FatBike Maiden Voyage

1/16/15;

A lot of the fun of getting a new bike is getting it out the first time and seeing what it is really like to ride. Because a Fatbike is such a different beast completely, this becomes an even more of an urgent matter. Gotta get out and see what this thing is like to ride! Windy day today, with gusts up around 22 mph or better, but I'm going anyway. 

The route I chose today was mostly gravel with some pretty good hills to try, some flat, and a sand playground. It was to be a 28 mile route that I've traveled before with my gravel bike for comparison. Right off the bat, I did notice a reduction in speed from my gravel bike. But then, I didn't get this for speed, and I knew it would be heavy feeling. The first thing that was apparent was that somebody ironed out the roads since I'd been out on them last. All the washboard sections that I used to complain about were gone! Well, not gone, but made smooth and not noticeable because of those big ol' tires. The next thing I noticed was that all the sections with the big loose rock on them were not any problem at all ...... just cruise right over them. Smooth ride ....... check! Hills, however, were a different story. Uphills were slow, but not a problem with the low gearing. I did notice the weight of the bike, and the drag of the tires. Downhills were fast and fun! 

Obviously, a posed picture, but it seemed the Fat bike's element. After I turned and headed back to the south again, I had the wind at my back, and the pedaling effort became much easier. It wasn't all the fault of the bike. When I got to the river crossing, there was a 4X4 sand playground that ran alongside the river for about a half mile. The river is quite low in the winter months exposing quite a bit of sandy beach, and sand banks that are accessible from the road. Just turn off, and ride down through the ditch and up the other side, and the sand starts immediately. I have seen several pickups buried in the sand out here before from people wanting to go down to the river to fish. The approach to the river is very soft, loose sand. It's funny ...... all the time I rode mountain bikes, sand was something I wanted to avoid. In fact, many of our local singletracks have changed their trails to bypass sandy sections because of mountain biker complaints. So, here I am, seeking out the sandy area for a fun day. Once I got over to the river, the loose soft stuff along the old river banks was left behind, and the sand along the river itself was hard packed. Still sand, though. Enough power will spin the tire and dig holes. Those big ol' tires just rolled right on top of it, and made it seem easy. 

There was a low water crossing to a little sandy island out in the river that looked as though it could be navigated, and so, I just rode through the six inch deep water to the island, just because I could! 

Water on the left of me, water on the right of me, and nothing but water up ahead of me! 

The huge tires do give one a lot of confidence to try things you might not have otherwise. So, continue exploring, I rode down along the river's bank until I could go no more. 

Having to turn around when the river took the bank away, I looked up to the upper river banks that you can see on the left of the picture. These were very, very loose sand, but getting a run at it first helped, and I was able to stand and power on up through the loose stuff with a minimum of spinning. As long as it kept moving all was good. When the bike would spin out and stop, because it happens suddenly, you fall over. Soft landings though, kind of like falling into a bucket of corn meal mush. 

You can make out my track to the right side of the 4X4's track. There was no way that I would have ever even tried this area with a regular mountain bike. This bike, with those huge tires, just rolled over all of it, and stayed up on top of the sand without digging in. Turning an area usually avoided into a fun playground. I know these bikes were originally designed for snow, but sand really seems to be their forte. I'm not really sure how well they would really do in our snow here which usually is accompanied by a layer of ice first. But they turn sand into a fun time indeed. I played up and down on the sandy banks spinning up, and turning and fishtailing down in the loose sand, it was a blast! All in all, I spent almost an hour here before wearing myself almost completely out. Finally, with legs that felt like rubber, I realized I still had eight more miles to get home and some pretty good hills to climb before getting there, so, I left, my sandy playground, but I'll be back before the spring rains fill the river again. 

You can see, by my footprints walking back to take this picture how soft and loose the sand was here, but the bike made me look like I actually knew what I was doing, and was a lot stronger than I really am. When I stopped the bike, there happened to be an old piece of driftwood that was a perfect size to use as a kickstand right there within arm's reach. A perfect fit! Forked at the top end, and fat enough at the bottom to not sink down in the sand, it held the bike up so I could get this picture.  

Fat Bike tracks in, and Fat Bike tracks out, the end to a fun time, and then, it's back on the gravel roads and head up the hills and back home. I definitely will be back for more of this, however. I'm still experimenting with tire pressure and today, I had eight pounds in the front and nine pounds in the rear, but I really think that reducing it down to six front and seven rear might work better. Not really used to thinking about tire pressure in single digits. This bike, with it's low pressure fat tires turned an otherwise avoidable area into a fun playground! Just another new adventure!