For the longest time I have avoided buying a fat bike because I didn't want it to interfere with my other winter activities but I finally pulled the trigger on one. Mountain biking was my first love and this year that love has been reawakened at Pine Hill Park in Rutland, VT. In the winter, Pine Hill is off limits to tire sizes less than 4 inches which prompted me to get a fat bike. The Park Manager put me in touch with Doon at Green Mountain Bikes in Rochester, VT who hooked me up with this great deal on a SevenPeaks Tracker 11 Fat Bike. It's a discontinued model but a new bike, for around $1000 with 4.5" tires and a dropper post, I couldn't pass it up.
For it's inaugural ride, I rode out from Chez Cyclesnack North over to the Rutland Creek Path, a small greenway that leads directly to Pine Hill Park. After climbing up to the kiosk there was a sign saying you should run your tires at 5 PSI. I didn't have anything on me to check my pressure so I let some air out of my tires and hopped for the best.
Rather than climbing up singletrack I opted for Pond Road, one of the Woods Roads at the park and it was a slow go. For my first time out I threw on a few layers including a base layer, long sleeved thermal shirt, a thin long sleeved jersey and a sweatshirt. I also wore my lobster gloves, a balaclava, tights, and my Lake 303s with wool socks.
By the time I got to the turn for Watkins Wood Road I was sweating and wondering if I had worn too much.
However, on the run down Svelt Tiger all those layers came in handy as it was pretty cold. I almost switched out to my lighter gloves.
Trails were really smooth because they were groom last week. I had one mishap in which I slipped off a groomed section and my front wheel dished out and it was a yard sale in the powder on the side of the trail. Shaking off the snow I got down the rest of the trail without incident.
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