Disclaimer: Post to include lots of fat related puns/humor.
So, like many less-fat riders, I was fat-curious and finally got a chance to ride a fatty at the re-opening of CamRock Cafe & Sport. Long story short, I was very impressed. Far from the lumbering beasts I'd expected to find, I was presented with a 'light' (at least compared to the FR sled I brought) Trek Farley in just my size (aka huge). With tires that looked like they could support a small dump truck, I set off with other fat-minded individuals on a journey of adventure and self-discovery.
The little bit of intro pavement initially led me to believe the rumors I'd heard about fatties being slow and unwieldy. It was a struggle simply to steer! But once we left the comforts of sun-drenched (read: not frozen) blacktop behind, and gained the frozen white that we know so well, the bike truly came alive. Riding along I struggled to adjust to the more upright and neutral posture required to maintain weight on the tires to prevent sliding. With expert tips from pro-fatty Chuck, I'd eventually gathered enough skill to not be biking around like a drunken northman.
After numerous slides, stops, dabs, and a couple butt-first trips to the snow, I'd finally figured out how to wrangle such an animal. Wide, upright turns, and bit of foresight into when to brake helped get me through most tricky sections. And some wide-open downhills into valleys and puddles was certainly a blast. Smooth, easy pedal strokes brought me aloft of the great peaks of CamRock and across vistas of freshly flowing melt waters (one of the few times you see a waterfall here).
After a lap through all the singletrack we could handle and ride, we returned to our starting point, sweaty, smiling and full of newfound fatness.
Verdict: While I don't think I could ride fat year-round, it was certainly a blast to explore a trail I thought I knew in a whole new way, and I would certainly rent a fatty to go on such an adventure again!
