FAT TIRE BIKING allows for year-round fun

By Abigail Blonigen

As the weather grows colder and Northlanders dawn their puffy coats and thick socks, some year-round mountain bikers switch over to their fat bikes.

Fat bikes are exactly what they sound like: bikes with wider tires to provide more stability and help pack down the snow.

“Fat bikes were developed primarily for use on snow because of the wider width of the tires,” avid mountain biker Diana McFadden said,” but I think what people found — especially people who are kind of new to mountain biking — is that with that wider tire you get so much more stability when riding them.”

McFadden has been biking for about 20 years. She became interested in the sport after taking a spin class at the YMCA and meeting a group of women who encouraged her to buy a bicycle and join them for their group road rides.

“I was hooked after that,” she said. “It was such a fun activity. It was social, athletic, healthy — all those things that I was seeking in my life.”

She progressed into mountain biking after borrowing a friend’s bike to hit the trails. She loved the experience so much that she purchased her own mountain bike and started attending Ski Hut’s Monday night social mountain bike rides, which helped her learn the trails in town.

Kathleen Schultz is one of those riders who prefers the stability and comfort of a fat bike, so much that she rides her fat bike year-round.

“For me a fat bike makes me feel more confident because I don’t have to second-guess going over obstacles. I can just roll right over it,” Schultz said.