5 minute read
Fat biking in
Fat bikes can open up new possibilities for fun during the long winter
JAMIE MORRIS Writer-at-large
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When he was a kid in Ottawa, Andrew Staneland would wrap plumbing chain around tires and rims and deliver papers on bike throughout the winter. Now, 50 years on, among his 13-odd bikes, is a “fat bike,” with oversized, underinflated, metal-studded tires, designed to give traction and stability on ice and snow.
Although the Kawartha Cycling Club member sees 30 or 40 other fat bikes when he rides in Ottawa, Staneland says fat bikes aren’t yet a thing here.
I decide to find out for myself what it’s like to cycle in winter — to get the skinny on fat bikes.
Allen Hussey of Pedego has offered me the loan of a fat bike and I arrange to meet him at The Bike Garage in Lindsay. From there I hope to ride to Omemee and back, taking the Rotary Trail along the Scugog River, then the Kawartha TransCanada Trail.
The temperature is -15 C with the wind chill. Forewarned by Staneland, I’ve dressed in layers. Keeping warm — but not overheating — is the goal.
Hussey introduces me to the bike, a customized Pedego Magnum Ranger with extra-wide, 11-cm tires. To help me out, it’s electric. (In the promotional literature it’s described as “the monster bike of electric bikes.”)
He’s also recruited Pedego bike mechanic Eric Cardinal to accompany me. Cardinal has a few tips, such as to accelerate and break smoothly and lightly. For clothing, he recommends a thin balaclava under the bike helmet.
Conditions are perfect: overnight there was snowfall, but just a few centimetres. Just as well: deep snow is for snowshoes, not bikes of any description.
We take the Rotary Trail, following the river’s path, then it’s up Dobson Street and onto the Kawartha Trans Canada Trail.
I begin without any electric bike pedal assist and it’s effortful for sure. Soon I add the pedal-assist and combine third gear and assist level 3, with brisk pedalling at 19-20 kph.
Eric Cardinal, left, with Advocate writer-at-large Jamie Morris on the Rotary Trail. Photo: Glenda Morris.
Satisfied I’m comfortable with the bike, Cardinal heads back and I continue to Omemee. Every so often deeper snow grabs the tire, or the tire drifts a bit but there’s never a feeling of loss of control or danger.
There’s even a feeling of floating as I carve out sweeping curves in the calf-deep, untracked snow.
A succession of roads intersects the trail — Post, Settlers, Lilac, and Heights. Before and after each I slow for sets of bollards. The only sounds are from the crunch of the tires gripping the surface. Around me are open fields, corridors of trees, a few barns. Along the edge of the trail critters have left tracks in the fresh powdery snow.
On the return leg, I meet just four walkers and two dogs, then, just before Dobson St., a middle-aged couple on regular, non-electric fat bikes. I ask what they like about winter fat-biking and for them, it’s the workout.
My verdict on fat bike riding in winter? Staneland was right: doable and exhilarating.
READER SPOTLIGHT
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LOUISE PLANTE
Louise Plante is reading The Next Accident by Lisa Gardner. This book is about a killer who has targeted the family of FBI special agent Pierce Quincy, who is a brilliant profiler. The police say that his daughter’s death was an accident but he sets out to prove the truth. He gets help from his former girlfriend, Rainie Conner, an ex-policewoman. When the killer’s next victim is Quincy’s ex-wife, it is obvious that the killer is stalking his entire family. This suspense novel reveals an intense chilling plan.
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Providing a monthly home-cooked meal for families
Victoria Stewart (left) and Ruby Lockhart (right) working on home-cooked meals for local families.
A few months ago, Karen and Gord Ferguson came up with the idea of cooking once a month for another family who could benefit from a wholesome, homecooked meal.
The simple idea quickly caught on as more than 50 volunteer cooks stepped forward to cook for another family. Ruby Lockhart and Victoria Stewart (above) were among the first of the volunteers to pitch in.
Ferguson says she really wanted to keep things simple. All she needs from a family in need of a home-cooked meal each month is to know where the food should be delivered, the number of adults and children, how best to communicate with the family (phone, email or other) and whether there are any food allergies. (The group is focusing on families for their initiative, not couples or singles.)
“We used to know our neighbours and often knew when they could use some cooking help and now we don’t,” says Ferguson.
To receive a meal every month for at least six months (the commitment length of time from each volunteer), contact Ferguson via her You Got a Friend group via Facebook by joining the group and sending a message. You can also email yougotafriend@yahoo.com or drop a note through the mail slot at The Lingerie Loft on Kent Street.
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