Fat Bikes emerge from hibernation

After a summer spent sleeping in the barn, the Fat Bikes came out of hibernation at the end of last week in time for a quick tune and were ready to go this weekend. The first snow bike ride of the year usually involves more stop-and-go than usual as you fiddle with your layers, thaw out your Camelbak hose because you forgot to blow back, and re-learn all your little tricks to stay comfortable on the bike in the cold.

Saturday's ride in the Big Holes was a great shakedown as the temps were cold enough to keep us honest. Even though the snowmobile trail grooming hasn't started yet, the riding was great on packed snow covered roads.

Somebody has a new Ti toy this year, and it is badass

Our friend Dave Saurman is the latest Fat Bike convert and joined us for Saturday's ride

We headed north on Sunday to scout the Mesa Falls area. JayP, riding his new Ti 9 Zero 7 (907 is the area code in Anchorage) was game for a longer ride so we left the group at Mesa Falls and continued north on 47 towards Harriman State Park for an out-and-back. JayP and I plan to explore this area a lot more this year.

Once you get past the two-hour point of a ride the chinks in your armor really show themselves. Temps were in the single digits and a stiff wind meant the windchill was well below zero. Neither of us wore our warmest shoe systems and suffered cold feet as a result. It was a great ride with a dash of discomfort thrown in to remind us to be better prepared.

Sorry for the crappy pic...notice the verbiage on the sign

My lack of photo skillz don't do Upper Mesa Falls justice



The potential for big snow bike rides up here is endless