Latest / Full Spectrum Cycling / Weekly Dose of Fat Show #91 – Special Guest Ben Popp From The Fat-bike Birkie

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Weekly Dose of Fat Show #91 – Special Guest Ben Popp From The Fat-bike Birkie · Full Spectrum Cycling

• 0:00
  Weekly Dose of Fat, show number 91 for Friday, January 29th, 2016.
• 0:07
  [upbeat music] It's time for most everyone's favorite audio escape, it's the Weekly Dose of Fat with your hosts, Sveen and Gnomiez.
• 0:35
  Hey, welcome to the show this week, everybody. Our, uh, buddy Gomez is out there in Colorado at Crested Butte taking in the worlds, the fat bike worlds. Joining me in the studio as usual is Mr. JK Living. I spank you.
• 0:50
  I spank you very little. And Fat Bike Radio and the Weekly Dose of Fat is sponsored by Surly Bikes. Them Surlys, they's made from fancy steel. Well, rubber too, plus some other stuff. No matter, they's good.
• 1:04
  You can learn more about those bikes at surlybikes.com. All rightily tightily, JK, what do we have on the show this week? We start the show with the event of the week. We welcome Ben Popp from the Fat Bike Bricky.
• 1:17
  We talk to call-in listeners from around the fatosphere. We make excuses for not getting the Becker bag prizes out yet.
• 1:24
  We check in with the Fanny Farm Field Report, brought to you by the Winter Rush Fat Bike Series, the Michigan State Fat Bike Championships, and the 2017 USA Cycling Fat Bike National Championships. And now...
• 1:35
  It's time for the Fat Bike Event of the Week. This week, it's not one, but three fantastic races that are on the Snow Crown Series in Central Wisconsin. Yeah.
• 1:49
  Here to give us the skinny on these fat bike races is George Kapitz from Broken Spoke Bicycles with shops in Green Bay and Two Rivers. So welcome, George. Thanks for calling in.
• 2:01
  Uh, why don't you tell us a little bit about your three-race series you have going on up there? Yeah. So this is, uh, first year we put together, uh, the Snow Crown Fat Bike Series.
• 2:13
  First of the race, uh, series was Shell Track in Manitowoc this past Saturday. This was the fifth annual, uh, race. It was a solo race starting at 10:00 and then followed by the team relay race.
• 2:30
  The course itself is kind of more designed, uh, geared towards the, the team relay race, uh, like a one-mile short track.
• 2:38
  Uh, just kind of go out, give her hell, and hand off the bike, uh, to your, uh, teammate or have him go out or her out with, uh, with their bike. Yeah. Did you have the, uh, did you have the beer shortcut this year?
• 2:51
  You know, we, we cut out the beer shortcut. [laughs] Um, we changed up the course a little bit, but there was, uh, our sponsor Hinterland Brewery had a fresh keg of beer, uh, right at the, uh, exchange point.
• 3:08
  So, you know, the beer was still flowing in fashion and, uh, they actually, uh, specially brewed a, a IPL, uh, called Fat Tracks especially for the Snow Crown series. Oh, that's cool.
• 3:19
  Yeah, it's nice to get some, uh, local beer sponsors helping out. Yeah. So, uh, so how'd the whole event go? I, we had, we had some people up there. Yeah, the event went really well.
• 3:30
  Um, the big change this year was, um, I guess we got a little bit more organized this year in, uh, it was the first time having chip timing.
• 3:39
  Uh, so we had a company come in and it was, it was a guinea pig for us, um, to try. We really wanna kinda use this, uh, timing system at our, at our main race, uh, Fat Camp, coming February 20th.
• 3:52
  So this was a good race to try it out and kinda work out any of the bugs, uh, uh, on the system. So, uh, we used that on the solo race and it, it worked fairly well.
• 4:03
  We had some, uh, mishaps on some timing, but that's kind of expected on that. So other than that, we had a, we had a, the largest showing this year. I think we had 103 solo racers. Wow. That's a lot. Um, yeah.
• 4:19
  And, uh, 27 teams and they were mainly all three to four-person teams, mainly four-person teams, so- Right on... we had a really large showing.
• 4:29
  Well, it's always, I mean, it's, I've been, this is the first year I missed it.
• 4:32
  It actually was my daughter's birthday on Saturday and I was like, "I really wanna go up to the race, but, but I love you, my daughter," so [laughs] [laughs] So I, so I- Yeah...
• 4:41
  stayed down here in Milwaukee, but, uh, yeah. Well, I'm glad that- Yeah... that one went well. So that was the first one, the Shell Track, and now you've got, um, two more races in the series.
• 4:50
  Uh, why don't you just give us a little heads-up on when those are and kinda what the, the format of those races is? Yeah. The next two are, um, a lot of like each, uh, each other as far as the format goes.
• 5:01
  As far as, uh, distance goes, we're gonna have a short and long race with these two. Uh, but our next race coming up is Cold Wave, uh, which is in Sturgeon Bay, and this is at the Snow Craft trails.
• 5:14
  Um, they were initially Nordic ski trails, um, on Tom Parsons' land.
• 5:21
  Um, and we, we sold him and, uh, a bunch, bunch of his friends fat bikes last year, and they j- they just dove into this and, uh, loved fat bikes and, um, they, they started riding them on the trails and he started grooming single track, cutting in and out of, uh, onto the ski trail.
• 5:38
  So now, now he's got this course where it's, uh, just amazing Nordic ski trails, but then really fun single track trail cutting, cutting through it.
• 5:48
  So very unique trail system and also a race, so you kind of have a combination of open double track that's very fast and groomed, and then a technical single track as well.
• 6:00
  Is that, is that a solo race or is that a team event, or how do you have that one set up? That one is gonna be strictly a solo race. Right on.
• 6:10
  Um, and each race, uh, will have three different age categories, and then overall as well. So we opened up the doors a little bit to,
• 6:19
  to age groups and, um, you know, your chances of getting on, uh, you know, placing are a lot higher than, uh, they were in the past. Sure. And then the final r- so, so when is Cold Wave? What's the date of that one?
• 6:32
  Uh, February 6th. Okay. So, uh, not this Saturday, but next Saturday. Uh, right. Okay. And then the final race in the series is the, uh, the what is it at, uh, it's in Green Bay, right? Yeah, uh, Reforestation Camp.
• 6:44
  Right on. Yep. Yep. And that is February 20th. Uh, and that one is on the ski trails as well, so that will be all strictly double track. Um, kind of a simulation of the Fat Bike Birkie.
• 6:58
  Uh, it'll g- be good preparation for anybody that's doing the Birkie, so two weeks beforehand, kinda will give you up and down hills and about a 7.5 mile loop. Okay.
• 7:10
  Hey, speaking of the Fat Bike Birkie, I think I, I gave you the heads-up yesterday.
• 7:14
  We're actually gonna talk to Ben Popp in a little bit, but, um, we got an email this morning that they had 68 entry spots left for the Fat Bike Birkie, so [laughs] Oh, wow. If, if you guys- Cool with that...
• 7:25
  if you guys have not got in yet, um, I... You know what, I didn't, uh, I didn't notice if that was the total for both short and long, or if that just the long, but, uh- Okay. Yeah...
• 7:35
  time is, time is short I'm assuming that was the short or long. Right. If you're gonna, [laughs] if you're gonna get in there, the time is now. [laughs] Cool.
• 7:42
  Well, I- Yeah, and that's been a very cool race, uh, just the past four years and seeing that really grown from, uh, you know, starting on the, uh, starting on the very front line, uh, that the first year to, to where it is now, and some big names coming to, to show up on, on race day there.
• 8:02
  You, and you're in already, right? Yes, I am in now already. [laughs] How many guys from- Yeah... the team are gonna be going to the race?
• 8:10
  Um, I think we have about 17 or 18 signed up so far, and I, I know there's a couple, uh, that need to, kind of procrastinating and need to get, get- [laughs]... get registered and signed up. Cool.
• 8:22
  Is there anything you want us to ask Ben on your behalf? Not in particular. Um, I did see the start is a little bit different this year. It, it looks like it starts in, uh, Cable. Yeah.
• 8:34
  I think we're gonna talk a little bit about that, but my understanding is that a couple of things happened, and we'll talk to Ben a little bit more about it, but there's more of a rollout on, on, uh, what is, what's the road called?
• 8:43
  Rye Stack or whatever the road is right out of, uh, Cable. And then,
• 8:48
  uh, the courses are separate so that you don't have that, you know, the end of the course where all the, the short course riders had already been not getting as chewed up, so. Oh, yeah.
• 8:57
  That, that will, uh, definitely be a, a nice addition to the race. Yeah. Cool. For sure. All right, man. How's stuff going at the shop? You got, uh, fat bikes rolling out the door? Yeah.
• 9:10
  Uh, we definitely do have some fat bikes rolling out the door, and, um, kinda ran into the problem of running out of the, the studded tires, uh, kinda mid-season. And, you know, for us it's
• 9:22
  right now trying to track down those studded tires. Oh. Um, you, you kinda get that hard, cold freeze frost, and, uh, uh, the trails are icy and hard packed and, uh- Yep... that's about- [laughs]...
• 9:34
  our struggle right now is trying to track down those studded tires. Uh, we've got a link in the show notes. If you have, um,
• 9:42
  studded tires that have pockets in them but don't have studs, like maybe you got some Dillinger's and you didn't buy them studded right away, um, this place- Mm-hmm...
• 9:49
  called bikestud.com sells the actual studs themselves real inexpensively.
• 9:55
  If you have a pocketed type tire like a Van Halga or a, or, well, I don't know if Van Halga's have them, but like a Dillinger where it's got the pockets in it for studs. Sure. And they're really...
• 10:04
  Check it out, they're really attractively priced. Um, might be a viable option.
• 10:08
  And then of course, um, grip studs, you know, if you got, if you got buds and losers or something, that's another, another po- potential way to go is screw the studs in, so. Yeah.
• 10:18
  I, I haven't ever tried going that route, but, um, it's funny you brought up the bike stud. I just bought- [laughs] Hey, that's me... eight Dillinger tires from, uh- [laughs]... today. He just shipped them out for me.
• 10:28
  Oh, right on. Okay. Yeah. Cool. So. All right, George. Well, thanks for calling in, and, uh, good luck with the races.
• 10:35
  And maybe we'll catch up with you later in the year, see how they went, and, uh, hope to run into you at one of them, you know, down the road. Okay. Sounds good. Okay. Thanks for the call, Greg, and talk to you soon.
• 10:44
  All right. Bye. Top o' the foggy hill. Top of the hill there, hey. What do we, what do we have in the house today? Uh... Oh, we have Growing Power from last week. Yes. Yes.
• 10:58
  [laughs] Which is good, 'cause this stuff is really good beer. Uh, gonna be, gonna be putting it on my current favorite list, I think. It's, uh, USDA organic. So I feel better about drinking it. Right.
• 11:10
  [laughs] Yeah, even though it's still 7,000 calories or whatever. Yeah, and it's with, uh, Will Allen and Growing Power collaboration. Yep. Right on. Right here on the old Milly-waukee. All right.
• 11:21
  Well, let's take a quick break here before we catch up with Ben Popp from the Fat Bike Birkie. We'll be back after these important messages.
• 11:31
  [upbeat music] Chumba USA builds innovative, technically superior bicycles that are race ready, ride driven, and tested to withstand the harshest conditions and tackle the toughest and roughest terrain.
• 11:45
  Learn more about Chumba's American-made Ursa Major at chumbausa.com. [upbeat music] Hey, this is Rebecca Rusch, and, uh, you are listening to Fat Bike Radio with Sven and Gomez.
• 12:02
  So, uh, if you're too lazy to get out and go for a ride, I guess you could always listen about it on the radio. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the radio program.
• 12:16
  We've got Ben Popp on the line from the Fat Bike Birkie. Uh, welcome to the show, Ben. Hey, Ben. Hey, thanks for having me. How you guys doing? Doing great. It's getting close to the Fat Bike Birkie already, isn't it?
• 12:29
  You know, it's amazing. We were just going through, uh, uh, some of the, uh, details today. Um, and as you m- uh, maybe have seen, it's, uh, almost full. 1,000 riders, um, we're just within 60 or 70, I believe.
• 12:43
  So we'll see in the morning how we're doing, but it's gonna be getting pretty close to full here, which is...
• 12:48
  I mean, it's pretty exciting, the fact that there's gonna be 1,000 fat bike riders in, uh, downtown Cable, which, uh, that's, like, 10 times the population of Cable. Right. Yeah, yeah. [laughs] And, uh,
• 12:59
  so that'll be good. We're hoping... And it's really interesting, that, I think, that it's a pretty significant majority in the long race.
• 13:05
  It's, like, 650, um, to 350, so 650 people in the long race versus 350 in the, in the shorter race. So people are, uh, wanting to go a little bit longer and, and so it should be good. Yeah, super.
• 13:19
  Um, you made just some, I... You're talking about this going out of Cable right now, which is, um, a little different than the previous years. I know you made some course changes.
• 13:27
  Why don't you, uh, just let folks know what to expect from, from the c- the course versus prior years? Right. Yeah.
• 13:34
  There's, um, Junior Nationals, which is a, a, a big ski event, is gonna be happening at Tallmark this year. And so we moved... We talked to the folks in Cable and we're gonna move the start right into downtown Cable.
• 13:46
  It's the same, same location as the short and fat is for the Chequamegon, if people are familiar with that.
• 13:52
  So we use the same start setup that they have, and you'll roll out of downtown Cable on Saturday in, uh, on McNaught Road.
• 13:58
  It's about one mile till you reach the Birkie trail and then, then we'll turn onto the Birkie trail and, and it'll be the same course as years past for the long race.
• 14:07
  They'll go out, um, down to the halfway point, Double O, and then turn around and come back on the other trail. So that... Then they'll come back to that same point, and then it's the, uh, the ride back into Cable.
• 14:17
  Um, and the short race is gonna be using a little bit different course, so they al- So we tried to try and reduce the amount of shared, um, riding time, and so that, uh, that wouldn't happen.
• 14:29
  And so the short course is actually gonna use only the first five kilometers, uh, or so of the, uh, long race, and then they're gonna turn off and actually do a whole separate course and end up, um, kind of back down to Cable as well.
• 14:42
  So that... The nice thing about that for the long race is last year, those that did the long races, they were coming back in the last 10K.
• 14:48
  They had hit all the, the course that the short riders had already ridden on, and so it was really a, a big difference in, you know, what the course was, how well it was holding up.
• 14:57
  And so hoping this year by putting the long course on one course and the short one on separate, they'll have consistent tracks throughout the whole, uh, whole race. So that's a little different.
• 15:06
  And, um, they're also gonna have a sh- a, a fat bike criterium Friday night.
• 15:10
  Uh, uh, 45 North, those guys obviously who are sponsoring, uh, the whole event, they're gonna be there and help us set up a, kind of a cool little criterium right in downtown Cable.
• 15:20
  Um, that's where the expo and demo will be all day Friday, but then there's gonna be a, a beginner novice and then an expert, and, uh, I think it's a pretty good purse.
• 15:29
  I, I can't remember offhand, but I wanna say it's a couple hundred bucks, um, for the winner. Three or four, something like that, um, for the crit Friday night. And so that...
• 15:38
  It's gonna k- keep it pretty short, like, 20 minutes plus a lap. Um, and so that'll be kind of fun in downtown Cable. And see, and then on Sunday we're gonna, um...
• 15:48
  The, the vendors wanted to have another time to do a little demo and some led rides, so CAMBA is gonna, uh, have some ride leaders and, um, there's, you know, now about 50 miles of, uh, groomed single track here.
• 16:01
  So there's gonna be a bunch of ride leaders, and then the bike demo guys are gonna come back out at Double O on Sunday morning.
• 16:07
  So there'll be another opportunity to try some demo bikes and do some rides on both some single track, as well as there's a couple new double track wide, uh, uh, fat bike trails that we added up by Double O.
• 16:19
  Um, so that'll be going on Sunday. So there's, you know, a few little, few little changes for the year, so it should be fun. Yeah.
• 16:24
  It's, you know, it sounds like even if, uh, if people wait too long and don't get into the race, it's still a great weekend to be up there riding fat bikes 'cause there's a lot more going on than just the race event itself.
• 16:34
  You've got, you know, a, a really pristine area up there to, to do some fat biking in. You know, I mean, that is so true, actually. There's a lot of...
• 16:42
  You know, between the demos on Friday and the whole expo, I mean, it is gonna be one of the largest groupings of fat bike, you know, manufacturers, retailers in, uh... So, so that in and of itself will be pretty cool.
• 16:53
  And then, and then watching the race on Saturday and, and then Sunday to have the demos back out and a bunch of rides.
• 16:59
  You're gonna ha- maybe even have one down in Spooner, one out at Rock Lake, and then a bunch at Double O and the Seely Hills. And so w- all with varying kinds of, you know, some single track, some double track.
• 17:08
  And then there's gonna be, course be the, the big, uh, big party Saturday night. And then, uh, CAMBA's gonna be there doing a fundraiser, the, the Mountain Bike Association.
• 17:17
  And so it should be hopefully something for everyone, some live music, and, uh, so it should be a good time, a celebration of the, of the fat bike, you know? Right on.
• 17:25
  Uh, we talked a little bit about the fact that the thing is filling up fast. Have you got any confirmed, like, big name riders coming to the event? You know, there's gonna be some, uh, some good riders as always.
• 17:36
  Of course, Will Ross, uh, will be back again, um, hopefully to defend, uh, the title, and Brendan Moore, Jeff Hall, um, who many of you know, of course. Yeah, perennial AFS guy, for sure. Fat tire champion.
• 17:47
  Um, so that'll be pretty cool. Uh, I don't know about Ned, actually. Um, Jenna Reinard, she's gonna be back. She won last year. April Morgan, and I think Amber... I wanna say Amber Stole was third last year.
• 17:58
  So I think the top three will all be back in the women's field. Diana McFadden maybe. Uh, so I think the fields will be really strong in terms of people from the last, uh, from last year anyway.
• 18:08
  The top five will likely be back, and so it should, uh, you know...
• 18:12
  Hopefully, if conditions continue the way they have been this winter, the snow that we've been getting has really been wet, and so it's packing really firmly, which is nice. We're getting a really good firm base.
• 18:23
  So we're hoping that the, the course will hold up well and, and, uh, can handle the number of riders and, and we have a good race for everybody, and it should be, uh, should be good. Yeah, sounds great.
• 18:33
  Well, thanks for calling in. I, I have a note here to, uh, to remind you that why don't we catch up on, like, the show the, the February 24th. If we, you know- That's awesome... catch up, like- No, absolutely...
• 18:43
  like, uh, you know, just before the event, we'll see, you know, if there's any last-minute changes.
• 18:47
  Let's get some course condition reports, and you can kinda fill us in a little bit more with, uh, with stuff right before the show, w- right before the big show. [laughs] Yeah, that sounds fantastic.
• 18:56
  Let's plan on it, and, uh, we'll, uh, we'll get all the final details at that point. All right. Thanks a lot for calling in, Ben. You bet. Thanks. Have a good one. See you up there. Bye.
• 19:06
  Let's take a short break before we jump into the Fatty Farm Field Report. So I heard you need a fat bike. Come to Zion Cyclery in Zion, Illinois. We have all brands: Trek, Borealis, Salsa, Felt, Surly, and more.
• 19:23
  Yo, we have all the cold weather gears by 45 NRTH and Bontrager. Keep those fingers and toes nice and toasty. We fix bikes also, so you have any problem, brakes, gears, suspension, we have the best mechanics in town.
• 19:40
  So yeah, visit us at zioncyclery.com. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. And we're back. It's time for this week's Fatty Farm Field Report.
• 19:57
  This week's Fatty Farm Field Report is presented by the Winter Rush Fat Bike Series.
• 20:03
  Winter Rush is the home of the Michigan State Fat Bike Championships and will be your hosts of the 2017 USA Cycling Fat Bike National Championships. For more information, click on the Winter Rush banner
• 20:16
  located again on the Lido deck of your show notes, or visit winterrush.com. Were you being Isaac? Yeah. [laughs] You're Lido deck, and I get the lean back and give the point. Yeah. Yeah.
• 20:31
  I had to paint the word picture 'cause I wonder what that guy looks like now. [laughs] Or if he's even still alive. A lot of that cast is gone, I think. Ted something. Yeah, was that what it was? Mm-hmm. All right.
• 20:42
  Well, just because I wanted to give Tupper another week of coverage and, and thank him again for giving us those bags for the Becker Sewing Bag Contest, I, I'm just gonna say Jeff and, uh, Evan will be getting their bags at some point.
• 20:55
  I do have them in a box- Yes... and with postage already on them. [laughs] So while I'm not the fastest, I, I do get it done. And, uh, really thanks Tupper for, uh, taking care of us on these prizes.
• 21:06
  We certainly appreciate your support, and I think all of our winners are getting a really cool, uh, 40 Below Becker down tube bag which you can put stuff in. Nice. Yeah. So there's a big event this weekend.
• 21:23
  Uh, the Pro Bowl? No. Is- Pat and Oswald? [laughs] Is, is that- Uh, what? What? Is, is that even, is that even really an event, the Pro Bowl? Uh, uh, no. It's, like, Jerry Rice versus Michael Irvin- [laughs]...
• 21:34
  coached weird teams. I don't know. Oh, boy. They tinkered a year or two ago. Yeah, that's weird. But no- I hate that I know that. [laughs] No, I'm really talking about the fat bike world. Ah, yes.
• 21:44
  Uh, they started Wednesday night there in, uh, in Crested Butte. We've got our man on the street out there, Gomez, doing his thing, and, uh, looking forward to some coverage from him.
• 21:55
  You know, this is a, this is a big deal in Crested Butte. Um, tons of, tons of coverage, big name sponsors, big name riders. Um, it's, it's a big event.
• 22:06
  I think it's really cool that Crested Butte is doing it, and hopefully we'll, we'll learn more about it next week. Roving reporter. Roving reporter, Mr. Gomez. So, uh, I don't know, what else is going on?
• 22:20
  You got some new studly tires on your, on your bike. Yes. A couple, couple opportunities to go play around in what normally would be adverse conditions, a little bit of freeze and rain and sleety, but- Yeah...
• 22:34
  it's, I haven't washed out. [laughs] It's, I'm, I mean, I... knock wood. I mean, it's giving me kind of a, [laughs] maybe an inflated sense of- Yeah. You-...
• 22:41
  security and safety, but, uh- I think, I think that you're gonna, you're gonna be v- very happy having studs on there. Yeah.
• 22:47
  And, um, I don't know, we replaced some sort of average, I would call, the last tires you had on there. Mm-hmm. Average tires. Sure.
• 22:54
  So how do these roll compared-- These are, uh, actually escalators, but very similar to a Dillinger that went on JK's bike. I know they roll better than the tires [laughs] that were on there. Yes, yes, definitely.
• 23:04
  I, I was surprised 'cause I was, I was u- I wasn't positive how it was gonna roll. I was expecting kind of a similar, but no, it, it was, like, effortless, and went tubeless, so that, that- Oh, right.
• 23:17
  Yeah, first time on tubeless. Yeah. I forgot about that. Yeah. So I was, once again, [laughs] going into uncharted territory. But yeah, it rolls fast.
• 23:26
  I mean, for, I don't know, I was under the impression-- I don't know, I, maybe a misconception that, you know, okay, I'm studding in, I'm gonna be dragging a little bit more, but no. No. No. No, no, no. No, no.
• 23:38
  I'm gliding across this wispy, sleety landscape. And yeah, and then next week, uh, next week we're getting another snow event. Uh- Right. Yeah, I was-- we're, we're, we're waiting for snow.
• 23:50
  After that first big dump, we really haven't had anything, but that was so wet and heavy- Mm... that it really has just been sticking around forever. Yeah. 'Cause- So it's, like, Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.
• 23:59
  Right on. Snow is good. Yeah. So, uh, JK brought his bike in the shop today, and we slapped on a Beaver Guard mud guard on the front, or snow guard as the case may be at this point.
• 24:10
  Uh, so JK will be giving that a little bit of a, a testy test out there. Um, I've had it on my Ape now for...
• 24:17
  Well, I've had-- [laughs] I just put one on again 'cause Christian sent us a couple for, for testing, and the first one kinda met an untimely demise. [laughs] I had it on my Marzocchi, um-
• 24:29
  Fork that Brad Bingham built, uh, for fat bike tires, and it was working great, but I was at, like, I think I was at an urban...
• 24:36
  We were on an urban ride, and I was just messing around, and I, like, popped out onto a beer can, and it wrapped around the tire.
• 24:42
  [laughs] And then it, and then, and it stuck to the tire, and then it went up into the fork and smashed around in the mud guard and, and took my [laughs] Oh. [laughs] Took my mud guard out, so.
• 24:51
  So now I've got another one on, and actually have a Bluto on my, on my Ape right now. So, uh, I, I'm, I'm happy to have that protection back on the, on the front there. It's, it's nice. Yeah. It's gonna be...
• 25:02
  Yeah, and it's also now gonna be an excuse to go and play in the mud and the dirt and the slop- Right... and go, "Give me adverse. I want the adverse now." [laughs] Yes. Give me some adverse conditions. Yeah.
• 25:11
  Whatever's on the back, I, I don't know. I can't see that. [laughs] So spring stuff. Uh, what else? I d- I... Well, this week, um, I got a... There's a Kickstarter campaign out there.
• 25:22
  I will have a link in the show notes, uh, to, to a, a kind of a face mask-y thing. It's made by a guy in Wisconsin, so I was kinda curious. His name is Brian.
• 25:30
  Uh, what, what, uh, what it was all about, so he sent one, and it, um, it, it's a lower... It's like a... What do they call those things? Like a, like it- Like a bandana kind of. Yeah.
• 25:40
  But it wra- so it wraps around, but it has actually magnets in it that attach behind your, back by your neck, and- Magnets, bitch. [laughs] Yeah, got the magnets in there.
• 25:50
  And then it's got kind of a cool, um, breathable mesh thing right in the middle where your mouth is. Um, looking forward to giving that a try. It's really been too warm out for me to use it. Yeah.
• 26:00
  It's been so warm- Yeah... lately. Lately. [laughs] You know. We'll, we'll hope to get the, uh, the, the temperatures down again, but, uh, I think it's kinda cool.
• 26:09
  I like the idea of it, and I like that it's a Wisconsin guy, and he's, he had some other successfully funded Kickstarter things. He does a thing called the Fixit Sticks, which are a bike tool deal. Uh, so thanks, Brian.
• 26:21
  Right on. I'll be, uh, I'll be, uh, talking about that thing and getting out and riding around with it on my mug. Well, we got a lot of fat bike links. That, that we do. Uh, these links are, these links are good.
• 26:34
  We got a lot of links in here today. Um, the Rohloff, uh, fat bike build at Cycle Monkey, I think- Mm-hmm... is sweet. It's a, a Ventana fat bike with a Rohloff. That's definitely worth checking out.
• 26:46
  They do a great job on those things. Oh, the belt, belt drive. Belt drive, fat bike, Rohloff hub. Yee-haw. And kickass.
• 26:55
  [laughs] Olaf over there at the Bike Life in Swedish Lapland, uh, picked up a set, a set of Razorback handlebars from, uh, from- [laughs]... Sean at, uh, Oddity. Yeah, that was pretty- I think that's pretty cool. Yeah.
• 27:08
  Those are pretty fun. Um, I, in fact, I also have a set on the long tail. Oh, nice. But mine are a little bit different, 'cause he custom makes them, so. Sure. Uh, mine have a lot more b- bend in the back.
• 27:19
  I'll get some... I'm gonna get a, some... I'll get a review on that thing up on the site, 'cause it's kickass, and it works great on the long tail. Uh, we mentioned this before, but I think it's worth mentioning again.
• 27:28
  If you have studdable tires but don't have studs, bikestud.com. Check it out. And, you know, there's a lot of, uh, there's a lot of other stuff in here. Fat bike stage racing, oh, in Fairbanks.
• 27:42
  I think that may be the first actual multi, multi-day stage race. It's got more than one, you know, dang old, uh... Dang it, let me check this out, man. [laughs] Shit. Shit, I got- Where the hell are we?
• 27:56
  I'm trying to do my, uh, trying to do my computer thing here, and it's, uh... There we go. [laughs] I got her now. Yeah, f- first winter stage race. Anyway. Oh, they got the OurourA fat bike race results. Yeah. Ourour...
• 28:12
  You know what? [laughs] And what's kinda interesting about that was it was, I think, in the local newspaper, and it, uh, it also included the women's swimming, uh, competition results as well on, on the same page.
• 28:27
  [laughs] Yeah. Well, congratulations to all of the winners. Congratulations w- women and fat bike racers alike. [laughs] Hey, those, uh, Kurt Gowdy trails are finally open in Wyoming this year.
• 28:40
  Um, I know if you're, if you're up that way, Cheyenne or Laramie or whatever, it's a pretty cool place, and they're specifically made for fat bikes.
• 28:46
  And you can rent fat bikes in either Laramie or Cheyenne if you wanna check it out. This stuff, I, all these links just remind me of how much stuff is going on. We got California. [laughs] We got Colorado.
• 28:55
  We got Anchorage. We got Jobu up in, uh, in Minnesota. We've got the 45 North Ontario Fat Bike Series. Got a race report from their first race, number one. You know, just, I mean, there's just ton...
• 29:07
  Everywhere you look now, there's... Central Oregon's got a, a big, new, uh, addition of fat bike racing to a traditional, uh, cross-country ski race at the, the Great Nordine Cross Country Ski Race.
• 29:19
  Just all of this stuff is, like, man, it's exploding out there. Fat bikes are fun. Yes, they are. [laughs] Says you. That's what I said. [laughs] Got a, got a couple of plus bike links this week.
• 29:32
  Um, the, Paul Burnett's, uh, one of Norco's, uh, product guys, and he, he has a five-question thing on the Norco site about their new 27+ bike.
• 29:41
  I think that's worth taking a look at, just some of the design, uh, criteria that they wanted to meet by using that tire size. And Bruce,
• 29:49
  he's still got his ongoing experiment with 29+ to see how that works on the coast long term, so he's using it for a month. I'm wondering at how much he's gonna like his fat bike when he- [laughs]...
• 30:01
  gets to, gets to try her again. Right on. Well, it seems like it's time to once again thank Surly for sponsoring the radio portion of today's broadcast. Surly bikes are sold at better bicycle retailers across the galaxy.
• 30:15
  Yep. Learn more at surlybikes.com. Join us next week when the question of the week is, what do you use to keep your hands, your beautiful little paws, warm while fat biking? Right on. That's a good one.
• 30:28
  Yeah, pogies, gloves, uh, stick them under your armpits and smell them like that real quick. [laughs] All right, next week, uh, we invite you to pimp your event. We heard from George and Ben, both got events going on.
• 30:41
  Uh, pimp your local event. There's so many of them out there. We'd love to hear about fat biking in your local area. Help us help you bang the gong of Fat Bike Farm.
• 30:52
  Y- you can call 818-918-2453 anytime day or night and leave us a massage. And, uh, next week, I don't know if Gomez is gonna be back or not. He may still be recovering from Crested Butte.
• 31:06
  [laughs] So we may, we may have a Gomez next week, and we may not. Let's watch. Let's listen. Until- Till then... we bid you adieu. Au revoir. And bye-bye.
• 31:19
  [upbeat music] 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.
• 31:34
  [upbeat music]