Latest / Full Spectrum Cycling / Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #39 – Sonya Looney Interview

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Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #39 – Sonya Looney Interview · Full Spectrum Cycling

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Weekly Dose of Fat, show number 39, for Friday, January 16th, 2015.
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[upbeat music] From the town that spawned Happy Days, Liberace, and wrestling legend Dick the Bruiser, it's the Weekly Dose of Fat revival with your hosts Sven and Gomez-k-k.
0:38
So, Bubbles and Julian are making me come and play radio, so this is Tio Gomez. Yeah, we got Sven over here too, and of course, JK Livin. Ahoy, hoy, hoy.
0:54
We're lucky tonight because we have Chris Daisy and The Snowbots in the studio. What's up, maestro? Hey, guys. [siren blaring] Our show is sponsored by Surly Bikes. Surly just launched a super fan discount coupon.
1:11
They're offering 150 bucks off all domestic US complete bikes. Visit your local Surly dealer or visit surlybikes.com to learn more. Yeah, we know a few Surly super fans, huh? Super fan. Super fan.
1:26
Should I bust right into the beard report? [laughs] Hey, we got a new segment. It's all about the beards on this show. Maybe we'll have guest beards come on the show. Guest beards, I like this idea.
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But this week's beard report- That- JK Livin', uh, I don't know if he's, uh... He's, he's gone way past Millard Fillmore. He would say Arthur- Che- Chedd-A. Chester, Chester A. Arthur... Chester A. Arthur.
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There's one of the- But I-... nice portraits that, you know... but I'm here to testify he's gone full Lorax with his beard- [laughs]... this week. I speak for the trees. [laughs] Exactly.
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Sven over there, he's got the, uh, Ulysses S. Grant White House years, uh, beard going. Useless S. And, uh- That's us- that's useless Sven Grant right there. [laughs] Yeah.
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And your Uncle Gomez's beard, I think, has just, just this week crossed over the hillbilly line. Yeah, kinda Duck- Hillbilly Jim?... kinda Duck Dinosaur-ish. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's getting long over there.
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So that's this week's beard report, beard report, beard report, brought to you by- Brought to you by... the Standard Comb Company and wildroseherbs.com. I need something to make my beard a little more Thylophya-ish. Yes.
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Wild herbs. Wild herbs. Dot com. Well, on this week's show we have special guest Sonja Looney,
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we have the Fat Bike Prom, we start to qualify listeners to win a State Bicycle Company Megalıp Fat Bike, we have some links for y'all, and of course, we have beer.
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I want you guys to know that with the beard report in there, we made it a solid twice as far as last week before we made the first beer stop here. Yeah, so you wanna stop at the top of the hill and have a beer? Yeah.
3:13
Yeah. I'll, I'll, I'm- [laughs] Yeah. You guy- I'll meet you up there. I'm walking already. I always imagine that our show is kinda like, just like a ride. Only, only- I like to, I like to pretend [laughs]...
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only twice as long and- [laughs]... and, and, you know, it's like those rides. And on most rides we don't actually, uh, editorialize on our beards, although we probably do. Could be. Never really thought about it.
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It's just a- Well, cheers, boys. Cheers. [imitates record scratch] Cheers and beer. What do we got this week? JK brought this one in. Well, yeah. It's, uh, Alaskan Brewery's Free Rider American Pale Ale. Free Ride APA.
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Yeah. It's got a bike on the label. It's got a bike on it. That doesn't actually look like a- I didn't even notice the beer... Free Ride bike so much, though.
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No, it, when I picked it up, it had- Does look Alaskan, though... it had the, uh, snowboarder on it. Oh. And I was like, "Okay, that's cool." And then I flipped it around and I see bicycles all over it. Bicycles.
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He does look like he's probably in Alaska with the picture. I thought he was drinking it, as the picture was stating, but- So American pale ale. What do we know about this, JK?
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Uh, well, it's about 5.3 on the ABV, so it's not gonna knock you over. [laughs] Yeah, I could- Start drinking a couple of them... we could have three of these to two of last week's beer. Yeah. [laughs] Right. Yeah, so.
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Scored an 84 on the ye olde Beer Advocate by about 400 odd people. That's a good rating, right? Yeah. It's not like- Yeah, it's good. It's not, you know- Yeah, and it is good- Yeah... by the way. Yeah. I mean, you know.
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It's very drinkable. Yeah, and it's, it's normal. I like it. Yeah. I'm, I'm finding my- It's not over hoppy like- No, I don't think... I think it's not over hoppy. I agree. Yeah.
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I mean, even though it does tout that it has three different kinds of hops, that I don't even- They are well-controlled and not all angry in your mouth. Yes. Yeah. But it's a pale ale, not a India pale ale, so.
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American pale ale. I'm not sure what the hell any of that means, but- Yeah, I don't know. Mm... made in 'merica, or- [laughs] Is, is, is, is Alaska in America? I know. Can you see Russia from there?
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[laughs] This is in Juneau, so you can see, like, the- [burps] Cruise ships... Kodiak Island, I think you can see off there, Sitka. So- It does have a little bit of burpiness to it. I noticed that. I was- Oh... stifling.
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I had hot chili rellenos before this, so burp is just the beginning. I'm still- Oh, boy... I'm s- I'm still working on the banh mi sandwich. [laughs] Banh mi. [laughs] Peanut butter.
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So with that, let's just say we'll be right back with this week's special guest, Sonja Looney. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio.
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This is Brett from Twin Six, and you're listening to Ole and Bromas on Fat Bike Radio. Please welcome to the show the posh and fabulous Sonja Looney Welcome to the show, Sonya. Hi, guys.
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Hey, good to have you on the show. So just for our listeners, Sonya is a- Thanks. Thanks. Glad to be here [laughs]
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Sonya is a pro ultra endurance cyclist that's been on the top of the world stage race and 100-mile podiums over the last four years.
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Recently, she took on a role as a marketing strategist for one of my favorite brands, Alaska's Fatback Cycles. Uh, what does that... What i- what is a pro ultra endurance cyclist?
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I think I wrote this, but I have, I, I have no idea what that means. [laughs] Maybe Sonya can tell us. [laughs] It means you love pain and suffering.
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Um, what it means is I race at the pro level, which doesn't really mean a whole lot.
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It just means that you've done a lot of racing, and you've been able to upgrade your USA Cycling license at some point, if you still have one.
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Um, but I do a lot of 100 miles and stage races, like you said, all over the world, and I seek out the, the gnarliest, hardest races.
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So ones where, um, you don't have people helping you and handing you water bottles and babying you. It's ones where you have to get from one point to another across the country and, and not whine about it, basically.
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[laughs] Well, right on. And, and being a pro cyclist, you can automatically walk into that coveted role of marketing strategist? How did, how did that come about?
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Oh, well, I worked for Ergon for the last five years, um, as their national sales and marketing manager.
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So I got a lot of experience there, and I also worked, um, for a startup solar engineering company as an engineer but was also taking on marketing roles 'cause it just sort of fit naturally.
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So between that and marketing myself as a professional athlete, I've gained a lot of really cool and unique skills. Awesome. So we have a question for you. Yeah. Yeah.
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We got a question from one of our test pilots when he heard you were gonna be on the show, uh, Matt Gersab. He'd like to hear about how your Fatback, your Fatback racing aspirations.
8:07
Are you gonna join The Fat Bike Riders, Tim Benson, Kevin Breitenbach, Jeff Oatley, and Heather Best at the Iditarod Trail Invitational this year?
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Well, first of all, I don't think my name deserves to even be on the same list as those guys. They're absolutely incredible. And, uh, I do wanna do the Iditarod someday.
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It's a ways out for me right now because where I'm at in my mountain biking career, I'm racing pretty much, like, February through October. So I need a little bit of an off-season, which is what the winter is.
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So I can go out and enjoy some fun rides, but I'm not doing any racing. But eventually I'd love to do some Fatback racing.
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It's a challenge where I'm living in BC because there's not a lot of racing around here or even real legit trails to ride.
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But I definitely have maybe Arrowhead on my, um, my list for someday and maybe the Snow Epic in the Alps and maybe someday the Iditarod.
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But I'm, I, I have to say I'm a bit intimidated by that one 'cause my coldest ride so far has been two hours in eight degrees Fahrenheit.
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So I'm definitely a bit of a newbie and still learning about tires, tire pressure, conditions, and how to really throw the Fatback around. It's a different sport than mountain biking. Oh, yeah.
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So Matt also wanted to know, aside from racing, what makes you love Fatbikes? Well, the reason that I love mountain biking is because I love adventure.
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So when I got a Fatback last year, I got a Fatback, and that's how I got involved with Fatback, and I loved the bike. It was so much fun.
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It's a winter adventure, and where I'm riding, I don't really know what to expect, and because I'm new, I don't know what to expect.
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So the terrain could be awesome, or I could be hiking my bike up a, a, and freshly packing in a trail for an hour, only to ride down it, which is super fun.
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But I love the adventure aspect of it, and being out there in the wintertime adds a different element, um, that makes things a bit more challenging, and it's, it just looks different.
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Everything's black and white, and things are a lot more quiet, and you see even less people generally than you do if you're out there during the summer. Hallelujah. [laughs] Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You do.
10:09
We know that, um, Fatback recently started an ambassador program. Can you tell us a little bit about your winners and what they'll be up to in 2015? Yeah, for sure.
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We wanted to support some really cool people with our Corvus carbon bike, and we got a pretty diverse group this year. This is the first year. So we have Pat Smage, who's from Wisconsin.
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He's a seven-time AMA National Mototrial Pro champion. Wow. So he's got some pretty awesome bike handling skills. Yeah.
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Uh, he's gonna be sending us some videos and traveling around the country and using his Fatback bike for cross-training for mototrial. So we've already seen some pretty cool photos from him.
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I think the guy can defy gravity, and he doesn't need a motor to do it, which is pretty cool. He was on America's Got Bike Talent. Um, no, I'll get him a bike. Yeah, right. America's Got Talent. Yeah, right?
10:56
[laughs] Yeah. He, he and his brother. Yeah. That's a, that's a great idea. I should write that into his contract. [laughs] No, he was on, he was on- Yeah... one of those shows. I don't know if it was America's- Oh...
11:07
Got Talent or- No... or... But he, he and his brother, they're, they're incredible. So go on. I, I interrupt us. That's, that's what I'm best at. [laughs] No. That's my, that's my superpower. It's good to interrupt.
11:22
It's, it's too boring if I just talk the whole time. [laughs] So who else have you- Then we have Liz Sampie. [laughs] Yeah, sorry. I was just saying, so who else, other than Pat? Oh, yeah.
11:33
Liz Sampie, she, she lives in Gunnison, and she's a physical therapist. She does some Fatback racing there, and she's also a pro mountain biker.
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She runs her own business called Inner Strength Coaching, where she coaches athletes in injury rehab and bridges the gap between traditional physical therapy and peak performance.
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So she's a pretty cool resource and definitely knows a lot of people in the Gunnison Crested Butte area and recently was on the front page of The Gunnison Times riding a Corvus, which was pretty cool.
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And she's just generally a really fun gal, really friendly, and a great person to have associated with our brand. And, uh, Jumping Jerry, Jumping Jerry Vanderpool, um, he- Well, as his name implies, he jumps.
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He's a cricket on a bike. He just recently sent us a YouTube video of him on his, uh, first ride out on his Corvus, taking a bunch of jumps and railing some corners while providing commentary, which is pretty funny.
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Um, he runs Piffy Tech Suspension in Boise, Idaho, and he's also riding the series for Vital Mountain Bike, Vital MTB. So he's been fun sending us some stuff.
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And we also have Ryan Schutz, or Ryan Schutzy, living in Cordova, Alaska. He's a cor- commercial fisherman, and we had to pick one guy from Alaska. Come on, that's where we're located, in Anchorage.
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Um, he's gonna be taking a bunch of trips to the Oregon Dunes, some, some bike and raft trips, which Greg has, Greg of Fatback Bikes, has done a lot of, so we like that stuff.
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And Minnesota and California, and planning out lots of adventures, so he'll be good for getting our bike in front of a d- a lot of different people in a lot of different places.
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And lastly, we have Nate Salsman, Central District Cyclery from Grand Rapids, Michigan. And I hear your community's pretty awesome. I'm gonna go up there this summer to visit.
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Um, he's a fun guy in the community, promotes a lot of fat bike races, and generally is plugged in. So we like to have a couple people in the Midwest, 'cause really, you guys are...
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I would say you guys are the, the kings and queens of fat biking. Well, thank you. Thank you. That's the way we, that's the way we see each other. Our master is queen. Are you in...
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[laughs] I was just gonna say, are you the king this week, Greg- [laughs]... or am I? Abby. Um, so it's pretty wild that out of those people, we, we actually know two of those people. Like, like- Good choices...
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yeah, Nate and, uh, and Pat are, are amigos. So well played. [bell ringing] Yeah, it was great. I had like h- like probably 150 to 200 applications to read through. Losers.
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[laughs] And there were so many cool people that sent an application. Sorry, that was mean. Did you get one, did you get one from julio.com? Julio.com, our, our former beer guy. I don't know. Sometime beer guy.
14:10
Our beer intern. I think maybe he probably just said on the show... Expectedly because you mentioned it on the radio. "Sonja, I wanna be an ambassador. I wanna be an ambassador." Anyway, that...
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the, the signal you heard- "I want to be a reggae ambassador"... the, the cowbell that you heard brings us to the final sprint of our interview. Wait, wait, wait. I'm gonna need more cowbell. I'm gonna need more cowbell.
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All right, here we go. Yeah, she wants more cowbell, so we're... [bell ringing] Yep, yep, yep, we're off to a- Our interns. [laughs] All right. He's on the cowbell. It's not really our intern. That was really bad.
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[laughs] That was JK Living. JK Living on the cowbell. Do you have a cowbell intern? [laughs] Yes. We're looking for a beer intern. [laughs] That's we could really use. That, that seems, that seems pretty easy to do.
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Like B- double E- double R you in. Come on, intern. I know, so- Intern, intern, intern... answer these five questions as fast as you can. Tubes or tubeless? Tubeless.
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Favorite craft style of beer, and favorite craft brewery? IPA, Pine Forest in my Mouth, Chinook and Simcoe hops, Avery and Deschutes Brewery, and in BC, Parallel 49 in Vancouver.
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See, Julio told us that she was a beer head. [laughs] Very good. [laughs] Uh, Sonja, what tires are on your fat bike right now? 45 North Husker Dude, but I need to try something better. He-Man or Skeletor? He-Man.
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I could crush Skeletor. [laughs] And last question, flats- Need a real man here. [laughs] Last question, flats or clipless? Clipless. All right.
15:52
We're gonna use, we're gonna use that as some sort of fodder later for, for quizzing people. Very good. Yep, they'll have to remember this interview in the back of their minds.
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Well, we've really enjoyed having you on the show, Sonja. Yep, thanks for being on the show. Yeah, thanks, guys. You, uh- All right. Maybe I can l- listen in and learn some more. You bet.
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We're fonts of knowledge here at Fat Bike Radio. [laughs] I always like to say, don't be a stranger. You are. Or don't get any stranger. All right. We'll see you around. Bye. That's very possible. [laughs] Bye bye. Bye.
16:24
You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. This is Brett from 26, and you're listening to Ole and Bromas on Fat Bike Radio. You're about to get your weekly dose of Fat Bike Radio. Welcome back to the radio program.
16:40
Here's Greg with this week's episode of... What do we call this? Ask Sam Sclance.
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[laughs] This week we're gonna continue with our awards season theme, because it is the most wonderful night and magical night of the year. Yeah, we need Tina and Amy in here doing this show with us. Yeah. Yeah.
16:58
Well, we just need them in here. [laughs] Yeah. But doing something with us. I don't know if they- They're funny... should just jump up and down and tou- try to touch their toes or something.
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The question being, what was the best fat bike event of 2014? 20014? 2014, the year. You know what, how long ago. You know, last year. 2,000 and 14. Yeah, yeah. I tried.
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So we're gonna be taking calls and talking to our listeners and finding out what they think is the best, you know, best event from 2014. But first, we're gonna put Sven on the old hot plate and boil him up a cup of tea.
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Well- Well, actually, you know, we're gonna have... ask him- Yes... about, you know, the thing. I'm, at the... I- it is Burpee Beer, isn't it? Yeah, it is. Nah. [laughs] That's gonna make for a fun segment.
17:41
I think it's a good question, because it kind of makes you think back over the year of what you've been doing on fat bikes and how much fun it is, you know, from sitting under bridges to, you know, participating in whatever organized event there might be, or just going out on your own.
17:54
I think for me, for various reasons, my favorite event was Fat Camp... down at Illinois Beach State Park. Chris from Zion Cyclery put that together. We had a bunch of people down there. We camped overnight. Two nights?
18:06
One night? Whatever. We were there for a- Plus you'd unleashed some, uh, what? Some [laughs] environmental terrorism. [laughs] Yeah. It was a... The wind would've done it anyway. Yeah. [laughs] Just- Yeah...
18:17
we created a river that made it all the way to the lake, where before it hadn't for some reason. [laughs] You're like Dr. Frankenstein of rivers. [laughs] You took the dead river and made it the undead river.
18:27
Well, the, the great thing was that I was smart enough to do it on the far side of the river- Yeah... so we couldn't cross it on the way back.
18:32
[laughs] So we had to bushwhack, and train track ride, and, and go through probably some fairly Superfundy sites to get back to camp, but- Yeah...
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I'll tell you this, the guys that got sucked into that, [laughs] Dave, uh- Little Mike... Mike, Little Mike, and, uh, whoever else was with us, that's something you're g- not gonna forget. I don't care.
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[laughs] I don't care. Epic rides like that. I don't care.
18:53
It was unplanned and stupid, but we probably should've just tried to swim across, although we would've ended up about 300 feet out in the lake floating on our bikes. But anyway. Marooned- Awesome...
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in Beach Park, Illinois. Marooned off the shore. He would send helicopters to rescue us. [laughs] It was a great event, and I, if... When he does it again next fall, I highly recommend checking out fat camp.
19:13
And he's talking about running Fat Bike Prom at the beginning of April this year. Yeah. Yeah, that... If that... Well, it is gonna come together. I think that's a great idea.
19:23
They've got that conference center down there, which is- Right... just awesome, right on the shoreline. So they have a ballroom. We can have a band. Everybody can grab a crazy gown out of the, out of the closet. Punch?
19:36
And get down. There's gotta be punch. Punch. We have to have punch so we can spike the punch, you see. Yeah, exactly. This has to have everything. And they have on-site rooms, so there's no need to, uh- Go-...
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worry about how much punch you consume. [laughs] And this place is- Take it to the showers. [laughs]... is right out of the '70s- Right, super-... which is good for you and me, 'cause our proms were actually in the '70s.
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Super '70s. Yeah. And when Chris said this, I was like, "All right, fine. As long as your band can play Color My World by Chicago." He's like, "Oh, that's the only song that, that we play. But we play it- [sings]...
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we play it in rockabilly. We play it in punk. We play it in new wave. We play it in reggae. [laughs] [sings] And all in one minute and 32 seconds. Exactly. 'Cause JK and I are gonna slow dance
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like- [laughs]... like there's no tomorrow. Well, let's open up the phone lines. Give us a call and let us know what your choice is for the best fat bike event in 2014 at 818-918-2453.
20:42
That's 818-918-BIKE. By the way, we do the show every Wednesday from 8:00 to 9:00. You can call in and talk to us at that number. But if you feel like just leaving us a message, you can always leave us a voicemail.
20:54
Give that number a call, tell us what's on your mind. Maybe you'll be on the radio show. Also, anybody, uh, who calls in today will be entered and qualified to win a State Bicycle Company Megalith fat bike.
21:07
We're gonna do this through February 4th on our shows, and take the, uh, February 11th, I think it is, show, and do our drawing, and award that Megalith fat bike. Yeah, it's a awesome entry-level bike.
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JK Living is gonna, uh, gonna test one here soon too. Yeah. We are awaiting its arrival with bated breath. Eagerly anticipating. And now, your call-in segment. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio.
21:39
Hey, who do we have on the show? Uh, it is me. I heard a beep. That sexy lady said I was gonna hear a beep, and then I'd be on. Am I? You are on the air. This is Gomez. Who's this? Me. Who's calling us? This is Mike.
21:55
Mike. It's easy. It's easy, Mike. Hey, how's it going, guys? What's going on? Hey, uh, I, I was trying to get a message to Dave Luntz. I heard you guys know where to find that guy.
22:05
You sound a virtual bit- We are sorry, but the show hasn't it. Goodbye. [laughs] Oh, no. Hey, yo. Welcome to the show. Who do we have on the other line? Hey, Gomez. This is Mike again. What's going on there?
22:22
How you guys doing? All right. Mike is from Portage- You w- you work out a few of those bugs?
22:29
Yeah, you know, we had a ghost in the machine, but we had an exorcist, and now here we are talking on the internet through this, through this here la- Lafaytte 2000. Pretty crazy, huh?
22:41
The, the, the little Stephen Hawking lady that answered the phone was, uh, she was giving me business, man. [laughs] As all the ladies do. You should, you should hook me up with her.
22:51
Yeah, I think you two would hit it off. So, uh, no kidding, right? I think she liked me.
22:57
[laughs] So, you know, what we're asking folks to call in is to tell us their favorite fat bike event for d- 2014, the year of the gnome. It seems like a really long, uh, time ago. I know. Um, I mean,
23:15
let me think. I don't know. I think a lot of our beach rides were very memorable. But, uh, as far as events, I thought Shell Track was pretty cool. I don't know that I have a single one.
23:26
I think, uh, just our, our more casual, uh, weekend beach rides were, were the thing I liked the best. Summer stuff, but- Group rides in the group ride category- Um-...
23:36
and maybe the, uh, Shell Track for the race category. You guys are running a race up there in- Right... Washington on, uh, January 25th, right? We are. Yep, yep, yep.
23:47
It'll be our first one, and everybody I know can't make it: Gomez, uh, Luntz, uh, Greg. So we'll see what happens. You know what, Mike? This is just perfect practice for you, because we're having...
24:00
We're gonna do Fat Bike Prom in April, and your band- Mm-hmm... is playing, and you're gonna wear a dress. It's gonna- Band is-... kick ass I always wear a dress. [laughs] Underneath my trousers, I often wear a dress.
24:14
Oh, yeah, yeah. Under- underneath my biking pants, underneath my, uh, combat boots and whatnot. All right, well we have- So, um-... another caller, my man. So I am gonna bid you adieu. Aww. Thanks for calling the show.
24:28
Bye-bye. [laughs] All right, see you later. Hey, we've got Aristotle from Athens, Greece on the line. [laughs] Hello there. Welcome to the show, Aristotle.
24:39
I know you're not from Athens, Greece, so I just threw that in there to be whimsical. You're, uh- It, it sounds, sounds right. So what, what long Indian named town do you live in? Akamai? I live in Appleton, Wisconsin.
24:53
Ah, that doesn't sound very Indian at all. Sounds- It, it doesn't. I, I like to, I like to call it Brap-leton. Brap. The, the purpose- B-...
25:01
of this exercise, sir, is, uh, is to quiz you on your choice for the best fat bike event of 2013. Would it have to be an event I attended? No. No, absolutely not.
25:15
It could be a race, it could be a festival, it could be a group ride, it could be, you know... Uh, this is, this is Fat Bike Radio. We have very, very few rules.
25:25
[laughs] Well, uh, you, you guys know a little bit about me, um, but I like to do some kinda crazy stuff on my fat bike. So my, my favorite event would have to be Fat Tuesday at Ray's Indoor and Outdoor Park. Oh, wow.
25:40
The carnage, the blood, the wood, all of it. Exactly. Mm-hmm. Well, I know that I've, I've seen you out there at Ray's, and you, you make it all look very easy. And I, I,
25:54
I just try and stay out of the emergency room myself, so my hat's off to you, and my helmet's on right now- [laughs]... just sitting in this stool. [laughs] Yeah, I've, I've gotten really good at falling.
26:07
[laughs] So there, there's an, there's an art to, to crashing properly. And I'll tell the- And, uh, knock on wood, but it, it has kept me out of the emergency room, um, most of the time.
26:19
Uh, I'll tell the folks at home, this is, this is... Aristotle's a rider that can do, like, a one-handed wheelie and salute the crowd and, uh, you know, probably roll a cigarette all, all at the same time,
26:34
so he's amazing. So we are gonna go to the next call. I really appreciate you calling in, bro. You keep it real. We'll talk to you soon. No problem. You too, thanks. Bye. Please welcome to the show Adam Blake. Hi, buddy.
26:52
What's up, dude? How's it going? How are you? Sorry we hung up on you before. [laughs] I know, what the heck? Uh, I don't know. We were pranking. So man, tell me your choice for the best fat bike event for 2014.
27:10
I think the best fat bike event in 2014 will be the most fun fat bike event in 2015, and is the first fat bike event that really opened my eyes, and that's the Team Snowbiking Durout. Oh, dude. Yeah.
27:24
Plus the fact that Collin and I and Jameson crushed everyone's faces and won the belt, and, you know, we're biased, but that's the way a race should be run. Joe does an awesome job. Yeah. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah.
27:36
And the Pope was there. How can you vote against that? And the Pope was there. Yeah. And we had, we had- And, and like, a month apart, single track, brat sponsor this year, more chili than you can imagine.
27:48
You know, what can, what can you not like about that? If you can't have fun there, you're probably stuck in the first. I know, I know. What other fat bike race has a brat and beer sponsor? Just the Enduro.
28:00
I, I know none right now. Joe is winning that lap right now. We should probably put a call out there to our listeners. We actually, uh, we need some bikini podium girls for this year's race.
28:10
So, uh, if you're out there- Well worth it... and you can still rock a bikini, then, uh, you know, I don't know. Gomez@fatbike.com with a hyphen in there. That's right. That's not daddy likes.
28:21
You can also email Adam @boobicycle- I like it... if you wanna send a bikini picture. There you go. And Adam, Adam is gonna spill the beans very soon on something big from Boo right on fatbike.com.
28:34
It's very hush-hush, very quiet, so we should probably take the next caller. Hey, I get to, I get to- Yo, I'll be at your house. Don't forget that. Yeah, baby. I'll get to see you soon, so, uh, I will talk to you then.
28:47
Yeah, I'm gonna stay an extra day just to see Bethany. [laughs] If Bethany's worth the extra day, anytime, any day. Yo, of course. Of course. Like, any day. All right, guys. Hey, thank you guys so much.
28:59
Keep up the good work. Thanks, man. We'll talk to you soon. Later. Bye-bye. Hey, we've got a mystery caller on the line. Who's on the line? Where are you from? Hey, I'm, uh, Tyler. I'm from Burlington, Vermont.
29:12
Hey, right on, Tyler. What's going on tonight in Burlington, Vermont? Uh, not too much. We're just, uh, uh, our evening just warmed up or jumped 30 degrees from a chilly morning, and now we're, uh, feeling quite at ease.
29:27
Cool, man. Well, what is your best fat bike event for 2014? Uh, my favorite fat bike event for 2014 was the, uh, Global Fat Bike Celebration Day held at, uh, Catamount Trails in Williston, nearby here. Uh, good band.
29:45
There was some group rides, an Alley Cat s- style race.
29:48
Um, a lot of good friends of mine were there, the bonfires, beer and chili, and, uh, that is the event that inspired me to pick up my own fat bike, start doing exploring and having fun on.
29:59
And, uh, it was the first stop of, uh, Le Grand Fat Tour, which is a series of races and events that's been taking me through the state of Vermont and our neighbors up in Quebec, so. That sounds awesome, man.
30:10
So what kind of, what kind of fat bike did you get for your first one? Uh, I ended up getting a Rocky Mountain Blizzard. I got a nice new Fatbike going on, so... I have the tattoos that match- Yeah... the bike, so.
30:21
Well, thanks for- Oh, do you?... calling in. All right. And, uh, you're- My pleasure... qualified to win that State Bicycle Company Megalith and, uh, we're... we have a drawing coming up for that.
30:32
So like I said, thanks for calling in, and we're off to our next caller. Have a good one. You as well. Take care. And we've got Dave, the one and only Puck from the Virgin Islands. What's up, Dave? Aloha. [laughs] Aloha.
30:49
So, uh, have you figured out what your, uh- Yeah... favorite Fatbike event from 2014 was? Well, since I didn't make it through PWC, um, maybe that one in, uh, Silver Lake. Oh, there's- Or-... a couple here...
31:06
um, Shell Track. I, uh, it's a tough call. They're, they're all very golden events, you know? It's like you- you can't really pick just one, you know? Well, you could make it a tie between those two.
31:16
Between the Enduro and what was the other one? Uh, Shell Track. Oh, Shell Track. An awesome event if not, and Slack. Oh, yeah? I know that race. Um, you go to so many, it's hard to pick just one, you know? I don't know.
31:30
They all start to roll right into one another. When you start to get our age. Right. [laughs] So Dave, I cannot believe you're calling me from the Virgin Islands from. Did you bring a bike down there with you?
31:42
No, I didn't. Um, I haven't touched a bike in, uh, two weeks. Oh, damn. Um, 'cause it costs like $1,000 to get a bike on an airplane down here. [laughs] Man. I can see that.
31:55
I, I, I did look into a, uh, Walmart bike, um, but there's not even a Walmart down here, so. [laughs] Oh, well, that's kind of a good thing. Well, Dave, thanks for calling in.
32:04
You rock, and I'll see you when you get back in Milwaukee. All right. And, uh, day one, it's, uh, 80 degrees and I'm in flip-flops here getting Presidente on the beach right now. Oh, Presidente.
32:16
I will talk to you guys in like five days, unfortunately. All right, bro. Be good. All right. Bye. [laughs] Welcome to the show, Terry from Rochester, New York. How's it going? Great. How are you? I'm doing well.
32:32
Thanks for being on the show and calling in. So what's your choice for the best Fatbike event for 2014?
32:39
Well, I didn't attend any races, but I'd have to say, uh, National Fat Bike Day on December 6th was, uh, I found my favorite event. Cool. What'd you do up there in Rochester on Global Fat Bike Day?
32:51
Uh, a couple bike shops, um, collaborated together and organized a little event down at our local beach, and we did some, uh, beach riding and some, uh, snow riding. So are Fatbikes big in Rochester?
33:04
Um, I think they've come a long way. I, I mean, most of the bike shops are selling a lot of the soccer Fatbikes, so seem to be quite popular. Cool.
33:15
Well, you certainly, you guys get enough snow around there that it should be huge. Yeah, absolutely. Well, right on. Thanks for calling the show. Really appreciate it. You have yourself a great day. Thanks. You as well.
33:30
Hey. Welcome to the radio show. Who do I have on the line? This is Jim. Jim, where are you from, bro? What's that? Where are you from? Milwaukee or Wisconsin. Milwaukee? So what's going on here?
33:43
Uh, hanging out, working on bikes, listening to metal. Today's our, uh, today's our day for you to call in and share what your favorite Fatbike event is for 2014.
33:55
2014 was a busy year for me, so I didn't have a whole lot of time for organized rides. Mm-hmm. But I'd probably say riding River Trail with good buddies, maybe having a drink or two under a bridge, getting real baked.
34:09
Yep. Drinking under the bridge. Sounds pretty good. In Milwaukee. [laughs] That does sound pretty good. So d- have you ever- Yeah... have you ever heard of this thing called, uh, the Riverwest 24? Oh, yes.
34:22
Does that- Ultimate Fatbike... where do, where does that rank in, in your, in your year? Is that a- I, I guess that would be up there for sure, but that was on a Fatbike that was the year previous. All right.
34:34
So- We were talking 2014, so... Yeah. 2013, that would probably be the highlight. [laughs] All right, man. Well, we appreciate you calling, uh, Fatbike Radio, and you are now qualified- Hell yeah...
34:50
to, uh, to win a State Bicycle Fatbike. How does that, how does that feel for you? Sweet. All right, man. Yeah, I'd take one. Oh, you know what one I really want? I want the coaster brake one.
35:01
I want the Monolith, not the Megalith, just so I can ride- Ooh. I don't know... sweet skids, man. It's gonna be like a super bar bike. True that. All right, Jim. Arrivederci. Bye-bye. So long. Bye. Take care. Later.
35:15
Bye-bye. Welcome to the show. Who do we have on the line? My name's Dan Troll.
35:22
Uh, I was just, I was just listening to your show and, and heard somebody talking about, about being under bridges and, and tripping and doing stuff under bridges and, you know, trolls,
35:34
I don't know, it kind of makes me unhappy when, uh, when people are under bridges and, uh, don't say hi because, you know, I'm under most bridges and, uh, maybe, you know, I'm there, but everybody's having fun and I kind of want to join in.
35:45
But, so, uh, maybe you can, maybe you can help me join the Fatbike riders with, uh, with some advice for, uh, you know, a lonely troll under a bridge. Uh, what do you got? Well, uh, believe me, I, I am with you there.
35:59
I was actually raised by ditch trolls. We didn't even have a bridge. We just lived in a ditch, so, uh... So, uh, can you, uh, can you share with us maybe, uh, what your favorite Fatbike event was for 2014?
36:14
Well, you know, kind of just saw them roll by. I really didn't get a chance to join in some, but I've, you know, I-...
36:20
the fat bikers when they have women out there riding with them, 'cause, uh, hell, those guys are kinda...
36:25
I don't know, some guys are guys that [laughs] I think when women join in the, uh, fat bike racket, so, uh, that kind of motivates them a little bit.
36:32
I'm, I'm pretty happy about that Yeah, they had a, they had a race over there in Michigan called Skirts in the Dirt. That was, uh, that was all ladies racing bikes. You would've liked that. Yeah. Mr.
36:42
Troll Under the Bridge, thanks for calling. We're, uh, we're gonna take our next- All right. Have a good day. Bye. Hello. Welcome to the show. Who do we have on the line?
36:53
Uh, this is Johnny and I'm from, uh, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Johnny. Is it okay if I call you Johnny, Johnny? Hey. [laughs] Hey, man.
37:04
Uh, the whole purpose of this exercise is to find out what you think is the best fat bike event of 2014. Uh, my best event was the Urban Cross race down in, uh...
37:23
Yeah, it was fun. Uh, the best part was they call it from Canada to the coast, so as I'm riding through the whole area, it's been rad jumping over stuff. Yeah. Zito put the, to put that whole series together.
37:40
I saw pictures. JK Living was there. Yeah. He's been on our radio show. Yeah, yeah, he was. He was. Actually, the last race I ended up breaking my nose- Oh... going up, uh, what was it called? Whiskey, Whiskey Hill.
37:54
Whiskey Hill. Ended up going over the bars and, uh, re-breaking my nose, having to race the rest of the race, uh- Through, through tampons in your nose... uh, without believing... Yeah, yeah, I did. Yeah, it was fun.
38:10
Wow, that- But I made it work... that's... John, you're now qualified to win the State Fat Bike, uh, Megalith Fat Bike coming up here in February. Thanks for calling the show. Yeah. And, uh- Yeah...
38:23
we'll catch you w- you know, I, you and I have to meet. We're, I'm right here in Milwaukee. Yeah. So, uh- Cool... we'll have to have a beer. Cool. Yeah. Uh, sorry I was, uh, not drunk enough. [laughs] All right, Johnny.
38:37
All right. Later, guys. See ya. So, G-Mage, what you gotta say about this? Well, as always, I can't just leave well enough alone and give you one answer, so I'm gonna go with best race.
38:50
I'm gonna go with the Fat Bike Birkie, 'cause I got to meet some of my mountain bike heroes and talk to them and it, that, that was just... I was blown away by that. Very cool. Was that a Foreigner song?
39:03
[laughs] MTB hero. Yeah. Livin' the dream. Mm-hmm. Joe Cox heroes. Yeah, that was- Yeah. That's it. Good, good call on that one. Uh, the best festival, I'm gonna go with Gnomefest.
39:14
That's kind of an important thing on my calendar. It, it's run by our amigo Spinner. There were airplanes landing, flybys. It was, it was all good.
39:24
I just saw somebody had posted something, I think, in an end of the year report. There worth standing in front of the airplane- Yeah... at Gnomefest- [laughs]... as one of the best things they did that year, of 2014.
39:35
And then I'm gonna go best group ride, which how can you, how can you do better than Global Fat Bike Day? And the whole planet went fat. Yes. That was a good day. Around the globe. Yeah.
39:48
And it was Santa- I guess I had to say it... Santacon Saturdays. Yeah. It was awesome. I guess it was a good day. [laughs] I'm saying it even after- We had to use the-... use my AK. Fat bike day. Yeah.
40:00
So now you know what's next. [laughs] Linkages. We have so many links. I'd just like to start it out with a little good news.
40:10
Sarma USA let us know that they've lowered the pricing on their 100 millimeter Niran carbon rims. They made them the same price, $1,200 a pair, as opposed to $1,500 a pair.
40:23
Uh, it's the same price as their 80 millimeter and 50 millimeter carbon rims, and we're actually testing a pair of these. We have the fabulous Julio Dotcom- Former bike ninja... testing a set of these Niran 100s.
40:38
I wonder what Julio thinks. I'm sure a, many of us have spent nights thinking- Countless sleepless minutes- What does Julio think?... thinking about what Julio thinks.
40:49
[laughs] He told me he's, uh, he's collecting all his thoughts. He's got notes. He's got charts. Post-its? Uh, post, I- Napkins... napkins. He has a little kid. Rolling paper. And- Pinging.
41:01
[laughs] It's funny- No, it's from, uh- It's funny you think that little kids roll their own cigarettes. [laughs] But I bet you 10 bucks that when he writes the story, he uses the word obviously. Seriously? Yeah.
41:18
Obviously. Seriously. Yeah, there's a whole bunch more links on here. We've got some race reports. Naturally we have stuff from Joe Boo and the Coast Kid. You know, check 'em out.
41:28
Uh, we love that you listen to the show, but don't forget to check the site out. There's a lot of good stuff happening there, and, uh- This is where we share the wealth
41:36
and the knowledge that we, you know, you, we save you time by scouring the internet- Right... for fabulous stories about fat bikes. Bike exploration. Yeah. That's a good word. Yeah. Yeah. This wanderment, man, that's...
41:50
There's, there's just good stuff in here. That was good. Yeah, yeah, I checked that video out. That was, that was just captivating. You know, I didn't- I didn't get anything done for the five minutes...
41:58
I didn't stick it in the links because it was at a lot of the big sites and it was just a kind of a schleppy PR release, but Pivot came out with something- Oh, yeah?... and, and, uh- Hmm...
42:07
they had a pretty good video of, uh- Yeah... what's his chasey fella- Hmm... doing a, doing his bike trick- Doing backflips... doing his bike trickery things on a, on a fat bike.
42:14
Um- Part of their pivotless, uh, line- Oh, yeah... of bikes- Yeah... so there's no pivot on their fat bike.
42:21
It's a full suspension company normally, but they're- Le Fat One of the things that kinda just got me about it was it, that they're saying it's the perfect fat bike or this or that, and yeah, maybe so, but anybody that's trying to make one bike fit all, I think is kinda missing the fat bike mark.
42:37
Yeah, and we, we actually haven't ridden the bike, so we don't know what it rides like, but all these companies that say, "Oh yeah, 26, 26 plus, 26 fat, 650B, 650B plus, 29, 29 plus."
42:52
You know where they're missing the boat? 16, 20, 10, 12, those little wheels. Yep, and- [laughs] And what about, what about like a 60 to 11 fixed gear? I mean, you know. Yeah. How's that gonna work on there?
43:04
So I don't know. I just, I've been riding fat bikes for long enough to know that not one bike does it all. You need to figure out what you like to do and get something that works for you. Right.
43:12
It might do it all- Well, true... but it isn't going to do it all optimally. Optimally. Optimization. So- Situation... welcome, welcome to, uh, your nightmare Pivot. Yeah.
43:23
[laughs] Well, send us a bike and we'll check it out. [laughs] It's not like we're gonna slam it without riding it, is it? No. Oh, wait. Oh, wait, we already did. [laughs] Hey, speaking of bikes we, we need to slam.
43:32
[laughs] I thought you were gonna not talk about apricots this show. Apricots. And- I bought apricot body wash just 'cause, [laughs] 'cause it, it was there. I was buying a different gift and it just said apricot.
43:47
I had to get it. So who else are we gonna slam this show, since this is a new segment I like to call Slam People Doing Goofy Stuff. [laughs] Oh, this is... We could just call this Get Gomez in Trouble.
44:02
Grievances are being aired. [laughs] The airing of the grievances. We could have Festivus all year long. [laughs] Well, JK, you wanna sum things up for us? I think so.
44:14
We're gonna thanks again to Surly for sponsoring the radio portion of today's broadcast. Today's show was made possible by the Corporation for Drunken Broadcasting and donations from listeners like you.
44:27
So we're gonna leave Badger alone till next week? [laughs] Yeah. Yeah, I think that- Okay. All right... and- Next week, Badger, though, you're on, you're on the horns.
44:34
[laughs] We're gonna be, uh, we're gonna be taking you to task. Yeah, we'll have a new, we'll have a new segment called Badger Approved. Hey, let's go for a ride. Yeah, let's get out of here. Bye-bye. Bye-bye-bye. Yeah.
44:47
You've been listening to Fat Bike Radio's weekly dose of fat. Find us on the web at fat-bike.com/radio. We'll see you next time.
45:01
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