It’s not as easy as it looks, riding these fat bike things, especially in the snow on ungroomed trails. Getting tired of the trainer and wanting to get outside and ride I joined some friends with the Ride to Recovery group & Project HERO City of Reno on a fat bike adventure. You couldn’t have asked for a better winter day, it snowed on us as we all bundled up and took off on the trails at Tahoe Donner XC Center. First up was Cup of Tea, and after 15 minutes I was feeling pretty good about these bikes. The trail was in great shape, nicely groomed, hard packed, very easy to peddle on with one little hill that got the lungs pumping, followed by a nice little descent. After we all warmed up on the groomers we headed over to the snow shoe trails feeling confident and ready for more “challenging” trails, or so I thought I was!
It didn’t take long for my confidence to come crashing down! As soon as I hit Tim’s Trek (a trail I ride all the time in the summer) I felt like a beginner on two wheels, the trail was not as easy as I remembered. For some reason the softer the snow, the harder I was finding it to keep my bike on the trail. I also discovered the easier the gear the harder it was to keep peddling, and the harder the gear the harder it was to keep peddling, nothing seemed to work. Trying not to get disappointed with my “fat” biking ability I made way to the Moon Dance Hut, which I must say took a lot longer than the usual 3 – 5 minutes on dirt in the summer.
I was so relived when I got to the hut that most everyone felt the same way about the trail and was eager to head back to the adventure center. Going back down the trail was a lot easier then climbing up, although I still struggled to stay on my bike and narrowly avoided be swallowed up by a tree well!
Once back at the center I called it quits, I really had to get back to work! The rest of the group took off for a few more laps of the “well” groomed trails, laughing and chatting away as they left. All in all, a good time was had by all I think, even myself! Would I do it again or will I stick to the trainer, that is yet to be seen! I am still trying to figure out this winter training in the snow!
Fat Bike Tour, Tahoe Donner XC Center
