The first ever fat bike race at Kelly Canyon went off yesterday without a lot of fanfare. The inaugural event only drew about a dozen participants, but the organization was excellent with strong support from Bill's Bike and Run and Kelly Canyon. The fun was off the top of the fun scale. I was initially a little skeptical about the proposed route (two laps climbing to the Y-Junction, following snow-cat tracks from the east boundary to the top of lift four, and down Moose). It turned out to be perfect. It was a great course in every respect with a fairly challenging climb followed by a recovery and then a repeat of the climb. Prior to the race, it was estimated that lap times would be in a 45 minute range. Snow conditions were very good for fat bikes (probably not great for skiing) and that was reflected in very fast lap times. I think most lap times were in about a 30 to 35 minute range with many people riding a negative split on the second lap.
There is perhaps something absurd about otherwise serious adults careening around in the snow on ridiculously fat tired bicycles. And I am not sure there is any point trying to explain it. People are often discouraged when they ride fat bikes for the first time because it can be pretty tough work depending on terrain and snow conditions, but the fun is addictive. It is the kind of stupid fun you had when you were eight years old.
The guys from Bill’s and the owners of Kelly Canyon share a vision in which Kelly Canyon becomes a fat biking hub with fat bikes welcome on the lifts and the ski hill. They plan to organize a number of fat bike events including a couple of races each winter. I am happy we were able to be there for the first one and look forward to many more in the years to come. Many thanks to Brandon Fell and Gray Augustus from Bill’s as well as the people from Kelly Canyon for organizing this event.
You can see race photos (Jeff, Tony, me) at the Bill’s Bike and run Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/billsbikeandrun
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