Winter Fat Bike Trail riding is tough! I rode the Back 40 trails at Theodore Wirth. The trails were pretty well packed at this point. It is a different animal than regular trail riding, with the cold being a big part of it.
It was hard to figure out how much to wear and I think I ended up wearing too much (3 thermal top layers with a fleece vest) and I was sweaty by the end. But my face was really cold riding over to the trails and my toes (in hiking boots) got really cold too. My hands stayed warm in my SealSkin mittens I was wearing some liners but they didn’t work well with the mittens so I took them off and my hands were still a little sweaty.
Overall the trails were great! A few short sections were rutted. And one difference is that the trails can be pretty narrow with where the snow has been packed. This made it a little harder, at least for me.
I wouldn’t mind actually owning a fat bike and getting into shape and riding more often. I’m thankful I got to borrow a nice Trek Farley to test it out!
4.4 miles in about an hour. I did get one segment PR, which is a little odd, but I think it was on a section I normally have to stop and carry over an obstscle, but the snow buried the obstacle! My time was almost 15 seconds faster than my fastest!
