Latest / Full Spectrum Cycling / Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #64 – Saddle Drive, Call-ins and Ambassadors

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Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #64 – Saddle Drive, Call-ins and Ambassadors · Full Spectrum Cycling

• 0:00
  Weekly Dose of Fat, show number 64 for Friday, July 24th, 2015.
• 0:06
  [upbeat music] Welcome to the Weekly Dose of Fat radio program.
• 0:23
  This week it is Sven and JK in the studio, with a few segments and interjections from westward Ho Gomez. Yeah. We've got one of our- Hey, Gomez... we've got one [laughs] of our traveling hosts back today.
• 0:37
  Welcome home, JK. Hello. It's so wonderful to be back. I, like, that wasn't even convincing because [laughs] I was- [laughs]... totally wanna be back on the road. You just wanna be out there? Yeah.
• 0:49
  [laughs] Well, we'll talk a bit more about your trip a little bit later in the, in the show, but, uh, good, good to have, uh, somebody to look at while I'm in the studio here and- [laughs]...
• 0:58
  kinda, like, you know, bounce- Hello, everybody... bounce my breath off of. Fat Bike Radio and the Weekly Dose of Fat is brought to you by Surly. Check out their bikes, wares, and other sundries at surlybikes.com.
• 1:13
  Speaking of Surly, let's check in with Gomez, who caught this segment with Adam from Surly out at Saddle Rape just a couple days ago. Hey, this is Gomez.
• 1:22
  I'm on my western field trip, and I ended up at Saddle Rape, and I have Adam Schulteis here.
• 1:27
  He's the product manager for Surly, and he's going to talk to us and tell us the three things people need to know about Surly fat bikes. Yeah.
• 1:37
  So I guess the first thing that comes to mind when I think about the fat bikes we offer is choice. We make quite a few different models, um, with full fatties coming in, with Ice Cream Truck, Moonlander, Pugsley.
• 1:49
  We got something in our back pocket for later this year. Um, we do a handful of plus bikes as well, um, Instigator, ECR, and Krampus. Nice. So variety is number one. Yep. What would number two be?
• 2:01
  Um, number two would be, I guess maybe availability. All those bikes I just rattled off, we have those. Those are on dealers' floor. We've been making them for years. Um, they're out in the field.
• 2:11
  That's a good point, because a lot of the bikes you see on our site, try and get one. Exactly. Um- And number three? Number three, I don't know. Let me think here. I had one, now I forgot it. You got me on the spot, man.
• 2:23
  [laughs] Um, availability, choice, um- How about steel? Steel. We, you know, and durability. I think durability and the ride. Mm-hmm. We've been making fat bikes in one form or fashion for 10-plus years now.
• 2:39
  Um, we've got more experience doing it than anybody else. We ride the stuff, and I think that a lot of that translates into the product you get to see on the sales floor and to go check out or at the trailhead.
• 2:50
  Yeah, Surly is the OG of fat bikes. You know, I, when I think about the history of fat bikes, I think of before Pugsley and after Pugsley. So thanks for being on this segment. Really appreciate it. Thanks, Gomez.
• 3:02
  Thanks for the opportunity. Cool. Thanks, Gomez and Adam. So JK, what's happening on the show this week? This week we'll check in once again with Gomez, who has a couple sections from his field trip out west.
• 3:17
  We'll be taking call-in guests all show to ask the question, do extreme adventures like attempts to cross Antarctica on a fat bike inspire you or make you go, "Huh?"
• 3:29
  We reveal next week's call-in question, we'll talk fat bike news from the Fatty Farm Field Report, and as always, we got the links. Right on. Well, let's take a quick break, and when we return,
• 3:44
  we'll talk about next week's call-in question and we'll reveal it to all. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. This is David degrees from 45 North.
• 3:56
  When I'm not ripping groomed winter single track, I'm listening to Fat Bike Radio. And we're back. So JK, what is next week's call-in question? How do you feel about USA Cycling's involvement with fat bike racing?
• 4:09
  Call in next week, Wednesday, from 8:00 to 9:00 PM Central Standard Time to 818-918-2453 and let us discuss with you. You got Sven on the line? Hey, Sven. It's Travis.
• 4:26
  How you doing, man? So, uh, uh, I don't know if everybody knows, but Travis is our first official fat bike ambassador from up Anchorage way. Right on. Right on, right on. You're the, the first official man,
• 4:39
  and, uh- Woo-hoo. Yeah [laughs] So, you know, you've been calling in pretty regularly and kinda letting us know what's going on up your way. And, uh, you know, let us know what's going on up in your way. Absolutely.
• 4:52
  Absolutely plan to, uh, yeah, keep you guys tuned in. And, uh, you know, I know there's a lot of races up here, particularly in the wintertime that I'd, you know, like to get out to.
• 5:02
  And, uh, trying to get in good enough shape to actually participate in a few of those. Um,
• 5:08
  obviously not like, you know, ITI stuff or [laughs] anything, but, uh, uh, yeah, wanna get out, take some, take some pictures or even just, you know, ride out onto the course and take some photos for you guys and let you know what's happening up here in Alaska.
• 5:23
  Yeah. We actually, you sent us one from when you, you and your wife went to Homer, which is gonna be a Wallpaper Wednesday coming up in, uh, a week and two weeks. Yeah, yeah. I got your email. Yeah, yeah.
• 5:33
  I thought- Coming up in a couple weeks. Yeah. Yeah, that was a good, good shot. Oh, cool. Cool. [laughs] Um, so yeah, it's, uh, and, and, and folks out there, um, Travis is, is, is doing this call-in thing.
• 5:44
  That's what we'd like other people to do too from other areas of the country. We'd like them to give us a shout and let us know what's going on in their neighborhood, 'cause, you know, we're Midwest-bound a little bit.
• 5:53
  I mean, Gomez is out on an extended trip right now all the way out in the Rockies and whatnot and seeing what's going on. But really from week to week, we'd like to know what's happening with people in your neighborhood.
• 6:03
  So- Oh, no. I just did it, didn't I? [sings] Who are the people in your neighborhood? [laughs] [sings] In your neighborhood. [laughs] [sings] In your neighborhood. [sings] They're in your neighborhood.
• 6:16
  So, uh, we did have a call-in question this week. Do you know what it is, Travis? Absolutely. [laughs] The, the, the call in- Crazy as, crazy as... Oh, go. Sorry, go ahead.
• 6:27
  Well, I was just gonna say to remind everybody what it is.
• 6:30
  It's like, you know, do extreme adventures like people doing attempts to ride their fat bike across Antarctica inspire you to, to, to go further or do they just make you go eh?
• 6:39
  So weigh in on, weigh in on the question, Travis. Uh, they, uh, absolutely, positively inspire me and also make me go, "Eh, what the hell?" [laughs] Yeah.
• 6:51
  It's amazing what the human body can do when, uh, it puts its mind to it. Uh, definitely inspiring.
• 6:59
  Uh, you know, living here in Alaska and with the ITI, uh, hearing what John Mackey did this year where, you know, what, 18 hours, 300 and something miles and then whatever crazy record he set to McGrath.
• 7:12
  Yeah, it totally blows my mind, but, uh, yeah, I have no personal interest in- [laughs] Or, or enough time in my life to ever get to that level of physical fitness.
• 7:22
  Well, you know, the, the one that got me kinda thinking about this question was there's a lady, I think she's from England, that is putting together like an $80,000 expedition to go down to Antarctica and try to ride across, which it's not the first time people have tried to ride across Antarctica on fat bikes, but apparently she thinks she has a better chance than the people who've given it a go before.
• 7:42
  But that's just like insanity. Yeah. Yeah. That's... I mean, uh, yeah, in those elements, that's, you know, if you don't have your act together, that'll kill you. Yeah, absolutely.
• 7:54
  And I, I mean, I think that's why the logistics of it are just so, you know, daunting that it's an $80,000 thing to make this happen, that you're planning it well enough where you have ways to get out and, you know, you have contingency plans.
• 8:08
  But that's just an incredible endeavor just to try to make it happen, let alone to actually go out there and do it. Yeah. Ab- absolutely amazing. Yeah. I mean, even, yeah, just the financial resources to do it.
• 8:20
  And what I was really interested in, I, I, I stayed on the phone last week and of course listened on Friday and I was...
• 8:27
  Uh, I know Zach Brown called in after me, and I met him at the Big Fat Bike Festival, as well as Gomez this year, and he was mentioning the, um... And I totally forget her name. It makes me feel horrible.
• 8:39
  Her and her, I believe, boyfriend or husband previously rode the whole ITI trail and took it another 300 miles to Kotzebue, which is like an amazing feat.
• 8:49
  And he mentioned that they were bike packing and, and, uh, uh, rafting from Juneau to Homer. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And, um- Absolutely. Yep. Yeah. He m- they had a blog for that. Yeah. If he...
• 9:00
  You know, if we can get Zach to get that address, man, I would love to follow that. That's, that's- Yeah... an amazing adventure itself I'll go back and check it out.
• 9:07
  We, we've had the link on, we've had the link in show notes before. I'll, I'll go back and see if we can uncover that. Oh, cool. Uh, speaking of Uncle Gomez, I think we have an Uncle Gomez on the line. Hello? What's up?
• 9:22
  Uncle Gomez. What's up? We're talking to Travis right now, brother. What's happening? Travis. What's happening, buddy? Hey, Gomez. How you doing? Uh, it's 3:00 here on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains.
• 9:37
  [laughs] Very nice. I, I drove, I drove back from Saddle Drive and found my way back to Coloradi. Got, got out of the land of Mormons there? Yeah. I was clean and sober for 48 hours.
• 9:55
  Thank- C- congratulations... the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Or I'm sorry, depending on how you look at it. [laughs] I don't know. It's actually, you know... Beer makes you really full at at altitude or something.
• 10:07
  I don't know. I, I remember the first time I ever had, like, beer at altitude, it was Grolsch. If you remember Grolsch beer. Oh. It was in Vail. Oh, with the little puppy, puppy- Yeah. Yep... gnome.
• 10:16
  And it was at, like, 8,500 feet, and it just gets you hammered really fast, too, and it, you get full. You're right, you get full. But boy, I still remember that day. So, uh, I'm bringing back the beer segment.
• 10:29
  All right. Uh- I have, uh, I'm drinking, I'm drinking Up slope Brewing out of Boulder, Colorado. It's a pale ale. My buddy Tommy served me one of these on his patio, uh, earlier in my trip. So- Patio daddy...
• 10:41
  I went to Jackalope Liquors and picked me up a six pack. They come in cans. That's the Beer Advocate score. It's an American pale ale. Uh, Beer Advocate gives it, like, an 80-something.
• 10:53
  The regular Beer Advocate gives it an 81, which is good, but the bros give it a 90. This is very good. Um- If I don't- So maybe we should become one of the bros.
• 11:04
  Well, what I'm thinking is that we have now probably enough experience with beer that we should just give it how many gnomes it is and, and leave the, the bro scores out. What do you think? Well, there you go.
• 11:15
  Going from 100, one to 100 so, so people can compare. [laughs] We could- Or just go, just go with the full metric system and say, "No, it's just 81 out from one to 71 gnomes."
• 11:32
  [laughs] 71 being- Like that other site... excellent. Well, J- uh, JK and I are sucking down, uh, Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water because [laughs] we're, we're still sweating off the, the practice laps.
• 11:44
  Actually, I'm, I'm, I'm drinking, uh, Milwaukee tap water in a Dasani [laughs] in a Dasani water bottle. [laughs] Yeah.
• 11:52
  We, we, we were running a little late on swinging by and actually grabbing some beer for the show today. So is Travis still here on the line? Travis is still here. Yeah, yeah, still here. How's it going, Travis?
• 12:05
  It's going good. How you doing? Uh, I never knew I could be this happy. Sounds like you're on an epic adventure, sir. Yeah. Uh, I think Dirty from Drunk Cyclists said it best when he said, "You are overlanding hard now."
• 12:23
  [laughs] Overlanding, yeah. That's a, that's a new word. But it's all about driving your car to places. It's been a good trip though. You're driving the car so you can ride your bike, right? Yeah, yeah.
• 12:36
  I'm, I'm getting to do all of those things and take some... Oh, I was just looking at some pictures I took, um, in, in Utah of a bike and it was like, oh my God, so good.
• 12:52
  I w- But that's all I can really say about it. There's secret stuff going on on this trip. [whispers] Secrets. I hope you all, I hope you all notice. There's- You can keep your secrets until it's time to reveal them.
• 13:05
  Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. I love it when you can just say, "We know secret stuff." We know secret sauce too, actually. Stay with the C. Yeah. We got all sorts of secrets. And I've been to so many places that, you know,
• 13:19
  it could be anything. It could be just a picture of a cat. I mean, that would be a big secret. Kitty. If we had cat pictures. Kitty. [laughs] Kitty. Kitty. We are, we are an internet company,
• 13:33
  so cat pictures wouldn't be out of the question. Kitty. No, Kitty. Bad kitty. Kitty. That's my crazy cat lady voice.
• 13:42
  So, uh, throughout the, throughout the week Gomez has been sending in little snippets from people he's visited along the, uh, the route. We'll be judiciously inserting those throughout the show. Yeah. The first one
• 13:57
  is, uh, that you're gonna play tonight is with Adam Blake, right? Uh, I don't know. [laughs] I don't know what we're gonna play. Or i- or is that, or is that the leftover from, in the script from last week?
• 14:08
  Yeah, last week we- No, it would be Moots with... No, it would be John Caravu from, from Moots is- Yeah. We've got, we've got Adam from Surly, we've got John from Moots, and we've got Benton from Salsa.
• 14:19
  Benton from Salsa. Global sales manager dude. Right on. Yeah, but the first one is John and, uh, you know, my, my thing was to say what's the top three things people need to know about your fat bikes?
• 14:32
  And I think that, uh, I think that that was actually a pretty good little, uh, little blurb. Everybody took about a couple of minutes and told people what's important to know about their brand.
• 14:43
  Yeah, I listened to them all. They, they all, uh, definitely are, uh, they, they're knowledgeable about their brands and I think they all have unique, um,
• 14:51
  kind of value propositions and you can pick and choose from a, a lot of really great fat bikes out there. So here's one from, uh, John at Moots.
• 15:04
  Hey, it's Gomez here at the Moots world headquarters in Steamboat, Colorado, and I have John Caravu, the marketing director for Moots here. Welcome to the show. Thanks, Gomez. Thanks for, uh, making a stop on your trip.
• 15:18
  It's, uh, nice to have you in the building. Yeah, just a little tour here. It's pretty amazing. I'll have much to write about coming up here. But John, we have you on the hot seat.
• 15:29
  We are going to ask you to tell our readers and our listeners what the top three things they need to know about Moots fat bikes. Oh, man, three things.
• 15:39
  So, uh, number one, uh, our history with fat bikes goes back just about 15 years. Some early development with, uh, athletes that were taken on the IditaBike and, uh, you know, we kinda went from there.
• 15:53
  Um, brought them into the line as a production bike with the Frost Thai and the Frost Hammer most recently. All right, that's number one. That's a long time ago. 15 years, that's 2002, 2000, somewhere around there.
• 16:08
  Just about 2000, yeah. So what's the, the, the second thing people should know?
• 16:13
  Uh, second thing people should know about our fat bikes and, and Moots in general is, uh, it's all made right here in the US, um, using US manufactured materials, and anything that you see with a Moots, uh, name or brand on it was made right here under this one roof out of Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
• 16:33
  Awesome. USA made. That's, uh, and the highest quality ingredients and the highest quality chefs. That's right. The best products, or, uh, best materials with the best processes, for sure. All right.
• 16:46
  And what's the penultimate, the number three thing that consumers need to know? I think, uh, something to keep in mind when you're thinking about Moots and fat bikes is our location.
• 16:57
  Uh, Steamboat Springs, Colorado sits at about 6,500 feet in elevation just below the Continental Divide, and our testing grounds here in the valley, um, are, are second to none.
• 17:11
  Um, average about 350 inches of snow per year, and that allows us to get out and ride, uh, tweak our products so the end, end user has a much better experience. Well, there you have it.
• 17:25
  Thanks, John, for doing our little segment for Fat Bike Radio. Really appreciate it. Thanks for coming by, Gomez. Hey, welcome back to the show. We're back with Fat Bike Radio here. Gomez on the western slope
• 17:40
  and we got Sven over there getting ready to, uh, tackle the River West 24 along with JK. What's the name of your team, boys? That is a good question. We, we saw Mr.
• 17:51
  Berger briefly today, but I don't remember what it's called [laughs] this year. Do you? Brap The Moist. Oh, oh yeah, Brap The Moist. Brap The Moist. That's right. Oh, Brap The Moist. Interesting.
• 18:01
  Somehow to shoehorn the word moist into- [laughs]... the world. The, the word moist seems to make certain people uncomfortable. So Saddle Drive, 45... Here's the big news. 45 North didn't even come.
• 18:19
  It's like they believe that they're such a winter company, I think that they're down, I don't know, selling warm stuff to the penguins in Antarctica or something, doing deep research with his new designer mountain bike [laughs] pilots.
• 18:35
  [laughs] Or something. Or something. What's up with that, David? You can't just, you can't just, like, not come to a big company event. It's just chaos there. But big news from Salsa. You know, Salsa's line was all,
• 18:51
  was all introduced. Yeah, I saw the, I saw the Klein inspired paint jobs on the Bear Grease. That's very nice. Yeah, [laughs] and the Pony Rustler. [laughs] You gotta come up with, uh, some names from somewhere somehow.
• 19:09
  Yes. How about The Bone and Gristle, or the, you know, something that sounds- More the-... more... he, boy, so it's based on the, the Horse Thief? Horse Thief. And- And that's why they went with Pony Rustler.
• 19:21
  So, yeah, I, I get it. But it's a spanker, so it'd be more like Stallion Spanker. [laughs] Yeah, I like it. I like it. All I know is Pony Rustler.
• 19:35
  [laughs] I, I see a future for you at QBP just coming up with names, G Dog. You know, it's like, yeah, Stallion Spanker, I like it. The Pedigreece Milker. [laughs] Something horrible. [laughs] The Equine Stomper.
• 19:53
  [laughs] Equine Embezzler. [laughs] There's a plethora of names that maybe would've been a little bit better than Pony Rustler. How about The Horse Whisperer? That wouldn't be bad.
• 20:08
  How about The Kick Ass Bike on the Trail? How'd that be? And, and everybody, I, we got tons of positive feedback on, on that, so. Did you get a chance to actually ride the Pony Rustler out there at Saddleback?
• 20:23
  I didn't even, didn't even, 'cause I had other stuff that I had to be doing that, that is, you know. Top secret. There was a big, there was a big plushy festival in town last year. [laughs] Oh, no, the fur, the furry?
• 20:40
  The, like, a fur, like a- Furby? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Furbies, yeah. Furbies. The furries. So I had to split my time. Yeah, the furries. But that's all bullshit. [laughs] You guys realize that.
• 20:50
  So are you gonna, Gomez, are you gonna hang on the show, all show, and, uh, and weigh in? Or do you, uh- Yeah, I'm, I can do, I can do that. Okay.
• 20:57
  We didn't re- we didn't really even- Maybe I'll just, maybe I'll just internal flag you somewhere in the middle, and you won't even know I'm gone. Yeah, it'd be like, the wind just broke his leg.
• 21:05
  [laughs] Uh, we do have, uh, Trav- Travis, you're still with us, right? Yeah, yeah, I'm just thinking about wrestling a pony, man.
• 21:15
  [laughs] Well, I got another 907 area code we're gonna bring into the old conversation here, so, uh, welcome to the weekly dose of fat there, Alaska native. Who do we have on the line? Yeah, M- this is Mr. Tupper Becker.
• 21:30
  Tupper, we got, uh, we got Travis from, uh, Anchorage, and we got Uncle Gomez also calling in from his western trip out there in Coloradi.
• 21:39
  So those guys are all on the phone while JK and I are s- sitting here in the studio, uh- Rehydrating... holding down the fort. Yeah. What's happening, man?
• 21:47
  Oh, you know, just living the dream, enjoying the sun, and selling fat bikes in July. Gotta love that. So are, are you at a bike- Yeah, yeah... are, are you at a bike shop, uh, working in the summer season? Yeah.
• 22:01
  I'm helping out my buddies at Goldstream Sports. They're all super endurance athlete ninja guys that ride road bikes and fat bikes and stuff and do triathlons and that.
• 22:11
  So I'm, I'm like the BMX kid that's out of shape and just, like, comes and bullshits and steals bikes. [laughs] Right on. But, I, I bring the diversity. Yeah, right.
• 22:20
  I think we kinda touched on this last week, maybe Travis can correct me if I'm wrong, but I w- we, I think we were asking how the plus bike scene is, uh, fleshing out up your way with the, uh, the new 27 plus bikes making kind of a, kind of a big splash in the media and at, a- and pony wrestling and all that stuff.
• 22:38
  Uh, are those things- Yeah... are they, are people interested in them up your way? Um, it'll take time. I think, I think it'll come about. I, you know, just 'cause we're,
• 22:47
  w- we're almost, like, the, the most northern city in America, you know, as far as, like, with legitimate bike shops in Alaska.
• 22:54
  So it, it's gonna take a little bit of time for us to, you know, get on that bandwagon, but they're, you know, they're about, and the people up here, they know about them.
• 23:03
  But, uh, I think it'll be a little bit before you start seeing them on the trail heavily. And, but, uh, you know, all the shop guys, we, you know, w- we want one, you know?
• 23:13
  I c- I can feel you, because I've been riding one for the last several weeks, and they, they're, they're badass. Yeah. No, they, they look cool.
• 23:20
  I mean, I think with the fat bikes that, you know, that have been coming out, we've all had the idea of, like, you know, throwing, like, three-inch tires on there and running hardtails in the summer and stuff like that, so.
• 23:31
  It's right up your alley then, for sure. So, uh, Tupper, did you, uh, did you happen to see what our actual question of the week is? I did. Yeah, and, um- Would, would you like to weigh in on that?
• 23:43
  So, yeah, I get, not that, like, my opinion, like, carries any weight in the grand scheme of the bike industry, but I guess my personal experience with it is just, you know, I have all these friends that helped build this little company that I have.
• 23:55
  L- and they're all doing these grand adventures and, you know, 1,000 Miles Across Alaska, and the Tour Divide, and stuff like that.
• 24:01
  And, uh, you know, just finally getting on my fat bike and doing, like, a, you know, doing 100-mile race this last winter, it really inspired me and, like, just kinda opened my eyes to, like, what I've been missing out on and, you know, I get to really connect more with my friends and see, you know, like, what they're doing.
• 24:19
  It, it's always inspired me, like, the, you know, the lengths they go to with, like, training and these trips that they go on.
• 24:25
  But, uh, it's just- It's been awesome to do it for myself and just like have the old, my own experience with it, you know, trial and error, like figuring out what, what works and what doesn't and, you know, overcoming adversity on the trail, like whatever mechanical issues you have and just circumstances.
• 24:41
  It's, uh, it, it's opened my eyes to like bigger things that I wanna do now, you know, bigger rides, you know, across Alaska or, you know, you know, just stuff down in the States. It's, uh,
• 24:53
  it's always been impressive, but now since I've gotten a taste of it, like I want to do more of it. Very good, man.
• 25:00
  Yeah, I, I, I can see how, you know, with your business, uh, it, it, it, it's something that you need to be doing as well, and just it kinda makes, makes what you're doing like super legit, you know? Yeah. Yeah.
• 25:16
  It's, uh... Yeah, I get to, I get to call it, you know, research and development too when I write it off the tax. Ah. [laughs] The tax, man. But, uh, yeah. Yeah. [laughs] That's, that's a good one.
• 25:27
  That's a good one, Top. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, yeah, that's, that's my two cents on it all. What do you have- All right... what do you have Uncle Gomez? Well, I'll, I'll chime in on the, on the weekly question.
• 25:41
  I think that I'm totally inspired by incr- all from, from riding around the block to riding across Antarctica, I think I'm inspired by it all. Um,
• 25:56
  for some people, a ride around the block is their step to riding a century or riding across the Antarctica. You know, it's, bike riding is good. I like it all.
• 26:10
  And when I see people do incredible things and, you know, I'm, I'm inspired a lot by photography and photos. I always have been. It's kinda been something that's been consistent since I was a young lad.
• 26:24
  National Geographic Magazine, not just for the saggy boobs [laughs] but for the- Haunting eyes... unbelievable. The haunting eyes, saggy boobs. Ah. I was waiting for that before you even said it, by the way.
• 26:34
  [laughs] [laughs] Wait for it. Wait for it. It's a reason why it was on the, on the back of the toilet all the time. [laughs] There was just one? Really? Page 16. Both? No.
• 26:48
  [laughs] I- No I'm just thinking of a picture of Eric Larson where his,
• 26:54
  him carrying four garbage, garbage pails on his fat bike, and all you can see is him and hi- in his brightly colored parka and his bike with those containers on it, and everything else is just complete whiteout.
• 27:10
  And I c- I can remember some pictures that, that Tim took out on the sea ice, uh, in during the IPI where similar thing, uh, just unbelievable.
• 27:21
  And the vistas from the Whites, from the, from the White Mountains 100 is, some of those pictures are just unbelievable with the blue sky and gray rock and white snow. It's gonna make me cry. No, just kidding.
• 27:36
  [laughs] Yeah, we just, uh, I think, uh, this Wednesday we had, um, Joe McManus does a lot of really great photographs, and it was kind of a reminder of winter and I'm like, "Oh yeah, I remember being out in a place like that, and it's great."
• 27:53
  Yeah, man. I, I've been surrounded by such unbelievable scenery for the last couple weeks here in the Rockies. It's just been unbelievable. So I got that going for me, a lot of scenery in my brain. Nice.
• 28:09
  So Topper, are you still on here? I am. Sorry I'm not super talkative. [laughs] I'm just gonna I just, I just like letting the sound of your voice, Gomez, it just, it puts me right to sleep. It's amazing.
• 28:24
  [laughs] Really? All right. Yeah. [laughs] Well, I was just gonna say, uh, you know, what are you, what are you riding right now for fun? What are you, what are you doing on two wheels out there in Fairbanks for fun?
• 28:37
  Well, I was, I was- Are you and Jeff out there? Yeah, I was, uh, I was racing BMX, um, cruiser class, and then, uh, I got injured. Someone hit me and I pulled a muscle or something. So I've been taking- Yeah...
• 28:50
  it easy for the last week. But I've been riding that and then my Corvus with, uh, with skinny wheels on it, skinny tires, just kinda playing around and that's about it.
• 29:01
  Like a little bit of, little bit of full suspension here and there on the trails, but a lot more BMX this summer than anything, just 'cause my son's eager to do it, so it's kinda- Oh, cool... doing that.
• 29:12
  Fun to spend with him. That's, that's cool. So you have the guys Yeah, I got, I got like another month. With the guns? What's that?
• 29:18
  You Alaska, I was saying you, you Alaskan guys with the light carbon bikes, the Corvus and the Whiteouts, can really just go with another set of wheels in the summertime and have a really kick-ass lightweight mountain bike.
• 29:35
  Oh, yeah. I love- Yeah... I'd love to see what, uh, what your Corvus with the D+ wheels on it would, would ride like. Yeah, it's, it's been a, it's been a fun bike to play on this summer.
• 29:48
  Like, you know, that's, I think everyone that, you know, can barely afford a c- carbon bike like me, you know, you just, you kinda, you have to make it do everything to get your money's worth.
• 29:56
  And a couple weeks ago I, my dad, he's a super scientist and machinist, and, uh, he made me up these, uh, race spacers so I could fit a Bluto on my Corvus, and, um, I put that on there and played around with that, and that was really fun too.
• 30:11
  And I handed a bunch of those spacers out to the guys up here at Beaver Sports, like Gilmore and all those guys, and, uh, it's been fun to- Nice...
• 30:20
  see what you can do with a little bit of wheel You gotta take your, uh, 135 hub to a 150. Yeah. Yeah. I did. I stole it off a, a demo bike up here that we had so I didn't have to build another wheel.
• 30:33
  But, uh, yeah, it was fun just bouncing around on that and playing on that and, you know, just... It makes you feel like a kid again, 'cause you're just goofing around on bikes and dorking out and just having fun.
• 30:42
  You're not, you know, trying to win races or anything. You're just having fun with bikes. That's, that's what I'm talking about. That's what I do. Yeah [laughs].
• 30:52
  I've been riding a Bluto for, uh, for a while here, so on this whole trip, on the Watchman Advocate Cycles fat bike that I've been testing out, so it's, uh- How do you like that thing? It, it rides really nice.
• 31:07
  It, it's really close to Sven's favorite fat bike from last year, the Black Barrel, on paper, but it's a steel bike, and it's a 170, 177 bike, so that's a four-inch version- Okay... of a, of a...
• 31:23
  But, you know, that's what the new Mukluks are too, uh, a four-inch version of the Black Barrel. Oh, right, yeah, their, their entry one. Yeah. Yeah.
• 31:31
  I, I think you're gonna see- So- I think you're gonna see those, uh, uh, dual...
• 31:36
  two different platforms for the, the five-inch and 29 plus and then the four-inch and the, and the 27 plus being, like, kinda soulmates, and they both do different things well, and I think it's great that people are getting a lot of choices for what they wanna ride in their local area.
• 31:55
  Yeah, absolutely. The, uh, the, the Bluto is definitely...
• 32:01
  The, the first ride I took it on before I left for this trip at, at Silver Lake, I got into a gravely chute and got into really loose stuff and got a little crossed up, and that fork went...
• 32:15
  I got all the travel out of that fork, and then I was able to save it, and, and my feet left the pedals. That's how over the front end I was, and I pulled it out.
• 32:27
  So Bluto, I might, uh, I might just have to, uh, tip my hat to Bluto. [laughs] Saved my bacon. Saved my bacon. And then in, in...
• 32:37
  When I was riding that Watchman in Fruita, there's some steppy rock there, and, you know, you get, you get that thing going downhill and it's like, "Oh, yeah." I definitely got all the travel out on it.
• 32:49
  Some of those landings of, you know, you start with, oh, a four-inch step down, and then it quickly goes to, like, six, eight, 12-inch step down. Like, pa-ta-ta-ta.
• 33:00
  It's like, "Oh, that was my life passing before my eyes, but that was awesome." Have you guys tried out any of those 11 Nine, um, frames, those downhill fat bike frames at all?
• 33:12
  Have you guys gotten your hands on one of those yet? Yeah. I actually haven't had the, the, the full bikes in yet. We've had, uh, an 11 Nine fork for quite a while now. Um- Oh, okay...
• 33:21
  and, uh, Lance keeps threatening to come up here to the Midwest with a van full of bikes and go riding with us, so it's probably time to put the shout-out to Lance and say, "Time to make good on your threat there, buddy."
• 33:34
  [laughs] Yeah, get on it, hippie. Right? I've been lust- lusting after those things for the last year. Yeah. I think we're gonna see a couple more, uh- We can...
• 33:42
  full suspension fat bikes, uh, coming out there, but, uh, those guys were doing it before everybody else was, and I, I, I threw...
• 33:51
  I mean, I've ridden them at, uh, at Interbike at the, uh, outdoor demo days, and even Lance's own personal original prototype and, you know, they've, they've got massive potential, just haven't been able to really, uh, get one under my butt for a extended period of time.
• 34:11
  Yeah. Our UK tester, Jeff Price, just reviewed the German Max X race Dax. I think that's how you say that. Crazy names. Yeah. I was trying to figure out how that might be pronounced. Another full suspension. Yep.
• 34:25
  I'm going with X race Dax. X race Dax. [laughs] Is that like a Star Wars figure? It's still better [laughs] than Pony Rustler [laughs]. [laughs] Yeah. I think the Pony, the Pony Rustler- I, I give up...
• 34:39
  the Pony Rustler d- I mean, that- I'm g- That's something that's interesting as far as a platform goes, though, notwithstanding the- Oh, hell yeah... the name that's getting a little bit of, uh, a little fun poked at it.
• 34:49
  But I, I'm excited to see that these are... I mean, that thing's not gonna be available until basically next year, but it's good to see what's coming down the pipe. Oh, it's...
• 34:58
  Oh, I know, I kid around with Salsa a lot, but- Because we love them... their dual suspension bikes, the Horsethief, the Pony Rustler, and that Bucksaw are freaking money, dude. All the feedback we get is killer.
• 35:14
  Like, that is... Especially the Bucksaw, so- Yeah. And, and- Again- And from guys that are really-... we're between our hats here, Salsa...
• 35:24
  yeah, from guys that are really pounding on them, too, like, uh, like George up in Manitowoc. Right. He loves that thing. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And, you know, I, I talk to everybody, so, and I'm full of questions.
• 35:39
  So I ask everybody, "How do you like that bike? How do you like this bike?" Blah, blah, blah, so. Yeah. And nothing but positive on that Bucksaw from... And that, that goes back however long it's been out.
• 35:52
  Basically last year this time- Right... is when we first got it- Yeah... got it at, uh- Right, yeah... at Saddleback. Right. And had Mr. Mark Peterson, uh, giving us some, uh, giving us some props for it right away.
• 36:06
  Yeah. Right on. Hey, I wonder how he's doing. I, I heard from him via email and I forgot to ask him how his, uh, his injury is doing. Hey, Mark. How's your injury doing? Oh, no.
• 36:15
  I think, I think he, uh, I, I think he avoided, uh, surgery and I think he's back on his steed. Oh, right on. Man, any time you can avoid surgery. Like, who needs that thing up your butt anyway?
• 36:25
  [laughs] With the, uh, with the injury report from the fat bike, uh, national [laughs] Did it, did, did it from the national face place look at the- Big shiny screen in front of me thing [laughs]
• 36:39
  Do, do, do we [laughs] do we, do we have anybody to send, um, healing vibes to this week? Uh, I don't know. Yeah, well- Nothing, nothing comes to mind. Right? Well, Carlos, but he's not, wasn't riding a fat bike.
• 36:55
  He did get hit by a car- [laughs]... but he's, he's all right. But he, he's at, he- Well, we'll see, we'll see-... ridden a fat bike before... we'll see how you guys do on your, uh, River West 24. Oh, yeah.
• 37:05
  We're, we're, we're not in it to win it this year, for sure. Yeah. It's definitely a, a super casual, uh- I'm here to stop at stoplights [laughs] Yeah, yeah. This isn't something...
• 37:14
  We're not, there's no reason to be crazy this year. We, we don't- All right... we don't need to do that. Mm-hmm. Wrap. The moist... the moist. Moist, wrap the moist. Uh-huh. There you go.
• 37:27
  We're, we're looking for parties. We're looking, you know, one of the, one of the tasks is to find a party on your lap and drag the rest of the team over to it, so stuff like that.
• 37:36
  I think, you know, there's a rumor out there that this may be the last of the River West 24 races. I'm not sure that's totally true, but I think it's kind of gotten so big- As far as we know...
• 37:48
  yeah, it's gotten so big- Mm-hmm... that it's sort of changed what the original kind of vibe was, and I'm glad to be a part of it, but we're gonna be on the down low for sure. Very good.
• 38:05
  Well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna depart ways with you guys. I gotta get back to work. But, uh, have, have fun Gomez, Ben, Travis. Bye, Tupper. Right on, Tupper. Take care. Thanks for calling in, man.
• 38:16
  [vuvuzela sounds] [laughs] Take care, Tupper. Wow. [laughs] That was a Tupper- And he exits with [laughs] What was that thing? A vuvuzela [laughs] Is that the thing they do at the soccer games? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
• 38:31
  Oh, those things are horrible. Mm-hmm. But, uh, all right. Well- Windows destroying machines. [laughs] That, that was, like, at hyperspace speed. You're warned.
• 38:47
  Come back here, you rabbit. [laughs] You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. So we're still on the hunt for regional reporters who can tell us...
• 39:03
  Son of a bitch, I can't start any of these right. Just, just roll it, man. Just barrel on through? Yeah, barrel on through.
• 39:08
  We're still on the hunt for regional reporters who can call in with a report about what's happening in the fat bike world, and we've got our first official, with parentheses, not, no, air... What the hell are those?
• 39:21
  Quotations. Damn it. Air quotes, yeah. Yeah, air quotes. Air quotes. Air quotes. Air quotes. I wasn't even doing them. All right. So we have our first air quote official fat bike ambassador, Travis.
• 39:33
  And who do we find out who it is? We do. We have Travis from Anchorage. He's our first fat bike ambassador. Uh, we've had Travis on the show several times, and he calls in regularly to hip us to the scene up in AK.
• 39:44
  And, uh, he's actually hanging out on the line, waiting for us to talk. [laughs] Listening to the snickerings. On my third pounder of IPA. [laughs] Oh, attaboy. [laughs] Woo! Right on.
• 40:00
  So if you're interested in, in being a, an on-the-scene call-in reporter, let us know at info@fatbike.com and use the subject line Fat Bike Ambassador. Or you could call in and sing to us. [laughs] Poo in my ear.
• 40:15
  That song's never got old. That doesn't sound right at all. Yeah, yeah. Travis got the gig by being persistent and calling in at a time- You are the light of my life. [laughs] Oh, dude. That was awesome.
• 40:27
  [laughs] So what's next on the show, JK? Welcome to this week's Fatty Farm Field Report. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. Dun. Yep, we've got, uh...
• 40:41
  Well, one of the things that, that came across the, uh, email this week that, uh, I wanted to mention was, uh, we got a note from Mary Huff of the Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota about a raffle going on to support their I Can Bike camp in the Twin Cities.
• 40:57
  The I Can Bike camp is for individuals with a disability who wanna learn how to ride a bike. Yep, and check this out- Independently... right? Yeah.
• 41:06
  The, the cool thing about this is, you know, besides being a great cause, it's a raffle for a Salsa Beargrease 2 fat bike.
• 41:13
  The drawing is on Saturday, August 1st, at the Shifting Gears for Down Syndrome event in Owatonna, Minnesota. Only 100 tickets will be sold, and we've got a link to the, uh, the raffle on the show notes.
• 41:27
  Dude, that's a good deal. 100... Are you one in 100 chance? Right, and I think the- To win a Beargrease. Yeah, and, uh, the tickets are 50 bucks, but, you know, it's, like, a good cause and, uh,
• 41:37
  they're gonna give the bike away regardless of whether they sell all 100 tickets or not, so check it out. And tonight we race. We race, we race, we race around in circles. It is the River West 24 tonight. Tonight.
• 41:53
  [laughs] Friday. Or Friynight. Friynight. So if you get a chance and you see- Who's getting a haircut? Who's getting the tattoo? Uh- Puck's getting the haircut, for sure... yeah, yeah. Puck's getting the haircut.
• 42:05
  I was, actually, I've been growing my hair out since last year's, uh, with the an- not really the anticipation, but- Anticipation... ation [laughs] to, to get it cut because it worked so fabulously last year.
• 42:22
  [laughs] Fab, fab, fab. And yeah, Tony with the tattoo, so. Yep. Well, that's a, that's a good thing. That's a good scene. Yeah, it's gonna be a jam no matter what. So- It's gonna be fun stuff...
• 42:33
  we know Gomez is on his westward ho swing, and, uh, he sent us a report from Benton.... Salsa. Yeah, man. Let's give that a listen- Segment from Salsa... shall we? This is Gomez.
• 42:50
  I'm on my western field trip. I'm at Saddle Drive, and I have Benton Hunt, global sales manager for Salsa Cycles here. Welcome. Thanks for having me, Gomez.
• 43:01
  And r- he's gonna tell us the three most important things that people need to know about Salsa fat bikes.
• 43:07
  You know, the first thing, uh, that, that we take a lot of pride in when we des- uh, develop fat bikes is that we've been doing it for 10 years. You know, we, uh...
• 43:14
  we're on second, third, fourth, fifth iterations of fat bikes because they truly are, in our opinion, mountain bikes, and they're purpose-driven.
• 43:21
  It's why we, uh, make four different variations of fat bikes that are very unique. And that's the biggest thing to, to know about Salsa. It's not just one and done. Gotcha. Number two.
• 43:30
  Second thing is a sort of an iteration of that one and done, is, you know, we make a five-inch bike, a four-inch bike, a four-inch full suspension bike, is we design them, uh, in a way that we don't compromise.
• 43:39
  So with a five-inch bike with 100 mil rims, we have that wider Q factor and that wider bottom bracket because we truly believe that chain line is super important for the longevity and the function of the bike.
• 43:50
  So five-inch bikes for us can't be four-inch and three-inch, or the other way around. They really are purpose-built. Purpose-built, number two. And number three. Number three is the distance you can take 'em.
• 44:00
  You know, it's, uh, it's based on experience.
• 44:02
  For us, we have a ton of riders that have been riding fat for a long time, and we're constantly looking at the next innovation, how to stay in front, and how to add that next touch that keeps us on the edge.
• 44:11
  Right, riders like JP who- Yep, just gave you a 150 record this year. Uh, he's finished 135, Arrowhead 135 several times riding it. So for Bear Grease, constantly refining that.
• 44:22
  This year he did the Nome, uh, ride, 1,100 miles through Alaska on the Muckluck Ti, constantly giving us feedback refining that product.
• 44:29
  Uh, you know, it's not a touch or a tangible piece at number three, but it really does help every year, help innovate, help make fat bikes better. Because to us, fat bikes aren't just a, a novelty piece.
• 44:38
  They really are a category. Well, thanks for joining us on our little segment here. Really appreciate it. Thanks a lot. No, it was a pleasure. Thanks for having me, Gomez.
• 44:47
  [birds chirping] Yeah, that was, that was recorded in the beautiful Montañas above Ogden, Utah. Montaña? Snowbasin Resort. Montañas. Is that in Montana? So, uh- Is that Montana for the layperson?
• 45:01
  It's mountains for people. It's mountains. Oh, I didn't... I couldn't understand what you were saying. Mountains. [laughs] I thought you were saying Montana with a accente. [laughs] Montana. Montana. Montaña.
• 45:15
  Tony Montana. [laughs] Had a couple of beautiful days up there at Saddleback. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. Well, we're back live here in the studio, at an extended studio here in, uh, the western slope of Colorado.
• 45:32
  I saw your, uh, uh, thing on the, uh, 2016 Kona Wo. Up on the site. Oh, yeah, I always think that [laughs] when, when the, when new bikes start coming in, "Hey, Fred, seeing your bikes in at the dealership?"
• 45:48
  [laughs] That bike's been saddened. That's the, uh, when I was out east, that was the, uh, not, not the 2016, of course, but it was a Kona Wo. Wo.
• 45:59
  I don't even know if I'm pronouncing it right, but I'd like to s- Was it, was it black or was it- Black... British racing green? It was black. Or it was black, so it was the original one. Yep. Yeah.
• 46:08
  It was a, that's a good jam. I rode one of those. Yeah. It's an eight-mile, eight-mile burn on absolute nothing beach. All you have to navigate are tourists on the beach, which is a game in itself. Yeah.
• 46:21
  And I- Any- And it's a rental. Yeah. And they, it's on them. You could- It's on them to clean it. [laughs] So I was jamming in the saltwater. I don't care. I don't have to clean it.
• 46:33
  [laughs] Yeah, there's, there's, there's 100-plus yards of beach there, right? I mean, there's a long ways from the, the houses to the actual water. Yeah, it's about a- Yeah... yeah, 100 yards. Yeah.
• 46:42
  But, but the wh- the, the beachfront, apparently you can go all the way from Virginia Beach area down to South Cackalacky. Or not south, but North Cackalacky by Outer Banks. [snaps fingers] I'm- Yeah...
• 46:54
  doing that next year. Yep. Gomez has been out there exploring that very area. Very area. Very area. We just, we just Instagrammed Ox's picture from his trip there this summer, so.
• 47:07
  We're all social media li- like that out there in the world. It's all, it's a hotspot of fat bike fun. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Much like Ogden, Utah, was this last two days. Oh, yes. The fun of snow discs. You can feel the fun.
• 47:22
  Right on. Feel it. Well, we- Fun, rainbows, fat bikes. Little frogs with top hats. Yep. [laughs] Well, we do have a few- So- We have a few links this week. I think I'll just let folks check it out.
• 47:38
  Basically, we've got kind of the, the updates to the Salsa line, uh, checking in with Coast Kid. [laughs] That sounded good. We, we- To the Salsa. Yeah. I'm thinking of Conga line. Conga line. [laughs] Uh, we- Salsa...
• 47:51
  we have a little bit about, uh, some plus bike stuff with the Pony Rustler, and more on Scott's 27 plus plans. So check out those, uh, those links in the show notes.
• 48:04
  We got a, uh, we got the, the Sergeants coming our way if we like it. Right on. It could be for you, Fen. It's your size. It's the exact bike that, uh, Alex showed us. Oh, super. Yeah.
• 48:19
  Yeah, I mean, you know, I'm, I'm all about those bikes for sure. S- so we'll, uh, we'll put her through- If you can work it into your busy schedule.
• 48:26
  Yeah, we've, we've been collecting up a few things here that need some testing.
• 48:30
  Some, uh, we got the, a box full of, uh, Fat Beanimbles of all sizes this last week, so, uh, 27 plus, 29 plus, 26 fat bike tires, blah, blah, blah. So we, we, we got some more stuff rolling through the, the test kitchen.
• 48:48
  Uh- Yeah, I know that, uh, we- And Blakey Schell is working on a Fat B Nibble review right now for the 29+ Right on, yep. And he's doing a Dirt Wizard thing too, I think. He's, he's all over tires, that guy. Yeah.
• 49:04
  We're just waiting for the final pictures on Dirt Wizard. Okay. And we're- All the, all of the stories are almost ready to go. So we're, we have a full week coming up here.
• 49:15
  Just kind of getting into that season that, uh, I think Chewie loves the best, which is bike show season. Everybody loves a bike show. [laughs] So Chewie, you have to call in next week.
• 49:30
  We're gonna taunt you until you call in and yell at us, 'cause we need it. We need yelling at. All right. Well, thanks again to Surly for sponsoring the radio portion of today's broadcast. Join us next week
• 49:44
  when we ask the question- How do you feel about USA Cycling's involvement with fat bike racing? Chewie? Chewie. Chewie. [laughs] All right, everyone. We'll see you next week. Bye bye. That's it?
• 50:01
  That's, that's the whole show? That's it. 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.
• 50:17
  [upbeat rock music]