Michelle goes FAT

Thanks to Fitzy loaning us his Pugsley I was able to take Michelle on her first snow bike ride today and explore more of the snowmobile trail network in the Big Hole Mountains. Based on Michelle’s perma-grin throughout the ride I would say that she is hooked and we may be a two-snow bike family before long.

We had perfect 15-20F sunny weather and firm trails to ride on so we ended up riding for about two and half hours. I was dying to check out the trails beginning where JayP and I had turned around the last time we rode in the Big Holes so we drove further north to begin our ride. I feel like a kid in a candy store lately every time I take the snow bike out and discover more new trails. We didn’t see a single person and the terrain was incredible. Today’s ride was more sustained climbing right out of the gate but the reward was a long descent back to the truck at the end. Michelle handled the snow bike great and said several times, “this is way better than the trainer”. Our youngest dog Kenai had a blast too and is secretly hoping that Michelle gets her own Pugsley so that his chances of going along on rides go up.

I also got to test out the new front rack today. The Old Man Mountain Sherpa rack is supported vertically by the axle using an extra long quick release skewer that is provided with the rack and then attaches to whatever holes are available on the front of the bike. The rack comes with two aluminum bars that have a long slot in them so you can mount them as needed. In my efforts to bend them to fit my fork/rack combo I weakened and broke one of them. Doh! I ended up pounding a star nut up into the steerer tube from beneath and then cutting and bending a ¾” wide piece of aluminum for the lateral support. I am not convinced this is strong enough so I may keep fiddling with it.