Wide stance, let ‘er dance: big boy clinic 2025

Image credit: Haley Goodreau, @halesgoodreau

Written by Don Lee – Copper Harbor Trails Club board member

---

Don Lee is a board member of the Copper Harbor Trails Club (CHTC). Copper Harbor features nearly 60 miles of hand- and machine-built trails and is an IMBA Silver-level ride center. CHTC enjoys incredible support from our membership and continues to add trails and amenities annually, while being mindful of the unique and ecologically sensitive nature of the Keweenaw Peninsula. CHTC recently hosted the 2025 Big Boy Clinic, and Don joined the clinic to level-up his riding and share his experience. His perspective offers a unique glimpse into the hands-on training that helps keep CHTC's clinics thriving year after year. Don’s account highlights what makes the clinic special, emphasizing the incredible sense of community as riders of all levels come together to share knowledge and stoke.

"I spend an unhealthy amount of time on the internet watching reels of riders “send it” and probably a lesser, but still unhealthy amount of time watching tutorial videos on how to turn, jump, brake, and drill to improve my mountain biking skills, and then never practice any of it. I’ve been mountain biking long enough that it’s embarrassing to put into print and I recently joined the Copper Harbor Trails Club (CHTC) board. I was fortunate enough to slip into the 2025 CHTC Big Boy Clinic at the last minute and can attest that it was one of the best cycling experiences of my life.

The Big Boy clinic began in 2015 and was founded by John Gershenson. The clinic began as John recognized that riders raved about the incredibly popular CHTC Women’s Weekend clinic. John figured guys would enjoy leveling up in a supportive environment, with professional coaches on world-class trails while enjoying the beauty of the Keweenaw Peninsula. His idea was that the older faster racers were getting left behind on this new sendy style of trail riding by riders with new and different experience and that “we needed to stop riding like babies and start riding like ‘big boys’”, hence the name. John shared that, “starting up the Big Boy Clinic is one of the most selfish things I’ve ever done. I just wanted a way to get myself coached up to ride here in the Harbor.

"I knew what I needed - a weekend of great coaching and the peer pressure of riding with a bunch of guys”.

The first year, coaching staff included Phil Ott and Lianna Miller who hosted nine riders looking to level up their MTB skills. Both are still coaching. As word got out more riders registered, additional coaching staff was added, and other logistics surrounding the event like food, socializing, and the beloved Saturday night “beerluck” (beer potluck) evolved, more on this later... The coaches are highly experienced with backgrounds that span cycling disciplines from BMX, XC, downhill, enduro, and MTB endurance racing. Coaches are certified by either the Professional Mountain Bike Instructor Association (PMBIA) or the Bike Instructor Certification Program (BICP). Each of these organizations have an international presence and comply with global industry certification standards for instructor training.

The groups were sorted using a questionnaire that registrants filled out as part of the registration process. The questionnaire was designed to gain understanding of each rider’s abilities, experience, current fitness level, types of riding and trails they prefer, strengths and weaknesses in terms of skills, and what they hope to accomplish during the clinic. Using this information, the magic hat sorted riders into seven groups with similar skill levels, riding styles, and goals, and assigned the coaches according to their strengths in those areas. Once the riders were sorted, each group was sent an email icebreaker from their coach who spent a little more time digging into the hopes and dreams of their riding crew.

Far Right: Casey Kruger. Image credit: Dylan Juchemich, @jukendorf

I was fortunate enough to land with Casey Krueger’s crew. Casey is a lifelong athlete, starting skiing at three and biking at five-years old. He founded the XC ski team at his high school where he was an all-state skier and qualified for the Junior Olympics. He was recruited to ski on UW-Green Bay’s D1 Nordic team, where he received a degree in Exercise Science. Casey shared that “the mountain bike was my favorite cross-training tool”.  After college, he discovered MTB enduro racing and competed in 2014 Crested Butte Ultra Enduro (5-day), and the Enduro World Series in Crested Butte in 2016.  He won the Expert Enduro at Copper Harbor Trails Fest in 2016 and 2019. He’s a stellar athlete and can regularly be found ripping turns and whipping wheels in the Harbor. Our assistant coach on Friday was Tanner Carl, and Alec Ruonavaara on Saturday both great athletes and accomplished riders.

In total 55 riders attended this year’s clinic and were divided into seven groups, each with a lead and assistant coach. Steve Vizanko is a local from Hancock, MI and the head coach and organizer. Steve organized the sessions while floating between them to check in on the riders and enjoy some rips with the various groups. One of the many benefits of riding with this coaching staff is that the coaches are all familiar with the Copper Harbor Trails system. Many of them have ridden here for years and some of them still ride here regularly.

The weekend schedule began with riders meeting up at the Copper Harbor Community Center Friday around 9:00am for a true summer camp arts and crafts experience. There were leftover number plates, stickers, markers, glue, and glitter and riders blinged their names and adorned their plates while enjoying some incredible baked goods courtesy of Jamsen’s Fish Market & Bakery. The mood was light, and the atmosphere was casual as riders chatted in anticipation of the weekend’s events while the 2025 UCI World Cup Downhill Loudenvielle qualifiers played on the big screen in the background. About 9:45am Steve corralled the riders outside the visitors center to discuss the itinerary and provide a safety briefing. The Harbor is remote with limited cell signal so there’s a dedicated bike patrol that has radio contact with local emergency services. The coaches called up their riders and organized into groups and then headed down the road to Trails End Campground for the morning skills sessions.

The Friday morning sessions were all about body positioning and balance applied to turning, braking, and weighting and unweighting the bike to clear obstacles. It was a little wet with some light rain in the morning which made flat turns in the grass a bit challenging but also created a low consequence situation where riders could test the limits of their turning and braking while trying out different body positions over the bike and feeling how changes in body position impact traction. Coaches looked on providing constructive feedback and advice for improving various aspects of the drills. It was interesting to see and experience the increased confidence and progression we gained as we repeated these drills. The turns became faster and braking modulation and handling improved while bunny hops became higher and longer. It was obvious that these foundational skills paid immediate dividends. After a little over an hour of drills the groups headed into the woods to test our improved skills. 

Casey’s crew headed up Berry Picker to Daisy Dukes which is a fun, approachable flow trail jumpline with small tabletops. We began the process of dissecting features and applying our skills to the trail.

Of the many anecdotes for the weekend was “wide stance, let ‘er dance.”

Casey’s advice on moving over the bike to keep your center of gravity as the terrain changed, particularly in

Image credit: Dylan Juchemich, @jukendorf

turns. After sessioning Daisy Dukes we headed back to the rustic amphitheater at Trails End Campground for the traditional Friday pasty lunch provided the Mohawk Superette. After lunch we were back at it. The way that each session works is that depending on the group you were sorted into and your flavor of skill building each crew would session certain features and sections of trail. Each session included taking apart the feature or section and coaches would talk through and then demonstrate how to apply the techniques learned during the skill building sessions. Isolating various features during these sessions proved highly beneficial as we hiked or rode back up the trail to repeat features multiple times. Coaching staff provided real-time feedback on body position, speed, and technique, which accelerated riders’ skill and confidence. 

Saturday was more of the same at an accelerated pace level on bigger features. Throughout the day the constant encouragement from others during these sessions built confidence and good vibes between the riders. As the coaches observed the improved abilities and increased riders’ confidence increased, we began to take advantage of some more direct instruction. Saturday night riders assembled at the Copper Harbor community center for socializing and the ‘beerluck’. This year’s participants ‘understood the assignment’ sharing an abundance of their local faves from all over the midwest.

I often say in life “you don’t know what you don’t know”, and this is where being towed in to a feature or section is instructional. While dissecting Thunderbolt we had the pleasure of the company of Adam Yeoman (Interim Executive Director), Nick Ryan (Trails Coordinator), Harrison Smith (Assistant Executive Director), and Haley Goodreau (Photography and Marketing guru) who were floating between hustling food, hydration, photography, and stoke, sneak in some ‘demonstration runs’ with us. Thunderbolt is a fast, flowy, chunky ripper with a pretty sendy jump line mid-run that eventually drops into the Citrus Tech rock slabs for the finale, it’s a bit of everything that East Bluff Bike Park and Campground has to offer and a local favorite. I was the beneficiary of one particularly instructional tow in behind Adam on the Thunderbolt jump line. This brings me to another important learning tool that I hadn’t previously taken advantage of in an organized setting, “towing in”.

Towing in is the road to Valhalla in terms of leveling up. When I say, “you don’t know what you don’t know”, in this case you can learn by tying in the skills you’ve practiced behind a competent rider at speed. Adam, like many of the other coaches, has a distinct riding style. I would say in his case it’s smooth and scary-fast, which probably comes from years of taking high speed turns with questionable traction as a rally car racer. That minute or so ripping a section of trail that I never considered riding at that speed was one of several experiences I enjoyed during this weekend that challenged my apprehension and changed me as a rider. By the end of the weekend, I was cleaning jumps and features I’d never cleaned, or in some cases never even tried. Towing in wasn’t mandatory and it isn’t for everybody. The coaching staff was clear that riders should be in control and ride within their limits.

Sunday groups were organized by routes and riders were given the opportunity to choose their own adventure and ride with different groups based on chosen routes. This gave people the opportunity to expand their skills into different areas, experience a chill ride exploring trails they haven’t ridden or just enjoy riding the trails with more relaxed coaching. It was a little drizzly, and everybody was pretty beat from two days of physically and mentally demanding riding, so it was a nice way to wrap up a fun weekend. Riders who hung around on Sunday for the post-ride chili lunch courtesy of The Mariner North were expected to build a sixer (or two) to-go from the abundance of beers left from Saturday’s ‘beerluck’. 

Our crew gelled nicely. It was a broad range of ages, with guys from Wisconsin, Illinois, lower Michigan, and some local riders. The banter was supportive, the clowning was constant, and the high fives and fist bumps were warm and seemingly endless. There were a few spills as you’d expect when pushing your physical limits and applying new skills but seeing the joy on the faces of the guys on our crew as they pushed past limits and made unexpected gains, and the relief we felt watching guys brush it off and get back in the saddle was sheer inspiration. One of my favorite moments of the weekend was seeing Mike Rygiewicz, a rider on Casey’s crew and a first-time Big Boy participant, conquer the second slab on Citrus Tech. It’s one of the most daunting features at East Bluff and witnessing Mike descend the slab with the crew rushing him in a congratulatory celebration at the bottom was a truly moving moment.

I asked John and Casey about their takeaways from this year’s clinic. John said, “I was walking in the parking lot of The Bella Vista Motel on Sunday morning and overheard two campers talking as they were loading their car. One said to the other about Saturday’s clinic day, ‘that was the best day of riding I have ever had on my bike.’ Nothing more to say.” Casey responded, “I thoroughly enjoy nerding out on mountain biking with other like-minded guys and watching the progression and camaraderie is such a blast. I personally walk away from every Big Boy Clinic feeling more comfortable on the bike and more confident in my riding. One of my highlights for the weekend was watching Mike do that final slab on Citrus and all you other guys congratulating him and cheering him on, that’s what it’s all about!”

"It’s not possible for me to recount all the incredible moments or stories from the weekend, and there are so many more memories and shenanigans I’d like to share and riders I wish to mention."

The takeaway for me is that this is much more than just a clinic. Coaches and riders spent the weekend together clowning around, sharing meals (the Fried Chicken Brockway Sandwich at Lake Effect Bar & Grill is my personal go-to and pairs nicely with Blackrocks Mykiss), post-ride stories, and the joy of pushing through apprehension and ultimately becoming better riders. Every person I spoke with, including coaches, confirmed that their riding skills improve with every clinic. The fact that about a third of riders return to the clinic is a testament to the coaching effectiveness and the vibe. The best way to understand this truly incredible experience (and hear more of Casey’s clever anecdotes) is to join us in 2026 for the CHTC Big Boys Clinic. Until then, join us on guided Thursday Night Group Rides through the summer and into fall (weather permitting) or look for us on the trails this summer. We hope to see you soon!”

Think ahead, join us next year for the Clinic!

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BIG BOY CLINIC