GRAND RAPIDS, MICH — When you think of franchising, fast food or store chains usually come to mind.
For the 906 Adventure Team, it means connecting communities through biking, and it's hitting West Michigan.
It started in early 2017 after founder, Todd Poquette noticed a gap in the community.
“There was —what I perceived to be— a missing opportunity in the community for kids and adults in the cycling community,” Poquette explained.
That thought sparked a mountain biking club in Marquette County that spread like wildfire to other communities.
“The first team from Delta County came to us and said, 'Hey, we want a team, how do we do it?'” Poquette told FOX 17.
From there, more tires started hitting dirt.
“We've been adding a team or two pretty much every year,” said Poquette.
It wasn’t long until West Michiganders saw what was happening in the UP.
“I sent an email to Todd in December," said Gabe Berghus. "And things escalated quickly over the course of like a week, and I made the call to go all in."
That leap spawned the Grand Rapids’ Adventure Team, with Berghus as the on-point lead.
Although branded as a “mountain biking club,” they're focused more on building relationships than achieving better racing times.
“We refer to our programming as youth resilience development, not mountain bike skilled training."
They exceeded their initial volunteer goals to get things going in Grand Rapids, and tell us they're excited to lace up and get riding.
Registration for the Grand Rapids’ Adventure Team opens May 4th but, spots go fast. Their first official ride is scheduled for June 11th.
Volunteer, donate, or stay in the loop with the 906 Adventure Team and their Grand Rapids branch on their website.
