'Fat biking' fans turn cycling into a year-round activity in Fredericton

‘Fats biking’ followers flip biking right into a year-round exercise in Fredericton

It began with a call to pool their cash to get 500 bucks to purchase a snowmobile.

However these mates weren’t seeking to hit the paths on that machine for enjoyable. They needed it to groom Fredericton’s mountain bike trails throughout the winter, so they may trip their bikes all yr spherical.

It is often known as “fats biking” — mountain biking with outsized tires which are designed to grip the snow.

It was an odd concept to many individuals on the time. However the group of mates would quickly turn into trend-setters — grooming a path for a group that was able to strive one thing new.

Daniel Breau is likely one of the individuals who helped begin the motion 5 years in the past. He is additionally one of many major groomers — generally known as “grooming gnomes” — in Fredericton.

Fats bikes get their title from the outsized tires. The variety of folks using fats bikes in Fredericton and surrounding space has ballooned in the previous couple of years. (Gary Moore/CBC)

“It has been unbelievable,” Breau mentioned. “Once we first began out, we principally knew the entire fats bikers in Fredericton, and now we come out on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and the car parking zone is full and also you see households out fats biking.”

Breau is one in all two volunteers that groom the MVP path system in Marysville, on Fredericton’s north facet, for River Valley Biking, a non-profit group that maintains mountain bike trails in Fredericton and surrounding areas.

Final winter, the group spent 175 hours engaged on about 1,750 kilometres in that community of trails.

Fredericton’s Dan Breau spends greater than 100 hours each winter grooming and perfecting the paths for winter cyclists. 2:05

“Relying on the snowfall we may be out three or 4 instances per week,” Breau mentioned, “Hopefully, if we get an excellent base, and never an excessive amount of snow, we’ll have the ability to groom as soon as within the week after which have an ideal week of using.”

River Valley Biking manages the paths in Fredericton, Oromocto, and Woolastook.

It is volunteer-driven, however River Valley depends on memberships and fundraising to pay the bills of sustaining the paths.

This snowmobile is well-known across the Fredericton biking group. Its nickname is Skinny Panther and, with its V-plow, it is likely one of the major machines used to groom trails. (Submitted/Daniel Breau)

And with the expansion of the game, memberships have soared in the previous couple of years. In keeping with Breau, greater than 300 folks have been members of River Valley Biking, Winter Bike.

“It is superior, it has been an ideal initiative that we took and folks appear to essentially get pleasure from it, and it simply offers them one other winter exercise that they’ll do.”

The cash from the memberships has helped the group buy 5 snowmobiles, grooming tools and fuel for the machines — a far cry from simply 5 years in the past.

Melissa Bordage has been using a fats bike since 2014, and he or she was desirous to check out the trails when Breau began grooming them.

Volunteers who groom mountain bike trails say there is a science to getting the paths excellent. (Gary Moore/CBC)

“It is a enjoyable technique to keep wholesome and match throughout the chilly months and benefit from the snow,” Bordage mentioned.

Bordage mentioned if it wasn’t for the volunteer efforts by folks like Breau, the group would not have grown a lot in recent times.

“They’re those who’re, you recognize, creating all these trails for us to trip,” Bordage mentioned. “Town trails are good, however being again on the only observe throughout winter is wonderful.”

Grooming science

And with time, Breau and his crew have discovered lots concerning the science of grooming the paths. There’s extra to it than simply snowmobiling via recent snow.

Every snowmobile is dragging totally different grooming supplies, usually do-it-yourself, which are used to chop via the snow and widen the paths.

“We have a curler that principally we’ll pull that may compact the snow,” Breau mentioned, and added additionally they use a v-shape wood construction to widen the paths, and easy them with weighted tires.

Breau mentioned timing can also be essential, and looking out forward on the forecast for the most effective window to groom following a snowfall.

“As soon as the paths are literally groomed they often take about 24 hours, relying on the temperature and the consistency of the snow, for the paths to arrange.”