Today a few of the locals went out to preview Kelly Canyon's Fat Bike Loop. Cobe, Dave, Tony and I started from the Kelly Canyon Ski Area Parking lot, and made our way up the canyon along a freshly groomed track. Kelly's staff has obviously put a lot of effort into creating a nice multi-use trail that is usable by both classic and skate nordic skiers, snowshoers, and us fat bikers*.
For those familiar with the Buckskin-Morgan ridge trail, the groomed trail by necessity turns back west to go along the ridge further north along the Forest Service 218 spur rather than following the mountain bike single track that comes out onto the road at the summit. Once the west-bound leg of the loop joins back up with the Buckskin-Morgan ridge trail you're in familiar territory until you reach the new south-bound downhill trail Kelly's crew has cut back down to the resort. Parts of this sketchy little leg are featured in the video below.
If mountain biking is one standard deviation removed from road biking then fat biking is a couple of standard deviations beyond that; well into exceptional territory. And it's different in ways both unexpected and undeniably fun. Fat biking reminds me that fun doesn't have to be fast. It also begs the cyclist to consider cultivating an entirely new skill set that has more in common with backcountry skiing and snowmobiling that it does road riding.
Here's looking forward to a brand new way to get around our beautiful country in the winter, and to keeping in good cycling shape without having to crank away on a set of rollers or trainer. My first impression of fat biking can be summed up in two words: phat fun!
*this description works well for most of us both ways
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