Jerseys that make you stronger

Posted on May 13, 2012 by RideEnterprises

Jersey Makes You Stronger

Many cyclists (whether road, mountain, cross, or otherwise) have a common sensibility, and a common bit of insight that others may be missing.  While this may not be a revelation to other cyclists, I’ve discovered a new way to frame it: we wear jerseys that make us stronger (read below for the full story).

Cyclists / bikers are enthusiastic about a hobby that actually improves their lives, health, and perhaps their quality of life.

Action item: I’d like to see some blog posts, Facebook updates and Tweets from others that incorporate one of the follow themes:

  • #BikeForLife - use this hashtag on Twitter or incorporate this phrase in your blog or status update if you believe that cycling has the capacity to extend or improve your life
  • #JerseyMakesYouStronger - use this hashtag on Twitter or incorporate this phrase in your blog or status update to identify your reactions to the idea/story below.

If you write stories, bogs, newspaper articles, etc., please consider writing your own reaction to or version of this story (please give authorship credit to RideFatbikes.com).  The catchprhase is: Cycling jerseys make you stronger  

Here’s the full story.

Cycling jerseys make you stronger

How can a jersey make you stronger?  Consider this.  I recently saw a guy standing on a corner waiting for a bus, wearing a football jersey.  The name on the back of the jersey was the name of a famous football player, and the guy wearing the jersey was not that famous athlete.  The guy named on the jersey is in fact an athlete, and is likely the epitome of the theme “wear the jersey that makes you stronger”.

However, the guy I saw wearing the jersey appears to be someone who just bought a jersey, and was not given the jersey to play football in a packed stadium for a nationally televised game.  In fact, judging by appearance and initial impression alone (which I try not to do except for this story), there is a good chance the guy sporting the fancy football jersey does not currently play much football, if he ever did.

By contrast, nearly everyone I see who is wearing a cycling jersey is actually riding their bike while wearing it.  While there may be people out there who wear a cycling jersey to watch cycling, I don’t run into those people.  Instead, nearly everyone I’ve ever seen wearing a cycling jersey is riding their bike.

So, if you were to put on a football (or other professional sport) jersey and watch your favorite sport for 4 hours, or put on a cycling jersey and ride your bike for 4 hours, which do you think will result in you getting stronger?

Conclusion: Cycling jerseys make you stronger

Obviously this is an illustration, and I’m not suggesting that people have actually become stronger simply wearing a cycling jersey.  Of course cycling could be replaced with other activity too, so I’m not suggesting cycling is the only activity that will improve your health.

However, here’s the “science” behind the idea.  Cycling is a sport that people often participate in actively, rather than just watching it (though we may also watch it from time to time).  Since popular society doesn’t endorse wearing cycling jerseys on “game day” when a televised bike race like the Tour de France is taking place, it’s more common to see someone who doesn’t play football wearing a football jersey around than seeing someone who doesn’t ride a bike wearing a cycling jersey around.

We are a society that has grown obsessed with watching sports and reading about sports, rather than actually participating in them.  News flash – watching sports (without participating in sports, training for sports, or general exercise) will not make you an athlete.  Meanwhile, we are growing more sedentary, overweight, and having more significant health problems, as a society.

Maybe if we all spent as much time participating in activity as we did watching activity, that trend might reverse.

If you like this idea/theme/article, please share it with your friends via social media, or you are welcome to contact me to republish it elsewhere.  Maybe we should get health clubs, schools, sports clubs, mainstream media, insurance companies, and the medical industry to all rally around a common cause – #BikeForLife (insert your favorite sport/activity in place of “Bike”).

If you use the hashtag/theme #BikeForLife or the hashtag/theme #JerseyMakesYouStronger please give idea/authorship credit to RideFatbikes.com and our company, Ride Enterprises, LLC

Posted in Biking, Cycling, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Cuyuna Lakes Trail – Crosby/Ironton region (MN)

Posted on April 14, 2012 by RideEnterprises

Crushed rock trail at Cuyuna (photo credit: FatbikeGallery.com)

In our last post, we asked what people have planned for spring/summer, by way of fatbike adventure.  If you live in or near Minnesota, we’d suggest that Cuyuna State Park (Cuyuna Lakes State Trail info here) would be an excellent place to spend some time riding.

Set in the beautiful former mining area of the Crosby/Ironton area of Minnesota (near Brainerd), the Cuyuna State Park area provides an extraordinarily scenic area for riding.  Cuyuna features red dirt, plenty of hill climbs (particularly for Minnesota), seemingly endless miles of trail, crushed rock, tall trees, crystal clear lakes, bridges and other trail features, and much more. A trail map can be found here.

On my recent trip to the area this last week, I was fortunate to have a couple hours to ride the trail.  While that’s not nearly enough time to enjoy the whole trail system, it’s enough time to take some great photos, to enjoy the spectacular scenery, and have just enough taste of the amazing riding to know that it’s well worth planning a trip back again. On my recent ride, I exchanged email with Aaron H., president of the CLMTBC (Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew) and race director of the Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout.  He gave me some directions and tips.  He suggested that I start by parking at the trailhead/boat launch at the Pennington Mine Lake, in the Mahnomen unit (you’ll notice the trail map above identifies the various areas as “units”.

When I arrived at the trailhead, I was immediately greeted by two friendly riders (Ty and Nick, I believe) who were more than happy to tell me about the trail.  As it turns out, one of them was a trail director or has some significant involvement in the Cuyuna Trail, and he was even riding a Mukluk fatbike, so I felt right at home on my Mukluk. Then, once my fatbike and I were ready to roll, I ran into another rider, Josh, who came up from the Twin Cities to ride the trail.  He was a good rider and knew the trail well, so he was a great trail guide.  Eventually we parted ways as I wanted to enjoy the trail at a slower pace, taking time for photos along the way.

So, long story short, I’d encourage everyone who likes mountain biking, fat biking, or enjoying spectacular scenery in northern Minnesota by bike to put the Cuyuna Lakes Trail at the top of their “must ride” list.  For now, maybe the pictures below will serve as some encouragement.  If you won’t have a chance to ride the trail soon, perhaps the pictures below will serve as a way for you to “see” the trail without being there.

In the photos below, you can click any of them to see a larger version.  Then, just click on the photo again to advance from one to the next in the expanded view.

If you’ve enjoyed the fatbike photos above, Don’t forget about the Fatbike Gallery at FatbikeGallery.com.  If you’ve got some fatbike photos you’d like to share on the Fatbike Gallery, Contact Us.

Posted in Biking, Cycling, Fatbike Gallery, fatbike photos, Fatbike Trails, Fatbikes, RIde Fatbikes, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fatbike Spring – what adventure have you planned?

Posted on April 3, 2012 by RideEnterprises

Fatbike as family hauler (photo credit: RideFatbikes.com)

Some people ride fatbikes only in snow.  Others ride fatbikes on beaches, as their bike commuting rig, as a rigid XC trail bike, or for gravel grinders.  Some realize that a fatbike can do all this and more.

After purchasing my fatbike in early spring 2011, I’ve decided that while it excels in snow as a fun winter mountain bike, it’s not limited to that, by any stretch.  It works great as the family bike ride tractor (regularly pulling a trail-behind bike and a trailer behind that), as a trail bike (heavier than the svelte 29ers, but a better workout), and as a “go-anywhere” no-nonsense, “let’s get on the bikes and ride” adventure machine.

I recently discovered this post (http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/can-black-floyds-your-fatbike-replace-road-bike-778052.html).  Obviously fatbikes are not ideal road or long-distance endurance riding machines, but if equipped with a lower rolling resistance tire (such as Surly’s Black Floyd) the gent who posted this adventure story confirms there is no reason the fatbike can’t pull double-duty as your century + (120 mile) road bike.

So, fatbike rider, where do you plan to ride your fatbike this spring or summer?   Please leave a comment below so we can all get inspired by your stories and ideas.  If you’ve already begun your spring or summer fatbike adventures, Contact Us and send some pics and we’ll get them posted over on the FatbikeGallery.com fatbike adventure photos page.

Posted in Cycling, Fatbike Gallery, Fatbikes, RIde Fatbikes, Snow bike, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Ride Fatbikes – year 2 begins!

Posted on March 19, 2012 by RideEnterprises

Ride Fatbikes completes Year 1 (photo credit: Bill Vitali)

One year ago today, RideFatbikes.com was launched.  So, what has happened in the last year?  We think an amazing amount of change and development has occurred.

We’ve gone from a small website focused on introducing people to the world of fat bikes, to a site visited by several thousand visitors monthly.  We came up with the the idea of a 40-mile fatbike endurance race on snow, and launched the Fatbike Frozen Forty a month ago, in February.

We have re-defined our target audience and goal – we are a website/informational resource/community for fatbike riders, by fatbike riders.  We now try to feature regular guest posts, fatbike race recaps, adventure reports, and more.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

photo credit: Bill Vitali

New RideFatbikes.com:  You are viewing the new and improved RideFatbikes.com website.  The look and feel are similar to the old site, but we’ve tried to keep a clean, streamlined layout, with a blog/news format with pages dedicated to the Fatbike Library (fatbike resources), Fatbike Trails, Fatbike Rental, and more.  Leave a comment below or Contact Us to let us know what you think of this new site.  If you’d like to contribute a guest post or sponsor this site, get in touch with us to discuss your ideas.

 

Photo credit: 45Nrth.com

New FatbikeGallery.com:  Our Fatbike Gallery, launched originally through this site, is now a stand-alone website, with a completely new visual-based interface.  To highlight the one year anniversary of RideFatbikes.com, we launched the all new FatbikeGallery.com website yesterday.  Where RideFatbikes.com focuses on information and stuff to read, FatbikeGallery.com captures the allure of fatbikes, fatbike adventure, and fatbike races through a visually compelling interactive photo gallery.  Check out the new site and let us know what you think.

What have we learned?  What’s in store?

What we’ve learned in the last year is that the fatbike community is an amazing group of cyclists, and companies or groups focused on helping those cyclists find new ways to take biking adventures to the snow, to the beach, to new areas of trail, and to places bikes (even mountain bikes) usually did not go in the past.  Ride Fatbikes is here to serve the fatbike community.  We want to hear from you, and we will continue to contribute our energy to building and supporting the fatbike community, thanks to your readership, support, and feedback.  We’ve enjoyed the last year of expanding the fatbike community, and hope to bring even more new ideas and resources to the fatbike community next year.  Thanks for supporting RideFatbikes.com!

 

Posted in Bike Blogs, Biking, Fatbike Frozen Forty, Fatbike Gallery, fatbike photos, Fatbike Trails, Fatbikes, RIde Fatbikes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Equinox Snow Challenge Guest Post

Posted on March 17, 2012 by RideEnterprises

Equinox Snow Challenge 2012 – Guest post by Ben Welnak

The following is a guest post written by RideFatbikes.com contributor, Ben Welnak.  You can find more stories and posts by Ben at his blog,BenWelnak.com.  He is also an owner of the Vail Colorado bike manufacturer, Twenty2 Cycles.  Be sure to check out Twenty2 Cycles here.

Equinox Snow Challenge 2012

This has been the winter of fatbikes and there is no better way to end the winter riding season with a real challenge.  The Equinox Snow Challenge, held annually since 2007, has added a fatbike category to the normal ski and run categories. The race is set to start at 10am on Saturday, March 24th at the Rendezvous Ski Trails in West Yellowstone, Montana. Skiers, runners, and cyclists have several categories to choose from, including 3, 6, 12, and 24 hour divisions for soloists up to relay teams up to 8 members.

The Equinox Snow Challenge is a unique fatbike race. The Rendezvous Ski Trails normally host several national caliber ski events annually. This is a one-time opportunity to ride fatbikes on the trails, which are open to skiers only from November through May. Race director, Sam Newbury really loves the area’s fatbiking potential, stating that “West Yellowstone is referred to as the ‘Moab of fatbiking’ by many. There are over 500 miles of groomed snowmobile trails in the Gallatin National Forest and the adjoining Targhee National Forest, both of which share boundaries with Yellowstone National Park, which provide ample exploring.”

The race organizers wanted to explore alternatives for skiers and bikers to share winter trail resources. They wantedto run an event that supports the local community, while providing an arena for participants to challenge themselves to new levels. It is meant to be a grassroots type event, rather than a “glossy industry event”. To maintain the feel, they will have a potluck, small crowds, and maybe a prize if you win. “You might get a prize if you win, you might not. It is not about the fame- it is about personal limits. You won’t get a timing chip, but you will get a pen to write down your teammate’s time. The regulars usually bring a pony keg of homebrew to share and everyone brings canned food for the Food Bank,” Newbury explains. There will be some sponsors on site, including demo bikes by Surly and Salsa. There will also be a Twenty2 Cycles Bully fatbike available to test ride before the race. They are also working on having a mechanic available. Several ski sponsors will also be on site to join in the fun.

Wondering what the conditions will be? The bike course will be a 4-6 mile loop on groomed nordic ski trails. The course will be separate from the skiers for the first eight hours, then, depending on conditions and numbers of users, the race organizers my consolidate the race onto one trail. The trail map can be found here www.rendezvousskitrails.com/trailmap/. The bike course is the “Volunteer Loop” plus the “Drew Ski CutOff.” Weather averages for the end of March are relatively warm, with highs in the uppers 30’s and lows in the teens, so racers should be able to enjoy springlike temperatures.

The organizers ask that all riders use fatbikes such as the Surly Pugsley, 9:ZERO:7, Fatback, Salsa Mukluk, or the Twenty2 Cycles Bully, and others which have 60-100mm rims and 3.7-4.7 inch tires. Other bikes will be accepted only if they are not impacting the trails more than a floatation bike. This may be the case during the depths of the evening, but is very unlikely during the typically warm spring daytime temperatures. If you don’t have a fatbike, you can rent, borrow, share with teammates, or sleep and ride when it is fast!

The Challenge is expecting a successful inaugural bike race. There are currently 15 registered riders and they are expecting 25-30 by start time. So far they have three 12 hr soloists, one 12 Hour duo team, two 24 hour teams, four 24 hr solos, and three 24 Hour combo teams. Racers are coming from around the west to check out the unique event, including people from Albuquerque, Durango, Denver, the Seattle area, Salt Lake, Jackson, Missoula and Bozeman. Currently there are 55 skiers registered and they expect 80-100 on race day.

If you are in town early, be sure to stay off the ski trails. The Forest Service doesn’t want any bikes on the trails until race day. You are invited to ride all of the snowmobile trails around the area if you’d like to get in some good local riding. Freeheel and Wheel (http://www.freeheelandwheel.com/) is the shop in town. If you want to stop in, check out their goods, or just warm up with a cup of coffee, they are on Yellowstone Street near the park entrance. If you are driving from the south and want to talk bikes with a very committed fatbike shop or need to rent one for the race then you should check out Fitzgeralds in Victor, Idaho (http://www.fitzgeraldsbicycles.com).

For more information, check http://www.equinoxskichallenge.com/. If you have any questions about the race or registration, please contact Sam Newbury at equinoxsnowchallenge@gmail.com.

Posted in Bike Blogs, Biking, Cycling, Fatbike Event, Fatbike race, Fatbike Trails, Fatbikes, RIde Fatbikes, Snow bike | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Almost a year in

Posted on March 7, 2012 by RideEnterprises

Ride Fatbikes

The first post on RideFatbikes.com was almost a year ago – March 18, 2012.  The original goal in developing this site was to get the word out about how much fun it can be to ride fatbikes (hence the name “Ride Fatbikes”).  Since then, we’ve grown to a dramatically larger readership (over 7300 visitors last month compared to an average of 60 visitors/month in the first few months), we’ve developed/hosted/promoted the Fatbike Frozen Forty (triple F), we’ve launched the Fatbike Gallery, the Fatbike Library, and a Gear and Reviews section.  We’ve had guests posts, reader-contributed stories, and event/race recaps from readers, racers, and riders from all over the country, and we’ve tried to keep the content fresh.

That said, by no means do we have it all figured out.  Instead, as we approach the one-year anniversary of RideFatbikes.com, we’d like to try modifying (and hopefully improving) the format of this site.  Some of our most popular posts and stories have been those submitted by readers and guest contributors, so we’d like to do more of that.  We’ve found that while people like to know about races, rides, and adventures that are happening in their area, they also like to share stories about their own personal experiences at a race/ride or even their own solo fatbike adventure story.  Good stories and good adventures make for good reading.

The community of people who ride fatbikes has grown exponentially in recent years, and we hope it will continue to grow exponentially more in years to come.  We want RideFatbikes.com to serve that community by offering a place to share your fatbike stories, adventures, and more.  As our format changes, so may our site.  In the meantime, please feel free to comment on new pages or posts you see developing, check out and comment on our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ride-Fatbikes/236605043077212), follow us on Twitter (@RideFatbikes), submit your photo for the Fatbike Gallery, or simply Contact Us and share a post or story you’d like to see included here.

It’s a lot of fun to ride fatbikes, and it’s a lot of fun to see what other fatbike riders have to say about their adventures.  Please feel free to make this site your forum for sharing the stories about how, where, and why you ride fatbikes.

Posted in Bike Blogs, Biking, Cycling, Fatbike Frozen Forty, Fatbike Gallery, fatbike photos, Fatbike race, Fatbike Trails, Fatbikes, RIde Fatbikes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout – Guest post from Griff Wigley

Posted on March 6, 2012 by RideEnterprises

Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout (photo courtesy of Griff Wigley)

At Ride Fatbikes, we enjoy sharing personal fatbiking experiences and stories, but believe that the readership is even better served by hearing about some of the fatbike experiences of others. Minnesota played host to a tremendous variety and quality of fatbike races this year, with one of them being the Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout last weekend. While the snow conditions proved difficult, from the reports I’ve heard people who went enjoyed themselves, even if they ended up pushing/dragging their bikes more than they expected. The story below was shared with us by Ride Fatbikes reader Griff Wigley, and is shared here as a guest post. Thanks for sharing this with us, Griff, we greatly appreciate receiving such guest posts and stories. If you’d like to check out Griff’s blog, you can find it here: http://mountainbikegeezer.com

____________

BY GRIFF WIGLEY, ON MARCH 4TH, 2012

My first-ever mountain bike race, the Sagamore SnowXross Race at the 2012 Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout, started out well for the 15 of in the Beginners Class.  After about 50 yards across the parking lot, however, soft snow created a big pileup and I soon learned firsthand what the phrase hike-a-bike meant. As Aaron Hautala wrote in this blog post:

Early into the Sagamore SnowXross Race it was obvious it needed a new name.

The IRONYETI.

The snow pack turned into champagne crystal powder overnight with the dramatic drop in temperature from Friday night, which made the race course a bit more challenging than we originally intended.

After about two miles of pushing the Mukluk, I lowered my rear tire pressure from about 4 PSI to near zero—I could feel the rim by pressing the tire hard with my hand. Much better traction.  Another mile and it occurred to me to do the same to the front tire. Better yet.

Last discovery at about mile 4: I quit trying to always ride in the narrow tire ruts made by other riders.  The amount of energy required to keep my balance while riding a rut wasn’t worth it, speed-wise. Instead, I could often go faster (especially when the terrain was flat or downhill) if I rode where riders had been walking.  The low tire pressure usually gave me enough grip to get through the footprints if they weren’t too deep.  Still, I estimate that I pushed my bike for 3 of the 6 miles. Uff-da. I finished in just under two hours.  I’ve not yet seen the results posted but the top three riders (Beginners Class) finished in approximately 1 hr and 35 minutes. I’ll post a link to the results at the bottom of this blog post when they become available.)
After lunch at the Heartland Kitchen Cafe, I took in some of theWhiteout Festival activities in Crosby’s Memorial Park. I didn’t compete in the Serpent Lake Ice Bike 500 races (I didn’t have studded tires) but instead, opted for some solo fat bike riding in theYawkey Unit.
Unlike Friday night, the Haul Road trail to the parking lot in the center of Yawkey was mostly packed down, sometimes to a width of 12 inches or more (left and center photos above). This makes for splendid riding.

I then rode Tugger, normally an intermediate difficulty trail that’s at the base of Bobsled (see the inset on page 2 of this DNR map of the park). It’s a gorgeous trail but like Friday night, riding it was very difficult because there was only a single rut from the few previous riders.  I took it easy and just enjoyed the scenery.
At 5 pm, everyone convened at the Ya Betcha Bar & Grill in Crosby for free appetizers, drawings for prizes, and the awards ceremony hosted by MORC Board member and Events Director Amanda Scholz. The event swag (beanie and stein) was impressive.

See the large slideshow of 50 photos of the entire two-day event.


Posted in Bike Blogs, Biking, Fatbike Event, fatbike photos, Fatbike race, Fatbikes, RIde Fatbikes | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Fatbike video

Posted on March 6, 2012 by RideEnterprises

Ben Welnak recently posted this cool video (aptly titled Fatbike Spring) on his site, BenWelnak.com.  It’s a nice mix of stills and video, showcasing some of the beauty that can be seen and fun that can be had on snow-covered but melting winter trail on a warm day in Colorado.

We’ve posted it here with Ben’s permission.  Check it:

http://vimeo.com/38006540

 

Posted in Biking, Fatbike Trails, Fatbike Video, Fatbikes, RIde Fatbikes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ben & the Bully are at the top of the Mahem

Posted on March 5, 2012 by RideEnterprises

Those of you who follow RideFatbikes.com regularly know that Twenty2 Cycles and Ben Welnak (one of the owners) are held in high regard here, in part due to the fact that Twenty2 Cycles makes some great fatbikes, expanding the ever-increasing offerings in the fatbike world, and in part due to their advocacy and sponsorship of the Triple F.  So when we heard that Ben one the Leadville Mahem (the 2nd of 3 races in the Leadville Winter Mountain Bike Race series, we were excited to get the word out.

Ben’s blog, The Front Range Chronicles, is a good read, and can be found here.  The article below is a guest post from Ben Welnak, and is a copy of the same article from his blog.  If you like the article, be sure to check out the rest of the great stories on his site.

SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2012

Leadville Winter Mountain Bike Race #3 – Mineral Belt Mayhem

I headed up to Leadville yesterday after Amy and I met with some Walk to Remember folks to get on the CBS local news. Amy did a great job talking on air while we were recording – she’s better on camera than she thinks, especially when discussing child loss. It’s a great organization that helps people who have experienced child loss know that there are others out there ready to talk about it.
a lot of snow on the drive up to Leadville

I rolled into town around noon and took a little time to get all my clothes laid out and bike ready to rock.

i know…triple crank with no front der…oops, didn’t order enough and the one went on a customer’s bike. I’ll get that ordered up, but for tonight I’ll be rolling a 1 x 9
A lot of clothes for an hour long race. Gear includes ice fishing mittens with sweet ass Ergon gloves underneath (yes, ice fishing…I am from Wisconsin after all) All necessary though as the temps dropped like a rock down to like 10 degrees after sunset.

Once I was comfortable with everything and it was ready to go, I headed down the street to the City on a Hill Coffee Shop to eat, hang out, and get some work done while I waited for the race.

On the way over I took my time and checked out the skijoring. It sure is something else!

the Leadville, CO main street (the race finishes on this street!)

Around 5:30, I started packing up my stuff at the coffee shop and headed over to the race sign up at the Cycles of Life Bike Shop . $20 later I got ready to roll. My legs were feeling a little sore, so i took a good amount of time warming up to get ready for the cyclocross-like 12ish mile, 1hour+ effort (the time varies a good bit from year to year depending on the snow conditions).

just happened to get Number 22 to go on the Twenty2 Cycles Bully.. a good sign perhaps

It was good to get back. After a hiatus from last year’s race, it felt good to be back, waiting in the coffee shop, looking out the window at like 1,000 people lining the streets. A lot has changed in those two years, wow. I’m definitely a different person than the last Mineral Belt Mayhem.

So, the race…

We’re all ready to go.
Headed away from the shop down the main drag, Harrison Ave, on to 8th Street

It started off with a neutral rollout from the shop down the snow packed street. Then once we hit 8th street, a cop continued to lead us out until we hit the Mineral Belt Trail just on the edge of town. The total starting pack was probably around 50 (waiting on the results as of writing this to get the actual numbers).

The Mineral Belt Trail is a 12 mile all-season trail designed for bikes and walkers. In the winter it’s a nicely groomed cross country ski trail for both classic and skate skiing. It was packed for the race, but there is only so much packing will do with a lot of new snow.

The cop pulled off as we approached the start of the trail and the race was on. Throughout the rollout, I wanted to stay near the front so I could take a stab at pushing the pace early on and see where I could take it. It was all good as I looked over and saw a couple people and the rest of the pack not too far behind. I didn’t want to be “that guy” by blowing apart the rollout, so I let off to not go crazy.

The race was on and you could hear the changing gears. I pushed the pedals, hit the trail first, and hopped up over the little ridge of snow. Crap…the chain jumped off. I had to stop and get it back on. I was now suddenly in chase mode only 1 minute into the race. Not good.

I hopped back on and put my head down. It didn’t take long to catch up to a lot of the people on regular mountain bikes because the snow was soft and it was hard to navigate. The leaders were not far up ahead, so I knew that if I could keep it steady that I could put it on over the last couple mile uphill section.

The snow didn’t get much harder. There was a small section on the right of the skate ski deck and a sliver of space next to the classic tracks that were enough to carry some float. But once you tried to venture out from those spots and pass, it was like hitting peanut butter. The tires would just punch through and drag.

Five of us continued up the initial climb in the lead. It was strung out maybe 30-45 seconds from the leader back to me at 5th. I stuck on the wheel of a guy on a 29er knowing that he’d probably fall off the pace, taking advantage of the extra packed tire tread. It’s just too hard to maintain a good pace, going up an incline on “skinny” tires, so it was only inevitable. I tried to pass him a couple times, but when I swung out to go by, the soft snow sucked me in. It wasn’t worth trying to put so much into it so early on. I got tired of following him though, so I finally just punched it and grinded through the slow snow.

The leaders weren’t getting out any further, so I just maintained a good pace and focused on catching the next guy. I got him and we see-sawed for a bit before I started pushing the pace and moving the Bully faster. We reached a downhill section and I let it rip with the second place rider in my sights.
After closing the gap on the second place rider on this section, I passed him on a short road crossing and the race was on to catch first.

I kept him in my sights, which was around 30 seconds up-I would continually pick sections that I saw him pass and then countdown, just to know where I stood. Knowing that the last couple mile would be a tough gradual uphill, I anticipated that he’d get tired given the pace he was pushing. After we popped out of a sweet downhill section through the trees, the 1st place rider was closer than I thought. He seemed to struggle through a rough patch of snow leading up to the Highway 24 crossing and I knew it wouldn’t be long. I hit a short road crossing and sprinted for about 20 seconds until I caught and passed him.

The last section was pretty loose and had some deeper snow. There was one spot that I decided to jump off and run. I took a quick look back and saw two lights – the third place guy was catching second. I looked back a couple minutes later and saw him pass. At that point, I stood up and pushed to the end of the trail. Once I heard the cowbells of the volunteers at the right turn onto Harrison, I knew it was done. I just pushed over the hill and got to sprint it home on the snowpacked Harrison Avenue for a 1st place finish.

I love the end of this race – racing down through the center of Leadville at night with a good gang of people hanging at the bike shop.

A good group of people hung around after the race, both at the shop, as well as the mexican restaurant next door. We were waiting to see how others were doing. Some people were have some big issues with the snow and took 2-3 hours to finish. As of right now, the results aren’t posted yet, but I will update this post when they are.

The Leadville Winter Mountain Bike races never disappoint. It’s a great chance to get out and gain a little race training, have a post race Oskar Blues beer, and meet some cool people.

Thanks to the Cloud City Wheelers for the opportunity to race in the dead of winter above 10,000 feet of elevation. Thanks to Cycles of Life for hosting this race. Groomed race course, cheap entry, plenty of schwag, free beer, and cool people – can’t really ask for much more.

The Twenty2 Cycles Steel Bully handled the course well. The “mountain bike-like” geometry really is fun. It allowed me to really rip the downhills with quick handling and was very balanced when I was slowly going up the hills. I really dig the sturdiness when I stand and put the power to the pedals. I know that I should feel this way, since I am an owner in the company, but I can’t argue with the result.

I won’t be hitting up the last race of the series on April 7th because I have some bigger and longer fish to fry - April 7th is AntiEpic day. So, it’s a bittersweet end to my Leadville races for the year. It’ll be a year until the next, but it also means that spring is right around the corner.

Posted in Biking, Fatbike Event, Fatbike Gallery, fatbike gear, fatbike photos, Fatbike race, Fatbike Trails, Fatbikes, RIde Fatbikes | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fatbikes All Year (by Ben Welnak, guest author)

Posted on March 3, 2012 by RideEnterprises

The article below is by guest author and friend of RideFatbikes.com, Ben Welnak.  Ben is an avid mountain bike enthusiast and racer, and is an owner of Twenty2 Cycles.  His personal blog is well worth reading, and you can check that out at BenWelnak.com.  Ben’s cycling and racing perspective and insights can also be found at XXCMag.com, as Ben recently joined Jason and Zandr to do the weekly XXC podcasts ( http://xxcmag.com/xxc-podcasts ).   At RideFatbikes.com, we’re fortunate to have Ben contribute some of his insights and thoughts to issues such as the one below, which is likely on the minds of many of us “fatbike afficionados” as we enter the spring riding season.

If you want to discuss the issue Ben raises, feel free to leave a comment here inline with the article, and we can get the discussion rolling.

Big Betty tire in Twenty2 Cycles Bully fatbike frame

Fatbikes All Year

by Ben Welnak

This winter has been a very interesting one in the mountain biking world. Fatbikes have stormed the scene and left a wake of a whole new range of frames, components, wheels, clothing, races, and other accessories. Many riders have taken advantage of several new options to take the plunge into buying a full new bike for the offseason. They’ve realized the change in mindset that the fatty tires bring. Now, snow, paths, frozen lakes, rocky shorelines, sand, and any other type of riding is just plain fun.

It’s March, daylight savings time starts next weekend, and spring is right around the corner. You have big heavy fat tires and 80mm rims that you bought to prepare for the frozen months, which didn’t seem to appear in a lot of the country. Now, with thawing dirt, are you going to hang up your brand new bike? Or…will you get it rigged up a little different so it’s ready to rock on your regular riding haunts too?

They are great in all conditions, but I understand how all of us think. If I could just have a lighter setup with these big wheels, I could keep the fun and make it a little quicker and easier to get through the hills. We’re always looking to upgrade – if this frame was a little stiffer, this wheel a little lighter, these treads not so much of a drag on the ground. There are talks of “skinny” fatbike tires out there and I’m sure that, after this booming year, there will be plenty of options coming on board at some point in the future.

I thought it would be cool and (hopefully) helpful to try out some different tire options to give you an idea of other options out there to drop weight and make your rig a little faster for the summertime singletrack. This isn’t meant to be the most technical discussion or a specific gear review article. There are plenty of other great people doing that kind of thing already. Rather, it’s meant to be a look at what options are available, try them out, and share the information. I’m not sure how many pieces I will write or where this will even lead. Maybe nowhere and maybe it kicks off a little discussion. We’ll see.

I’ve started out with Schwalbe’s Big Betty freeride tires. At a claimed weight of 870 grams and a width of 2.4 inches, it seemed like a good option to test out. I mounted them to 65mm wide Surly’s Marge Lite rims and kept the pressure around 20 psi. The tires stretched out to a little over 2.6inches, with the tread a little bit narrower than the sidewalls. Not enough to be any issue, but should be noted I tend to start with a fuller tire and then go down from there. Mounted on my Twenty2 Cycles Bully, which is designed for the “traditional” fatty tires, it was an over fun ride.

Big Betty rear tire in Twenty2 Cycles Bully fatbike frame

I’ve only done a little riding on them so far, but it was on some frozen singletrack. The pavement ride to the trail was relatively good. It wasn’t a smooth road tire or a regular 29er tire, but it’s not meant to be. It rolled good for a fatty tire, although it did seem to pick up a lot of small stones. To be expected with a tire with such tread, but it’s noticeably more than you’re probably used to with the other fat tire options.

I definitely have plenty more testing to go on these to feel the full effect. Stay tuned to RideFatbikes.com as I do more testing and writing about these Big Betty tire setup. I will continue to try these out on the Bully and see what I think as I hit more thawed out mountain singletrack. I’m interested in trying some of the new tires later this year and see what is possible with some of these setups.

Feedback is definitely welcome. I’d love to hear what everyone else is running and what ideas you have. Feel free to contact me directly at ben@twenty2cycles.com.

Posted in Cycling, fatbike gear, Fatbike rims, Fatbikes, RIde Fatbikes, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment