It's tough up on the North Shore

This is part of the sign that marks the start of a new Pincushion mountain bike trail above Grand Marais.



It got me thinking about two things.

First, isn't it cool that the North Shore of Lake Superior rates its own difficulty scale? This isn't Apostle Islands Intermediate or Bloomington Intermediate. This is friggin' North Shore Intermediate, and you'd better be careful. We live in an awesome place.

Second, I love how they use the trail itself to screen its riders. "If you cannot comfortably ride the first two trail features do not ride this trail!" If only we could have that for other life experiences.

New parent? "If you cannot comfortably sleep the first two nights do not keep this baby!"

Driving a manual transmission? "If you cannot comfortably get past the first two stop signs do not drive this car!"

Running for office? "If you cannot comfortably knock on the first two doors, do not file for this office!"

This is North Shore intermediate, bud. If you can't stand the fog, get out of the cooler.