Fatter Tires To Start Out With

As I have been going over my bikes used in 2015 and reminiscing about the past year here on the blog, the weather flip-flopped to becoming much more normal here. We've actually got snow that looks to stay around a while this time. It is much colder now, with wind chill indices well below zero on windy days. The gravel roads are snowy and icy in spots. That makes it rough on skinnier, gravel road type tires around these parts, and it makes staying safe and warm a real challenge.

So, I have broken out the fat bikes- My titanium Mukluk and my Blackborow DS. The snow we got is............meh! Just like we've been getting in years past here. Sand-like, sugary, and doesn't like being packed down. In fact it is more like mashed potatoes when it is packed down than anything else. This favors the Blackborow DS with the wider rims and tires, so I've gravitated to bringing that bike out more of late.

The titanium Mukluk may see some commuting duties once the routes settle in, or if it gets nice enough to where I can go out on gravel roads a bit to explore. I'm not real big on getting out in the wide open when the wind chills are below zero. It just gets too weird with trying to keep warm and should I have a mechanical things could get pear shaped real fast. I'm not saying I won't go out in the country at all, but I do realize that the consequences for "not getting it right" when it comes to layering, managing sweat, and with regard to any failures with equipment are a lot higher. Dangerous? Yeah.......it could be. Real dangerous. So having a healthy respect for that is, I think, prudent. If I don't have to put my self at risk, and I could ride in the woods, let's say, where the wind isn't as much a factor, then why go out into the open? Plus, staying closer to home and the urban area maybe is a better choice in regards to risk management.

On a recent "commute route management" excursion.

Sorry about that "mini-rant" there! I just wanted to make it clear why I don't venture out from the city a lot in Winter here. Fat bikes give me a great opportunity to get out, away from it all in the woods here in the city, and still have that ability to maintain fitness when the weather is less than friendly. One thing is for certain- I'm not going to ride a trainer. Not at all interested in doing that. Especially now when there is no need to, with the advent of fat bikes several years ago now.

Riding into 2016 on fat bikes.......to start out with, anyway.

My choice then is to ride into 2016 on fat bikes, and maybe at some point the weather will moderate this Winter where I can start venturing out into the country, but with the chill of Winter combined with the wind, I am sticking around town for now. I don't see a whole lot of change coming down the pike, when I look at what the weathermen are saying, so I expect you'll see a lot of fat tires here to get the year rolling.