Association crew managed to organize a group ride.
Got your own Wallpaper Worthy Photo?
We’d like to feature fatbikes from around the world!
If you’ve got a nice fat-bike-related image that you feel is “Wallpaper Worthy”, slap it in an email with what, where, why info as well as photographer’s credit to [email protected] and you may see your creative work here! Must be a horizontal (16:9 ideal or croppable to that aspect ratio), quality screen resolution (72 dpi or higher) main image to preserve image quality! Feel free to include a supporting image or two for the story body.
