Ride report: why I love fatbikes

[buckfiddious]

Friday morning I tossed my bike in the back of my car and went for a ride after work. weather was... weird. Earlier in the week it was 20 below zero, but friday it was 35 and raining. 9 inches or so of snow rapidly turning into total garbage. trails getting icy. But it still made for an awesome ride. Fatbike did what fatbikes do- it gripped where there was no grip, it rolled over things that were in it's way. I forgot my headphones so it was the first ride in a long time that I did in silence. I'm gonna do that more often.

THe ride was nothing epic, just the local trails for an hour before it got dark (yay getting out early on friday, best perk ever). 5 miles isn't a lot but it's better than nothing.

Sunday, I got to do it again. Warm, slushy and windy as hell. I actually fueled myself properly BEFORE my ride instead of waiting for after... McDonald's cheeseburgers are no comparison to Double S barbecue but eating before the ride seemed to be a better choice than waiting until after. No bonk the whole ride, so I'm guessing I did something right. Conditions were slushy, icy and changed from the beginning of the ride to the end of the ride. But the fatbike did fatbike stuff and didn't fail. Most of the fails were mine, going around switchbacks and stalling out, not paying attention to the trail and slipping off the side, the usual. Again, forgot headphones, again, pretty awesome. I think I'll be leaving my headphones at home from now on. 14 miles of sloppy singletrack was pretty much just what I needed.

THis is what I got my fatbike for- conditions where otherwise, there's not much else I could do. Ski trails were totally wrecked (40 degree weather will do that), roads are still covered with ice, and will be until march... yay fatbike.

[smithcreek]

I have to admit I'm jealous seeing all the pictures of fat bikes on beautifully groomed wide trails, or singletrack where the snow has stayed around long enough to be packed done by various outdoor enthusiasts, but here in Rhode Island where freeze/thaw cycles are rarely longer than a couple days most of my rides are through the sloppy remnants of a recent snowfall. When compared to a standard mtb it either makes an impossible ride possible or a really crappy ride much better, and I love it for that. I still dream of cruising on the crust though.

[crashtestdummy]

How was the float?

[jonshonda]

How was the float?

Ohh snap!

You know what is worse than trying to navigate frozen footprints from someone walking on singletrack on slushy day....trying to navigate fat-bike tracks from someone riding on a slushy day.

Hopefully you were able to float over most the soft slush and not cause too much damage.

[buckfiddious]

How was the float?

Nope, no float- trails were 3-4" of frozen hardpacked snow that had warmed up enough to not be sheets of ice. Seriously, I could jump up and down on that trail surface and barely leave a dent. WHen I did slide off the trail, there was most definitely no float...

The big takeaway from this weekend's rides was that I need to leave the headphones behind more often.

[jonshonda]

Good to hear no trails were harmed in the making of that ride!!

I like to substitute music with the sounds of a monster truck coming from my mouth!!

[crashtestdummy]

I like to substitute music with the sounds of a monster truck coming from my mouth!!

If you run Bud n Lou on the right surface, they will make that sound for you.