On a fat bike, it’s cycling season all year long.
It’s a powder day in Aspen, and skiers and snowboarders who have paid generous amounts for day tickets or season passes are lined up, buzzing with frenzied anticipation, anxious to score an untracked run. But Downvalley in Carbondale, a different breed of snow-loving athletes enjoy a quieter setting. At Prince Creek—the trail network so many mountain bikers enjoy in spring, summer and fall—the sage, scrub oak and Pinyon pine sparkle silently after the fresh snow. Trail runners and dog walkers inadvertently pack down the trails, as do a few determined cyclists in snowshoes. Next, those riders will grab their fat bikes, equipped with oversize tires that provide traction, and climb and descend free-to-use mountain-bike trails covered in snow.
Skinning, Nordic skiing, hiking—there’s no shortage of winter-cardio options in Aspen. But one sport many have yet to try is winter fat biking. For the Roaring Fork Valley cyclists who have discovered the growing sport, biking season knows no end. “I love it because I enjoy being on the bike in the winter,” says Carbondale’s Ian Anderson, who has owned a fat bike for 10 years and rides three to four days a week in the winter. He’s a passionate cyclist who’s never been able to get excited about riding his trainer indoors in the winter. “It’s a whole different dynamic. You can ride some of the same trails you ride all summer long, but it’s a new experience on snow.”
The origins of fat biking are unclear: Some say it began with the first Iditabike event in snowy Alaska; others argue fat biking began in the sandy American Southwest. But fat biking hit the mass market in 2005 with the release of the Pugsley, a purple-framed fat bike with 65mm-wide rims and 3.7” tires—wide enough to float over snow. The tires are also big enough to function with very low tire pressure (and studded tires slip even less), which can make fat bikes a safe commuting option around town in winter. In Aspen, you’ll often spot parents shuttling children with fat bikes equipped with child bike seats or trailers, and ski bums fat biking to the gondola with their skis in tow.
The Ute Mountaineer offers rentals at the Aspen Cross Country Center, where you can ride the Aspen Fat Bike Loop—a designated groomed singletrack linking the Aspen Golf Course trails, Marolt Open Space trails and Aspen High School trails (through March, pending snow coverage). Stapleton Ski rents e-fat bikes in downtown Aspen, where you can try one on the Rio Grande and the bike paths around town. As for riding up Maroon Creek Road, Castle Creek Road or Independence Pass, technically, the National Forest closes these roads to wheeled vehicles in the winter, which includes bikes. The Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association (RFMBA) is working to change that.
Anderson rides the Prince Creek trails (in winter, bikes are allowed on trails including and below South Porcupine), and the area around Sunlight Mountain Resort (fat bikers may purchase an uphill pass at Sunlight Mountain Resort) and says weather and temperatures are a huge consideration. “If it gets too warm, the snow gets soft, and you lose traction,” he says. “You want to go on the colder side. In the spring, that often means riding early in the morning.” Some fat bikers even ride in the dark with lights to score optimal riding conditions.
In places like Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Marquette, Michigan, where clubs, group rides and sold-out races support and grow fat biking, and riders and organizations use grooming equipment or snowshoes to pack down trails and maintain them, the sport is close to becoming more popular than Nordic skiing. At Prince Creek, you might see 100 fat bikers on a perfect winter day, but, says RFMBA’s Mike Pritchard, that’s nothing compared to places like Leadville and Crested Butte where winter fat biking thrives thanks to a combination of extensive grooming, shared-use Nordic trails and local race series.
Whether it’s a quick cardio burst on your lunch break; a scenic, self-propelled winter tour; or a means to continue cycling all year long, fat biking has certainly earned its spot on Aspen’s winter-sports roster.
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December 23, 2021 at 10:00PM
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Storm Cycle - Aspen Daily News
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