Latest / Full Spectrum Cycling / Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #45 – Chewie Interview

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Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #45 – Chewie Interview · Full Spectrum Cycling

• 0:00
  It's never gonna change. [laughs] Weekly Dose of Phat, show number 45 for Friday, February 27th, 2015.
• 0:10
  [upbeat music] From the Phat Bike Radio Studios in the beer capital of America, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, please welcome your hosts of the Weekly Dose of Phat, Sven and Gomez.
• 0:38
  People on Earth, this is not a drill. This is Gomez from the planet Gnomeron. [laughs] This is Sven and we're being invaded. Ah! Hey, speaking of being invaded, we've got JK living in the studio.
• 0:57
  This show is sponsored by The Surly. Surly is fitting a fine fit on you with good fitting gear. Get some at surlybikes.com. Peace. Peace. Peace. Hey, JK, what do we have in store for the audience this week?
• 1:13
  On this week's show we've got beards and beer, beer and beards, beer and beards. Like that's unusual. Yep. [laughs] Wise man or wise guy? Chewy is the special guest this evening.
• 1:28
  We give away two entries to the Fat Bike Birkey. Gomez has a report from the race director of the ITI, Kathy Merchant, and we got links in our drinks, and the studio phone lines are open at 818-918-2453.
• 1:45
  Hey, speaking of that, we've got our first caller already. Let's go to the caller. We're gonna take the third person that can actually go and wants this registration for the Birkey.
• 1:56
  We're gonna take the third male caller, and we're gonna take the first female caller, and those are our rules. So the caller that's waiting on the line is either a winner or a loser. [laughs] Kinda depends.
• 2:09
  But, and, but he'd be our first caller, so please welcome to the show. Who's on the line? Hey, this is Nathan. Nathan, what's up, my man? Hey. You were Johnny on- Hey...
• 2:19
  you were Johnny on the spot with the, right at 8:00. That was sweet. [laughs] You know, I really wanted to win that entry. Well, all you have to do [laughs] is, like, call back a little later. You're two calls- Yep...
• 2:33
  too early. [laughs] Yeah, they're not, they're- Well, you were supposed to say it was the first caller, not the third caller. But it, that's, but it's the first caller if you're a female.
• 2:44
  You, you sound- Well, you- You, you sound kinda male-ish. So if you won, would you go to the Birkey? Actually, I was planning on going, and then when I went to sign up, it was already closed. Wow.
• 2:56
  So yeah, I- Stop sign might have something- I was planning on going. [laughs] Is this Nathan from- Actually-... Nathan from Eau Claire? No. No. I'm down near, uh, Beloit, Wisconsin. Ah, Beloit. But I actually, yeah. Yep.
• 3:09
  Cool. The great state of Wisconsin. Indeed. That's where we're at. True that. That's where we're broadcasting this all over, on pirate satellite. Out.
• 3:18
  The number that I called said it was California, so I thought, "Hey, wow." We have, we have gnomes in California that help us- [laughs]... with our extraterrestrial needs. Aren't we, aren't we all cousins?
• 3:29
  [laughs] On the farm. [laughs] Thank you. All right. So we've got beards and beer coming up here, Nathan. Uh, y- you know, hang out, listen to the segment. Hang, yeah. Call back, yeah, you know.
• 3:40
  Crack a beer and then, uh- Yeah, I'm gonna-... you know... have to... try and time your call back to be the next, not- Not next caller. Yeah. Chewy, Chewy doesn't count, either. Yeah, Chewy doesn't count.
• 3:48
  We got Chewy coming on. [laughs] All right, dude. All right, guys. Thanks for calling in. I'll call you back. All right, see ya. [laughs] Yeah, well, there's our first try.
• 3:57
  So, uh, before we get started here, now that we got the rules of the call-ins, I just wanna do a little shout-out for, you know, Colin. We brought him back.
• 4:06
  We, we used a recording of his, uh, introductions- Oh, right, right... for the show. Yep. And, uh, Colin moved out to Denver with no job. First of all, his metal band, Daggerath, their CD is coming out.
• 4:19
  I just saw the cover art for it. Congratulations, dude. And, uh, it was badass-looking.
• 4:23
  And on top of that, he got a J-O-B at, uh, Prost Brewing, which is a German, uh, brew house out there in Denver that's perfect for him. And, uh, Colin, if you're listening, send beer. Yes. Send us a growler of beer.
• 4:39
  And stuff. Yeah, indeed. [laughs] Hmm. So speaking of growlers of beer, we don't have growlers today, but we do have beer. What have we got? Beer. So, uh- Beer stop...
• 4:50
  while we were up at Frost Bike, we picked up a 12-pack of Session Lager by Full Sail Brewing, and we brought back the survivors. Nine of those beers survived. [laughs] I'll say, a tall order for a small 12-pack.
• 5:03
  [laughs] Indeed. So, uh, we don't get Session in Wisconsin, but they do in Minnesota.
• 5:09
  And I, I just love this beer because it reminds me of going to Fruita and visiting my friend, my friend Jerry Wolfe when he was the manager there, my buddy Tom, who lives in town. At, uh, Over the Edge? At Over the Edge.
• 5:22
  Right on. We would bring, we would bring a 12-pack of these over, maybe ride the cruiser bike over to the liquor store, and, uh, play rock, paper, scissors and just have a ball. It's just- So you guys just-...
• 5:34
  good times... you guys just popped your beer. What's under your, uh, your beer cap? Oh, yeah. Oh, Gomez hasn't popped his yet. I haven't popped mine yet. It's time for- [laughs]... rock, paper, scissors from Session.
• 5:44
  So I must confess my semi-ignorance in that I thought Session was the style of beer, not the beer brewer. Gotcha. Uh, but it is a g- I'm not saying that makes it a bad beer or a good beer, just I'm an idiot.
• 5:55
  [laughs] All right. I'm, uh, part of the Lake family crest is actually- Two, three Rock Paper Scissors Again. [laughs] Again. My paper covers his rock, his rock crushes his scissors, his scissors cut my paper.
• 6:13
  It's a never ending circle. It just keeps- No, your paper, your paper covered his rock- Yeah, I did that... and then my scissors cut your paper. Right, and then I covered his rock- So, what-...
• 6:20
  and he smashed you and- No... it's the big s- I, no This is what we call- No. [laughs] This is what we call nuclear- Come on, I'm an only child. I'll stand my feet until I [laughs] What do you- Oh, hey...
• 6:31
  what do you think of this beer? It's, uh, the Beer Advocate gave it an 83, uh, but the bros gave it a 90. That's either a good or an outstanding.
• 6:40
  It's a- Well, I've already had one before this, and I want the next one that we just opened, so that's a good thing. I think it's a tasty beer. Yes, even on the session, it's at the five, 5.1- Yes... ABV.
• 6:52
  That's still drinkable in long- Oh, yeah Long- That's a regular beer... sprints planned out Or long sprints [laughs] They're called marathon drinking sessions. All right.
• 7:01
  It isn't, it isn't that far from, say, uh, the beer that you, uh, you're probably gonna be like, but it isn't that far off from a Spotted Cow for me. Spotted Cow. Well, that's a good beer, too. Yeah.
• 7:13
  You just drink it too much A sweet lager. Hey, guess what? We've got a caller on the line. Welcome- Buenos noches a you all... to the program. [laughs] It's Joe Boo. Joe Boo, how are you doing?
• 7:27
  How you doing, good fellas? Listening, listening for the past couple minutes, listening to you guys talking about beer on that work and oh, can't wait to get done with work.
• 7:34
  [laughs] I saw you were snowshoeing some trails in up there. How's the riding been? Oh, it's been spectacular after the past couple days. It's ridden in really nice.
• 7:44
  That, that and the Wood Rats really like to use it, too. Very nice. At the theater. I'm, I'm, I'm hoping you get some more snow that's on its way to the Fat Bike Birkie in a little bit here.
• 7:52
  It'd be great if there was a little extra snow up that way. Yeah, it would be nice. It would be nice. Hey, I got a, a invitation for whoever, uh, wants to come down for the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
• 8:04
  I know it's not as sexy as, uh, heading over to visit Bruce- [laughs] It's fine... but if it's a good riding up here [laughs] Oh, absolutely. Send me the 1/4. Most definitely good riding. Yeah.
• 8:15
  So you're inviting Sven and I to come and have Thanksgiving with you? Dinner? [laughs] Well, I'd have to run that by the missus. [laughs] 'Cause we may, we may be onto something here, though. Yeah, exactly.
• 8:28
  [laughs] Yes, indeed. Well, you have an open invitation. Right on. Oh, that's cool. Well, that's very cool. That was a... Well, who did that song? Warrant or something? You've got an open invitation.
• 8:39
  [laughs] There you go. Man, I don't know. [laughs] Oh, it was somewhere in the hair band days, obviously. [laughs] Well, yeah. I gotta get back to work, though. All right. Hey, thanks for calling in.
• 8:49
  It's good to hear from you. Awesome. Peace, Joe. Hey, no problem, fellas. Take care. So long. So that was caller number two. Caller number two, and we're still fully into the, uh... We never cheersed it, actually.
• 9:00
  Or did we? I missed it. Boom. Boink. Ah, man. Clank, clank, clank. That was the first beer stop in the show, and, uh- There can be more. It is not really a problem I think, I think there should be more.
• 9:14
  [laughs] And, uh, we're gonna continue with this nuclear peace and the, uh, rock, paper, scissors in case there's, uh, any insurgencies or, uh, thrusts or bulges that are attacked.
• 9:26
  [laughs] We'll come to you with the emergency broadcasting program, but you know what up, what's up next? Yes. I don't. Yes.
• 9:35
  [laughs] We're gonna be right back with my personal life coach, bicycle sage and scientist, Chewie. One taste and you'll agree you can't find a more fresh, flavorful, first-quality product than Texas Pete Hot Sauce.
• 9:52
  Texas Pete makes history with every batch. Try mixing Texas Pete with melted butter as a dipping sauce for your next order of shrimp and you'll agree nothing wakes up food like Texas Pete.
• 10:05
  TexasPete.com You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. You know what? I think Chewie's gonna call in, or are we calling him? How are we gonna get ahold of that man? I can, uh, I can give him a call right now.
• 10:20
  Otherwise, while we're waiting for him, why don't you dial him up? We're gonna take the third caller who has called in, and I believe the third caller does what? The third caller wins.
• 10:30
  Third- Oh, the third caller wins Well, if it's a male. Right If it's a female, she wins, too. So guess what? The next caller- Is a winner... is automatically a winner. Let's see who that is. All right. Technology.
• 10:43
  Who's the winner of the- Chew- Chewie's gonna be- Awesome sauce [laughs] Awesome- That is awesome. [laughs] It's Nathan. Oh, Nathan. [laughs] Nathan. [laughs] You, you did the c- You got back...
• 10:58
  you did the circle around and, and got in the queue Oh Very good, man. That, that was cool. Uh, so- Pa- it pays to be persistent There you go...
• 11:06
  that was it You're the big winner, and that's, that's cool that it goes to somebody- I'm glad you guys-... that, uh, got shut out, and now you have the, uh, magic golden ticket. Magic golden ticket That is. That...
• 11:17
  You guys, you guys are great. I'm glad that I got in. [laughs] So, well- That's totally cool... that's great. Well, uh, um, we're gonna have to get some information from you, so send me an email to Sven@fat-bike.com.
• 11:32
  Uh, hold on. Okay. Svens, Svens, Svens, Svens, Svens, Svens, Svens, Svens, Svens Let me see. Hold on. I gotta write... I gotta write this down, do I? Or is it right on the website? Uh, info@'ll get to me.
• 11:43
  Just, uh, info@fat-bike.com. I just wanna get some particulars about how you go ahead and, and pick up the registration because it's already pretty late in the game. Uh- Yeah, yep...
• 11:54
  you'll get some information in an email so that we can, uh, keep up with you. Awesome. Oh, congratulations, dude. I appreciate it.
• 12:00
  Actually, I- Look, uh, look, look for us at the, uh, after party at The Sawmill in Seeley. We'll be, uh, giving away a bunch of prizes.
• 12:08
  Uh, enter the raffle, buy some tickets, and donate to the CAMBA Trail System up there so they can get more fat bike, uh, grooming equipment and, uh, it's good for everybody That sounds great.
• 12:20
  Hey, you know what, I've got a question for you guys, 'cause you guys are purveyors of all fat bike knowledge, correct? Sounds like this is for Gomez here. Uh-oh. [laughs] [laughs] I'm texting my boyfriend.
• 12:32
  [laughs] Oh, no. No, go ahead. Best bros. Yeah, I'm actually texting the, the guest here, but go ahead. I, I, I'm a total- Okay... multi-tasker. Multi-tester.
• 12:39
  Well, so I'm building up a fat bike frame, [sniffs] and I'm looking at a 190 hub [clears throat] for the rear with 100 millimeter rims. Very nice plan. Let's hear how you're gonna execute it. All right.
• 12:56
  So my question is, I'm, I have the choice of going quick release or thru axle, and I was contemplating at first doing the 170 hub, but it seems as though for the 100 millimeter rims, 190 is really the way I should probably go.
• 13:12
  If you want a f- Um, but- Yeah, if you want a full range of gears and more options, and you're gonna run a five-inch tire on a 100 millimeter rim, you gotta go for a 190 class axle, whether it's a 197 or a 190.
• 13:23
  Might come down to how you're gonna use the bike. Yeah, 197 thru axle- Yeah... baby, that's, that's, that's the, that's the monster truck. Right, why not just step right up to the plate? Right. [laughs] Yeah.
• 13:33
  And there's some, there's some really cool stuff on it. So- We just showed a picture of, uh, Paul, a hub with his thru axle, and totally awesome, and really- Okay... really nice looking.
• 13:45
  DT just came out with a wheel that has an 80 millimeter rim, but- Yep... is laced to a 190 s- 190- And quite attractive weight... yeah. Yep.
• 13:55
  S- so you understand, it's like a 190 frame can generally take, with sliding dropouts, can generally take 197 thru hub and 190 hub's kinda the same hub, but a different dropout, and a differ- different axle. Okay.
• 14:09
  All right. Well, we've got another- Good, well, the question-... caller on the line, Nathan... I actually, my- Oh, go ahead, man... that's good.
• 14:13
  Well, my question actually w- was with that 190 hub, what I've, what I was curious about was the quick release or the thru axle, because what I've found is people talking online, it, with the 190 hubs being longer, that they're wearing out bearings quicker, and I didn't know if that would be as problematic with the, the thru axle or the quick, or the quick release.
• 14:37
  I think they would be equal. The, the thru axle- It would be-... just gains you a, a much stiffer axle and a much, uh, it, it really braces out that rear triangle into a solid non-flexing unit.
• 14:53
  'Cause any quick release, you just have that one little n- seven millimeter axle that holds your, your, the two ends- >... of your dropouts [laughs] together. Yeah.
• 15:07
  And when you use a thru axle, that completely solidifies that and locks it down, and that's why with carbon frames that are so light that that started out with them, but I think it should be, uh, it should be a, a mountain bike standard that people start to use thru axles instead of quick releases.
• 15:30
  Yeah, I think if it's any reputable- Okay, but, because I mean-... hub maker out there, it's gonna be a good hub no matter what. Right. So. Okay.
• 15:36
  I just wasn't sure if the thru axle was more for, like, a shock, 'cause, you know, I, I'm planning on running it rigid. If you want a nice
• 15:46
  rigid hookup between, like, the stiffness of your wheels and the stiffness of your frame, go with the thru axle. The only thing, the only difference between- You know what? I got an idea. What?
• 15:55
  Let's ask Chewy- [laughs]... what he thinks of this. [laughs] We usually have to, we have to go to... Our special guest, Chewy, is on the line, so.
• 16:02
  Give us your opinion on the 190 versus, uh, thru axle versus 1- He's, he's probably gonna swear at us right away. [laughs] So, s- so s- I thought, [laughs] I thought I called into something serious.
• 16:12
  What is this, fucking nerd chat or what? Just so you know. [laughs] [laughs] I told you he was gonna swear at us right away. [laughs] Right?
• 16:22
  [laughs] Okay, Chewy, we've got Nathan on the line, and he's got a serious question of, uh, 190 quick release versus 197 thru axle, and I don't care if this is, uh, a 190, uh, it happens at 170, 177, blah, blah, blah.
• 16:35
  Thru axle versus quick release, what, what do you think? I think thru, thru a- I, I don't have one, but I have so much trouble with quick release just in general that I think quick release is on its way out.
• 16:46
  Thru axle's the way to go. And yeah, you're not- Right... a Luddite after all, are you? Yeah, it, it's like s- [laughs]... it's like sloppy. That, that little axle slops around in your- Absolutely...
• 16:56
  in your nine millimeter dropout, as opposed to- Yeah, it does, it just-... as opposed to that f- 12 or 15- And-... QR going right through- Yeah, I mean-... a, a fitted piece. I mean, it's just like- Fitted...
• 17:08
  it's, it takes the slop out of the whole thing. I run everything single speed and I run everything rigid. Yeah?
• 17:13
  You know, I run everything single speed, I run everything rigid, and the only reason I don't have it is 'cause it's, the shit I'm riding, it do- it's not on there. I'm just not there yet.
• 17:22
  But I mean, it's, it would be, if I ever got a new bike, [laughs] if I ever bought anything fancy, that would, that's, that'll be my next move, would probably be go a thru axle. There's no doubt about it.
• 17:33
  So e- And everybody that I've ever talked to that's had it loves it. Right on. So Nathan- [burps] So. Nathan's still on the line listening in to Chewy's words of wisdom. [laughs] There you have it.
• 17:42
  It is a vote from the master for a thru axle, even though he doesn't have one, and I agree 100% with him. If you can do that, do that. Thanks, Chewy. Hey, no problem. [laughs] Wait, wait, wait. Here. All right, Nathan.
• 17:55
  All right, Nathan. We'll talk to you later, bro. I don't need to bore you any further. We'll see you, Nathan. All- Chewy, stay on the line. Don't hang up. Yeah, because you're our love child for the next five minutes.
• 18:03
  [laughs] So yeah. How's it going, bro? What... You know- Hey, guys... when we did the read-through earlier, uh, Gomez told us what he thought of you, uh, how he envisioned you, and I thought it was really cool.
• 18:17
  What was... [laughs] I, I always, I always envision, like, he's the, he's the wise man at the top of the mountain.
• 18:22
  But instead of being the guru that's sitting in lotus position hovering cinches, six inches off the ground, he's in a old- You know, the, just your run-of-the-mill plaid plastic lawn chair in a- [laughs]
• 18:37
  Like you might see out there in, uh- Sure... at the Salton Sea. Right, shorts, sandals with a big overflowing cooler of Pabst tall boys just dispensing the bike wisdom- Now-... to whoever can climb the mountain...
• 18:49
  do you hear him, do you hear him whip the bike wisdom down on Nathan? Damn right. Damn straight. [laughs] Are you, are you, now are you envisioning me in Lycra or not in Lycra?
• 18:59
  [laughs] Um, what you wear underneath your, your baggy shorts is your own business. I really don't wanna know. I really don't wanna know. [laughs] Right on, man.
• 19:10
  So, uh, the Pugsley World Championships are coming up shortly here, uh, same weekend as, uh- Oh, yeah?... the Fat bike Birkie, apparently, which seems like a good idea- Okay...
• 19:19
  so you can pull people in two directions at one time. March 7th, 2015. Well, I don't even know what you guys are talking about. It's, uh- Somebody's running a race? Well, yeah. I think it's you, Chewy.
• 19:33
  Is, is this right, Chewy? No. [laughs] Wait, am I putting this one on? Son of a... Hey, you better get started planning. Oh, you know- You got less than two weeks before the race kicks off. It's time to get it in gear.
• 19:44
  Yeah, like you're not behind this- And, you know-... Mr. $501 reward [laughs] now that you found out, now that you found out that the other race was giving out- I don't-... 500 bucks. You're like, "501."
• 19:58
  Wait, I, it's really Birkie's giving away $500? I know nothing about the Birkie. You know what it is? It's another NRRBA nat- or it's another national race on a fucking go-kart track. Yeah. Go-kart track.
• 20:10
  So you had, you have an opinion about other fat bike races- Well, the-... that may have been called national championships?
• 20:16
  Let's, let's talk, let's, let's talk about, let's talk about our, the other two first because seriously, what, the Birkie has to run two weeks after the ski race, right? Right. Right.
• 20:26
  And then, and, and the Pugsley race is also determined by the, uh, the week and they do it is also determined by the, um, the two guys that donate the money or the person that donates the money for the prize money so the weekend he can do it, and that's why they're on the same weekend.
• 20:42
  Oh. Yeah, I di- this is h- he definitely is doing- You know, it's-... a great thing by putting up the money, so I understand, uh, doing it when it's convenient to him. Yep, yep.
• 20:50
  Honestly, I don't know if they would've worked together or not anyway, but we probably could've done something together.
• 20:55
  It's just that both races have stipulations as to when they can run it, and it, this year it fell on the same weekend. I think it's all good. So we'll live without it. I think that, that your, your race- Oh, yeah...
• 21:05
  the, the Pugsley World Championships, I, I was there. I, you know, I wish I was there for the first one. Tell us the, tell us the s- bedtime story about the first Pugsley World Championships, Chewy.
• 21:17
  The, the first one was a point to point race. We started, I don't know, some little park out, um, west and south of Decorah, and we rode, I don't, I, I think the total was just about 30-some miles.
• 21:33
  The halfway point was Ridgeway. We stopped at the little bar in Ridgeway- Yep... and that was the checkpoint. Started up there in Cresco. We somewhere- Cresco, Iowa is the- Yeah, somewhere along there...
• 21:41
  starting point of Pugsley- It started to-... World Championship One [laughs] We, it, and somewhere along there it started to snow pretty hard, and we got like what? Six, eight inches during the race.
• 21:49
  Um- That's what she said... the, my favorite part was leaving Ridgeway, you know, there's a paved bike trail in the summer.
• 21:55
  Well, it was all drifted in, and it was just this roller coaster-y, if you're on a fat bike it was funner than hell. And the few guys that tried to ride on a regular mountain bike were just crying the whole way.
• 22:07
  And, uh, you know, it had a little bit of gravel, a little bit of open field, a little bit of bike trail. It was a little bit of everything. It was pretty fun.
• 22:14
  Um, logistically it wasn't as nice as, so that was the only one that we did that was actually point to point, and every year since then it's been a giant loop with a start and finish somewhere in downtown Decorah, basically.
• 22:27
  Right on. You rid- you rode sweep in that very first Pugsley World Championship, didn't you? Yep.
• 22:32
  I did it on a single speed Pugsley along with, uh, Terry Houghton was riding a regular, I think he was riding his Marin and just a regular mountain bike. Yep. It was pretty awesome. There was a lot of gravel on that one.
• 22:43
  Yeah, there was. Tell us the secret to becoming Pugsley World Champion. Well, it's not the race. You can take your 500 bucks and go home if you want to, 501, sorry.
• 22:54
  [laughs] But it's going to be, it's in the, uh, it's in the feats of strength afterwards that determines if you are the Pugsley World Championship and if you get to take the ax home for a year. Right on.
• 23:05
  And no, I'm not telling you what it is. [laughs] Because- Because- Well, it's good, it's good to make it a- Because I get two weeks and I haven't got a clue yet [laughs]. I'm not gonna decide yet. It's too early.
• 23:17
  Well, you just learned the thing was happening here on the show today, so it's, uh, no wonder you don't have a- Well, I know, but I got my-... concrete plan yet. It should be something abstract- Well, we-...
• 23:25
  and attached to black magic or voodoo, I think. That's just me.
• 23:29
  Well, last year we did, la- last year we did, um, uh, I made up some, uh, bike polo sticks, and we did little balls that glowed in the dark when you hit them, and we did obstacle course races with them.
• 23:40
  And that went on for, like, holy crap, it must have took us two hours to finish.
• 23:44
  We had to stop at least four times after r- we must have did four or five rounds, and we had to stop after each one for a beer break and go back inside and warm up. Probably a very good plan.
• 23:52
  [laughs] I just remember the year I went. They, they put firecrackers and bottle rockets in everything.
• 24:01
  And, and they had, they had [laughs]- Oh, that's right That's, that's when Dave Lund sacrificed the Pugsley to the thousand firecracker roll. Oh, my God. [laughs] It was so good.
• 24:11
  Was that the year that we were doing the tug of war with a, uh- Yes... with a, um- Yep... with a Large Marge inner tube? Uh, yep, and that very- That was, that was-... that incredible teeter-totter as well [laughs]
• 24:23
  And Colin won it when I was- Oh, that was cute... when I had been, uh, yeah, drunk under the table. Uh, but I rose, I rose from that, and I, I, I drank again. You were Jesus drunk. Jesus drunk [laughs].
• 24:36
  You were drunk and then you were resurrected. I woke up in my van. Yeah. That's all I remember about that evening- [laughs]... was my van. I was like, "Where am I?" I was like in a parking lot.
• 24:47
  We all envy you for your van. Down by the river. [laughs] We all wanna be you, Laredo, out there living in a van. [laughs] We d- [laughs] we didn't get to call you the, uh, the Rochester Slapshot. [laughs] Yeah. Oh.
• 25:03
  What's your, what's your hockey- Perfect... what's your hockey name, Chewy? You see, 'cause I'm a goalie, I don't score. [laughs] The Net Hog live on FM 101. All right. Sorry, I interrupted.
• 25:15
  You were talking about the course. But what, I know what, what people- Um, this year's, this year we're gonna take the course, is, is gonna be, um, I'm actually gonna go out and ride it on Saturday.
• 25:24
  And probably mark it out and figure it out, or wait till what the conditions are on the day of the race? No, no. Well, I'll ma- mark it out the Friday before, you know, and it's gonna be...
• 25:35
  So the difference, the reason that it's different than going to Birkie is, is Birkie's gonna be on cross-country ski trails, and this will be probably, if, if all, you know, if the weather holds out the way that things are going, we got, you know, four inches of snow today, so that's gonna add a, a nice base to it again.
• 25:51
  We'll probably do 80% of it'll be, 80% of it'll be on single track. Nice. Yeah, there's a lot of good trails there in Decorah.
• 25:59
  Well, and, and personally that's what I think a fat bike mountain bike ra- or fat bike race should be. Um, I get you do with what you've got, but, um, the, the groomed trail shit to me is just that. It's,
• 26:13
  I can race that same thing on a regular mountain bike and do just as well, right?
• 26:17
  Fat bikes should be, or the reason for fat bikes is so we can get out into the stuff that we can't ride in the summer, as far as I'm concerned.
• 26:24
  I just remember the guy at the first fat bike Birkie on the mountain bike that said, "Never again." Ah.
• 26:31
  [laughs] It, there was four feet of snow that were compacted there, so there was no, he was just digging through way more. Uh, if it's just a little bit of- Oh, sure...
• 26:39
  if it's just a little bit of snow over the local trails, I agree with you. You know, you don't have to have a fat bike, but it gives me that little bit extra edge of confidence when it starts getting a little sketchy.
• 26:49
  It's like, "Ah, yeah, these big fat tires. These are working for me."
• 26:53
  Well, and don't forget, this year the snow conditions around, at least in where we're, over this, this side of the Midwest, it's, um, everything, we've had everything packed down so well.
• 27:03
  Um, we have, you know, we, our groomer is a motorcycle with a tire with cement blocks in it, and we've used it once this year. All right, but you just said grooming sucks.
• 27:14
  [laughs] Well, it's not grooming if alls you're doing is knocking down the drifts. [laughs] All right. It's not like, it's not like, it's not like... Okay, okay, it's grooming, it's not manicuring. You guys manicure. Oh.
• 27:27
  Oh, man. As long as I can get a happy ending with my manicure [laughs] I'm good with that. If you wanna get fucking picky about it. [laughs] That's where I was going. [laughs] Hey, speaking...
• 27:40
  Okay, Chewy, speaking of grooming trails, they got that new snow hawk in Decorah. Have you ridden that thing yet? No, I, I haven't been down to Decorah since the night race.
• 27:52
  Oh, they've had s- they've got the- I'm a world, I'm a world traveler now, you know? [laughs] I know. I fully expected Spinner to call in and- Actually, I'm a snowbird... and start talking about 24 OP with us.
• 28:04
  Hey, how was 24 OP? Um, I don't think he survived yet. [laughs] It was, it was, this is my second year doing it, doing the 24 hours, so I took Spinner down for his first trip to Arizona. I'm not sure he's going back.
• 28:17
  He's, he's about as Norwegian as they come, and the heat was killing him. Really? Oh. Um, the, uh, Arizona Single Speed Championship was held in Cave Creek just north of Phoenix, and that was a phenomenal course.
• 28:30
  That was harder. It probably wasn't the hardest course I've ridden down there, but it was, it was up there. It was baby heads and rocks, and there was a mile and a half stretch that nobody rode.
• 28:42
  Even the fastest guys, even the good riders that lived there walked it. It was that miserable of a climb. But you had to do it to do all the really fun stuff on either side of it, so you just had to.
• 28:53
  But it was, uh, [laughs] it was kind of spread out.
• 28:56
  So the campgrounds was about five miles away from where the host bar bike shop, and so they use a U-Haul to get people back and forth, and they made haul a keg on there, and they was doing keg.
• 29:06
  There's videos out there of guys doing keg stands inside the, inside the, um, moving van as they're haul, U-Haul. They're hauling them out to the- [laughs]... out to the, uh, campgrounds, and it was- Classic.
• 29:18
  [laughs] It was, it was insane, but it was, they had this giant party at the halfway point.
• 29:23
  It was kind of like a lollipop, so you did this 13 mile ride out there of, of some fantastic single track, and then there was a giant loop afterwards that was a lot easier, but big tent, keg, pizzas.
• 29:34
  You know, I, it was, I'll, I'll bet half the riders didn't even continue on. They all just sat there and laid in the creek and enjoyed the day 'cause it was so hot. Nice. It was 85 probably. Sounds good.
• 29:44
  Just the way it turned out. And then- So did DJ run that race? Yep, and then DJ was there. Yep, he was there.
• 29:50
  Um, then DJ took off and went to Tucson, and we went to Sedona and rode for a day or so, and then we went down and did 24 hours. So it was Spinner and I, Scandinavian Jesus, and Charlie the Bike Monger.
• 30:02
  We're a four person, um, single speed team. [laughs] Charlie gets around. We just ran into him up at Frost Bike and talked a lot of smack. Did you see the, uh, the Saven and Charlie video? Oh, no, no, no. No, no.
• 30:16
  When you s- [laughs] Yeah, and you know, the thing is, is that that was his plan. He flew down, and then he was gonna, and then he was gonna go do the Arizona thing first, and he hung, he was down there.
• 30:24
  We hung around together for like a week. Uh, actually him and Dirty went to the Baja surfing for a while in between the two races, and then we all raced together, but don't let him fool you.
• 30:35
  That was the weakest British invasion ever. That boy was in bed- [laughs]... three hours before anybody else was even getting sleepy every night. Really? That's prob- probably, probably jet lag.
• 30:47
  Charlie the bike monitor- Yeah, right... is really from like, from like Cleveland or something. "Oh, he's from Fort Wayne, Indiana." Oh, no. No. I think we're g- No, no... we're gonna get him on the show.
• 30:55
  We're gonna- We'll ask him about his lineage. [laughs] Oh, don't... And yeah, he's horrible.
• 31:00
  You know, we go, we went to a bar and this gal was speaking somewhat like him, it was foreign, you couldn't understand her, and he knew she was Irish or something like that.
• 31:09
  Shit, she lived in the neighborhood just right by him there almost. He couldn't even pick out her, his own, his own lingo, so he sucks at that. [laughs] So how did he perform on the team as a racer?
• 31:23
  He put up the rear really well. Awesome. So he was, he's worth something after all.
• 31:29
  Oh, yeah, because, well, k- we, we actually lost a spot or two in the race just because he decided to take a nap rather than going out on his lap, but he was waiting for somebody to wake him up, but there was no waking him up, 'cause we were plenty loud enough to wake him up and we couldn't get him to move, so.
• 31:45
  So Chuey, you've gone- But-... you've, you've, you've babbled on so long, I think that we should stop at the top of the next hill [laughs] and have a beer stop. Right on. [laughs] Beer break. Do you have a beer?
• 31:55
  Do you have a beer? Do you have a beer there? I got... Me? Of course. That's good. I'm not talking to you guys sober. [laughs] We have to get the official stop at the top. Official beer stop.
• 32:03
  We're drinking Session lager. It's premium lager. Doing a stop at the top. It's from Oregon, so it's got weed in it. Is it from Oregon? [can opening] [laughs] Rock. Mm. Rock. Rock.
• 32:19
  Yes, we are playing rock, paper, scissors- Rock... with the beer caps- Rock, rock... to come off of. Session. Yeah, I don't know where my cap went, so I lose. Well, you can't have paper, 'cause I got that one right here.
• 32:28
  [laughs] Oh, you got, you got paper. Oh, I have paper. So that means we win. No way. Totally I win. [laughs] Paper goes over rock. W- not both rocks. Let's have a little ruling from Chuey from the top of the mountain.
• 32:40
  Chuey's not even on the line anymore. I'm not singing. He hates us. He's like- I'm here, I'm not singing. [laughs] You don't own me. You don't own me. Yeah. I'm not no damn referee.
• 32:51
  [laughs] So yeah, our interview has digressed into this, Chuey. Chuey, how do you feel about- I'm drinking Shells on this end. Oh, nice. Yeah. How do you feel about fat bike racing in 2015, Chuey?
• 33:04
  My opinion of fat bike racing will be shown at Pugsley World Championship probably in the feat of strength. Feat of strength. So only 12 people will get to know? [laughs] But I, I tell you... [laughs] Yeah, that's it.
• 33:19
  Oh, well, there went the rest of you guys. [laughs] No, I, you know, it's... Here's a cool thing. So the two races I did in Arizona in the desert, these guys never ride in the snow, there was a big number of fat bikes.
• 33:32
  Um, and you know, Spinner and I run our Surly Pugsleys, um, there was some specialized fat boys, there was a couple Borealis out there, 'cause it's close by, you know?
• 33:43
  But most of the guys I talked to, they're just kinda like, "Yeah, this is my bike."
• 33:48
  And they, and they work really well out there even though they, it's, it's not full suspension, but it works well, and, and everybody that has one really likes it and they ride the snot out of them.
• 33:56
  It seems like nobody's serious about racing them out there, which is okay, because you shouldn't be serious if you're racing on a fat bike.
• 34:04
  But you know, my lap times, and I'm not fast, but my lap times weren't that much slower on my single speed fat bike as they were on my other single speed. Yeah, I've, I've learned that too.
• 34:14
  Even though I was riding- I thought for sure, t- you know, 29 or faster, like out at a, at a fast place like Kettle Moraine, and I did some tests with that and a fat bike, it's 30 seconds difference maybe in a, in a, you know, two and a half mile test loop or whatever it is, so negligible.
• 34:30
  I, I think doing this 24 hour race they did last year on a single speed Krampus, but I think the 29 plus was a little bit too tall for those tight corners, and some of their ditches, where the 26 ate that stuff up a little bit better, just a little bit of an advantage I think.
• 34:47
  Yeah, I, but, uh, it was just nice to see. I mean, and the- and, and from a racing standpoint of it, I think the national people, USAC, totally screwed everything up.
• 34:59
  Um, do you, have you watched the V- the Volkswagen video of it? Yeah. Yep. Dude, I was there. They, they had a five person crew there, producer, director, camera one, camera two, and- And drone pilot. Drone pilot.
• 35:12
  [laughs] Why don't you just, why don't you just go to a fucking... No, honest to God, why don't you just go to a fucking NASCAR track with those big bank corners and s- oh, and the jump.
• 35:19
  What do they do, go to Kmart and buy one of those plastic ones and throw a little white paint on it- [laughs]... so they can make a jump? No, some groms actually like added to the finish line jump.
• 35:28
  Hey, uh, Chuey, we're gonna bring another caller in. [laughs] Let's, let's see who we've got on the line. Maybe they have a question for Chuey. No way, this is Spinner. You think? Yeah. No way. Yeah. Come on.
• 35:37
  How do you know that? What are you, a guru? Uh, 'cause- Yeah. Yeah. [laughs] Like, Gomez was like, "Oh, it's Spinner. Oh, that's me, uh, hanging on the line." Well, I'm sorry, there's a couple other guys in the queue.
• 35:47
  I didn't know what his phone number was. Oh, well, well, well played. So how'd I know? All right, mister I knew it ahead of you. [laughs] Are you like the guy with the turban on or what? So Chuey, meet Spinner.
• 35:59
  Spinner, meet Chuey. You guys have- The famous Chuey that I've never met. Yeah. [laughs] Or, or the, or the famous Spinner and Chuey of the bromance novel. [laughs] Like, like probably like 14 different books.
• 36:16
  And he's cooled off from the desert. L- let me ask, uh, about Spinner and Chuey a question. Spinner and Chuey, are you guys in for a three-way? Because we have another caller. We can just see how big this party can get.
• 36:28
  [laughs] Let's do it. [laughs] I, I guess- After last week, yeah... maybe we'll get him on the beer break. I'm willing to try. [laughs] All right.
• 36:34
  Spinner and, Spinner and Chuey are having a nice conversation, but we have a new caller on the line. Who's there? Hey, this is Eric.
• 36:41
  Eric, you're in the, you're in the throes of greatness here with Spinner and Chuey also on the line, Gomez, myself in the studio. How are you doing? I'm doing well. [laughs] Do you have a question for the panel, sir?
• 36:52
  There must be something you want to know from the panel. I was calling to, uh, say thanks. I got to meet you guys out at Frost Bike this weekend. Oh, dude. Wow. And, and you gave me a Surly sticker. Nice.
• 37:06
  See how, see how we are? [laughs] Celebrity. Celebrity. What did you th- we did the thing about the beards of Frost Bike on the site. I think we missed about probably three quarters of them.
• 37:17
  There were so many beards up there. But, uh, did you have a favorite- Yeah... beard style perhaps? Jeez, I don't know. There was a lot of good frosty beards.
• 37:25
  I think it was, uh, Sunday morning, there was a really nice one I saw out at the demo track. Right on.
• 37:31
  Yeah, they gave away a Salsa Blackbourough at that, uh, speed contest around that little course they had, and then you had to do the duathlon. Did they get a beard?
• 37:39
  They had to throw, they had to throw tennis balls- A beard won a Blackbourough? What happened? Somebody won a Blackbourough. It was, uh- Yeah... one of the four finalists there at the Frost Bike duathlon.
• 37:50
  That was n- it was- So what company was that? Salsa. What, what company gave that away? [laughs] Who? Uh, they're, they're, they're called Salsa Cycles.
• 38:00
  It's just like that spicy red stuff that they serve at Mexican places, salsa. Or the, or the kind of- [laughs] Spicy salsa... or the kind of dancing that- Oh, salsa...
• 38:08
  that, that me and the, the wife like to do in the privacy of our own home, uh, Dave. All right, we got Spinner on the line as Virgineers. What was your guys' favorite bike or, uh, product release?
• 38:20
  [laughs] Well, since it's all Cue brand stuff up there, you know, there's not a lot of non-Cue bikes. No way, man. I think that little Fat Strider coming to America is huge.
• 38:30
  It's a Cue distributed bike, but not a- Right... Cue brand. Right, that early rider- I saw that, I think... Fat Strider, 240 bucks. It's a little fat.
• 38:38
  I think they're gonna sell six and- A little Fat Strider, is that code for something? [laughs] I'll be your little Fat Strider. No. No, it's a bicycle. God, I'm, I'm blowing, I'm blowing the, the meter out, aren't I?
• 38:52
  [laughs] Blowing, you're blowing something there, buddy. [laughs] Jesus. I'm so excited about this new bike. A little Fat Strider? Little Fat Strider.
• 38:59
  You know, just wait till you have a grandchild and you'll be like, "Oh, yeah." Don't we? [laughs] So, so Eric stumbled into a big pile of what the hell's going on here? What the hell is, like...
• 39:12
  [laughs] So next- Dude, I heard about it anyway while I was waiting. [laughs] Yeah, at least you get cued up on the manic people that are on the line before you get there. [laughs] So tell us a little bit about yourself.
• 39:23
  Where are you from? What's up? How's it going? What's fat biking like? Um, I'm, uh, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Oh, right on. I used to go through there a lot. Oh, yeah, yeah. Of, uh, Midwest. Yeah.
• 39:32
  Midwest represent. Um, fat biking is, fat biking is good. We just got, uh, fresh about three inches of powder last night, so- Ooh, nice... spring's not here yet. Hell, yeah.
• 39:42
  Man, we got good riding, I bet you, you have good riding for most of March, and then April- Yeah... it kinda turns to poop. [laughs] Is that a technical term? Yeah. [laughs] Poop. March is kinda on and off.
• 39:56
  It'll be 80 one day and then we'll get dumped on with snow the next day, so. Always something different to do in Sioux Falls. Yeah. Yeah. You ever see the- Good times... you ever see the buffalo with the blonde wig on?
• 40:13
  [laughs] All right, man. Well, hey, hang out on the line. Uh, we're gonna talk a little bit to Chewy. All right. We're gonna talk a little bit to Chewy and Spinner- Great... and you're welcome to listen in.
• 40:23
  Enter him, enter him for a free bike or something that you guys... Oh, wait, you're giving away tickets to a Birk- to the Birkie. Yeah, I... Yeah, how about you give him- [laughs] Yeah...
• 40:31
  how about you- Come to Decorah and we'll put you in the Pugsley World Championship, something that really means something instead. I, I highly recommend it. Ooh. Yeah.
• 40:37
  If you can make it, if you can make it over there, you'd be a fool not to go with an invitation like that. See that, Eric? You just talked yourself into a free entry into the Pugsley World Championships.
• 40:47
  And it's not more than six hours from Sioux Falls, I bet. You could really- It's not really that bad a drive... right, you could win $501. Yeah, that's not a bad drive.
• 40:54
  I actually have a hotel spot saved, so that'd be perfect. But we got a, we got, we got a dude coming over from Omaha, don't we? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mike's coming up. He's got the ax. He's got the, the championship ax.
• 41:05
  Right, somebody has to return it. Oh, yeah, McCoolgan is coming up, so hook this guy up, Chewy. We'll call you after the, uh- He doesn't have a number and two- Yeah, we'll do that. We'll call you. Just show up.
• 41:16
  Eric doesn't know who we are. [laughs] Eric, we'll call you after the show, and, uh, we'll, we'll get you a, get an entry. I'll get his number and registration, Eric, coming today. Thanks, Eric. 10-4. Is he gone now?
• 41:28
  [laughs] Well- No, I'm still here, Eric... we'll let him hang, we'll let him hang out for a little bit, mostly because I don't know who's who on the, uh, phone call, or it's- Okay, I'll look at...
• 41:34
  I did want, I did, I did want him to know that there's no regis- there's no registration fee anyway for the Pugsley World Championship. [laughs] Oh. So all listeners get a free entry- Beautiful, Eric...
• 41:46
  to Pugsley World, everybody listening tonight, or this weekend. That's right, all of our listeners tonight are actually... It's like, this is like Oprah. Look under your chairs.
• 41:55
  That's right, you've got a free entry to the Pugsley World Championships, and a backhand slap on your ass. [slaps] [laughs] Hallelujah, my brother. Mm-hmm. [laughs] It's like the Oprah show all over again.
• 42:11
  Rolling four hours and 29 minutes, it says on the Google Maps from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Decorah, Iowa. Right on. That's definitely a trip you ought to make. Can I interrupt for a second here? Sure.
• 42:23
  Tell me if you guys recognize this sound. [liquid sloshing] What was that? That sound familiar? Is, was that- Sounds like an Old Milwaukee. [laughs] I thought you were, I thought you might've been drinking beer.
• 42:38
  Old Milwaukee. But I, I didn't get Old Milwaukee out there. Oh, yeah, I'm sorry for you. Old Swill-waukee. I believe it's number 37 out of the- I can't believe you're not drinking beer today...
• 42:47
  uh, America's top 40 worst beers. Is that, uh, Schlitz? [laughs] No, Old Milwaukee. I can't believe Spinner didn't, I can't believe Spinner didn't drink it the last time he stayed here.
• 42:57
  Uh, did he have some and I missed it? The beer was freezing. The beer was freezing in my hand last time I was at your place That's true. [laughs] I've had several slushy beers recently. It's colder than hell. Yeah.
• 43:09
  It's, uh, it's for all the code out. So Eric, you are out in the, uh- We got to- You're out in the big 605 area code there, aren't ya? That is a- That's right... that's a, that encompasses a lot of land.
• 43:20
  I used to head out to Mitchell every once in a while, right on the Missouri there, and, uh, it's not just really fly over territory. I love South Dakota. Hell yeah. Oh, it is nice.
• 43:30
  There's a lot of diverse, as you get west there's a lot more hills and, uh, I wouldn't say mountains, but a lot more hills- Absolutely... by the Badlands. Hell yeah. Yep.
• 43:41
  Um, and don't you guys get, haven't you guys been building a pretty good trail system down there? Uh, not, not too much in Sioux Falls. We have, uh, limited single track.
• 43:49
  Mostly, um, we go out and ride gravel roads in the winter and just kinda explore that way, ride the rivers. I heard those are something new and fancy coming up. They're called gravel bikes. [laughs] Gravel bikes?
• 44:02
  [laughs] Yes. They never rode, they don't even know what those are in Iowa. Gravel bike? What's that? We just ride, we ride, we ride on the road. Oh, oh. [laughs] It's called an Arizona yard ride.
• 44:12
  [laughs] Everybody's yard in Arizona is fucking gravel. [laughs] When it gets cold enough, we just ride the river here. Very good. Now, see, that makes sense. Totally makes sense.
• 44:24
  Um, but in Minneapolis, my buddy and I found out you cannot ride across the Mississippi. Oh. [laughs] Oh, no duh. Well, in certain places and at certain times of year. I'd give it a go.
• 44:35
  We got the police called on us when we got to the other side this weekend. Really? Wow. Ooh. Why all red. Yep. You can do it, it's just frowned upon. Yeah, yeah, I know. You can do it, just don't get caught.
• 44:48
  [laughs] Yeah. Well, at least hopefully you had a good time doing it. And don't drown be- and don't drown because they take a long time to find you. Yeah. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah.
• 44:57
  But the turtles are all well fed in the meantime. [laughs] All right, Eric. Yeah. Well, thanks for calling. I'm gonna, I'll give you a shout back after the show here in a few minutes, okay? Sounds good.
• 45:09
  It was good talking with you guys. All right, man. Bye-bye. See you, Eric. All right, bye. Easy. So Spinner, tell us about, uh, about your and, uh, Chewy's date at the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo.
• 45:22
  Yeah, our Valentine's Day date down in the desert with, uh, no showers. [laughs] [laughs] And porta potties and steak sandwiches and, uh... [laughs] Wow, this sounds like a hell of a date.
• 45:34
  Porta potties, steak sandwiches. Should I come down there or what? I'll have a Diablo sandwich- Yeah... and a Dr. Pepper. [laughs] It was pretty good. The, uh, guys in the back of the pack guys, they had what?
• 45:44
  Five kegs of IPAs. Yar. Chewy, is that what we had down there? Four Peaks. Yeah, Four Peaks. Yeah. Yeah. Four kegs. Tecate and whatever and- No, no. Did we ride it? It was from the- I don't even know...
• 45:57
  it was from the, uh, it was from Four Peaks Brewery in, in, uh, Phoenix. Oh, wow. That's right. Yep, yep. So tell us about Dirty's coaster brake single speed and, uh- Yeah, he split his cog in half on the first lap.
• 46:10
  [laughs] Oh. That's the massive power of Dirty. Yeah, that was the, uh, that's, that's what you get for riding a clunker. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. It was quite a funky race.
• 46:21
  Which one of the guys, one of the guys did like an hour and 16 minute lap on a clunker. Wow. What was less than that? Hour six minutes?
• 46:30
  Yeah, and he was like, he was like, his, his lap was as fast as anybody in, in the upper 20% of the riders. Yeah, yeah. Hm. Wild. So there- Fast dude... so there's your new fad.
• 46:43
  [laughs] Hey, we already, we're already- There's always a faster new fad... we're already buying up every UR- URL that we can find that has to do with hairy Turkish foreskins or, or coaster brakes, so.
• 46:55
  No, well, the fat bikes rode good. Uh, didn't gain any flats. I didn't get any flats. I don't know if, Chewy, if you got any flats. I don't think we did. No. That was the, uh, major concern.
• 47:05
  We, uh, filled the tubes full of slime and sand, a mixture of slime and sand. Wow, there you go. So the fat bikes were pretty heavy, but, uh- S- no flat tires, no problem... yeah. No flat tires, yeah.
• 47:17
  No flat tires, nope. Nope. That's how you live in the, uh, big thorn environments, for sure. Tubes and slime, man. Mm-hmm. Tubes and slime, tubes and slime. Works like a charm. Well, all right, boys. Mm-hmm.
• 47:29
  I think we're going to bid you adieu. Thanks for being on the show. Adieu, for you. Did you just swear at me? [laughs] I was speaking French to you, Chewy. You sexy bastard. [laughs] Okay. As he must. All right, kids.
• 47:47
  All right, I'm gonna go drink. See you guys. Bye-bye. Thanks for being on the show. Thank you. Cheers, lads. Bye again. [upbeat music] When it comes to fat bikes, Zion Cyclery in Zion, Illinois, has you covered.
• 48:04
  They stock fatties from Surly, Salsa, 907, Borealis, and Trek, as well as everything from 45 North.
• 48:13
  The staff is friendly, the mechanics are top-notch, and they stock the largest selection of fat bikes in the Chicago-Milwaukee area.
• 48:20
  There's a mountain bike park and some great beach riding in Zion, so come, make a day of it. Call 847-746-2200 or visit zioncyclery.com.
• 48:37
  This is Heather Best, and you're listening to the Weekly Dose of Fat. Welcome back to the radio program. [laughs] Gomez has a report from Kathy Merchant, the race director of the Iditarod Trail Invitational.
• 48:50
  Yeah, Kathy has been sending emails in to us, and, uh, she's the race director of the ITI So she heard our interview with Heather Best last week. She was like, "Ah, I love that.
• 49:03
  Let me, let me tell you about what's going on and how conditions are." And they're hurting for snow up there.
• 49:09
  It's been in the 40s in Anchorage, and my buddy Zach in Anchorage has been saying, "Oh yeah, it's like plate glass here. If you don't have studs, you're going nowhere."
• 49:19
  I heard they bought a lot of studs up in Alaska, though. Yeah, a lot of Dillinger's [laughs] lots of Dillinger's- Probably good company... live up in, uh, Anchorage.
• 49:26
  So but it's, now it's cold, but they don't necessarily have a lot of snow, so it might be r- a record-setting pace like they had last year. I saw, uh, big sections of where they're riding dirt trail, so.
• 49:44
  Yeah, last year I- Charlie said there was at least 30 miles or something or more Right... yeah. Right. So you've got a really interesting race.
• 49:51
  Uh, Heather Best, our guest last week, up against Tracy Peterbury from Idaho.
• 49:58
  Tracy won the Arrowhead this year, and the last time that Tracy was in the Iditarod was 2011, uh, doing the Thousand Mile ride to, ride to Nome. But I guess they're both doing the 350.
• 50:13
  In the men's field you got Kevin Breitenbach against a rookie that, uh, that won Jay's Fat Pursuit the last two years, Andrew Kulmatiski.
• 50:23
  And also, you can't count out, uh, you know, the, the other Fatback riders like, uh, Tim Berntson, you know? That he's always a perennial, uh, podium guy.
• 50:34
  And then in the Thousand Mile race you got Jay Peterbury against Jeff Oatley. So this plays into Charlie's idea of the, uh, king and queen of the ITI. Right, right.
• 50:47
  [laughs] Remember- It could be, it could be an impromptu thing. It could be an, an, an, uh, under- Under-... underground, unofficial, off-the-charts thing We talked to Jay about it at, at Frostbike.
• 50:55
  [laughs] He was all for it. He's like, "Hell yeah, [laughs] that sounds good." [laughs] But my wife is doing the Thousand, I believe is how he finished it off. [laughs] Yeah.
• 51:03
  He said, "Oh, I want my wife to do the Thousand. I'll do the 350, but this year it's the other way around." And, uh, I think we should start, uh, collecting some Burger King crowns for these kids.
• 51:13
  Somebody even said we should go up there and man a checkpoint. Do you- Well, let's- Why would they, why would they trust us to do that, something so important as manning a checkpoint? I, I have no idea.
• 51:22
  They obviously- So you're going, right? [laughs]... don't listen. I thought it was your turn to go to Alaska. Uh, well, we could both go to Alaska. We can both go out there, maybe all three of us. Alaska, here we come.
• 51:33
  So, uh- Right back where we started from...
• 51:36
  Cathy has not only set us up to man a checkpoint or volunteer at a checkpoint, more or less, uh, but she is going to be on the radio program and give us reports as the, uh, race goes on.
• 51:50
  But this year, actually, you can follow the little blips. F- right from your cubicle you can see Jay Peterbury moving along the tundra. Except you can't see Heather Best, can you?
• 52:03
  Yeah, I think that they opted out of the- Opted out... of the, that's what she said during the, during the interview we did. Yeah. So that's- Opt, opted out...
• 52:12
  that's pretty cool that, uh, you can, you can follow along and, uh- That's, uh, Spot, right? Yeah. S-P-O-T, Spot, Spot, Spot. I, I- Send your sponsor dollars to Fat Bike Radio. [laughs] I hope we got that right.
• 52:27
  Whether it is Spot or not, it's some sort of tracker. Tracker. I think- I gotta, I used to have a Geo Tracker... I think they shoot 'em in the neck with a, with a, with a- Pff... with a tranquilizer.
• 52:35
  Don't worry, they're tagged. They're tagged. [laughs] They're all tagged. [laughs] All right. Well, as usual, we got a bunch of links. Did anything stand out for you guys on the links this week?
• 52:44
  I think that all of our, our audience should probably know,
• 52:48
  maybe some of you have heard in the news, but, you know, there's, there's a labor dispute in our ports that is stopping not just bike parts, but everything coming in the co- in the country.
• 53:01
  Where's my new 45 North studded tire? Right. I'll tell you where it is, Bob. I'll tell you where it is, yeah. It's sitting, sitting right off the Pacific Coast waiting to get offloaded.
• 53:11
  So that's why you can't get your precious insert whatever you're waiting for. Uh, it's not these companies' fault necessarily. My precious.
• 53:20
  Uh, when it gets solved, things will get better, and it's starting to hit national news, so, uh. So it must be important. Yeah. Be- before people, you know, God forbid somebody should not have their iPhone.
• 53:33
  So when that happens, dude, things will- Totally change... will loosen up, yeah. Well- So then we'll get, we'll get our parts in...
• 53:40
  it's actually gonna happen when everybody that makes the iPhones loses their job in China because there's no work. It's, uh, just like this rock, paper, scissors things we've been doing- [laughs]... all day long here.
• 53:51
  It's- You can't cut the thing off of one deal without messing the other thing up It's a circle of life... it's a very delicate balance. It's a delicate balance. Hakuna matata. No Economics 101 here.
• 54:00
  So my f- my favorite link [laughs] of the week was a whole lot less world, earth-shattering than that, but it was a pretty cool ride around the island in the middle of Mono Lake in California. Very cool.
• 54:11
  Uh, paddle out there on your, your boat, and do a ride around the island, and the images are just awesome. It looks like the moon, like, uh, quote-unquote, but it is. It really does.
• 54:22
  Right, 'cause it's a, a salt lake that, uh, supports all kinds of wild brine shrimp and a special fly population. Yeah, twice as salty as the ocean...
• 54:31
  and, and they, it creates all these, uh, pinnacles of, of brine and crustacean. Pinnacles. Pinnacles. And then I have to mention my, uh, you know, julio.com man.
• 54:46
  He ran this Team Stow Bike Enduro, a race I started a while back, and here's a review of it, and it's- And it's gotten better every year since. [laughs] And you know, it's still, it, you know, this guy said,
• 54:58
  "These are my people," you know? We found another guy that likes to drink beer and- Smoke bikes, so Smoke bikes. [laughs] Smoke bikes, everyone smoke bikes Exactly.
• 55:11
  Yeah, I kept running into the, uh, um, the fat bike commuter guy out of Cincinnati. Yeah. I, I just kept- Oh, man... I kept running into that story everywhere. Yeah Like, just- Yeah...
• 55:21
  in search, in se- It went viral Yeah. I thought the best link was Minneapolis Bike Love said, "Hey, some guy in Cincinnati does in one day what we do every goddamn day of winter." [laughs] [laughs] It wasn't...
• 55:33
  I'm paraphrasing. [laughs] Yes, and when we were at, uh, Frost Bike, it was chilling and there was a lot of people riding bikes. Yeah, man.
• 55:41
  Uh, but we got out on a really nice day and had a little ride- We, we lucked out... down on the river bottoms. It was a very good day. A day [laughs] to- A day to use my AK... AK. Totally. Right on.
• 55:52
  We did talk SKS to you recently, so. No doubt. Hey, our, we're our first caller of the day, Jobu, has a link in there. Coast Kids, the prolific linker. We gotta find out where are we gonna fly into and shit.
• 56:04
  Yeah, probably see where we can get- We should probably do that on the show. We should... Yep. [laughs] Are we gonna go visit Charlie too? Charlie and then Bruce, or Bruce and then Charlie? I don't know.
• 56:13
  We should do this. I agree. We've been invited. Train travel. Charlie the Bike Monger's invited us to l- hang out in Walnut.
• 56:19
  And he's gonna go, "That's the worst fucking Cockney, Dorset fucking accent I ever did hear there, sir." He's from F- 'Cause- He's from Fort Wayne, Indiana. [laughs] Right then,
• 56:32
  well, we've wasted another hour of these good folks' time. I know. Fat Bike Radio. [upbeat music] Thanks again to Surly for sponsoring the radio portion of today's broadcast.
• 56:45
  Surly bicycles are sold at better bicycle retailers and service centers around the globe. Globe. Check 'em out, surlybikes.com..com. That's it. Just remember, rock and roll.
• 57:03
  And paper. And scissors. [upbeat music] Bye bye. 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.
• 57:21
  [upbeat music]