Latest / Full Spectrum Cycling / Weekly Dose of Fat Show #86 – Best of Interviews With Fat-bike Racing Women

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Weekly Dose of Fat Show #86 – Best of Interviews With Fat-bike Racing Women · Full Spectrum Cycling

• 0:00
  Weekly Dose of Fat, show number 86 for Friday, Christmas Day, December 25th, 2015.
• 0:10
  [upbeat rock music] Welcome to the best of The Weekly Dose.
• 0:29
  We've put together quite the show for you. Feature interviews from some of the fastest fat biker racers in the world that also happen to be women. Fat Bike Radio and The Weekly Dose of Fat is sponsored by Surly Bikes.
• 0:44
  Learn more at surlybikes.com. Our first encore interview comes from show number 39 and features, features ITI champion and world record holder, Heather Best.
• 1:00
  Please welcome to the radio show the women's ITI champion and world record holder, Heather Best. Welcome to the show, Heather. Thanks, guys. I think that title sounds a little inflated, but we'll just roll with it.
• 1:12
  [laughs] Heather has joined us on the program to talk about her preparations for the Iditarod Trail Invitational, AKA, the ITI.
• 1:23
  Uh, first we should congratulate Heather on last year's world record win of the 350 mile category.
• 1:29
  And we have to send congratulations out to Heather's husband, Jeff Oatley, for his men's 1,000 mile world record this year.
• 1:36
  Again, guys, thanks, but I have to say, in both cases, I think we were prepared, but we were really handed some pretty phenomenal trail conditions. So I heard that the ITI this year will be run on a different course.
• 1:48
  Can you, uh, maybe fill our cu- or not our customers- Yeah... fill our listeners [laughs] in on that? Wish they were customers.
• 1:56
  Um, actually, it's actually gonna be run on the identically same trail as last year, which is the traditional Iditarod Trail. The dogs team, the dog teams are moving north, though.
• 2:05
  They are moving up to Fairbanks where we haven't had, um, a rainy winter, and we have a snow pack still.
• 2:12
  So they've changed the dogs off the traditional Iditarod Trail, and they're setting up a different route, mostly along large rivers, while the, uh, human-powered race is gonna go out of Knik as usual.
• 2:22
  And actually, the Nome-bound folks were supposed to go on the southern route like the dogs this year,
• 2:27
  but now that there will be no southern route 'cause the dogs aren't gonna be going there, they're gonna be heading to Nome on the northern route just like last year. That's pretty cool.
• 2:35
  Tell us about what you do to prepare for a 350 mile ultra.
• 2:40
  Well, mostly I just ride my bike a lot, and I try and piece together a few big multi-day rides, and then additionally I ride when I don't really want to, kind of like when it's 40 below,
• 2:50
  and then I spend a lot of time fretting over gear, drop bags, things of that nature, I suppose. So last weekend you were up, uh, you did the White Mountains 100 course, right, with Kevin and a couple other people?
• 3:05
  Yeah, something like that.
• 3:06
  Jeff and I rode from our house on trails all the way out to the White Mountains and spent a night in a cabin with some friends, and then the next day we headed out on the 100 mile loop and had a 30 mile head start on Kevin, and he kind of slowly caught up with us through the day.
• 3:20
  And then, um, we stayed another night in the White Mountains and then, uh, rode home the next day via trails while Kevin just did the 100 mile loop in one day.
• 3:29
  Cool, and, uh, so just for our listeners, kind of how many hours in the saddle is that, and approximately how many miles? First day was like 52 miles and about eight hours.
• 3:41
  The second day, Jeff and I only pulled off 60 miles that day 'cause the trails were really slow, and that was in probably like 10 to 12 hours riding.
• 3:50
  And then the last day, about 45 miles and I think about seven hours to come home. So do, do you all- But the trail conditions out on the White Mountains loop were, were kind of not ideal.
• 4:03
  I mean, during the race they'd be much, much faster- Yeah... for the 100 miles.
• 4:08
  So when you're training, do you carry a good portion of the gear that you're going to, uh, use during the race, or do you try and simulate those loads, or do you just ride what, with what you need that day?
• 4:21
  Well, we were riding fully packed for the three-day trip this time, and I carried a lighter weight bag than I would carry in the ITI 'cause we were sleeping inside cabins and I didn't want to be in a 20 below bag indoors where it was heated.
• 4:33
  But Jeff was carrying all of his, you know, normal ITI gear, and I had most of my gear, just not the exact components that I would use for outdoor bivvying and stuff like that, so.
• 4:44
  So last year, you, uh, rode last, last year's race on a titanium fat back. Are you riding the same back, bike this year, or have you, uh, have you gotten one of the new Corvus carbons?
• 4:56
  I have not gotten a new Corvus in, and that's not because I don't want a new Corvus.
• 5:01
  That is because I'm riding the same titanium fat back as last year 'cause it's a custom bike that was made for me, and I'm kind of have some freakish proportions. So,
• 5:10
  um, I don't fit super well on a medium frame because my legs are too long and there's too much seat post sticking out, but on a large frame I'm kind of stretched out over the top, too, and so, um, [bell rings] I'm just sticking with a frame that fits me.
• 5:23
  Well, Heather, the bell indicates the start of the lightning round of the interview. Please answer the following five questions muy rapidamente. Best drop bag snack?
• 5:34
  Uh, that's a moving target, but I'll go with dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Ooh. Mukluks or WolfHammer? Z. Uh, neither for me, but gun to my head, I'll say Mukluks. All right. [laughs] Brad Pitt or George Clooney?
• 5:50
  Depends on the day or the role. Oh. [laughs] Groomed or ungroomed? Ungroomed, but a recent pass by a dog team is a plus. And the final question of the lightning round. Your favorite fat bike tire for the ITI? Very good.
• 6:08
  Well, we really have enjoyed having you on the show, Heather. Yeah, Heather, buenas suerte for the ITI coming up here in a couple of weeks. Thanks, guys. Let's just hope we're riding more than we're pushing.
• 6:18
  [laughs] All right. Thanks again, Heather, for being on the show. Thanks for having me, guys. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. Our second segment is an interview with 45 North pro rider, April Morgan.
• 6:34
  It's from show number 41. Welcome to the radio program, April. April is- Hey, thanks for having me, guys. Yeah, right on, April. So you're the current points leader in the Great Lake Fat Bike Race Series.
• 6:48
  How's that going? Yeah, it's, um, going well so far.
• 6:51
  There's been, um, three races so far this season, and I have managed to, uh, win two of them so far, so leading the series, but, but only by a slight margin, um, that's for sure. Yeah, I, I checked the website.
• 7:05
  Five points between you and Danielle Musto. That's, uh, that's pretty close. Yeah, it's, uh, it's definitely a, a close series so far, um, and different from last year.
• 7:17
  So last year, um, I actually didn't make the trip out to Michigan, so to talk a little bit about the first three races of the, the year so far, um, first one was at the Frosty Chase that, that took place here in St.
• 7:30
  Croix Falls. Uh, second race was Fat Chance, which was up in Traverse City, which is, which is a pretty long drive for me. And then, and then the third race was,
• 7:41
  was just recently in Grand Rapids, and, uh, that was the Vervant Brewery Farm Hundred. Mm-hmm.
• 7:47
  And actually ended up staying with a fellow teammate and competitor, Danielle Musto, at, at her place, so, um, she put me and my husband up for the weekend. And so certainly, you know, it's kind of interesting.
• 7:59
  I think Danielle is somebody that really, um, got me excited about the sport of fat biking a couple years ago, and, you know, she's kind of taken me under [laughs] under her wing a bit.
• 8:08
  I'm really excited about the series and, um, this is the first year that I've actually made a commitment to, to really target going after all, all eight of the races, and so it's certainly a, probably the biggest challenge in, in trying to find a way to put together all of the travel and, and whatnot.
• 8:25
  But certainly, it's certainly a, a friendly, um, competitive environment and it's [laughs]
• 8:31
  it, it was fun being in her hometown and, uh, you know, her mechanic's joking about how they're gonna mess with my bike and, you know, things like that.
• 8:38
  So it's certainly a friendly, playful competition and, uh, we've just developed a pretty good friendship over the last few years and even have had a chance to race some team races in the summer, the, the Lost Light 12 Hours.
• 8:49
  So certainly she is my toughest competition, but the one that, the thing that's really neat about, about the series this year is, you know, is really the growth in the women's field.
• 8:58
  Um, I think, you know, a couple years ago, the first, first year or so, there might be, I don't know, three, four of us women at one of these races, and now it's, it's pretty commonplace to have a stacked field of, you know, five to 10 women that, that toe the line and, and seeing some of the, the biggest women's fields that, that we've seen, especially for fat bike racing.
• 9:17
  So it's, it's been fun so far and, uh, we're really only three, three races in. We have five, four still to go. Right on. So the race series moves to your home state of Minnesota for the next few races.
• 9:28
  Do you feel better about racing closer to home? You know, chasing the championship involves a lot of serious winter travel. How's that work for you?
• 9:35
  Yeah, no, it, it's definitely, um, a relief to be racing closer to home. Um, the race this coming weekend is, um, the Time Cycle Fat Tire Loppet, which actually is in, in Minneapolis, which is pretty much my hometown.
• 9:48
  So [clears throat] I'm really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed on, on Saturday night and, and certainly that, that does have, it does put me at ease a little bit.
• 9:57
  I, I like the fact that I was able to go on the road here, um, in January and manage to win one of those races. It's, it's definitely difficult, so I think the travel definitely takes its toll.
• 10:09
  Um, certainly just, not just from the, the time in the car perspective, but just really trying to, you know, manage to get in good training between the races.
• 10:18
  It's a really compact race season, so, so there's just some challenges in that, in that travel aspect of it and, and definitely one that I knew going into, you know, being willing to kind of chase the series this year and, um, but yeah, certainly now this coming weekend will be close to home, and then the following weekend's Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout, which is in Crosby, Minnesota, and so that, that's only about two hours for me.
• 10:40
  And, and then the next race after that, which is, so it'll be three weekends in a row, is, uh, the Frozen 40, which, which is back here in pretty much the Minneapolis area.
• 10:49
  So it's certainly an advantage for me to be close to home. It makes the, the travel stress less and, you know, able to kind of rejuvenate in between races a little bit more.
• 10:58
  So definitely, definitely happy to, to be here in Minneapolis for, or at least in Minnesota for the next few weeks. Well, cool.
• 11:06
  The way the series looks since it's so, uh, so tight right now, it looks like it's gonna come down to the last race, which is the Fat Bike Birkie in Cable.
• 11:15
  Does it make it more difficult to, uh, prepare for a race course that you really can't preview until the day of the race?
• 11:22
  Um, you know, that's, that's actually a, a pretty interesting question, and I absolutely love Fat Bike Birkie. It was, it was by far my, my favorite race last year.
• 11:30
  It was, the course conditions, like you said, I had no idea going into the race.
• 11:35
  Everybody said it's super fast, the course is amazing, but [laughs] you know, even up until the point of, of race morning, like I had never ridden on those trails.
• 11:44
  Um, plenty of times in the summer, but, but never in the winter, so I don't ski, so I certainly hadn't... I had never skied on those trails either.
• 11:51
  Yeah, so it, it is, it was, it was interesting going into it and, um, you know, but I think it kind of adds to the adventure and, and really when I think about fat bike racing and, you know, and just all the travel that's involved, it, it's actually pretty rare that, that I do get the opportunity to, to ride a course, uh, before, before the race day.
• 12:10
  It's, it's certainly an advantage to be able to, to be able to kind of know the course, but Um, you know, I think it, it actually levels the playing field a bit with a race like Fat Bike Birkie where everybody kind of goes into the race having that, you know, that same kind of, you know, they all kind of start in the same spot.
• 12:25
  You don't have a few people, few local people that, you know, have ridden on the course a ton.
• 12:29
  It, it really kind of levels the playing field and yeah, I like that component of it and, you know, you kind of, you don't really know what's around the next corner and, you know, to the view as a, as an athlete in the race you can kind of ride on the edge a little bit more and take some more risks and, you know, I kind of enjoy that, that aspect of it.
• 12:44
  But, you know, certainly Fat Bike Birkie this year will, you know, w- could very well be, um, you know, the series decider.
• 12:50
  I think, you know, if you have a series and situation where you use tiebreaker, that, that is the final race and, uh, um, it's a hilly one, which, uh, certainly, um, makes it challenging.
• 13:01
  But, but it's also a, a very fast course and, you know, you can really put down a lot of power in, in a race like that.
• 13:06
  So I'm definitely looking forward to, to Birkie, but, [laughs] uh, I think we got, yeah, another four races until then.
• 13:13
  So [laughs] it's kind of interesting to think about it 'cause it's only, I don't know, six weeks away, but, but we've still got another five races in the series left, so. Cool.
• 13:22
  Winter goes by fast these days, that's for sure. [laughs] Yeah. Time flies when you're having fun, right? Right on, April. I'll...
• 13:29
  Good luck with the races leading up to the Birkie, and, uh, I'll be up there covering that for our illustrious, uh, website here.
• 13:36
  So I hope we can, uh, meet in person and, uh, maybe do a little chit-chatting up there, and thanks for joining us on the show today. Oh, cool. Yeah. You ought to come have a beer at the after party. Awesome.
• 13:45
  It'll be at the s- I'll just have one beer and the season will be over, right? Right, right. [laughs] I think this year the party's at the Sawmill in Seeley.
• 13:53
  So it'll be nice, centrally located there, and, uh, l- we'll look for you, hopefully on the podium. Right on. Well, thanks for being on the show, April. [laughs] I, I will certainly. That, that's, that will be fun.
• 14:03
  Thank you, guys. Appreciate it. No problem. Bye. Bye. This week's interview flashback is presented by the Winter Rush Fat Bike Series.
• 14:12
  Winter Rush is the home of the Michigan State Fat Bike Championships and will be your host of the 2017 USA Cycling Fat Bike National Championships. For more information, click on the Winter Rush banner in the show notes.
• 14:27
  [laughs] Damn it, I looked at him. [laughs] You know what? I was thinking while he was- I visited winterrush.com. [laughs] You know what I was thinking as he was reading that?
• 14:40
  [laughs] I was wondering if, like, Rebecca Rusch had a kid, would she consider naming the kid Winter Rush? Winter Rush. 'Cause that's kind of a cool name. [laughs] Or Mountain Rush or Summer Rush.
• 14:51
  There's a lot of things that could go with Rusch, I would think. Oh. That's quite a good name if you're a professional athlete. Rusch. Indeed.
• 15:00
  Next up is an interview with the one and only Rebecca Rusch from show number ni- 40. Wow. How- [laughs] How apropos was that, that I came up with that? [laughs] Ladies and gentlemen, Rebecca Rusch.
• 15:14
  Hey, please welcome to the show world champion endurance mountain biker and author, Rebecca Rusch. Welcome to the show, Rebecca. Hi. How's it going? It's going good. How about you?
• 15:27
  Oh, I'm in a hotel room in Outdoor Retailer, so, uh, taking a break to talk to you guys. Sweet. I'm pretty sure that makes your day, to talk to us rather than stand out there [laughs] at the Outdoor Retailer show.
• 15:38
  So we invited Rebecca to come on the program and tell our listeners about the first USA Cycling Fat Bike National Championships, which are coming up on Valentine's Day, February 14th, boys, go get your, uh, your cards, out there in Ogden, Utah.
• 15:54
  Let us know about that, Rebecca. Yeah. I actually, I was out in Utah. I came here a couple days early, uh, with my husband, Greg Martin, who's the...
• 16:02
  He's actually the course director, uh, with Breakaway Promotions for the event and, uh, we had the opportunity to actually come out and, uh, pre-ride the course and check it out. Uh, firsthand experience.
• 16:14
  Um, it's up at Powder Mountain outside of Ogden, Utah, and it was so much fun. We were laughing the whole time.
• 16:21
  Um, but the cool thing about this course is they have a really dedicated groomer, and the mountain there is super supportive to have fat bikers come.
• 16:30
  So we had gone out there about a month ago and kind of talked about what would be a good course, and Roger the groomer has been working on it for a month, um, and he's taken a lot of pride in it, which is cool.
• 16:40
  And this guy used to be a bike racer as well, so he gets it. Um, but basically there, uh... Most of the course is gonna be on, um, wide groomed trails, so they're using, you know, a standard sort of Nordic groomer.
• 16:53
  Um, when you start up the... What's beautiful about this location is it's up on the, basically the highest you can get. It's a upside-down ski resort, and so you start at the top.
• 17:05
  So you're up there, 360 views of the beautiful Utah mountains, and then the place where the course is gonna go, we start at the top and then we take all these rolling fields, um, lots of undulations through some aspen trees, make a big loop that's about 10 kilometers, um, around the resort.
• 17:23
  So basically, the amateurs are gonna do two l- two laps, and the pros are gonna do three laps.
• 17:30
  And what's really cool about the course, I mean, there's some climbing, there's some great descending, and actually Roger the groomer, he's built these really tall berms, so on the descent it's actually kind of like a free ride course with some rollers that you can jump, and you can get up on the berms on your snow bike.
• 17:47
  [laughs] And so Greg and I were just laughing. And then it dives into some single track, which is really cool, through these aspen trees.
• 17:53
  And then the second half of the course is where you, you know, kind of the meat and potatoes of the fitness part of the course is where you climb basically back up towards the resort.
• 18:04
  And it, it's quite a bit of climbing. It's gradual climbing.
• 18:07
  It's all totally rideable, but that's definitely gonna be the part of the course where you're having your laughs on the way down, and then you're like, "All right, I gotta finish this lap," and, and climb back up and out of it.
• 18:17
  And then you do your second or third lap, um- And I think it's gonna be a really cool venue. Like I said, the resort is super supportive. They're gonna have demos out there for people to try on Friday, the day before.
• 18:29
  I'm gonna be hosting free clinics and rides, um, Friday before the race for anybody who just wants to come try it or pre-ride the course with me.
• 18:37
  And I think for the first USA Cycling Fat Bike National, this is the ideal location, and it's gonna be a ton of fun, whether people are just coming out and riding it for a laugh or really trying to go home with, you know, a Stars and Stripes jersey.
• 18:51
  Nice. I think it's gonna be interesting to see what some of these bike manufacturers put together for teams and see if they aggressively bring pro riders in from Europe and Colorado and Alaska and
• 19:06
  see who shows up to this. Do you... Have you got any inkling of some big names that are gonna race? I don't, you know, I don't really know. I've, I've heard inkling that Ned Overend's gonna show up.
• 19:15
  You know, he did, you know, he's been getting in- into fat biking. Um, I know Amanda Carey, who's also, you know, a, a fellow Idaho fat bike girl, um, she's gonna be there. I'll be there.
• 19:26
  Um, but I don't really know, actually, who's gonna show up or who has a fat bike. [laughs] Since it's a, a, a national championship, they have age groups starting at young as, and then they go all the way up to...
• 19:39
  I mean, there's a bunch of different levels. Do you have any idea how many different classes- Yeah... they're gonna award Stars and Stripes jerseys to? Yeah.
• 19:46
  I think for this one, normally they have five-year increments with USA Cycling, and they're doing 10-year increments for, um, for this one since it's a smaller category.
• 19:56
  We don't really know how many people are gonna show up. And so yeah, there'll be jerseys awarded, you know, 30 to 40, 40 to 50. Um, I think they go up to 80. I'm not sure.
• 20:06
  And then they definitely have a juniors category for sure, and then the pro category. I think- I, I think they have single speed categories too. Sweet. They...
• 20:14
  There is, which I was like, "You guys, nobody rides single speeds on fat bikes," but I think, you know, for this first year, they're putting it out there, see who shows up. So, uh- Oh, same here...
• 20:22
  you know, if you just really want a jersey, that could be the category to maybe [laughs] hone in on. Very nice. I'm gonna cherry pick the over 50- Go, Finger, go. Go, Finger, go... Portly Clydesdales single speed.
• 20:33
  [laughs] You'll be in there with Ned Overend. Not if, not on single speed. Age-wise, though. Same, same- True... same age range. So I'm gonna be there shooting pictures, so we'll, uh, we'll make sure to- Awesome...
• 20:45
  get a picture of you and, you know, shake hands and whatnot. Yeah, buddy. Give... We'll teach you the secrets of fat bike racing.
• 20:50
  I'm telling you, if you, if you can't get a good picture at this location, then you should, uh, you should find another profession than photography- [laughs]... 'cause it's so beautiful.
• 21:01
  I found myself looking out, you know, out at mountains. I'm like, "Oh, wait. Focus on the course." Um, it's a really beautiful spot.
• 21:06
  And this is, this is someone who lives in Ketchum, Idaho, right, that's saying this, so- Yeah, exactly. [laughs]... it's pretty good. Ketchum is, Ketchum is beautiful.
• 21:14
  Hey, Rebecca, speaking of beautiful, uh, I know you just recently did JP's Backyard Pursuit. How'd that go? I did. Um, this year was much better.
• 21:24
  Last year, I had to drop out with coughing up blood and had a lung infection and basically DNF'd in the race. So this year I came back, uh, for some redemption, and I took fourth overall and won the women's field.
• 21:36
  And yeah, I mean, it's a beautiful place. You, you cross the Continental Divide, you know. You're going back and forth across th- this sort of high ridge. Um, it's a really cool event.
• 21:46
  And then, of course, you go into the night, which I love night riding. That's always kind of fun. Um, but Jay does a really good job. Uh, you know, it's 200 kilometers, so it's not for everyone.
• 21:56
  W- Where this, you know, the Fat Bike Nationals with USA Cycling, it's much more approachable for people.
• 22:02
  You know, it's a, a s- you know, couple hour race, something that anyone can do and, and race it as fast or slow as you want. Sure. Well, cool.
• 22:10
  Well, before we let you go, I want you to tell us about your new book and maybe where people can come and meet you and have you sign their book. Yeah.
• 22:18
  You know, um, the hardest thing I've done in my life was, uh, produce that book. Uh, it's called Rush To Glory, and it's just out this year.
• 22:25
  Um, and I will have books at the USA Cycling Fat Bike Nationals at registration, so if you're there, you can get a signed book from me there. Um, and then also on my website or on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
• 22:38
  And, you know, it's not just a cycling book, it's, it's... The idea behind it is inspirational storytelling, so I talk about adventure racing and swimming the Grand Canyon and, of course, bike stuff.
• 22:49
  Um, but I think there's something in there for everybody basically about, you know, pushing harder and not giving up and, and kind of living a life of adventure.
• 22:57
  So yeah, Rush To Glory if anybody wants to, uh, wants to read the book. Super. Well, thanks very much for being on the show. We really appreciate you taking time out of your day. Yep.
• 23:08
  It's been great having you on the show. I'll be excited to see you Valentine's Day as, uh, we'll spend Valentine's Day together, right? With, with Gomez. With Gomez. Stun- Stun has other plans.
• 23:17
  [laughs] Thanks again, Rebecca. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. Last but not least, we're gonna c- close the show with an interview with Sonya Looney from show number 39.
• 23:34
  Please welcome to the show the posh and fabulous Sonya Looney. Welcome to the show, Sonya. Hi, guys. Hey, good to have you on the show. So just for our listeners, Sonya is a- Thanks. Thanks. Glad to be here...
• 23:48
  [laughs] Sonya is a pro ultra-endurance cyclist, has been on the top of the world stage race and 100-mile podiums over the last four years.
• 23:58
  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?
• 24:11
  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. Um, what it means is I race at the pro level, which-...
• 24:25
  doesn't really mean a whole lot. 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.
• 24:33
  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.
• 24:41
  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.
• 24:55
  [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?
• 25:06
  Oh, well, I worked for Ergon for the last five years, um, as their national sales and marketing manager.
• 25:13
  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 because it just sort of fit naturally.
• 25:23
  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. Yeah. Yeah.
• 25:32
  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 fat bike, your fat bike racing aspirations.
• 25:42
  Are you gonna join The Fat Bike Riders, Tim Bendtsen, Kevin Breitenbach, Jeff Oatley, and Heather Best at the Iditarod Trail Invitational this year?
• 25:51
  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.
• 26:00
  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.
• 26:11
  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 fat bike racing.
• 26:18
  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.
• 26:25
  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. But I'm, I, I have to say I'm a bit intimidated by that one.
• 26:38
  The, my coldest ride so far has been two hours in eight degrees Fahrenheit. I'm definitely a bit of a newbie and still learning about tires, tire pressure, conditions, and how to really throw the fat bike around.
• 26:49
  It's a different sport than mountain biking. Oh, yeah. So Matt also wanted to know, aside from racing, what makes you love fat bikes? Well, the reason that I love mountain biking is because I love adventure.
• 27:01
  So when I got a fat bike 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.
• 27:08
  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.
• 27:14
  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.
• 27:24
  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.
• 27:33
  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. You do.
• 27:45
  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.
• 27:54
  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.
• 28:04
  He's a seven-time AMA National Mototrial Pro Champion. Wow. So he's got some pretty awesome bike handling skills. Oh, yeah.
• 28:11
  Uh, he's gonna be sending us some videos and traveling around the country and using his fat bike for cross-training for mototrial. So we've already seen some pretty cool photos from him.
• 28:22
  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 Talent. Um, no, All Because of Bikes. Yeah, right. America's Got Talent. Yeah, right? [laughs] Yeah.
• 28:32
  He, he and his brother. Yeah. That's a, that's a good 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...
• 28:42
  Got Talent or- No... or... But he, he and his brother, they're, they're incredible. So go on. I, I interruptus. That's, that's what I'm best at. [laughs] No. That's my, that's my superpower. It's good to interrupt.
• 28:58
  It's, it's too boring if I just talk the whole time. [laughs] So who else- Then we have Liz Hampy. [laughs] Yeah, sorry. I was just saying, so who else other than Pat? Oh, yeah. Liz Hampy.
• 29:09
  She, she lives in Gunnison, and she's a physical therapist doing some fat bike racing there, and she's also a pro mountain biker.
• 29:17
  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.
• 29:26
  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.
• 29:36
  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.
• 29:50
  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.
• 30:03
  Um, and he runs Hippie Tek Suspension in Boise, Idaho, and he's also riding a series for Vital Mountain Bike, Vital MTB. So he's been fun sending us some stuff.
• 30:13
  And we also have Ryan Schutz or Ryan Schutze living in Cordova, Alaska. He's a commercial fisherman, and we had to pick one guy from Alaska. Come on. That's where we're located in Anchorage.
• 30:25
  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.
• 30:35
  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.
• 30:44
  And lastly, we have Nate Sullivan, Central District Cycleery from Grand Rapids, Michigan. And I hear your community's pretty awesome. I'm gonna go up there this summer to visit.
• 30:54
  Um, he's a fun guy in the community, promotes a lot of fat bike races, and generally is plugged in.
• 31:00
  So we like to have a couple people in the Midwest, 'cause really you guys are, I would say you guys are the, the kings and queens of fat biking. Oh, thank you. Thank you.
• 31:08
  That's the way we, that's the way we see each other. Which, are you- Our message to the queen. [laughs] I was just gonna say, are you the king this week, Greg? [laughs] Or am I? Abby.
• 31:16
  Um, so it's pretty wild that out of those people, we, we actually know two of those people. It like- Good choices. Yeah. Nate and, uh, and Pat are, are amigos. So well played. [bell ringing] Yeah, it was great.
• 31:30
  I had like, uh, like probably 150 to 200 application to review. Losers. And there were so many cool people- [laughs]... that sent an application. Sorry. That didn't mean anything.
• 31:38
  Did you get one, did you get one from julio.com? Julio.com, our, our former beer guy. Oh, wow. Sometime beer guy. Our beer intern. I think maybe he probably just saw it on the show.
• 31:50
  Expected it because you mentioned it on the radio. "Sonia, I wanna be ambassador." "I wanna be an ambassador." Anyway, that, the, the signal you heard- "I want to be a reggae ambassador"...
• 31:57
  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. All right, here we go.
• 32:08
  Yeah, she wants more cowbell, so we're up. [cowbell ringing] Yep, yep, yep, we're off to a... Our intern's [laughs] All right. [laughs] Is on the cowbell. It's not really our intern. That was really bad.
• 32:18
  [laughs] That was JK Living. JK Living like John Belushi. 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.
• 32:29
  Like, BWWRU-N. Come on, intern. I know, so- Intern, intern, intern... answer these five questions as fast as you can. Tubes or tubeless? Tubeless. Favorite craft style of beer and favorite craft brewery?
• 32:47
  IPA, Pine Forest in my mouth, Chinook and Simcoe hop. Avery and Deschutes Brewery, and in BC, Parallel 49 in Vancouver. See, Julio told us that she was a beer-head. [laughs] Very good.
• 33:00
  [laughs] Uh, Sonia, what tires are on your fat bike right now? 45 North Husker Dude, but I need to try something fatter. He-Man or Skeletor? He-Man. I could crush Skeletor.
• 33:15
  [laughs] And last question, flats- Need a real man here. [laughs] Last question, flats or clipless? Clipless. All right. We're gonna use, we're gonna use that as some sort of fodder later for, for quizzing people.
• 33:32
  Very good. Yep, they'll have to remember this interview in the back of their minds. Well, we've really enjoyed having you on the show, Sonia. Yep, thanks for being on the show. Yeah, thanks, guys. You, uh- All right.
• 33:43
  Maybe I can l- listen in and learn some more. You bet. We're fonts of knowledge here at Fat Bike Radio. [laughs] I always like to say, don't be a stranger. You are. [laughs] Or don't get any stranger. All right.
• 33:54
  We'll see you around. Bye. That is very possible. [laughs] Bye bye. Bye. That wraps up this episode of the Best of the Weekly Dose of Fat.
• 34:05
  Next week, we'll share a cavalcade of interviews with fat bike champions in the men's elite division. We'd like to thank Surly Bikes for sponsoring the Weekly Dose of Fat.
• 34:15
  Check out the new fat bike sale going on at better bicycle retailers across the galaxy and far, far away. Uh, bye. And cut.
• 34:28
  [laughs] 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.
• 34:45
  [outro music]