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Weekly Dose of Fat – 9-5-14 – with Amy Rowley – Show #20
Sep 5, 2014
Weekly Dose of Fat – 9-5-14 – with Amy Rowley – Show #20
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0:00
Weekly Dose of Fat, show number 20 for Friday, September 5th, 2014.
0:07
[upbeat music] From the Fat Bike Studios beaming out to listeners in over 50 countries, this is your weekly dose of fat with your not erstwhile hosts, Sven and Gomez.
0:26
Hola, mami. Yo soy Gomez. Does erstwhile means we're a farmer, I guess, right? Yeah. [laughs] Okay. Hey, it's Sven here. Joining us in the studio today is none other than JK Livin. Grammar policing.
0:39
[laughs] And as always- Gr- grandma policing... we have the Fat Bike Orchestra conducted today by Sir Christopher Daisy. This show is sponsored by the Surly Ice Cream Truck. Lick it up. Learn more at surlybikes.com.
0:56
Lick it up. Kiss was just on tour. It would've been awesome to see them again. On this week's show, we've got a live call in from Amy Rowley from the Birkebeiner Ski Foundation to talk about this year's Fat Bike Birkie.
1:08
We'll discuss about our, a bit about our upcoming trip to Sin City to cover the outdoor dirt demo and the largest bicycle industry exposition in the U- United States of America, Interbike. Bike, bike, bike, bike.
1:24
Time is running out to enter our Dog Days of Summer contest. Details are in the links below, so get on that. And we'll take a look at fat bike news from around the web on the Weekly Dose of Fat.
1:36
And of course, we'll talk a little bit about beer. Let's get right into that. Well, this week's beer buzz comes from the Berkeley of the Midwest, Madison, Wisconsin. I took a trip up there to the old state capital.
1:52
Went- Did you see Scott Walker? Went to- [laughs]... Farmer's Market, went to Taste of Madison, went to Revolution Cycles.
2:00
We ended up at a cool little spot with the Blackwing Bird, Lieutenant Tickles, Spinner, Vivian, fatbike.com weather girl, Kelsey, and Cousin Lyle.
2:10
We rode over to Revolution Cycles right after closing time with a bunch of beer, and we, uh, witnessed the Revolution Cycles Fat Bike Race Team birthed. Pa-thoosh, right out on the- [laughs] Right on the wood floor.
2:24
Isn't it called sploosh? Sploosh. [bottle pops] [laughs] And then we all feasted upon the race team placenta. Delicious.
2:31
[clears throat] We also, also, the icing on the cake of that placenta would be we met the guy that's running this year's Single Speed USA, if you can believe half the rhetoric that's going on, Mr. Brett Stepanek.
2:46
That sounds very cool. He's going to, uh, he's gonna rock your world with the Single Speed USA, Wisconsin style. Wisconsin style.
2:55
So after we interrupted all of that, we went to, uh, Mickey's Tavern, a great little place right on the bike trail.
3:01
Sat on the patio with dogs and people and craziness, and, uh, drank pitchers of local beer, and ate tacos. And then
3:12
w- the whole, this whole story's been about the Ale Asylum beer that we drank there, and that's- Is that what we've got here?... what we've got. Hoppelicious [beer bottles hit table] by Ale Asylum.
3:22
[clears throat] So- What is that thing on the front there? That's, uh, looks like a pine cone and a serpent. [laughs] Or is that a pineapple? It's a pine cone. Well, let's pop 'em. It's a rhizome.
3:34
[bottle caps unscrewing] Maybe it's a, it's a hoppy thing. It's a little... That's what it is. I'm using a, uh, Shimano XTR ninja throwing star- [laughs]... beer opener.
3:44
I'm using the world's most dangerous pop top poppin', punch cap hole makin', light beer from Miller bottle opener. It seems to wanna poke your hand whenever you use it. Like- It does... it does.
3:55
It just- And it bends, too. Yeah. The thing's- It's bendy... w- and I'm using one that was, uh, retrieved from a garbage disposal. [laughs] Ah.
4:02
My garbage disposal wasn't working properly this morning, but it was not due to your thing being in there. No, no. I just had to bang on the side of it- [laughs]... and it started working again. Well, cheers, boys.
4:10
Cheers, boys. Right on. [bottles clinking] Oh. Ah. By cracky, I think I taste the- Whoa. [laughs] JK was, g- made his a little excitable over there. Dude.
4:25
[coughs] [laughs] I'm not sure, but I think I taste the 11 separate editions of Cascade hops that give this American pale ale [laughs] its lush citrus aroma- [laughs]... and bold hop flavor without crazy bitterness.
4:40
I, uh, we drink a lot of beer. It is a good beer. That was written. That was read directly off the label. Did you see how I made it sound like I didn't read it- [laughs]... by prefacing it with a little story up front?
4:48
Right, right. I learn from the best. [laughs] His name is Colin Ford, ladies and gentlemen. That's right. Pale ale. This is a, this is a good one. Mike- Yeah. And, and it's not super bitty...
4:59
not like, not like eating loaves of bread or anything like that. Yeah. Mike did a little research and found out it's lower in calories- Yeah... than one might expect. And thusly lower in alcoohoozy as well, but you know.
5:07
By cracky, we're not getting all hammered here this morning. [laughs] It's a breakfast beer. Exactly. Which is what we do here at Fat Bike Radio- [laughs]... breakfast beers. Well.
5:18
Well, boys, uh, we're going to have Amy on the show up next right after this. She's from, uh, American Birkebeiner up there. We'll be talking with her right after this. You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio.
5:37
Hi, I'm Steve with Borealis Bikes, and I'm gonna tell you a little bit about our brand-new Echo Fat Bike frame. The Borealis Echo is the first available carbon fat bike frame designed around the RockShox Bluto fork.
5:47
It delivers nimble shred ability with clearance to handle up to five-inch tires.
5:51
Complete bikes can be built for under 25 pounds, which makes the Echo the lightest suspension fat bike frame on the market, with unmatched handling.
5:58
The result is truly a year-round fat bike that takes on all disciplines of mountain biking. Visit Borealis Bikes to find a dealer near you. We promise, once you go fat, you'll never go back.
6:08
Our special guest today is Amy Raley from the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation. Those are the folks that run the world-famous Birkie Ski Race and the amazing Fatbike Birkie. Welcome to the show, Amy. Hey, guys.
6:21
Thanks for having me on the show. Well, I guess the first thing we should do is, uh, have you tell our listeners a little history of the Fatbike Birkie.
6:29
Well, you know, the Fatbike Birkie provides the one-day-a-year opportunity to ride your bike on the infamous and, and iconic snow-covered groomed American Birkebeiner ski trail.
6:41
Uh, 2013 was our first race, and we started off with a bang. You know, we reached a cap of about 300 ri- or a cap of 300 riders right away. In 2014, we were the US National Fat Bike Championship Race. Awesome.
6:54
And surpassed our cap of 500 riders, ending up around 550, including pros such as Ned Overn, Travis Brown, Rebecca Rusch, and other really fast people. Um- Lots of folks from Alaska showed up there...
7:07
and plus those other visitors and- Yeah, way to diss all the Alaska racers, Amy. [laughs] Just kidding. Yeah. [laughs] Um, you know, each year we've, we, we've...
7:17
Of the two years that we've been doing this race, each year we've been the largest fat bike race in the world, and we plan on getting a little bit bigger, but most importantly, we plan on getting better and just kind of honing our skills with that.
7:29
Um, the mission of the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation is to host world-class events, um, be good stewards of our Birkie trail system, and more, most importantly, encourage year-round active outdoor lifestyles for people of all ages and abilities.
7:42
So fat biking up here in the Upper Midwest is a big part of that, and, um, we, we created the Fatbike Birkie in response to that demand.
7:50
And the greatest thing is, is that while the Birkie trail is challenging, you know, anybody can ride it, and our races include everybody from the pros down to novice riders. Um- Mm...
8:00
it's hilly, it's tough, but it's not gonna kill you. Well, there was even a guy last year when we were up there on one of the least expensive fat bikes you can possibly buy from a- I know...
8:10
an un- an unnamed big box store, and he was having a blast on that thing, so, um- He was. That thing must have weighed 90 pounds. [laughs] It was humongous.
8:19
So, uh, Amy, have you set a date for this year's Fatbike Birkie? You bet. Uh, we typically schedule Fatbike Birkie for two weeks after the ski race. Uh, so that, this year, that puts it at, uh, March 7th.
8:31
Um, typically it's either the first or the second Saturday in March. March 7th, 2015, put that on your calendar for the third annual Fatbike Birkie.
8:40
Uh, we'll also be the, um, final race of the Great Lakes Fat Bike Series, so it will act as a championship for that series this year as well. Um, and then 2015, we're planning on using the same course as last year.
8:54
Everybody really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. Um, it flowed really nicely, and we- we'll be including the 37K and the 20K distances. Uh- It was a lot of fun for Ned Overn, I think... registration's open.
9:05
[laughs] Nedley won it. He, he had a lot of fun at that thing, so. Oh, he did, you know, and, you know, I'd never even saw him break a sweat.
9:13
But, um, uh, even the whole team really enjoyed being out there riding with him. So any decision on, uh, whether the, this year's Fatbike Birkie will be the US National Fat Bike Championship?
9:26
You know, we would love to continue being the, having the Fatbike Birkie be the US National Championship Race.
9:33
We've been getting a lot of questions and contacts, um, asking us this very question, and it seems really like what our customers want, and the riders up here want.
9:41
We, we provide an experienced team to put on an exceptional quality of... that is very worthy of being the national championship.
9:50
Um, but that being said, it's kind of tricky because there's some other events out there that wanna also be a national championship race, and since the fat bike racing is, you know, technically unorganized or unsanctioned, however you wanna say it, uh, it really boils down to which race grabs the title first.
10:07
And, you know, we wanna partner with other races and help support them, so I know there's one or two out there that are considering it, but essentially if no one makes moves by the beginning of October, um, Fatbike Birkie plans to announce, um, us being the, uh, second annual US National Championship Race and keeping that title moving forward.
10:27
You can always call it intergalactic if somebody wants to take national from you. [laughs] Yeah, y- and, and that's exactly it, you know?
10:34
It's, it, it's really there's the world championship, there's the national championship.
10:38
It really is just a name, so regardless of what happens, the Fatbike Birkie will continue to be the, the best race in the, in the country for fat biking. Right.
10:47
And, um, you know, we, uh, I would be curious to see, hear what your readers think, you know?
10:53
Is, is, is the national championship aspect, is that a draw for them, or do they just wanna get out there and, and ride and, and race? Yeah. So do you think it will be a UCI event? Uh, definitely not.
11:06
Um, you know, USA Cycling did contact us after the, after our 2014 national championship race expressing interest in sanctioning fat bike racing in general and inquiring about using the Fatbike Birkie, um, as their, you know, their, uh, keystone race.
11:24
But after lots of thoughtful conversation, we just really didn't feel it would benefit our participants, our race, or the, the sport of fat biking overall. So no plans to associate with USA Cycling.
11:36
We love what they do for, um, for cycling. They do a great job, but we really wanna keep the Fatbike Birkie fully under the control of, of the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation.
11:46
Well, I for one think that's a good idea. [laughs] Yeah, I agree. [laughs] So, you know, you've had a couple of great events in the past, uh, the past two years. Do you have any new plans for this year's Fatbike Birkie?
11:57
Well, we've, we've still been, kept doing some brainstorming.
12:00
Um, we did ask last year's participants what they'd like to see new this year, and most said they really enjoyed last year's race and they didn't see any need for change.
12:10
It's kind of nice to always mix it up a little bit. Um, this year we are gonna increase the, the race cap to 750 participants, so we won't have to turn people away like we did last year.
12:21
Um, we've been considering adding a masters class to the race, which would give our 45 and older riders a chance to win their own title. Um- Yeah, DFL for me in that class. Yeah, yeah.
12:33
[laughs] And, well, and of course, Ned Overend would, could possibly be in that class too. Oh, I could race with Ned- Although maybe he is a threat by himself... in the same class So [laughs] That would be awesome.
12:43
Well, did you hear- But we are working on some other ideas, uh, to put out there and, um, you know, welcome any suggestions that, that, or for things that people wanna see.
12:52
So it's, uh, you put a word out there to get input from our listeners. Uh, a good question would be what you wanna see in the new race, and if you want the r- US National Championship to be at the Fat Bike Birkie.
13:08
Put your comments- Mm-hmm... at the bottom, and, uh, I'm sure Amy reads our site all the time. Religiously. She, she at least has to l- you know, listen to this radio show, so.
13:18
And look at all the pretty pictures- Yeah... we put up there. Yeah, you bet. And, uh, you know, the registration is open for Fat Bike Birkie.
13:24
Um, you can get to it by going to our website, www.birkie.com, and just clicking on bike. That'll give you all the, the information.
13:33
Um, not to say that we aren't gonna add some other exciting things to it, but registration's been open for about a month or so here. And then feel free to contact us directly if you need to.
13:42
Um, email us at
[email protected]
. And we'll have all that information in our show notes. Thanks for coming on the show, Amy. Thank you, Amy. Awesome talking to you again. Yeah.
13:51
Look forward to seeing you at- Yeah, thanks... the Fat Bike Birkie- Thanks... in 2015. Yeah, thanks for having me, and we are working on an agreement with Mother Nature for a s- better winter season. Sounds good.
14:01
All right. I always, uh, put your face on Mother Nature's face. [laughs] Great. Thanks, Amy. All right, Amy, see ya. Y- all right, bye hon, thanks. Party. Your Fat Bike Radio.
14:18
Hi, this is Eric from Surly. Bean bag chairs, lava lamps, pintos. Those things and more on Fat Bike Radio with Gomez and Sven. [whistles] This is your weekly dose of fat. Welcome back to the radio program.
14:37
Do you know what time, what day, what month it even is? [laughs] Well, I'll tell you what. I got no earthly idea. [laughs] It's- Do tell... it's Gnome Fest Eve, boys and girls. Oh. Tomorrow- Hard... we build Gnome City.
14:52
[sings] Saturday night we burn a giant bike that has been festooned with pyrotechniques. Pyrotechniques.
15:02
And, uh, Uncle Gomez's bloodstream probably will not drop below, uh, legal drunkies, uh, for the, until Sunday. What happens on Monday morning? And then Monday morning- After Gnome Fest [laughs]...
15:15
Sven and I, bleary-eyed, shall, uh, board an airplane and fly to Las Vegas, Nevada. Are we gonna be sleeping on that plane? I always sleep on the plane. I like sleeping on that airplane.
15:29
So, uh, what are you most excited about to, to see at the big show?
15:33
Well, you know, with, uh, with Eurobike being out in advance of Interbike, we see a lot of new stuff that normally probably would've been reserved for Interbike in the past, but, uh, I hear there's some things that we don't know full details on yet.
15:45
I'm looking forward to learning something new, because, uh, with the speed of the internet and everybody else covering things out there, seems like you can't keep a, a, the, pull the wool over anybody has eyes anymore.
15:56
And, uh, a company that can keep something under wraps and, and show us something new is gonna be pretty cool. Yeah. Well, I know there's stuff out there, because- I know you know.
16:04
[laughs] Uh, there's stuff that I don't even tell you. [laughs] Stuff that like, uh- He can't even tell me... uh, is completely embargoed. My name. So how about you, JK?
16:12
Uh, from the man in the street perspective, what do you look forward to?
16:16
I'm relying on the Hunter Thompson-esque reporting from the field, because I know there's gonna be a bunch of shit that's gonna be rad as hell, but- I'm relying-...
16:26
I'm relying it, uh, to your good graces to, uh- I am your Huckleberry on the- [laughs]... on the, on the gonzo journalism piece. The gonzo journalism will, will begin at Gnome Fest and continue- [laughs]...
16:35
through Thursday at Interbike, ladies and gentlemen. I think they still serve alcohol-sy on the airline, don't they? Yeah, yeah. So there you go. I look forward to my first $12 cocktail at [laughs] 4:45 AM- [laughs]...
16:47
in Milwaukee airports. What time do we have to get the hell out of here? Man, that's early. Oh, God.
16:51
You know, we're gonna fly in there, we're gonna jump into a rental car, we're gonna buzz straight out to the 100-degree heat in the desert, stopping only to pick up a 30-pack along the way.
17:00
[laughs] Of N- Natural Light or something- Uh-huh... for our friends at the Surly tent. Yep, get, stay in their good graces. So, uh, eh, around the internet this week, there was a lot of stuff out there.
17:10
There's a bunch of links in the show notes from things that people did see at Eurobike, including the new Kenda Juggernaut fat bike tire, uh, a really cool, uh, 20-inch fat bike for kids.
17:22
It's made by a company called Scool. I think they're just going with school. Scool. Isn't that clever? But, uh, it won a Eurobike award. It actually looks really cool.
17:31
Um- That's the way a kids' fat bike, or any kids' bike, should be, that monocoque with the big standover. Yeah. That's where, you know, you get another couple years out of your kid's bike. Yep, yep.
17:43
And you- And you can start them younger, so. Yeah. It looks like a good thing. Like to see it when it's actually available. So the Juggernaut, you could have a Juggernaut mounted on a jackalope.
17:54
Juggernaut on a jackalope. Uh, jerk off, just s- That's-... comes right in there too somehow, doesn't it? [laughs] That's where fat bike is today. Juggernauts- Juggernauts-... and jackalopes... and jackalopes.
18:04
Our friend Joe Boo, uh, he, he writes a lot of stories about fat biking and, and has one this week about the Legion Trails in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
18:12
Not one we'd normally think of across the lake the other way, but, uh, this week he also wrote a non-fat bike oriented post about a young lady that's a friend of the family who has juvenile diabetes.
18:22
Take a look at his site. They're, uh, you know, doing some fundraising for her and, uh, like to help out people who have, uh, you know, less fortunate than us, and Joe Boo's done a nice little writeup on that.
18:33
And if you're wondering when the last call, closing time to enter the Dog Days of Summer- Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Cowbell... contest is, yeah, it would be September 15th.
18:43
I didn't even write that down and I could remember that one. You are good. So check out the links. [laughs] You're a former radio personality. The best part of summer is the 20 days of September.
18:54
Don't sell summer short and end it at Labor Day, people. Nope, good call on that. I went out- Just 'cause your kids are in school... I rode my bike to the quarry and went swimming and scared all the fish yesterday.
19:07
It was a beautiful 80-degree day. Awesome. Yeah, if you write about fat biking on the web and would like us to check out what you've got, shoot me an email to
[email protected]
.
19:18
Maybe we'll mention you on the show if you're lucky. And if you've got a fat bike event, go to the site, click on Events, go to Register Your Event right underneath that, and, uh, register your event.
19:30
And if you need a little more help promoting that event, let us know. We'd sure love to put, write a story, do something for you. We got lots of, uh, uh, ways to help you. Give Gomez a shout.
19:39
I'm sure he can hook you right on up. Yeah, get that race flyer going, baby. [laughs] Thanks again to Surly for sponsoring the radio portion of today's broadcast. I've been passing by. We love you, Surly.
19:51
I just have Ice Cream Man just stuck in my head. [laughs] Ice Cream Man. Yeah, and I guarantee you- We will see you in the desert. Desert next week, fatbike.com will bring for you many videos on Fatbike TV.
20:05
Fatbike TV, blam, there it is. Yeah, uh, I wasn't supposed to say anything about that till Monday, was I? Like the giant- [laughs]... race team placenta. That is- Splat... Fatbike TV. See y'all next week. Adios, amigos.
20:18
Later. [upbeat music] You've been listening to Fatbike Radio's Weekly Dose of Fat. Find us on the web at fat-bike.com/radio.
20:36
We'll see you next time.
20:38
[upbeat music]
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