Spinning the Fat

This time of year many "normal" people and countless weirdo cyclists take to spinning classes or, in the case of the purely stupid, spinning on a trainer in their garage or basement for hours on end. I once tried to spin on a trainer in my basement...OK I actually tried it several times, but the result was the same...yawn! Yep, those were by far the most boring bike rides I have ever done and I still curse myself for wasting time trying.



If I had to ride a trainer to stay in bike-shape through the winter I would most likely have quit riding bikes altogether and started drinking heavily, plus I'm sure I would need brain surgery to remove the stupid factor that made me keep doing it.



Long ago I began a path of self-construction in the winter with one goal in mind - to have fun and if at all possible ride my bike. I love winter, I love snow, and I love playing in the cold.



Yes, I'm an odd person in this world. Winter presents much more challenge with the cold since it simply will kill you in short order if you are not prepared. I learned long ago in my teens while exploring Montana's Beartooth Wilderness Area in the winter just how quickly fun turns to danger. After many lessons learned the hard way since I have found that I get high the challenge of winter activies.



This year I've taken a bike in places I could never reach before. Prior to my fatbike I was fairly limited in my winter travels by bike. Now I can make 30-miles fly by on packed snowmobile trails (I love snowmobiliers - they make some nice trails for me to ride on). 



Fatbiking has become my winter spinning class. I can not believe how much fun it is riding a fatbike on the snow.



All these years I've been missing out. Why I do not know, but moving up 2000' on top where snow exists much of time really got me started on the "need" for a fatbike.  While everyone else is whining and wishing for an early spring, I'm happy and praying for more snow and a late summer so that I can go spinning on my fatbikes all the longer this year.