We're in Chippewa County.
You know, there's
so many great things
we've explored here already,
but we haven't explored
the trails yet.
And here in mid-summer,
as I stand here in Cornell,
across from the world's
largest pulpwood stacker,
it's time
to check these out.
Going to do a little road
biking on the old Abe trail,
a little mountain
biking with some people
on the Hickory Ridge trails,
which are really,
really cool.
And like any good
single spot in Wisconsin,
we are blocks away
from beer, cheese and dairy.
So let's work up an appetite
and burn a few calories.
And check it all out.
The old Abe state
trail is steps of
downtown Cornell.
This paved pathway
stretches 20 miles and rests
on an
abandoned railroad grade.
With connecting trails off
Old Abe,
you can cover 76 miles.
In addition to biking,
these trails offer
other activities
like horseback riding,
cross-country skiing, inline
skating and snowmobiling.
Different seasons of course.
I joined up with a family
on their afternoon ride
and made some memories
along the way.
Fit for all ages.
This Wisconsin state
trail is an accessible path
for beginners to
cross-country travelers.
My new biking friends
are off
to get a treat
at Dylan's dairy.
So in downtown Cornell.
Just mere blocks from
the old Abe trail
is Dylan's dairy.
Now, this is a great place
to unwind, relax,
fuel up for more riding
or have a nice little
after ride treat.
Dylan's dairy, as
you might
guess, has ice cream,
but
they have a lot more too.
They have a huge
range of cheeses,
they have flatbreads.
They even serve prime
rib here.
Some very unexpected
stuff in this place.
And it's very cool.
Now it's named after
a child named Dylan,
who's diagnosed with
leukemia,
and through
the Make-A-Wish Foundation
he wished for as a Wisconsin
boy might a dairy farm.
A herd of 33 cows.
And through donations,
he got his wish.
Unfortunately, he
passed away.
But he lives on
in Dylan's dairy.
And Dylan's aunt
is right in there.
I'm ready for the
next level of adventure
these trails have to offer.
Dirk is going to help me
learn about the
Hickory Ridge Trail
and what mountain biking is
about here in the
Deep North Woods.
Let's see if I can keep up.
So, Dirk, it's beautiful
here at Hickory Ridge.
I mean, trails are extensive
to 20 miles of mountain
biking trails. Right.
And 17 miles of ski trails,
like for
cross-country skiing,
skate skiing,
classic skiing.
This has to be a
recreational paradise.
Yeah, it's
a wonderful place.
And especially year round.
It's great summertime,
great. Spring, fall, winter.
You name it.
All seasons
there's recreation
to be had.
And in the summertime, both
the mountain bike
and the ski trails
are open to hikers as well
and trail runners
of all sorts.
So it really goes
beyond just mountain
biking and cross-country
skiing here.
Now, you're a mountain
bike enthusiast, obviously.
Yes.
Why'd you pick
mountain biking?
Yeah.
I actually got
into mountain biking
when I was around
11 years old
and I grew up here
in Bloomer,
Wisconsin, the closest
town to where
the trailhead is located.
And I just love
the independence,
the freedom.
If I can spend a Saturday
doing anything.
I'd be three, four or
five hours on the bike
just going and going.
There aren't many
places in Wisconsin
that have the
backcountry feel.
What would be
some of the tips
you would have for
a new mountain biker
and what some of the jargon
they need to know?
So for a new mountain biker,
I would really suggest
a couple of things.
A lot of people like to
just sit on their bike
and they get locked in.
Feel free to stand up.
Move around.
The bike should move
freely from your body.
Another thing is people like
to stare
at their front wheel,
look down the trail,
look where you're going.
It really helps you.
In terms of jargon,
you'll find all the
mountain bikers asking
where is
a good place to ride?
If you hear something
technical old school,
I assume it's
probably a narrower trail,
a little bit
tighter twister,
more technical
difficulty here.
The word skinny.
That's on a log
that's very, very thin.
You have to ride
without falling off of it,
but especially if they say
it's a flowing system.
Gear speed down the hills
and then it just takes
you up the next hill.
That's great.
As a beginner,
Hickory is really flowy.
So you'd advise any beginner
to just go with the flow?
Yeah, exactly.
Those riders know
what they're doing
and those tricky paths.
I need to cool off
and I know just where to go.
Well, thank you for coming.
Tell me about the beers
you have.
My beers are all named
after party
spots in the area.
You're anywhere from
95 to 16.
They can tell you exactly
where the party spots are
for the name of the beers.
The local party spots.
Yes.
And I'm about halfway
between 16 and 95,
so that works. Oh, yeah.
The honey brown,
that's a moon ridge.
Moon Ridge is by far
the most popular party
spot in the area,
and I just happen to live
along side of it.
So that's why
the whole brewery
and everything is
called Moon Ridge.
Oh, yeah.
That's
that has a
really good flavor.
What got you into brewing?
I've been a home
brewer for 17 years
and it just
got carried away.
I bought a lot of equipment.
My wife finally said to me,
what are you going to do?
So here we are.
What made you pick
this particular location
here in downtown Cornell?
We actually traveled
to a couple
of different cities.
I just lived
three miles out.
And then I told my wife,
Why are we looking
at some other city?
When we're right here.
City has been good to us.
We're glad we're here.
So
you brew up all these beers
and you made pizzas
that you're
very well known for.
And what is that one special
ingredient in the pizza
that I've been hearing
about?
We make a regular
white crust,
but we also make
what we call
a spent grain crust.
When I grew the beer,
we save those grains,
we put that
in our pizza crust
and it is by far
a local favorite.
What we really want
you to do is sit down,
talk to someone
that you don't know
like we're doing,
and just enjoy yourself.
And your number one
rule is drink good beer.
Normally, I'd say
rules are made to be broken
but not in this case.
Cheers.