LAMBO Events & Goals for 2022

Cold weather, closed highways and treacherous winds didn’t stop participants from coming in from all over the Midwest to race in this year’s Rip, Zip and Sip annual Fat Bike race held at LAMBO’s Zip Trail on February 19th, just south of Minocqua. Men and women representing all age groups showed up on a clear, crisp Saturday to take on either the 7k or 21k course consisting of some of the best groomed fat bike trails in Wisconsin, thanks to hundreds of volunteer hours put in over the last 2 months. 

This is just one of a series of races created by the Lakeland Area Mountain Bike Organization to generate both awareness of and funds for the trails getting developed in the area for mountain bikers and fat bikers of all skill levels. The Rip, Zip and Sip is now part of the new Ravens Challenge series that includes two fat bike races (with the annual Fatathlon at Shannon Lake) and one mountain bike adventure race that is scheduled for June. This race, appropriately called the InSayner, consists of a treacherous +24 mile course and an absolutely insane +50 mile course, with the start and finish in the town of Sayner, WI.

These events, along with LAMBO’s family friendly, free events that include Fat Bikes by Candlelight at the end of the year, the Bike & Summer Silent Sports Swap in June, and the LAMBOO Haunted Trail event in October, draw visitors from all over and promote LAMBO’s mission - create healthier communities through public-use, silent sport trail development. While focused primarily on mountain biking and fat biking, LAMBO also develops and maintains snowshoe trails at the Zip and at Clear Lake, and grooms cross country ski trails at Schlecht Lake. All trail development and maintenance is done through donations from members, the community and local businesses, and thousands of hours of volunteer work.

Mountain biking and fat biking continues to grow in popularity all over the U.S. and thanks to efforts by LAMBO over the last 15 years, the Lakeland area isn’t going unnoticed by avid bikers. The Zip mountain bike trail, with 8 miles of flow trails for beginners and experts alike, along with a newly developed pump, is a frequent and repeated destination for visitors, ensuring Minocqua is a stopping point for all types of travelers. Shannon Lake Trail system offers 8 miles of scenic fat bike trails groomed to perfection and the Raven at Clear Lake is rigid, traditional, single-track for variety.

All this is still only the beginning for LAMBO. Plans are in place for a new trail system just outside of Minocqua at Musky (also known as Mus-Ski) mountain, where the varied terrain and elevation changes promise incredible runs, climbs and flow. At the Dec. 5th LAMBO Board Meeting members voted to accept the proposal presented by Travis Bellman Home and Trail to begin work on a 3 mile beginner/intermediate loop similar to the local Fern Ridge trail. LAMBO has been working with the DNR officials for permission to create up to 15 miles of trails at the site of a once state-owned ski hill. 

Reach out to LAMBO at LAMBORidersemail@gmail.com to learn more about opportunities to support our efforts.