I'm Beginning To See A Lot Of Fat Bikes

Sung to the tune of "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"  
Very loosely sung to the tune BTW, I ride bikes, take pictures and write blogs... plagiarizing songs is  not tops on the list... at least you didn't have to listen to me sing it over and over again while writing it, that was an awful sound. 

I’m beginning to see a lot of Fat Bikes,

Ev'rywhere you go;

Take a look at the icy trail, glistening once again

Here comes Gary, Jamie and Janelle real slow.

I’m beginning to see a lot of Fat Bikes,

Wool socks on ev'ry leg,

But the scariest sight to see is the hairy that will be

Growing out to win some swag. 

A pair of really warm boots and a fatty that scoots

Is the wish of Jamie and Ed;

Tires that crush and will give you a rush

Is the hope of Matt and Janelle;

And Gary and I can hardly wait for Saturday to start again.

I’m beginning to see a lot of Fat Bikes,

Ev'rywhere you go;

There's a few at the deep ravine, one in the creek as well,

The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow.

I’m beginning to see a lot of Fat Bikes;

Soon they all will see,

The grin upon your face from the fatty that you place

Right beneath your tree.

Plenty of Fat Bikes in stock at Cycle Works and plenty more on the way, stop in and grab one for your favorite person this Christmas... get one for yourself as well and then come out and join us on the Saturday morning rides.

SMNDFBR - Hazy Shade Of Winter

"Look around

Leaves are brown

And the sky

Is a Hazy Shade of Winter

Hear the Salvation Army Band

Down by the riverside

It's bound to be a better ride

Than what you've got planned"

Forecasters and Politicians, two groups of people who often times cannot deliver what they have promised and then retract statements as if they never said them. Depending on which hour of what day you looked at the forecast you might have seen that some of the white stuff was possible for our neck of the woods on Friday but in the end it never materialized and stayed more moist and less frozen. Luckily for my fellow SMNDFBRs it was still plenty cold and overcast the morning of the ride so the trails would still be ridable.


The morning started out a bit earlier for a few of us so that we could get a few shots of the rad Beard Heads that we are giving away on Global Fat Bike Day. Ed and Janelle took one for the team this go round as Tyler and Jamie were "busy"... not that I blame them, having your photo taken has got to be one of the worst experiences ever but Jamie, Ed, Tyler and Janelle did a fantastic job and I am eternally grateful for their help.


With the chilly temps we had a bit smaller of a group for this ride but we did have a few new faces so it was a bit of a give and a take.



All that flood water was a horrible ordeal but if one thing positive has come out of it, it's that the waters seem to have dropped more silt and sand into the mix and the trails seem to stay drier and dry out quicker than before.


We might have been a smaller group than on warmer days but we were no less of an awesome group, quality if not quantity.



With the trails seemingly drying faster, the west side is getting ridden a lot more than it used to, making a stop under the old Rock Island Railroad bridge one of the usual stops on the ride. Even on windy and cold days it's a lot less windy and a bit warmer under the bridge which makes it a good place to stop for a bit.




On cold days this stop also means that soon we will be heading back to warmth, not to mention the drop in on the opposite side is a hoot.

Even with the colder temps, by the time we got to the troll bridge the trails were starting to thaw and get a little soft so we jumped onto the Jamaican and then onto the fabulous cement paths that extend throughout Lincoln to get a few more miles in on the way back to the shop.

Looks like more of the same in the forecast for next weekend, a little warm up early in the week with a chance of rain and snow as the week progresses. If were going to get moisture I'm hoping it's more snow and way less rain but maybe that's just me.

SMNDFBR - You've Got A Little Pooh On Your Head

Boogied on down to Lincoln for the Saturday Morning No Drop Fat Bike Ride but got there a little bit earlier than usual so that I could get a few photos of the awesome cycling caps that Walz Caps sent us for Global Fat Bike Day.


As you might imagine, there isn't a whole lotta money in the photography budget of a bicycle shop so it was our luck that the models worked for cheap. A little coffee and a pastry or two and the shoot was on, thankfully the bikes worked for free because our coffee budget for the year was completely shot after the two coffees.


Before the flash on the camera even had a chance to cool we had to shove it into the camera pack and jet over to Cycle Works and get ready for the ride. Jamie had a little pooh on her head but try as we might we couldn't convince her to let us get it out of her hair.


Decided to push the ride back by a half hour to let it warm up a little bit more before the start, with the awesome weather that we have been having it's hard to tell if the later start worked or it was just more the unseasonably warm weather. What ever it was, temps were very pleasant at ride time.






Not only has it been warm but it's also been dry which made the ribbon of dirt in Wilderness fast and flowy.


Made a pit stop at the new bridge, we were supposed to rendezvous with a couple more riders but it seemed like we got there a tad early so I decided to take the opportunity to get a group photo and while I was up there I decided to do my best Leonardo DiCaprio.


No, seriously... Leonardo y'all... king of the world and all that fancy Titanic stuff. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time but despite my best effort, no Kate Winslet came running out of the bushes to confess her love to me. Movies, can't believe everything you see on that moving picture screen.


After waiting a few minutes we received a text that our rendezvous riders would be later than expected. As Mr. T says, "I pity the fool that don't show on time" so it was time to bounce and perhaps meet up later because when Mr. T tells you it's time to leave, you don't argue, you just leave.


Had a really good group again for the ride, had a new rider join us as well who was not familiar with Wilderness so the regroups were a bit more often to make sure that everyone took the same route.



You might be saying to yourself that it seems like we regroup a lot at, on or under bridges and you'd be right. With so many bridges spread out throughout the park it just makes sense to use them as landmarks to meet up at when the groups stretches out, easy to miss a turn sometimes but pretty hard to miss a huge steel, cement or wooden structure.


They might have lots of bridges but you might be amazed to find out they don't have a single bathroom, yep, 12+ miles of trails and not a single place to visit the loo. I have "lost my keys" more than a few times while in the park however and finding those suckers often takes you to secluded spots, far away from the rest of the group... thankfully I've been able to find my "keys" every time I've lost them.


All the lost keys were found and all the trolls were vanquished from under the bridge so it was time to mount up and head on back.


To the victors go the spoils and MG busted out his victory dance.


Did I mention that the weather was fantastic, by the time we had our final regroup, almost everyone had stripped off any additional layers they had on from earlier.


It was so nice out we even ran into a high school gym teacher doing a few of his calisthenics right there on the trail, for the whole world to see. You go with those short man shorts.


Speaking of odd things seen on the trails, Ed found himself a pair of nice pink, bedazzled sunglasses on our ride. I'm not saying I'm jealous but I'm not saying I'm not... well, OK, I'm not but somehow Ed just makes them work.


With another SMNDFBR in the books on another gorgeous autumn day, there was nothing left to do but ride off into the sunset and prepare for the next one. If you prefer to ride into that sunset on one wheel or two, it doesn't much matter to us because on the SMNDFBR it's always dealers choice.