The Perfect End to a Very Fat Year

In late January, 2013, after several days of furiously scouring the Fat Bike forum, and lots of time with this thread, I pulled the trigger and found a bike shop that had an XL Moonlander that they would ship me. I threw it together and took it on its maiden voyage, Prospector Trail in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve.

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We bonded instantly and intensely. It was true love, with no regrets. We went everywhere together (along with the funny looking children).

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Slowly the bike began to evolve. Thudbuster, Revelate frame bag, bar, stem, Bud n Lou, hydraulic discs, Dual Control, Phat Sherpa, and the last real change, tubeless. Throughout the changes we rode.

We rode snow.
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We rode slickrock.

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We rode sand.

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Forest trails

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We even rode my version of a beach.

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So we fast forward to December 28, 2013. The ride was at 9500' elevation on a groomed ski trail.

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One day later a trail at 5800' that consisted of frozen snow, thawed snow, frozen sand and soupy sand.

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I went to work on December 30th, looking forward to getting the 1st off when I got some disturbing news. I also got the 31st off. I guess that it's time to go for a ride.

I have been scouring Google Earth, looking for sandy washes to ride. I found a wash in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, the first place I took the Moonlander.

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Off we went, and it was fabulous. It was firm and delightful sand, not to mention the stunning red rocks.

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This looks like a good place to turn around.

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I found some faint tracks of the elusive Fatus Bikeus.

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I also found a track left by someone that I'm glad I didn't run into, although that would have been awesome.

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All in all, it was the end of a totally fat year; no other bikes were ridden by me this year. And in spite of all the naysayers, while other bikes might have been faster, none would have been more fun.
 

Jeeper0505

Observer
Great write up!
I just purchased a Kona Wo and took her on our second ride today.
After 22 years of 'other' bikes, I may have found my new love!
Keep it Fat.

Michael
 

Gear

Explorer, Overland Certified OC0020
You know what's next! Fat Unicycle. Keep up the good work. :)
 

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
Great write up!
I just purchased a Kona Wo and took her on our second ride today.
After 22 years of 'other' bikes, I may have found my new love!
Keep it Fat.

Michael
You've been hanging out with Reynolds too much. :)

The fat bike has fully infected Prescott. Just today I walked out my front door on Pleasant street and a couple on matching fat bikes strolled by. Bizarre. I do love mine. I should tell you, it's not too late to switch to a Salsa. :)
 
Thanks all. I am truly having a blast with this bike. I have a Behemoth 5 X 5 29er that hasn't been ridden in a year. All my old trails are now new, and places that I've never considered rideable are now destinations. No new bike in my near future, but I see that Ventana has a fatty out now.
 

imhighlander

New member
I've been wanting a fatty side they came to Evergreen a few years ago but haven't pulled the trigger. I race road and just picked up my first 29er and fell in love with MTB again.

Thanks for the great write up. Maybe after some projects get done on the FZJ80 I'll be ready to spend money on bikes again.

I'm actually always ready to spend money on bikes. My wife, on the other hand...




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
awesome. intrigued. but i dont get the fatbike draw. whats up? 26" am/dh guy...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Whereas other bikes are designed in some way to squeeze out every ounce of performance, a fat bike is mostly about capability and fun. They'll go nearly anywhere, and in the process, make you grin ear to ear. They are slower, although not as slow as you'd think, but they open up a world of terrain...if you have it available to you. They're surprisingly good bikepacking platforms for some terrain as well.
 

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