Latest / Full Spectrum Cycling / Weekly Dose of Fat Show #95 – Fat Bike Birkie – Big Fat Ride and Expo – US Fat Bike Beach Championships

Transcript

Weekly Dose of Fat Show #95 – Fat Bike Birkie – Big Fat Ride and Expo – US Fat Bike Beach Championships · Full Spectrum Cycling

• 0:00
  Weekly Dose of Fat, show number 95 for Friday, February 26, 2016.
• 0:06
  [upbeat music] Good evening.
• 0:20
  This is Gomez coming to you from the River West neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This is the Weekly Dose of Fat on Fat Bike Radio. Across the news desk from me is my cohost, Sven Hover. [laughs] Thank you, Gomez.
• 0:37
  Welcome to the show. Let me take this opportunity to introduce our designated drinker and fat bike playboy, Mr. JK Living. Yes, I just... Now you're Facebooking me? Why?
• 0:54
  Tonight's show is brought to you by the Surly Wednesday. Wednesday loves wool and Surly makes some killer Merino wool gear. Yeah, Surly's got three words for you. One, bikes. B, parts. Fourth, chaos.
• 1:09
  Learn more at surlybikes.com. So what's the show? [laughs] You'll recognize that theme throughout the show, ladies and gentlemen. We start the show this week with the event of the week.
• 1:26
  We check in with the Fatty 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.
• 1:40
  We'll talk with Sean Spencer from the US Fat Bike Beach Championships. We'll reveal who will be taking over our Instagram feed this weekend. And now- It's time for the Fat Bike Event of the Week...
• 1:56
  Hey, the Fat Bike Event of the Week is next weekend's Fat Bike Birke. We've got Ben Popp on the horn to give us an update. We actually don't, but... [laughs] You're gonna go up there.
• 2:08
  But, but- We're sponsoring the after party... [laughs] but, but we do have is, we got Travis on the line. No way. Travis already? In our special segment this evening. Hey, guys. How's it going? [laughs] We have Travis.
• 2:22
  Hey, we're just, uh, we're waiting for, we blew through the beginning of the show pretty quick, so we're just waiting for Ben from, uh, Fat Bike Birke to call in. Uh- We got all serious- We could-... and read stuff...
• 2:31
  yeah, we could talk to, uh- That's right. Shit Oh, man... Travis about what the hell's going on up there. That's right. Travis, would you like to do your special segment now? Sure.
• 2:41
  If you guys are ready, let's throw her down. Throw down, man. In tonight's special segment- All right... we have Fat Bike Ambassador to Anchorage,
• 2:51
  Travis T-Bone Hubbard, and he's here to give us the rundown on- Where's my beer?... next weekend's- Where's my beer? [laughs] Where's my beer? [laughs]... Fat Bike Ride [laughs] and Big Fat Bike Expo.
• 3:03
  Up there at the, uh, the beginning of the ITI. Indeed. So welcome to the show, Ambassador, Tra- Fatbassador, Mcsmasador. [laughs] Kid. Thank you. Thank you very much. That's my line.
• 3:15
  [laughs] So, uh, what are the, what do you guys got going on? When, when do, when does it all start? What are you gonna do? All right, uh- Et cetera. Et cetera. Okay.
• 3:27
  I'll, uh, the expo kicks off this Friday, February 26th, and runs through Saturday, February 27th. Mm-hmm. And the Big Fat Ride is on Saturday at, at 2:00.
• 3:44
  So, uh, what we got going on up here, the, uh, expo kicks off Friday morning. We got vendor move in from 6:00 to 10:00 AM, and then the expo is open, free to the public, from 10:00 to 8:00, uh, 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM.
• 3:58
  At 3:00 to 4:00 on Friday, we have a meet and greet with ITI racers- Oh... uh, at the expo. Mm-hmm. And yeah, that should be really cool. Any, any big names- And, uh-... you can leak out from that one?
• 4:09
  I know Jay Petervary's gonna be there. Uh, yeah. We've got, uh... I'll tell you what, I'll run through the schedule 'cause I'll list them off. Oh, nice. Very good. So some are coming. There's gonna be, um...
• 4:21
  There's not an exact list of who's gonna be at the meet and greet, but we do have some, uh, there's gonna be some ITI racers doing some guest speaking for us and putting on some presentations.
• 4:30
  Well, you know those guys will be there. So, um, oh yeah. Yeah, that's, really looking forward to it. Um,
• 4:38
  so the meet and greet with, uh, I'm not all sure who's gonna be there and it's not listed on the site, but that's from 3:00 to 4:00 Friday.
• 4:44
  From 4:00 to 6:00 is registration and packet pickup for the Big Fat Ride on Saturday. Nice. Uh, from 4:30 to 5:00, Troy, and I can't, I'm gonna butcher this last name, got Czerniekowski.
• 4:59
  Um, he's a former ITI racer, and I believe he's from Australia, and has done a lot of outback riding, and he's gonna be giving a presentation. And then ITI PM- I wonder if he knows what a blooming onion is.
• 5:13
  [laughs] I bet he bloody well does. Bloody well does. Uh, sorry to interrupt you. Yeah, but- Continue. Hey, no problem.
• 5:21
  And then, uh, from 5:00 to 6:00 Friday, uh, BLM is putting on an Iditarod trail presentation, and it's, uh, Kevin Keeler with BLM is gonna be putting that on. And then from, uh, 7:00 to close,
• 5:38
  uh, we've got Off the Beaten Path showing. Oh. Wow. Which I have not seen yet, so that should be cool. And who's the, who's the beer sponsor? Uh, the beer sponsor is Broken Tooth Brewing. Mm-hmm.
• 5:50
  And, uh, Moose's Tooth, uh, Pizza, I believe, is gonna be also providing some Zahs on Saturday- That's a lot of teeth... for folks after the ride. Meese teeth Yeah, losing tooth. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Ooh-hoo, good stuff.
• 6:06
  And then, uh, then on Saturday, uh, expo opens at 9:00 AM. More registration for riders jumping in late from 10 to 1. And you're, you're, you're gonna keep- And then-...
• 6:18
  track, uh, you're not gonna, like, fudge any of these numbers, right? We can trust you guys? 'Cause, you know- Oh, you can trust us. [laughs] There's no, there's no new Alaskan math or anything, right? Where- Involved...
• 6:31
  where two- No, no, I've just been, um, I just-... two legs equal two people... I just spent, like, $500,000 on fat bikes, and I'm recruiting, uh, I'm just grabbing people and duct-taping them to them. [laughs] All right.
• 6:42
  Good plan. Good plan. All right, Travis. Hey, we'll pick up the rest of the whole, uh, weekend a little bit later in the show. Uh- Okay...
• 6:50
  right now, we've got Ben Popp on the line from up there at the, uh, the Fatbike Birke, which is coming up in just over a week. Howdy, Ben. Hey, how you doing? Welcome to the show. We got, uh, the lur- Uh, good...
• 7:03
  we got the [laughs] we've got the lurker Travis from Anchorage on the line. He's just gonna be listening in. Nice. So watch what you say about Alaska, Ben. [laughs] Yeah.
• 7:13
  Well, you know, I just had the pleasure of meeting some good Alaskans this past weekend, uh, Keegan Randall and Jeff Ellis.
• 7:19
  Uh, and, uh, we're trying to get them to stay for the Fatbike Birke, but they were off to some World Cup skiing, so. Wow. So no luck there, but they seem like good folks.
• 7:29
  So what's happening in a couple weeks here, or they are just a little over a week, I guess, exactly, um, is this, this race is essentially going off on a, on very much the same course that these, uh, the, the original Birke ski racers race on.
• 7:43
  Um, after the ski race, how's the condition of the course? You know, it's actually really good condition for fat biking right now.
• 7:50
  We, the ski race, uh, uh, this past week, we had about 10,000 folks rolling over it, so it compacts it down pretty hard, of course. And, uh, then we got some rain and, uh- Mm-hmm...
• 8:01
  some pretty mild temperatures, so it got pretty firm.
• 8:04
  And, um, just today we were out with our big grooming machines tilling it up, and I think it's gonna be, you know, looking at the long-term forecast, uh, it looks like it's gonna be fast and hard.
• 8:15
  And, uh, so hopefully we're open for some really good conditions, 'cause, you know, you get 1,000 or 1,100 fat bikers riding over it, you need it to be pretty firm so it doesn't, uh, break down [laughs] super quick, obviously.
• 8:27
  Yeah, yeah. Well, it sounds good. I've been kinda keeping my eye on it since I'm gonna be up there. I have to know how to dress. And, uh- [laughs]...
• 8:32
  it seems like, you know, the overnight temperatures are pretty good, and you guys run this thing early enough in the day that I think, uh, hopefully we'll have good, good conditions.
• 8:41
  You're gonna, you're gonna wear, you're gonna wear a dress? [laughs] Did I say that? [laughs] Did, did I say that? Yeah, it'll sound that way in post. Did I say that? [laughs] Oh, we do like to have a little fun here.
• 8:55
  You know, it is, uh, if the weather's old, it's right, it's looking like teens at night, so it should get pretty firm.
• 9:00
  And then, uh, and then in the mid-30s during the day, and starting at 9:00, especially you're in, you're, you know, you're in the, the woods, so it'd stay a little cooler. It should be, it should stay pretty good.
• 9:10
  The, the demo area on Friday, which is in downtown Cable, um, we just actually finished, uh, they started building the course for that today. There's gonna be a fat bike criterium Friday night. Oh, cool.
• 9:22
  Um, and that should be kind of fun. And they're gonna have a beginner, novice/advanced. And, uh, I don't know, I think the payout's a couple hundred bucks for the, the advanced.
• 9:31
  And they're gonna keep it pretty short, like, 20 minutes plus a lap, so. Mm-hmm. Should be kind of fun right downtown in Cable there.
• 9:37
  But the course they built, they're gonna use all day for demos and, and whatnot, so it, it should be pretty good hopefully. Uh, um, should be good, good fun had by all.
• 9:47
  So the, the pickup area for the badges or the, the numbers and such- Yep... that's right downtown there in Cable anyway, right? Yep. It's gonna... In, in this...
• 9:56
  You know, the race has grown pretty significantly, as you know, and so now that it's over 1,000 people, um, you know, Rivers Eatery in downtown there will be serving plenty of pizzas and beer.
• 10:05
  And we actually, uh, put a huge tent and it'll be right in downtown. I think it's a 80 by 160 or something like that. And so there'll be a place in there for picking up your bib and all the...
• 10:17
  It'll be a pretty good little expo of all the vendors, um, test rides going off all day Friday. And then, uh, that'll be all right in downtown Cable.
• 10:26
  So if, if anybody's been there and ever done the, the Chequamegon Short and Fat, it'll be a pretty similar setup to, to what Gary's got rolling, uh, in the fall. Right on. So it should be good.
• 10:36
  And then, uh, and then little race on Saturday.
• 10:38
  Sunday, they're gonna, CAMBA is gonna do a bunch of lead rides, and then they're gonna do more demos, uh, on the single track, 'cause there's about 50 miles of single track now groomed right around that area.
• 10:49
  So that should be some, I think, some good, uh, some good riding on, on Sunday as well. Right on. I think we kinda skipped over something Saturday night. [laughs] Uh... Isn't there some kind of party or something?
• 11:00
  It's an after party. It's an after party. They have an after party, and then there's an after, after party. Do they call it apres bike or something? Apres. [laughs] Isn't that after bike or I don't know.
• 11:09
  That's right, after bike, exactly. Yep. No, that's always a good time, right? I mean, that's, uh, that's what it's all about and, and it should be fun. And, and like I said, hopefully, uh,
• 11:18
  there'll be a couple thousand people, I think, in town, obviously, with all the riders and everybody bringing some, some friends and whatnot.
• 11:24
  I'm not letting on where my favorite place to eat breakfast is so I can get in and out of there quick. There's a diners, drive-ins, and dives restaurant right in downtown Cable now. I think it's called The Brick House.
• 11:33
  It's a brick. The Brick House, that's right. House. You can't skip The Brick House. Diners, drives, and dine-ins or whatever that hell is. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
• 11:41
  Uh, that was, uh, they were there not that long ago and, uh- Right. I'll have to give that local-... Heather, Heather will be there waiting for you-... support...
• 11:46
  with a pancake the size of your head and, and, uh, it's always good stuff. I think I'm staying at- It's always fun... Oyster Bay. Does that sound right? Is there a resort called, like, Oyster Bay? Oyster Bay.
• 11:57
  Or something. Boy, that sounds nice. [laughs] Otter Bay? I don't know. [laughs] Oysters, otters. I could pull up my email, but anyway. Otter Bay. So- So, Ben- Yeah...
• 12:04
  tell, tell our listeners, tell all those fat bikers out there- Toot your own horn a little bit and tell the folks about how you're supporting the, uh, grooming and single track riding up there, and the amazing expansion of, uh, of the trails up there and for, in the Chequamegon National Forest.
• 12:24
  You know, it's, it's pretty cool. I mean, I think obviously along with CAMBA, the, the mountain bike association, uh, you know, we've, we probably collectively put about, uh, I'd say it was close to $10,000 into it.
• 12:37
  Um, and then they've done some more fundraisers and really come along in developing the, the single track grooming.
• 12:44
  They bought a couple of Rokons, um, those two-wheel drive motorcycles, and then Wildcat Groomers- Mm-hmm... uh, Kent Adams- Right...
• 12:52
  uh, here in Spooner developed this little, uh, single track grooming module thingy-ma-jobber and, um, it's now- That's a technical term, folks, ma-jobber... between there and Trailhead and, and the like. It's almost...
• 13:03
  Yeah, well, it's over 50 miles of single track. And then, um, we built right alongside the Birkie Trail some, um, uh, double track.
• 13:13
  You know, there was some, uh, you know, a fair amount of people that just said, "Hey, we want a couple miles of easy ride," and, uh- Right... especially some of the novice riders.
• 13:20
  So our trail crew built some easier double track riding, uh, right out of, uh, the Double O trailhead.
• 13:26
  And, and so it's, you know, it's pretty cool to see that, um, you know, I think, uh, o- on any given Saturday or Sunday now, I bet, uh, there's, uh, uh, of the parking lots, say there's 2 or 300 cars in it, I bet, uh, at least a third if not a half of them are fat bikers, um- That's cool...
• 13:44
  riding off, and so that's the cool thing. Ka-blam, it blew up up there. Yeah. Well- Absolutely. I- Well done. We're- I don't... You know, I mean, people ask why, and I think, I don't...
• 13:52
  I mean, I, I don't know if I know why other than that it's, there's some really, you know, the trails obviously have, have really made it easy to, to come out and do it, and the shops up here are super good, and, and, uh, it's, it's certainly the culture of riding and skiing and, and...
• 14:07
  So we're excited to bring everybody here and show everybody what it's all about. Yeah, it's gonna be quite the shindig. So that's the, uh, March 4th weekend there. Indeed. Just a- Yes... little over a week away.
• 14:16
  Friday, March the 24th through the 26th. Yeah. Any i- any idea of, uh, who the call-ups are gonna be for the men's elite level racers? I knew you was gonna ask me that, and I just [laughs] was looking for it. I don't.
• 14:28
  I know the last three. Um, first, second, third, and fourth from both the men and the women, three of the four are gonna be here. Mm-hmm. And I just talked to Bjorn, um, Sealander today. He's gonna come race.
• 14:41
  Um, so that'll be cool. Got a couple little pro roadie there, cyclocross. I think he was a U23 national champion back in the day. Mm, cool. Um, from Hudson, Wisconsin. So there'll be some good riders.
• 14:51
  I think it'll be, uh...
• 14:53
  The nice thing about the other thing that's gonna happen this year that'll make it a little bit nicer, two things for the elites, one is the rollout from downtown Cable, unlike before where you're at Telemark, that, the, the resort, and bang, you're on the ski trail pretty quick.
• 15:06
  This, it's almost a mile, um, on Randy Seck, that gravel road until you get out to the Birkie Trail from downtown- Sure... Cable. So it'll give everybody a little bit of a chance to- [clears throat]...
• 15:15
  uh, to sort things out a little bit in a pretty safe manner hopefully and, and, uh, um... 'Cause I think it'll be pretty competitive.
• 15:23
  Yeah, so that's a little more like, uh, the start of the Chequamegon 40 where you roll for a while and the, the fast guys get to the front and they don't have to mix it up with, uh, us, uh, what do you call us? Citizens.
• 15:35
  [laughs] That's right. Yeah, yeah. Hopefully, we're hoping it makes a safe, safe, uh, safe beginning for everybody, 'cause yeah, the numbers are getting pretty big now.
• 15:45
  And, and it's interesting that it's probab- Well, it's not probably, it is, it's over two-thirds are doing the long race and a third doing the short race, which is interesting that it's that many more wanting to do the long race.
• 15:55
  So, 'cause it's almost 700 in the long and then- Maybe you gotta have a longer long race Yes. Yeah. Yeah, maybe a two lapper. Yeah. Oh, now there you go. Yeah. That's ultra. Add another third.
• 16:06
  Well- Add another 33% mileage- Yeah, I think there's more than a few-... on there, like a s- like a metric century. That would- Yeah... that would be killer. Maybe be, you know- So we know-...
• 16:16
  some of that could be single track too- We know Will-... because- We know 907, uh, elite racer, Mr. Will Ross, is gonna be there. Yes, yes, yes.
• 16:25
  Uh- Um, one of the things we thought about doing is actually a three-day event next year, because we'll see how the crit goes this year on Friday night, and turn it into a crit on Friday, Saturday doing the, the, the r- the, the, you know, the race, and then Sunday actually having a, a single track time trial up at Double O.
• 16:42
  Um, and so obviously- Time trial... separate races, but kind of a omnium, if you will, as well for those that, that did it, which would be kind of cool I think, uh. Tony, the future of fat bike racing is four cross on,
• 16:57
  um- Rollers... no. [laughs] No, four cross on a, on a, uh, on a ski hill with, uh, with jumps and banked turns. Just like they do on the ice skates in the, in the trough and on the- Yeah, it's-...
• 17:11
  snowmobiles go up the hill... just got that X Games written all over it. It's got X Games written all... Just like, uh, competitive pocket pool I think. Yeah, trash days.
• 17:20
  [laughs] All right, Ben, uh, the- No, it should be good. Yeah. Thanks for the report. I know the, the party is Saturday night at the sawmill, right? I think we didn't cover where it was. Yep, The Sawmill Saloon.
• 17:31
  Right on. Be there or be square. You got it. Well, thank you, guys. Looking forward to seeing you, uh, boy, in just over, uh, a week and a half. Just over a week I guess.
• 17:39
  Yeah, I'm, I'm bagging it out of Milwaukee about 5:00 in the morning, so that should put me up there early, early afternoon, just after lunch probably. Yeah, early afternoon. We'll see you up there in downtown Cable.
• 17:49
  Right on. Thanks again. Awesome. Well, thank you, guys. Thanks for being on the show. Goodbye. Bye. Yep. Hey, Ben Popp from the Fatbike Birkie, that's going off next week, and up there in Cable, Wisconsin.
• 18:03
  There's all kind of people gonna be in it, but you can't get in anymore this year.
• 18:06
  So if this sounds like it's a really good idea, make sure you pre-plan and get your registration in early next year, 'cause this thing filled up pretty quick
• 18:14
  Dang tootin' We do have, we, uh, we gave- You know- We gave at least one person a pass in there, didn't we, to get into the race? Well, yeah. Our, like, apparel editor or something.
• 18:24
  Our apparel editor is gonna race it, yep. Yep, so, uh- Natalia Mendez- She's a- On her little 24-inch Cake... I gotta make s- that should be pretty easy- Big smile...
• 18:35
  to spot her because I wanna make sure we get a shot of her out there [laughs] racing. That'd be great. I know.
• 18:39
  That means I'm gonna have to stake my claim on a spot somewhere on the trail and just wait for her to come by. Dude. The game within the game. Right? [laughs] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Ah. All right.
• 18:53
  So, you know- Hey, you know what we ought to do? You know what you missed? [bell ringing] Oh, hey, let's do that first and then- Top of the hill...
• 19:04
  right, um, we're drinking, uh, Coors Banquet here, except for Gomez has some kinda, kinda mango stuff. Nectar. Oh, mango nectar. That's right. Are you... Uh, do you have a beer in the garage there, uh, Travis? I do.
• 19:18
  In fact, it's a, uh, fine... One of the pilot series for Alaska Brewery. Brewed with har- it's a brown ale brewed with coffee from Heritage Coffee Roasting Company in Juneau. Right on. Man, is it tasty.
• 19:33
  And all- Yeah, it's good... do they get the hops from up there north of Barrow? Because [laughs] do they grow those out in the north season? [laughs] Yeah. Yeah. They steal them from the polar bears. Right.
• 19:43
  [laughs] Yeah, we get a Alaska brewing company down here- Yeah... on, on a lot of occasion. Sure. Yeah, I've seen some of them. I, I run across it a lot, and I always think of it as, like, "Are you really, um, Alaska?"
• 19:55
  [laughs] 'Cause, you know, people lie. But no, no. [laughs] But, but, but not these, not these particular people. No, no, I looked, and it's like, "Holy shit, is that actually from Alaska?" See? Let's take a quick break.
• 20:08
  Yeah, we should [laughs] probably do that. We'll be back right after this.
• 20:15
  [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.
• 20:29
  Learn more about Chumba's American-made Ursa Major at chumbausa.com. [upbeat music] You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio.
• 20:45
  Hey, we're back, everybody, and, uh, w- we've got Travis from up there in Anchorage on the line. We kinda covered Friday, the big event up there, the Friday thing, a little earlier in the show.
• 20:57
  Travis, uh, let's pick her up where we left off and see what's happening at the, uh, the ITI race and/or pre-party and/or- This would be the-... Led Zeppelin-... Big Fat Ride... in Alaska show. Oh, they're not going.
• 21:09
  And, and Travis, try and make it sound like it's gonna be fun. [laughs] You kidding me, man? We're gonna have more fun than anybody in the entire country this weekend. 1,000 fat bikers can't be wrong.
• 21:22
  I mean, it's going down. It's th- th- try this one out. We're gonna make fat biking great again.
• 21:28
  [laughs] Not only that, they're gonna make fat bike history for, like, uh, they'll have the record for, like, a week of the most fat bikers. Uh, you, I s- they'll have... What do you think, Travis?
• 21:41
  Do you think you can get 1,300 people? 'Cause I don't think Wisconsin can beat 1,300, even if you count- Uh-... on your fingers and your toes. 1,100- It might-... is gonna be Wisconsin on the trail. Yeah. So. Yeah.
• 21:52
  And ancillary fat bikers. All right. Yeah, here's my prediction. My prediction is, uh- Let's see...
• 21:58
  the Big Fat Ride in Anchorage isn't probably gonna meet what is the National Championship, the real National Championship in, at the Birkie.
• 22:08
  Um, you know, one's a fun ride and one's a really serious, majorly important race and also, you know, a huge fun event, so. A majorly important- Right now, we're, we're-... race for 10 people.
• 22:19
  [laughs] The rest of them, you know- Well, right, right, right... there's, there's gotta be 600 scrubs in that race, too. [laughs] Yeah. There's no- Right. But there's, uh, yeah...
• 22:29
  there's no scrubs in a race like the ITI. [coughs] That's, that's dedication and training- Yeah... and a lot of stuff, so. Yeah, the ITI is the, the Super Bowl of rock, man. I think I heard that- Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah...
• 22:39
  I think I heard that written in somewhere. Do you? I wrote that n- not in the script, but it's in a post coming up here. A post-it note in your mind. So am I. [laughs] The Super Bowl of what?
• 22:49
  The Super Bowl of fat biking. Yeah, it's the difference between having a race with 1,000 people and a race that goes 1,000 miles, right? The Bajam, yeah. Yeah. More miles than people. Bajam. Mm-hmm. Absolutely.
• 23:00
  So we got going Saturday, uh, expo opening at 9:00, uh, till 8:00 PM, and, uh, they're doing, uh, additional registrations from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
• 23:11
  Uh, I talked to Katie Merchant today, and we were approaching 250 riders at this time. Nice. So she said she c- could... We've really started to see an uptick in people entering, which is cool. And then, uh,
• 23:26
  uh, the ride course has, has, uh, changed, uh, again here at the last kinda minute, and this is gonna be so cool, man. So originally, the ride was gonna be
• 23:39
  basically a five-mile group ride, understanding a lot of folks might wanna ride further, from the railroad station approximately down in Anchorage to Westchester Lagoon and back, and then if people wanna continue the ride, they can head on out the coastal trail to Kincaid and make it a 25-mile ride as an out and back.
• 23:56
  Mm-hmm. But the, uh...
• 23:57
  So we've got, we've got the Fur Rondy, uh, blue festival going on in Anchorage that's kicking off on Friday, and it's a big winter carnival up here in, in Anchorage, and, uh, you know, includes the, the closes with the ceremonial start of the Iditarod for the mushers.
• 24:13
  Gotcha. So they've moved- Katie managed to get in the, connected with the Ferrandi people, uh, pretty much making the Big Fat Ride next to a Ferrandi event.
• 24:23
  And so we've changed the route course so that on, uh, Saturday, 2:00, we actually get a start on 4th Avenue after the sprint mushers are gone. Oh, cool.
• 24:34
  Where the whole road's gonna be closed down, everything closed off, so what you see on TV is the classic Iditarod start down 4th Avenue in Anchorage. Mm-hmm. That's where the Big Fat Ride is starting. Oh, cool.
• 24:45
  Pretty awesome. Now that sounds exciting. See? Yeah. Right on. Yeah. Are you gonna GoPro the hell out of this? Yeah, yeah. So- Get your, get your- I-... get your drone up there in the air and follow you around with it?
• 24:55
  [laughs] That would be cool, 'cause, uh, in downtown it's- I, I've got a call in to my... I'm, I got a call in to my buddy, Al, who's a super cameraman. I'm hoping he's gonna make it to the ride.
• 25:06
  So the, the ride that got scheduled from, from 2:00 to 4:00, basically now it's a five-mile loop, and it ends up back at the Egan Center. And Katie managed to work it out with the Ferrandi folks.
• 25:15
  They're gonna put a big bike corral
• 25:18
  right next to the convention center, uh, with security, so people who wanna ride through the ride can just drop their bikes in a bike corral, not have to worry about them getting jacked, and go inside and have pizza and beer.
• 25:31
  So- That's very cool. Is, is bikejacking actually a problem up there? More or less? Oh, yes. Really? It's horrible this year. Really? Oh. Bad, that bad. Huh.
• 25:38
  Yeah, in fact, the theory, there's even a theory I heard thrown out there, it's, it's, uh, there's the crew doing it and shipping them out of state for resale. Hmm.
• 25:47
  'Cause you ain't gonna steal somebody's bike up here and not have eventually somebody find you on it. Right on.
• 25:52
  So, uh- Hey, keep that in mind when you're on Craigslist out there, that that, uh, that bike might be somebody [laughs] who's missing it. Yeah, and if you see 907s- Right...
• 26:00
  or, or fat bikes, 'cause I'm telling you, that's, that's the bikes you see up there. Ain't that true? Yeah, yeah, and they're... It's, it's pretty sad, man.
• 26:09
  I mean, the, you go to any of the bike shops right now and see all the, all the l- you know, pla...
• 26:13
  I mean, we, we just had a newspaper put an article out on it about a month or two ago regarding all the fat bike thefts that have been going on this winter. It's, it's just been ridiculous. Yeah. Bike thieves suck.
• 26:24
  So that was, that was a big concern for everybody going in, and that was cool Katie managed to get a, you know, actual secure corral,
• 26:30
  and people will be able to check their bikes in and have a good time without worrying about their bike disappearing. Hey, one less worry. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. Are there- And- Are there going to be, uh,
• 26:43
  like balloon animals and a clown or anything interesting at the expo? Like, what's the highlight of, of what's going on there? Or maybe stupid human tricks. What's going on with the expo? Oh, you didn't hear? No.
• 26:58
  You didn't, you didn't hear? Oh, I captured a polar bear, dude. He's in my backyard. [laughs] I got a gold chain slung around his neck. [laughs] And I got a, I got a custom pair made of Oakley sunglasses on that bad boy.
• 27:09
  [laughs] And, uh, I'm walking him in, man. I'm walking him in. [laughs] All right. That's, that's way b- And as soon as I'm done with him, I'm boxing him up and I'm sending him to you, good man.
• 27:19
  [laughs] That's way better than balloon animals or a clown. Yeah. Bozo the Clown. Just be prepared. Your, y- your food bill's gonna quadruple, man. He eats a lot. Well, I...
• 27:32
  It'd be worth it, though, to have a polar bear. You don't have dogs living in the house anymore.
• 27:36
  Exactly, and there's little, there's a Belgian Malinois down the, down the block that needs to be taken down a couple of notches when I'm strolling down, down the street.
• 27:46
  [laughs] A polar, a polar bear'll do that for you. Nar. [laughs] Pfft. Oh, you don't stroll him, man. You ride him down the street. [laughs] Wow. All right, Travis, so we got through...
• 27:57
  Did we get through just Saturday, because, uh, you, you know. Uh, almost wrapped up, man. The, um, so the ride, they got scheduled 2:00 to 4:00. It's 35 bucks.
• 28:06
  That includes, uh, a T-shirt, two free, and two beers, and then there's post-ride beer and food from 3:00 to 8:00, uh, at the Egan Center for every... By the way, the expo is at the Egan Center.
• 28:17
  I'm not sure [laughs] if I caught the location there. And then 4:00 to 5:00, Jay and Tracy, uh, man, how do I say the last... Is it Petervary? Petervary. Petervary. Mm-hmm. Petervary.
• 28:28
  Jay and Tracy are, uh, giving a presentation from 4:00 to 5:00, and then Jeff Oatley is presenting from 5:00 to 5:30. Cool. And then there's a raffle from 5:30 to 6:00. Get this, guys.
• 28:39
  The raffle is they're giving away two complete bikes in addition to various other prizes. Ooh. Uh, a fat bike carbon Corvus. Ooh. And 907's also building a bike.
• 28:52
  Whoever wins those raffles, um, you're not just getting the bike they're giving away. They're gonna fit that prize to the rider. Oh, man. Oh, that's nice. The winner. That's cool. They're doing it all pro, pro quality.
• 29:04
  [laughs] Yeah, so, you know, whether you're 6... Yeah, whether you're 6'5" or 5'1", uh, if you win that raffle, you're gonna come away with a really sweet bike. Tickets are 20 bucks apiece on that.
• 29:15
  Is there any way that, uh- And, uh-... the readers and listeners, our, our two listeners, might be able to enter online or anything? Or do you have to be present to win?
• 29:24
  Yeah, there, there was a way, and there was an issue. Apparently the state of Alaska has, like, some raffle laws. Oh, yeah. What kind of crap is that, right? Oh. Right.
• 29:33
  So I, I- They don't have, they don't have any other laws. [laughs] It's like the Wild West up there. Biggest gun wins. Right, right. Right. Right. Um- What the- So at-... hell's porch...
• 29:44
  my understanding is at this point you have to be, you can only buy your, your raffle tickets from, uh, Bike Anchorage, uh, at the Egan Center at their booth. Oh, right on.
• 29:54
  So, so everybody just send your money to Travis and he'll buy your ticket for you, and he'll be honest if you win. [laughs] What's your bookie, what's your bookie name, Travis? Right.
• 30:01
  [laughs] Is that where T-Bone comes in? Send T-Bone. He's got, uh- What's that? He's got odds 3 to 1 Jimmy Fallon rides a fat bike. Hey, did you know that Jimmy Fallon rides the same brand fat bike you do?
• 30:15
  That's how cool you are, dude. That's special ed Yeah. Oh, dude, I'm selling that tonight. You're kidding me. Jimmy Fallon is the, is the Johnny Carson of, uh, today's generation. Yeah, yeah. That's sweet.
• 30:28
  Yeah, Jimmy's awesome. Here, hey. [laughs] Do you seriously ride a fat boy? [laughs] Yeah, yeah, with, with head wheels. With head wheels, indeed. We've, uh, we've wan- Do you have, do you have head wheels on yours?
• 30:40
  [laughs] We've wandered and scampered. We've, we've pole vaulted into the Fat Bike Lynx version ed- edition. That's, well, we got, uh- We might be jumping around a bit. Yeah.
• 30:49
  We're gonna, we're gonna, we're gonna m- put Travis in the, uh, I, I talked about my event for, you know, a while. Been there and, uh, we've got, uh, Shawn Spencer on the phone here from, uh, North Cackalacky down there.
• 31:02
  Oh, hoy. Ladies and gentlemen. What's happening, guys? How are y'all? We're, we're just badgering Travis through this whole show [laughs] about the, uh, the pre-fat bike, um- That's our best guest here-...
• 31:11
  expo stuff- From, uh- From Anchorage... from Anchorage I wanna go to his event. [laughs] His, uh, his prizes sound pretty cool. Yeah, it's a, it's a big- Come out, man... it's a big deal up there.
• 31:22
  Do you guys use packrafts in the winter in Alaska to slide down the hills? No, I usually use a snowboard or a pair of skis, but, uh, you know, I'm up to trying it. It's not a bad idea. All right. You know?
• 31:36
  Those things are only good for a couple of months unless you use them in the snow. That's like, that's like my polar bear just met, I don't know, what, what's from North Cackalacky. A wombat? What?
• 31:47
  Yeah, what, what's your, what's your animal of choice, Kyle? A pterodactyl. [laughs] 'Cause- We, we got big bears, black bears... oh, there you go. Like... black bear and polar bear. Like...
• 31:55
  are walking through the woods. Black bear meets polar bear, walk into a bar. All right. Bart- bartender says, "Welcome to the show" [laughs] Hey, Shawn.
• 32:04
  "Shawn Spencer from the US Fat Bike Beast Championships, ladies and gentlemen." Yeah, so I mean- [laughs] You called later in the show, Shawn.
• 32:16
  But, uh, yeah, so the US Fat Bike Beach Championships down there in, uh, r- at Wrightsville Beach, coming up here, uh, pretty soon. Can you give us the lowdown on it? That's a couple of weeks out.
• 32:27
  Um, it's all on the beach set up. We try to set it up kinda like a cyclocross course. It's a, a one-mile lap, and, uh, we have 8, 16, 24 mile races, and they all go on simultaneously.
• 32:42
  So it's both kids and family and whoever can come out and cheer and yell at them and ring cowbells and all the fun stuff, and we're working on the, the beer handups. We're not sure if the
• 32:54
  local PD is gonna allow it, but- I'd just give them- You can, you can- Give them money and they'll do it... you can always, you can always- Or just, just do beer handups... substitute Snapple or, or mango nectar.
• 33:04
  Or apologize later. I mean, what sounds better: a mango nectar handup or a beer handup? Uh, beer. [laughs] Try now, apologize later. I'll go with that. All right. All right, so- See you again...
• 33:19
  so again, we derailed Shawn. [laughs] So there's, there's a lot of math involved. There was, like, an 8 to 16 and a 24 all running simultaneously. Do you have, do you have- Yep...
• 33:29
  chip timing, or do you have, do you have an abacus and trained squirrels- We, yeah... or how does that all work? Last, last year there was, like, five of us with, you know, doing hash marks on paper.
• 33:40
  It got out of control, so we, so we hired a timing company this year, and they're promising me they'll have it all worked out. Damn.
• 33:48
  And as the event grows, yeah, we'll probably end up needing more than one timing company. What are you, what are you wearing- But... what are you wearing to the social on Friday? Is it, is it- Social on Friday...
• 33:59
  is it, like, a, like, a white, white kinda jacket? What, what are you thinking? Green. Wear what's, wear what's wrong. Yeah, all right.
• 34:07
  We're gonna do a, a, like, a, a lowdown on a little bit of bike expedition stuff that we've been doing here on the coast and camping out and sleeping in the sand dunes and using our packrafts to get across the inlets and- Hey...
• 34:18
  kinda going, going the sport in that direction. Yeah, it's prime- Um, 'cause racing's fun-... down there for that, dude... and race- All those- Yeah, it's, uh, racing's... Go ahead. All those, uh, border, uh- Area...
• 34:33
  sandy, sandy shoals, the, uh, Core Banks, man. I wanna go there and do that. You know- Well, who was, one of you guys did it. Yeah, I've, I've been there, but I only spent a couple of days- Yeah...
• 34:46
  in Core Banks, and I spent a lot of time on the Outer Banks, which was really nice. [laughs] I think I got, uh, really, I drank a lot of beer and ate a lot of shrimp and rode my bike quite a bit. Yep.
• 35:00
  And, but the Core Banks was, like, so pristine and beautiful, and you could go across these really not that far across, so the packraft would be a way that you could extend these trips all along the way. Yeah.
• 35:17
  We're, uh, we're doing it, and so we'll, we'll fill you in on some of the adventures as we get there. Right on. But that's what Friday night's, uh,
• 35:25
  pre, pre-race party's about, and then, uh, Red Bull's jumping in big with us this year again and bringing wings girls to hand out, you know, free Red Bull to everybody. Nice.
• 35:38
  And they have a, they have, like, a- Yeah, it's pretty cool... they have a big sound system. They were just at the race I was at up in Marquette, so. Nice. So it's pretty neat they have them- So you need them.
• 35:48
  They won't, they won't, they won't sponsor it, but they'll support it, which is just as good. [laughs] Just, uh, getting to be just as good. A couple years from now, they'll be sponsoring it.
• 35:57
  You know, when we, uh, when we, we emailed earlier this week, we kinda talked a little bit about, um, you know, how this thing is growing. This is the second year.
• 36:05
  We talked a little bit about some idea of doing feeder races to kind of, you know, get people's interest in other areas of the country on beaches with a similar format, sort of the short course beach racing thing, and, uh, how, how do you see that kinda working into the, uh, the Fat Bike Beach Championships?
• 36:23
  Well, that's, it, that was a thought we had originally, and that was kind of why we named it Championships, is that if we could... 'Cause you guys have so many cool races and things to do in the winter.
• 36:33
  I mean, we're just, it's the same here year round. So if we can get people on the beaches in the winter, you know, in other parts of the country as well.
• 36:43
  I'm working with South Padre Island, Texas, for instance, and, uh, their convention and visitors bureau contacted me and wants to put on an event down there, which I've never been down there.
• 36:53
  I have no clue- I was gonna say, have them fly you there and check it out and tell them what's up. [laughs] That's exactly the plan. [laughs] You know, I- That should be- What do you think of, uh, like, Cape Cod?
• 37:05
  I think maybe somebody could fly me to Orleans, and I could, uh- [laughs]... I could work something out there in, on Cape Cod. See, now I was just- Well, it-...
• 37:12
  thinking about driving up to Manitowoc and- Yeah, getting George to do it right here on the shores of Lake Michigan... and just, yeah.
• 37:18
  So there's- Yes, that would be cool, and if we had, like, around the country, just, you know, on the, the edges, on beaches, it's just something different.
• 37:26
  I think the short course thing, you know, fat cross, is, is effectively the thought. I think it would be, I think it'd be fun.
• 37:33
  I think you were a prognosticator there earlier in the show, Gomez, 'cause he said, "Far Cross." Not fat cross. Or- Not cyclo cross, no. [laughs] It was just the, my signals, my signals were crossed. It's cross.
• 37:46
  It's this cross thing. Is this this cross thing that I can DFL in again? And I, and I said, and I just- I know I can DFL in another one. [laughs] I know I can, too. [laughs] I've got a good track record.
• 37:57
  So this thing's coming up on, uh, March 11th to 13th in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
• 38:02
  One of the things, I mean, we, we talked about this last year on the show, so I got to know the area a little bit by Google mapping it. There's, like, a hotel right in the middle of this, this little island, right?
• 38:13
  Yeah, it's a eight-mile island, and the, the hotel is, they're a big part of the event in that we can use their restrooms, and they've got the facilities to... They've got a pool and hot tub and all the good stuff.
• 38:26
  Um, having those guys partner for the event really makes it big. Um, got a really cool place to stay. Now w- when you're in the hotel- It's nice... can you see both sides of the course?
• 38:39
  Like, when they're going north, they're on the outer bank, and then when they're, they're coming in, they're on the channel side or something like that?
• 38:46
  N- no, um, we put on, actually, we put on a bunch of standup paddleboard races that have that scenario, but for the fat bike race, we're right on the beach- Oh, very cool... ocean side the whole time.
• 38:55
  So yeah, it's just all right there. You can stand in the middle of the race course and see mom or dad or whoever the whole time. Right on. Killer, man.
• 39:05
  See, I, I figured he could make it sound good to somebody from Alaska by saying it's the same all year round down here. [laughs] Like- It is 74 right now. You know, I think I could take a week and go to 74.
• 39:19
  It's not that bad here at all, really. [laughs] This has been a mild winter, and one of the things it's done to our races around here is, like, no snow, but, uh, you know, 74 sounds pretty good.
• 39:30
  Uh, it's fine that I'm fairly comfortable in Earth's atmosphere.
• 39:33
  It's like, it's almost as though I've been evolved to live on Earth, and, and, uh, I'm like the billionth generation of monkey that has lived in this skin, and- So why does the hair keep falling off?
• 39:46
  Oh, 'cause it's getting warmer. [laughs] That's why. Global warming. Is my hair falling off? [laughs] Well, compared to the monkey you were a billion generations ago, yeah. Oh, all right. Fair enough.
• 39:58
  And this is science at the Fat Bike Radio here. [laughs] It's all good, man. All, all right, Sean. Although I don't, I don't know about 35 below, though. No. I, I just, yeah, I w- I don't, I don't know... 35 below.
• 40:10
  That's what I was listening, the, uh, the guy that won the 135. Mm-hmm. What was that race? Yeah, 135. Jay Petervary. Jay Petervary. That's, that's sick. That's, I mean, that's cold.
• 40:23
  Yeah, this year it wasn't as horrible as it has been in the past, but- You ever had 135? It, it can be almost anything. But El Nino is really giving that zonal flow. Don't let me start talking about the weather.
• 40:35
  [laughs] Zonal flow. 'Cause I will talk- Don't talk... all week. [laughs] Ay caramba. All right, Sean, anything- So, yeah, Sean-... anything else you want to add about this thing? Sean, Sean, come on. Send us down there.
• 40:49
  Um, you can- Come on, send a limo. [laughs] I know, that's the deal. I can get, I can get you free rooms, and, and I was super close this year to getting my $10,000 sponsor so that I could do cool stuff like that.
• 41:01
  So hopefully- I'm telling you, I got a polar bear on a gold chain coming in next week after the ITI. [laughs] Get the guy- Fly us down there...
• 41:12
  you're, you're gonna need a full walk-in cooler for him to sleep in, um- So maybe instead of the limo, we're gonna need a limo for me and maybe a reefer truck for the, for the bear.
• 41:22
  [laughs] Hey, speaking of reefer, we're gonna have, uh- Oh... we're gonna have Colin Ford call in a little bit later with the, uh, the Denver Dope Report. The Denver Dope Report? Yeah, it's a new segment- D, D, D-...
• 41:30
  on the show. [laughs] Or the- All right, I'll keep listening. [laughs] All right. All right. Wow. All right. No, so thank you, guys, and, uh, we'll keep growing, and stay in touch. Right on, man. Later, dude.
• 41:44
  Thanks for being on the show. We'll talk to you again. Bye. All have a great night. Now, what do you think, Travis? [laughs] Don't you want to go to North Carolina now? 'Cause that's gonna be fun down there.
• 41:57
  I, I wanna go, dude. Hell yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's what I really- He's got a place for us to stay. All we have to do is, like, pedal our bikes down there or take a skateboard or maybe, I don't know, drive or- Amtrak...
• 42:08
  it's, it's really not that far. Hitch with a, all, with a- Yeah, I've got that, and my mom's in Little Beach... cross-country trucker. I think I can make it to that area in, like, 14 hours. Hmm.
• 42:19
  In the vehicle with bikes, it'd be like this. Yeah, we'd have to average 137 miles an hour, but we could make it there. [laughs] No, I'd love to. Road trip. All right, I'm, I'm thinking about it. That's a...
• 42:36
  What else are we really supposed to be doing that weekend? [laughs] Seemed like there was another event on the 11th/whateverth. It's spring forward. You know, it's when the time changes. Oh, hell, then it'd be easy.
• 42:47
  You get an extra hour. You get an extra hour. Or- There you go. Time stretcher. Plus, it's leap year, so we got it all- I just-... flowing towards- Got all kinds of time... Dallas. You know what it's all flowing towards?
• 43:00
  No, it's, she's flowing towards a break. The Facebook and Fatty Farm Facebook field report. Do we wanna take a break before that shit or just jump into that shit right now? You know what?
• 43:09
  Let's come back- Fatty Farm Facebook-... from a break and go into the Face- 'Cause how do you ignore that? Hell, yeah... Facebook and Fatty Friday ranting. Hang on, Travis, we're gonna take a break. All right.
• 43:17
  I'm going to nectar number three. Uh-oh. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. [upbeat music] So I heard you need a fat bike. Come to Zion Cyclery in Zion, Illinois.
• 43:32
  We have all brands, Trek, Borealis, Salsa, Felt, Surly, and more. Yo, we have all the cold weather gears by 45 NRTH and Bundschuhe. Keep those fingers and toes nice and toasty.
• 43:47
  We fix bikes also, so you have any problem, brakes, gears, suspension, we have the best mechanics in town. So yeah, visit us at zioncyclery.com. Hi, I'm Coast Kid.
• 44:05
  I'm on the Scottish east coast riding fat, the spiritual home of the UK fat bike riding scene. I'm just home. I'm drinking a cider, and I'm listening to Gomez and Swen on Fat Bike Radio.
• 44:17
  We see yous all on the coast here sometime. Hey, welcome back to Fat Bike Radio. We've been, uh, keeping Travis on the line talking about some fun stuff up there Alaska way. Uh, I think we're into Sunday now,
• 44:32
  probably for the- Yeah... the full ITI pre-race weekend report. This is the most special report we've ever had. Well- It's got, like, five chapters...
• 44:42
  yeah, that's because he will stay on the line and just suffer, suffer through the whole show. [laughs] Where's that phone number? I feel like I need to send you guys a check or something, man.
• 44:54
  [laughs] [laughs] All, all right, I see a new business model. [laughs] Oh, dearie me. So anyways, I think we covered Friday, Saturday, and then Sunday is the Super Bowl, man.
• 45:08
  ITI kickoff at, uh, Knik Lake, and they're doing some, uh, tours. Uh, Mr. Breitenbach is taking, uh, some super fit people on a 60-mile loop out to Flat Horn Lake.
• 45:22
  Well- And then they have other tours- That would, that would preclude me-... like a-... from riding in that event. [laughs] Right. Right. Yeah. Mr.- [laughs] Mr.
• 45:30
  Breitenbach is going to put the hammer down for you silly people that want to ride the 60 miles. So this show plays on Friday, the day before this show plays- There... which is tomorrow, Thursday.
• 45:43
  [laughs] You're doing the- It's the whole jumble-... crazy time shift stuff again... jumble time shifting stuff, but, uh, we're gonna have a really- > [laughs] Da-na-na-na-na-na-na.
• 45:55
  Uh, we have a, uh, ITI trail report written by Kevin, and it's very nice. It has great pictures along the way. So while you, uh, while you, uh- It's empty bro...
• 46:07
  watch the little blue dots move, then, uh, you can actually look at pictures of where they're at and stuff. Are you like you're in a box? Square box. Circles and circles and dots and dots. [laughs] Ay caramba.
• 46:22
  Ah, so Sunday the ITI kicks off, and then, um, w- how are the course conditions? Does anybody been out there reconning it?
• 46:29
  And, uh, what, what's expected for, you know, what the riders are gonna face when they're actually out on the trail? Well,
• 46:38
  the Anchorage Bowl has just been the lamest winter for the third year in a row ever, but this year actually there's snow everywhere around us.
• 46:48
  So I was just up in Willow for work on, couple days ago, and, uh, yeah, as soon as you get a little north of Wasilla, they actually got some good snow on the ground.
• 46:57
  But, uh, for the start, I think they're gonna be facing some soft and slushy conditions and probably really dropping that tire pressure down.
• 47:06
  Uh, through the weekend we're forecast a snow-rain mix and temps in the mid-40s. I just rode today in 45 degrees in February in Anchorage. Wow. So when they- I just- When they head north from there- Yeah...
• 47:20
  is it, are they, they gonna have those warm temperatures all the way or is it just gonna be like, is there a- Uh-... cutoff zone? Kinda like here- Yeah...
• 47:27
  we're in really warm temperatures here, but the Birkie is only, well, seven, six hours from here north, and they're gonna be fine, I think, judging by the weather report, so.
• 47:39
  I think temperatures will kinda drop as they're heading north, but even in the interior and, I mean, we're well above average on temps, but, uh, I think as they,
• 47:49
  as the, as the riders progress north, you know, they're g- they should, you know, the, there should be some cooler temps, um, and some better snowpack.
• 47:58
  Uh, the C100 that just went on in, uh, you know, last weekend, weekend before- Mm-hmm... you know, they had pretty good conditions. Um, there's, there's a decent base out there, where in Anchorage right now,
• 48:12
  the general Anchorage area and around us, you know, we've got a dusting of snow on top of a layer of ice, so- Wow... we just really have to have our bear gear, so.
• 48:20
  Hey, sounds like, it sounds just like West OSHA where I live. [laughs] A little dusting of snow over plate ice. Hey, you know, I- Frosty... so we got the- Yeah... kind of the whole general idea of the weekend up there.
• 48:33
  We stumbled across the line of the Fatty Farm Field Report before, didn't we?
• 48:39
  We, I swore we were in the Fatty Farm Field Report and- Do you know that this week's Fatty Farm Field Report is presented by the Winter Rush Fat Bike Series?
• 48:48
  Winter Rush is the home of the Michigan State Fat Bike Championships, and they'll be the host of the 2017 USA Cycling Fat Bike National Championships.
• 48:58
  For more information, click the Winter Rush banner or visit winterrush.com. You know, we totally did that live too. That wasn't, like, pre-planned. Yeah. That was a, that was a segment we just did on the fly.
• 49:11
  [laughs] Right here on- Right... Fat Bike Radio. [laughs] Fat Bike Radio, radio, radio, radio, radio. Hey, hey, okay. Yeah, shit ass goddamn radio. So how many...
• 49:19
  We've already, we've already talked about at least three races. We didn't talk about the, uh, Polar Roll, 906 Polar Roll up there in, uh, Marquette, Michigan, that you went to- Yeah... there, there Sir Gomez.
• 49:31
  Yeah, it was, it's, it was kind of a big deal. There were a lot of industry people there and- Including Gomez of fatbike.com. Yes. By the way, for the, for the guy that keeps- I was sixth in race...
• 49:40
  okay, there's a guy that keeps emailing us going, "What's Sven and Gomez's background?" And I'm like, "That's the only thing it says.
• 49:48
  It doesn't say, 'I'm such and such from, you know, Swimsuit Magazine and I would like to know their backgrounds,' blah, blah, blah." At which point I could make something up for that.
• 49:58
  But just a, an odd question, "What are Sven and Gomez's backgrounds?" So here, Gomez is going to cycling events. Yeah, I, I- So you're in the cycling industry then? I'm a bike racer.
• 50:09
  [laughs] Now you were just saying how they hosted all these fancy cycling industry people, and you're one of them is my point. Uh.
• 50:16
  So see, his question was are we in the cycling industry, and I'm like, "Well, I don't work for Specialized- Well, we're cycling-...
• 50:21
  but we're obviously in- We're part of the cycling journalists and cycling bloggers here... yeah, and cycling enthusiasts. That's where it came from. Obviously this started from being enthusiastic about it.
• 50:31
  But I worked in a bike shop. You worked as, as, in a bike shop and as- Yeah... a rep for a parts, parts distributor and- Many, many years ago... right, right. Back, back when I was handsome. I don't know.
• 50:44
  [laughs] Anyway. So that's it. Yeah. Yeah. So there you go. And we've been doing this for five years.
• 50:50
  Yeah, so I, you know, we're in the cycling industry in that we are privy to some things, but n- I would not say we're... Are, are we shills? That would be a better question. No. No. N- not shills. Absolutely not.
• 51:02
  Shill the hell out of here. [laughs] You guys are powerhouse insiders, man. [laughs] Well, people like Gomez. That's the whole point of this exercise. [laughs] Is that what it is? Sure.
• 51:15
  Well, I was just a bike racing dude up there- Let the great experiment begin. [laughs] Oh. Anyhow.
• 51:32
  So yeah, I, I went up there and raced. The, the conditions were just completely whack. Uh, it was, uh, it, you know, it rained on top of really deep groomed snow. Oh, yeah, they had like some- It was-...
• 51:44
  30 plus inch base, right?... all, all rotted up. It was tough, man. I crashed on the ice. I crashed in the snow. I cra- I bet you I crashed a dozen times.
• 51:55
  Cracked my knee really good where I had to, like, ice it down and shit for the last few days. Wow. So, uh- [laughs] So I, I got my ass handed to me, basically. I- By, by the conditions- Yeah...
• 52:09
  not by any one particular individual. No, no, no. But I DNF'd. I, I opted to ride the road home. I got on my- Did you go by a bar? Uh- At least have a mango nectar...
• 52:21
  I stopped at the hugs and bacon station and was like, "Yeah, this road, I can get... Yep. Uh, okay. Yep, I'm here. All right. I'll see you later." After they, I went to the aid station.
• 52:34
  The first aid station, [laughs] they were out of everything, and all they had was beer anyway, but I had enough water. I was fine at that point. And, uh, uh, we, we just had... It was a lot of fun though, dude.
• 52:46
  I'm telling you, I never, I never lost hope. [laughs] I was- You know-... I was just like- [laughs] There was that time we were coming back on the railroad tracks after I'd almost lost hope down when- [laughs]...
• 52:56
  somebody made a, a river thing down in Illinois. [laughs] I can, I can see how you feel, "I'd almost lost hope." [laughs] Hey, you know what's going on? I never lost hope. You know what's going on on the sh- [laughs]
• 53:10
  Oh, my God. You know what's going on on the show this week? We have a new segment. It's called the Denver Dope Report. Dope Report, with correspondent Colin Ford.
• 53:22
  [imitates beeping] [coughs] [laughs] Uh, hello, fellas. Hey. Was that a real browner or are you just a good actor? Uh, you know, little of column A, little of column B.
• 53:38
  [laughs] So yeah, I don't know. We've just kind of been thinking about this for a while. For some reason we got, went through some ideas- Talk about dope?... for name. Well, just- [laughs]...
• 53:47
  that, yeah, pretty much because it occurred to me that it's actually legal out there in Colorado and, you know, we just kind of were curious about some strains and stuff and what people might want if they are asking for things by name, which in a place that does it like you guys do- Oh, yeah...
• 54:02
  you kind of have to... I mean, if something is called, you know, Red Senzi Boo Purple Bud, it better be that strain when you ask for it again, right? So some of- Right. Yeah, I mean-...
• 54:11
  these things have some pretty specific qualities now that I've actually had to partake of any. You know, when you walk into the place, you get a menu. Oh, yeah.
• 54:18
  Like, they give you a, like, you know, they, they, they tell you what they got. They, like, you know, open up the jars and let you smell them and stuff and look at them.
• 54:25
  And, you know, they got them all separated, indica, sativa, and, like, 50/50 hybrid. And, um, they got pre-rolled joints. They got fucking, which are, like, huge.
• 54:36
  They're like, I don't know- So it's like a blunt more than a joint... 10 inches long cone. Fucking cone. [laughs] Fucking cone.
• 54:41
  [laughs] A big- One of those things they get cotton candy on, and then they use that and they stuff it with dope and they make a joint out of it... not really. Yeah, pretty...
• 54:47
  [laughs] No, not that, not that big, but, you know- But I could see it being- It's a pretty hefty joint. It's like a two, it's like a two session joint, you know?
• 54:54
  But I could see it being like sensory overload, like going to like a, uh, like to a, like, "Hey, I'm going to a beer bar. Here's our big ass beer list. Mm, enjoy." Well- And trying to figure out what you want... yeah.
• 55:08
  Yeah. Yeah. And that's why- It's weed, man... and that's why weed- Well, yeah. I mean, yeah, I want beer, but I just- [laughs]...
• 55:14
  I don't wanna end up with, like, this, like, weird grapefruit taste and- So what are the hot strains right now at- [laughs]... at, at your wellness center?
• 55:23
  Um, uh, well, I can tell you that one hot strain is this one called Gorilla Glue. Gorilla Glue. It's, uh, sativa. Mm-hmm. Uh, there's several variations on it, but Gorilla Glue is, uh, doing really well right now.
• 55:38
  Uh, it's, it's pretty popular. So, so for those that aren't, uh, too super familiar- Yeah... a sat- a sativa'd be kind of your daytime weed, right? Yes. Sativa is daytime weed. Right.
• 55:47
  And, and- Indica is I wanna go to bed weed... yeah, you know, so y- there's, there's kind of those two broad categories, but obviously there's, uh, there's a lot of mixing- Yeah... and matching.
• 55:56
  And then, you know- Indica, indea couch [laughs] Right on. So Gorilla Glue- But yeah, uh-... ladies and gentlemen...
• 56:04
  that Gorilla Glue, um, I really like this one called Outer Space that's also a sativa that's pretty rad. I tried this one called Girl Scout Cookies a while ago. Oh, yeah. Hey, hey.
• 56:15
  Should we say that that- [laughs] Don't know where it ca- Girl Scout Cookies... oh, I know where it came from. Drop that over there. Oh, yeah.
• 56:20
  [laughs] No, no, no, I, you know, it's, it's no coincidence that, uh, Uncle Gomez happens to take, uh, I don't know, I've- A trip to-... definitely spent, uh, about 45 days [laughs] in Colorado this past year.
• 56:33
  So, you know, I've been to a few wellness centers there and it was, uh, it was wonderful. Bruce Banner was one- Bruce Banner... that, uh- Dr. Banner. Yeah, I've heard of that.
• 56:45
  Oh, my God- I tried it for, you know, for-... it, it, like, awoke memories from, from, like, 1970s. It was, it was crazy. Oh, my God. Yeah. That's sick. Oh, Gamma.
• 56:54
  [laughs] But I still don't listen to, like, uh- Lookin', lookin' real good in that, lookin' real good in that, uh, Grateful picture, Gomez [laughs] Yeah. That was considered super dorky in 1972, just to clarify that.
• 57:10
  Wow. Well, I mean, well- In case there was any question... you know, dork- being dorky is cool now, so. I know. All right. Uh- It all comes back around...
• 57:18
  the other, the only other thing I wanna say, what's big, dude, what's big money, edibles. Edibles are the big money. Same with the, the dabs and shit.
• 57:29
  That's what, like, when I went to the Cannabis Cup last year- Dab, dab, dab, dab... like, everyone had, like, fucking- [laughs]... dab, dab extractor machines. Dab, dab, dab. [laughs] Yeah.
• 57:39
  Um, but I don't, I don't fuck with any... I mean, edibles are fun for, like, "Oh, cool, I'm gonna go ride bikes.
• 57:45
  I'm gonna eat a little bit of edible and then ride my bike, and then eat some more and then ride my bike some more. And then, no, and then." Uh- [laughs] But- No, and then. No, and then. I get it.
• 58:01
  Yeah, you know, there's a variety of different products and, like, as they, they call it out here, flower, you know, it's only part of it, so. All right, man. Well, I think we should make this a regular segment.
• 58:12
  Uh, if you want to pick a strain and just, uh, keep your, keep little notes on it, we'd, we'd love to have some sort of, uh- Oh, yeah... kinda like we- A little, little test...
• 58:22
  uh, like we used to do with beer and beards. Now it's dope. There you go. I mean- The Den- the Denver Dope Report with Colin Ford, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks, Colin. Wow, wow, wow, wow. Wow, wow.
• 58:32
  All right, I'll talk to you guys later. Money, money, money, money, money. [laughs] All right, see you. See you later. See you, buddy. Ah, hell, Travis, we gotta get out of here too.
• 58:40
  Do you have anything you wanna add before we sign out of this bad Oscar? Sure, man. If I was gonna smoke a strain, the only s- thing I would smoke would be Uncle Gomez's Purple Polar Bear. [laughs] There's a new name.
• 58:54
  Oh. Thank you. Purple Polar Bear. Thank you for that. All right, Travis. Hey, man, you guys have a good one. I'll, uh, have a write-up for you on the expo, the ride.
• 59:02
  Got a race report coming in to you, so, uh, you guys have a kickass time at the Birkie if I don't catch you before then. 10-4. Sounds good, man. Thanks for everything you do. See you. You're welcome. Later. Ah.
• 59:15
  [laughs] Your show this evening has been brought to you by the bikes, parts, and chaos from Surly Bikes. Learn more at surlybikes.com. Hey, Collison, tell us where to go.
• 59:33
  You know, from Scotland to Kokomo. Do I have to s- That rhymes with toe. I think that's weird. Hey, call- That's where you wanna go...
• 59:42
  call 1-889-182-453 anytime day or night and serenade us with your rendition of Kokomo and/or your other favorite melody.
• 59:53
  Join us next week when we have absolutely no idea who our guest will be, but I'm gonna try and get the winner of the ITI on the phone. I don't know. Maybe- Sounds all right...
• 1:00:04
  maybe Debbie Reynolds will be, uh, on the show next week. Love Debbie Reynolds. Bye, Debbie Reynolds. See you next week. Till then- Adios, amigos. You've been listening to Fat Bike Radio's weekly dose of fat.
• 1:00:20
  Find us on the web at fat-bike.com/radio. We'll see you next time.
• 1:00:42
  [rock music]