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WHITE BEAR/VADNAIS HEIGHTS PRESS
FEBRUARY 22, 2017 www.presspubs.com
The skinny on the popularity of fat-tire bikes BY WENDY HAZZARD CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Gone are the days when cyclists felt they needed to sit on the couch and wait for winter to leave before getting out their bikes for a healthy ride. Minnesota is known as “The Bike State,” offering 4,000 miles of paved biking trails, many groomed for fat tire bike winter cycling. Since 2013, fat tire bikes have seen a 350 percent increase in sales, with the industry today at $50 million in sales, and rapidly growing. Fat tire bike enthusiasts are riding through snow, sand and mud all year-round. Created in Alaska and southern New Mexico in the late ’80s, fat bike popularity started catching on around 2005. Basically, these bikes are considered mountain bikes with wider tires. They only weigh in at an average 20-37 pounds, depending on the wide array of features one can add. The wheels are the special feature on these bikes, 4 to 5 inches in width, some holding only 4-6 pounds in tire pressure. They make for a super slow floating ride all year-round. “The fat tire acts like a snowshoe that offers a slow ride and a fat-burning cardio workout,” said Curt Hall, salesperson at Forest Lake Cycle and Skate. “With the low tire pressure, you can ride over a bump and hardly feel it.” Owner Ted Lichtscheidl knows the sport well. While building his own fat bike 10 years ago, he selected the Surly Pugsley before they were even on the market. Store sales staff still use the bike today and offer it as a free rental for people who want to give fat tire bikes a try. “Surly (was) the first, followed by Trek,” said Tylor Lichtscheidl. The store offers a Farley 5 Series. The bike’s average price runs around $1,700, with high-end bikes fetching up to $6,000. “We want our customers to get what they want from these bikes,” said Hall.
PAUL DOLS| PRESS PUBLICATIONS
A fat tire bike rider made her way along a course on the frozen surface of White Bear Lake during the Beat the Freeze Biathlon Saturday, Feb. 4.
“Testing and trying them out, and reviewing all the features fat tire bikes have to offer is something we specialize in for our cyclists.” After returning recently from the Ely Winter Fest, Abbey Hanson of Northfield and Matt Brust of Chisago City stopped into Cycle and Skate after trying fat tire bikes in Ely at no charge. Excited to purchase bikes for themselves, and after looking at bikes at The House in Little Canada, Brust said, “We want to stay local.” Erik Jordahl is the fat bike specialist at Framed Bikes, an affiliate of The House, also located in Little Canada and known as the largest online snowboarding business since the 1980s. Of the Framed brand fat tire bike, Jordahl said, “These snow bikes will ride yearround because of the comfort from low tire air pressure. With typical tire pressure on other bikes at 80-90 pounds, the fat tire bike rides over the bumps with its low pressure. It rides like a 1980s Cadillac.” Dealing with over 300 dealers nationwide, The House has an unbeatable online presence (the-house.com) and their Little Canada store is one to visit — it stocks thousands of bikes and gear and clothing items. “Call or walk in to try a fat bike,” said Jordahl. “Our number for rental is 1-800-409-7559. With a driver’s license and credit card, we rent at just $40 per day.” Today, every major manufacturer offers fat bike designs, so someone who’s interested should really take the time to try them out and understand all the features available. Brendon O’Flanagan, of White Bear Lake, and Jeremy Sartain are fat bike athletes and have raced in many venues over the years, both out of state and at the National Fat Bike Championship races in Hayward, Wisconsin. Their passions run deep toward fat tire bikes; they volunteer their time and efforts for many ongoing venues. “We have Wednesday night races at Keller Park in St. Paul through February,” said O’Flanagan. “These are fun, grassroots, low-key events to get people outside and break up their week. We groom the 1-2 mile courses and change it up each week.” Juniors under 18 are free, otherwise the fee is $20 to participate. “We have a ton of sponsors, but our main sponsor is Now Bikes Tri-Fitness out of Arden Hills”, said O’Flanagan. “They bring demo bikes for people to try out for free. After the races, Keller Park lets us use their clubhouse, where we have raffle items and everyone goes home with a prize. It doesn’t matter
if you came in as number one off the course because we offer everyone a grab bag, with some prizes as high as $500.” With the trend growing fast, and new trails coming into existence all the time, many fat bike volunteers help groom trails and hold events to raise money. “People really get involved and all the event proceeds go toward our off-road trail systems,” said O’Flanagan. To learn more about events being offered through O’Flanagan and Sartain, check out zap.events or Fat Bike Races on Facebook. Great resources for bike clubs and current information on trails can be found at Minnesota’s National Park Services, the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation for initiatives underway.
HERE ARE A FEW INFORMATIVE WEBSITES FOR RESEARCH INTO FAT TIRE BIKES: • Bike Bik Trails T il in i Minnesota Mi t (d (dnr.state.mn) t t ) • Five best Places to Rent and Ride (exploreminnesota.com) (search fat tire bikes Minnesota) • Skill-appropriate trails (morcmtb.org) • Starters for group or introductory rides, Theodore Wirth Park, Minneapolis (loppet.com) • Articles and education (bikemag.com)
WHITE BEAR LAKE CITY COUNCIL NOTES WHITE BEAR LAKE — The City Council took the following action at its Feb. 14 meeting: • Approved fi nal plat for Minser Addition, 1941 Ninth St. The fi nal plat reconfigures three lots into five and includes a 5-foot variance from the 80-foot lot width for Lot 5. The change allows construction of two single-family homes. • Approved request by Engineering America, 1818 Buerkle Road, to install a 128-square-foot second wall sign on the south building elevation. The request was made on behalf of Buerkle Investment Properties LLC. • Approved request by HealthPartners for variances from the sign code for property at 1430 Hwy. 96. The health care company plans to remove mature evergreen trees in front of its building to make a new monument sign more visible so people can fi nd their way to the clinic. The area will then be landscaped with a “nice, manicured lawn,” said City Planner Anne Kane. • Approved date of March 14 for public hearing for the 2017 mill and overlay project. Of the $2.6 million project, $600,000 will come from assessments. About 800 properties will be affected. Also included in the feasibility report are four streets slated for reconstruction in 2017: Central Avenue (from Fifth to Seventh Street); Miller Avenue (from Fourth to Fifth Street); Murray Avenue (from Fourth to Fifth Street) and Bloom Avenue (from Fourth to Fifth Street). • Supported a Comprehensive Plan amendment proposed by a neighboring city. • The city of Vadnais Heights
plans multi-family, market rate apartments at the site of the old Garceau’s Hardware store, which means a switch from commercial/low-density to high-density residential housing. Plans are for a minimum of 22 units per acre on the 3.5-acre site. Staff said they saw no impacts from the amendment to residents of White Bear Lake. Since the adjoining property is in White Bear Lake, it has the opportunity to review and comment on the draft plan before it’s submitted to the Metropolitan Council. • Approved second reading of zoning code amendment regarding self-storage facilities. Such facilities are not an allowed use in the B-W zoning district and are restricted to the I-1 (limited industry) zoning district only. • Approved amendment to law enforcement labor services, patrol contract, awarding 2.5 percent wage increase to police officers. • Agreed request to postpone discussion of veterinary clinic expansion. Originally on the agenda, a resolution regarding the White Bear Animal Hospital expansion on County Road E was postponed to Feb. 28. The owner requested more time to consider the feasibility of buying the adjacent parcel to the east and building an entirely new one-story clinic. • Heard from Planner Kane that an application has been submitted for the former Auto Owners building on County Road E. The Planning Commission will hear about the plans at its Feb. 27 meeting. Debra Neutkens
BIRCHWOOD CITY COUNCIL NOTES
PAUL DOLS| PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Deanna Tangwall rides a fat tire bike across the frozen surface of White Bear Lake during the Beat the Freeze Biathlon Saturday, Feb. 4.
BIRCHWOOD — The City Council conducted the following business at its Feb. 14 meeting: • Appointed Jozsef Hegedus to the Planning Commission. He replaces Len Pratt, who resigned in December. Two residents submitted letters of interest for the vacancy: Hegedus and Analeisha Vang. Hegedus has an MBA in fi nance, works for Wells Fargo, and has lived in Birchwood for 15 years. His wife Noel grew up in Birchwood. Vang spent the fi rst 10 years of her childhood in the community and moved back three years ago. She has a master’s degree in geology, was a water recreation outreach specialist for the Department of Natural Resources and is currently a policy associate with the city of St. Paul’s mayor’s office. The vote to appoint Hegedus was 4-1 with Councilwoman Megan Malvey in support of Vang. The council thanked the two candidates for applying, noting both seemed well qualified. Mayor Mary Wingfield encouraged Vang to apply again should a vacancy open on a city commission. • Minutes from the dog park committee meeting Feb. 1 indicate the family of Dave Reynolds, who died in 2015 and loved dogs, is interested in a possible donation to help create a dog park in Birchwood. Members of the new committee include Tami Heart, Kellie Lund, Trilby White, Steve Schad, Chris Rollinger, Kathy Blegen-Huntley and Kelly Paradise. Schad is chair. The committee next meets at 6 p.m. March 7. • Received an update that Xcel Energy is swapping out the street lights with LEDs. Feedback from residents has been mixed, said City Clerk Tobin Lay; some like it and some don’t. Debra Neutkens