Mountain Biking in Macomb

My name is Michael Green and I am 45 years old.  I was born in St. Louis, Missouri and moved to Macomb County from Sanford, North Carolina when I was in 7th grade.  The majority of my life has been spent in Michigan, primarily in Macomb and Oakland County.  I am a graduate of Sterling Heights High School – class of 1991.  I attended Macomb Community College, but did not finish. Instead, I pursued a career in IT, and I am currently the manager of a large Health Organization’s Knowledge Management Team.  I am married to a native Shelby Township woman and we have two little girls. We also currently reside in Shelby Township.

I have been using the surrounding parks in Macomb County since I moved here: from biking and blading into Metro Beach, to burning laps out at Stony Creek on my road bike and hiking the nature trails at Stony.  I started Mountain biking in 1999 and was instantly hooked!  I sit in an office most days and I can’t tell you how good it feels when the tires hit the dirt.  You get out in the woods were it is serene and quiet, save for natures chorus.  It is so peaceful and relaxing that it just whisks you away from the daily grind and I can feel the relaxation setting in.

We in this area are very spoiled when it comes to parks and available trail usage.  I still have family and friends that are from out of state and they are amazed at all the options we have.  Where I used to live in St.Louis, there are only two real Mountain bike trails nearby… That’s it….two.  We have 13!  Granted, some are in our Oakland, but 13 trails within a 30 minute drive is amazing.

I probably spend the majority of my trail riding time between Stony Creek, Riverbends, and Clinton River Park Trail (CRPT).  You can actually connect The Riverbends Trail to  Clinton RiverPark trail system.  You only have to cross one street in downtown Utica.  If you were to start in Riverbends and ride to CRPT and back, it is a little over 16 miles!

We are also very fortunate because we have a highly active mountain bike group called CRAMBA (the Clinton River Area Mountain Bike Association.)  (www.CRAMBA.org)   We do the majority of the trail building and maintenance.  They also put on clinics, local events, and sponsor group rides.