We Miss You

On Wednesday, December 16th our community lost a great athlete, mentor, coach and more importantly, a family lost their father, their hero.

Bill Karinen was a great athlete and a tremendous supporter of cycling and cross country skiing in our community. He was a mentor and coach for kids in the Ski Tiger Program as well as the Kids Mountain Biking Team. He was also a beloved member of the Cross Country Sports staff.

In 2007 Bill began working full-time at Cross Country Sports and became our lead mechanic and right hand man at the Calumet Shop. He brought with him a great passion for the sport, integrity, commitment and a love of the business. His quick wit and humor made the shop a fun place to work. In addition to being an excellent bike mechanic and ski tech, Bill was an accomplished carpenter. He was also skilled in auto mechanics. But above all else, he was an exceptional husband and father whose love for his wife Lisa and their six children Nina, Pete, Oskar, Heidi, Ethel & Sami was so very evident every single day of his life. His family was simply his pride and joy, and his dedication and commitment to them was the center of his daily activities.

Bill’s great spririt, his love of family and passion for cycling and skiing will always live on in our hearts. May he inspire us to keep the passion burning, go the extra mile, and focus on the most precious things in life, which are family and friends.

We miss you Bill. Your family is in our thoughts and prayers.

Great Deals for the Holidays - up to 70% off

Cross Country Sports is moving the Houghton Store! Stop in now and get GREAT deals on all gear including 30-70% off alpine equipment. Don't miss out on this one and just in time for the holiday season. Gear is disappearing fast, so stop in now before its gone. All sales final.

Snow is Here, Trails are Open!!

Lake Superior is doing its job, the lake effect snow machine is in full action....trails are groomed...its time to ski or snowshoe and shovel in your spare time. Check out www.keweenawtrails.com for the latest ski reports.

Good News - Copper Harbor is now Epic

All of us knew that Copper Harbor was epic but now it has been designated an IMBA Epic! If you are a member of IMBA (if you are not, you should be), you'll be receiving your fall newsletter with Copper Harbor on the cover and an article announcing it as one of five new Epic Rides. Read more about IMBA epics on their website. Two thumbs up to the local trail crews for providing us with a riding paradise and trails worthy of Epic status....

End of Season? Not Quite - It's Fat Tire Weekend!

It's been a busy summer and we've been due to post an update for a while. Another successful Deer Chase wrapped up on August 15th with Nikolai Anikin of Duluth and Julie Meyer of Hayward taking the 27 mile crowns and 13 year-old Pete Karinen of Painesdale and Kathy Abbott of Atlantic Mine taking home the 17 mile crowns. Yes Pete is 13 and he did beat the 17 mile field by 2 minutes. Check out all the results here: http://www.greatdeerchase.org/ or pictures by Chris Schmidt.

The Deer Chase was event number 2 in the Keweenaw Triple crown of races. Next up is Copper Harbor this Sunday! If you don't race, you don't need to because there's enough excitement just watching the 350+ racers negotiate the rocky, rough terrain of Paul's Plunge from a designated spectator area. There's also music afterwards at the Township Park featuring the Squeaky Clean Cretins. More info at http://www.keweenawadventure.com/ See you there!