Bike Across the Bay event

Presented By: North Coast Cycling Association

Join us for Wisconsin's most unique fat bike race Ride on the awesome expanse of Lake Superior ice and enjoy the unpredictable beauty of the greatest lake in the world.

NEW This Year! 

This years proceeds after expenses will go towards the National Intercolligiate Cycling Association  (NICA) Chequamegon Chapter. NICA is working to develop mountain biking into the schools in Ashland and Bayfield Counties as a regular intermural sport. Also see our new cancellation policy below.

THE RACE

The race is held on the frozen surface of Lake Superior.

Choose between two courses:


10k
20k


The course takes place on a portion of the Book Across the Bay course the morning after the event. An on-land alternative is not available in the event of unsafe ice conditions. The Chequamegon bay has the best ice on lake Superior and we do not anticipate a problem considering recent  and continuing cold weather. 

Due to the change of venue of the Bike Across the Bay event to Washburn, we have contracted Bayfield Nordic to groom a custom trail to the "Dragon Island" turn around of the Book course.  We will use about 5k of the Book Course.

This is a fat bike race! We require 3.5" wide tires. Studded tires are highly recommended due to the chance of icy or snowy conditions racing on the ice.

There is no race catagory for e-bikes in this event. 

THE VENUE

Registration and after party are located at the Harbor View Event Center at 130 Harborview Drive, Washburn, WI. Harbor View provides us with some fantastic amenities, including indoor bathrooms, event space, hot chocolate and coffee, a food table, cash bar,  and local vendors and bike shops. Plan to stick around for awards and to socialize the afternoon after the race!

Covid

The Harborview offers lots of space and room to social distance if you are still crowd shy.

Preregistration

We encourage pre-registration to avoid additional fees and delays. See our cancellation policy below.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Please note: due to course logistics, we have had to reschedule the start of the race for 12:00 noon. The schedule below reflects the new timeline.

10:00am    Registration and check-in

11:30am    Last call/prep

11:50am    Line up at race start (Staggered start - no mass start)

12:00pm   Race Start

 1:00pm   Approx. First racers come in

 1:00pm   Bar opens, food snacks and drinks at Harbor View Event Center

 2:00pm   Awards Ceremony

 

THE AREA

Washburn is a beautiful small community on Lake Superior that hosts a wide range of silent sport options in the beautiful Chequamegon Bay area. Find more information about our region at https://www.bayfieldcounty.org/298/Visitor-Information

Please be aware that Bike Across the Bay occurs the morning after the Book Across the Bay ski race, an event which brings in thousands of people to our small region. If you will be travelling from afar, please confirm hotel availability before registering for our race. The surrounding communities of Bayfield, Washburn, Ashland, and Iron River have several hotel options, but hotels will become very crowded during the big events going on! Our Sponsor, The Washburn Inn, is  next to our venue may have special rates if you choose to stay Sunday evening as well.

Cancellation Policy

There is no refund for your cancellation, however this year we are encouraging pre-registration.  If we experience extreme weather, bad ice or for some reason cannot provide a ridable course we will cancel the event and issue a refund in the amounts possible after funds already expended. We will make this decision on the best available knowledge the day before the event. 

Bike Across the Bay and North Coast Cycling Association are not affiliated with the Book Across the Bay ski race.