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Full Spectrum Cycling
Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #71 Micah Rice from USA Cycling is Special Guest
Sep 11, 2015
Weekly Dose of Fat Radio – Show #71 Micah Rice from USA Cycling is Special Guest
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0:00
Weekly Dose of Fat show number 71 for Friday, September 11th, 2015.
0:06
[upbeat music] Come one, come all.
0:21
It's the Weekly Dose of Fat Radio Teleplay with your benevolent hosts, Sven and Gomez. My name is Gomez. I ride bikes. Welcome people, and a hearty welcome to Mr. JK Livin. Hello.
0:36
And, and today Uncle Rich on the guitar. Dude, that wasn't even in the script. Way to pick that up, yo. Dude. But what is in the script is Michael's birthday, JK Livin. Happy birthday, JK.
0:53
Oh, I'm so humbled. I'm so humbled by it. [laughs] It's only because of Facebook that we know these things. Of course, that's all. [laughs] But- A- another trip around the sun I got, I got a present for you.
1:04
Odometer flip. Yeah? Check this out. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. Oh, Lordy Lordy. Oh, the knot. The knot. It's a girly whiskey. It's whiskey nonetheless- Oh, ho, ho, yeah... g- girly or otherwise. Yeah.
1:22
So there you go. And we have a special beer which is Toppling Goliath, uh- Pseudo Sue... Pseudo Sue for the special occasion for the birthday boy. Might as well cue me up one.
1:37
We're about to cheers down the script here a little bit anyway. Right on, right on. Un- Uncle Rich is thirsty as well. Oh, yeah. That's the fatbike.com cooler you're hearing.
1:47
[laughs] So Fat Bike Radio and the Weekly Dose of Fat is sponsored by Surly Bikes. Surly makes kick-ass steel bikes and pants. And some really nice wool blouses and smocks, too.
2:02
Learn what it's all about at surlybikes.com. Well, birthday boy, what's happening on the show this week? We'll be taking call and guests all show to ask the question, what is your fat bike dream destination?
2:17
This week's special guest is Micah Rice from USA Cycling. We reveal next week's calling question. We'll talk fat bike and plus bike news in the Fatty Farm Field Report.
2:27
And as always, we've got fat and plus-sized links for you to nosh on. All right. [laughs] Top, top of the hill, boys. Top of the hill. Cheers. Ooh, that's chilly. It's that cheers time thing.
2:41
Oh, these are not, uh, twisties. This is a, this is a high quality- There's a minor technical difficulty while we-... beer products... find something. There we go From Decorah, Iowa.
2:51
And the fancy Cane Creek, uh, bott- bottle opening, uh- The bottle opening coaster... coaster mat break out of aluminum. Way to go. Those Cane Creek guys. Boy.
3:03
So whatever you do, don't let, don't let the girlfriend try that knot because then it'll be just gone. [laughs] Cheers, boys. [glasses clink] Cheers. Thank you. Blank. Blankety blank, blank, blank.
3:17
Oh, yeah, that's some good stuff. Ooh. TG has just recently become more available in this area. Indeed. But good stuff. They must've got a bigger tank. Yeah. They were sick- Mm...
3:30
of us carrying it all back in our cars when we go to visit Decorah. [laughs] So we've got a couple callers on the line. No way. Way. Bang 'em up. Let's check out what's up. See we- Greetings, caller.
3:48
What's happening? What's up, guys? [laughs] Who do we have today on the line? This is Connor from Fairbanks, Alaska. Right on. What's that beep beep beep part of your name? [laughs] The- Yeah... the beep beep beep?
4:03
Yeah, I heard you- Uh-... you hit some numbers. That was pretty cool. No- With your beard, man... so- [laughs] You were beard dialing us... so- So what's up, dude? Yeah, I beard dialed you.
4:13
Oh, you know, I'm just here to answer the question. That's all. [laughs] So young man, what's your dream destination? Young man. Well, I live there, man, and, uh, I'm still waiting for you to come up here.
4:26
Like, you always make it just shy of Fairbanks down to the fancy city of Los Anchorage. I know, but- And you never come up, you know- Here's the thing... within 60 miles.
4:33
You know, Bjorn and Sister- No, no, there's no thing. There's just excuses. [laughs] Well, you're absolutely right. You know what?
4:44
Um- [laughs] When I, when I, uh, when I finish my Washington trip in a week, I'm gonna hitchhike up the coast and jump on a trawler and, I don't know. Does that go inland to Fairbanks? [laughs] Maybe. Yeah, yeah.
4:58
It's totally- I'll just, I'll just find my way there, bro. Any way- Sounds good, bro... now that, now that you have a fatbike.com sticker on your, on your work area- Well, not just a...
5:08
I got a plusbikes.com sticker, too, and my kid even threw a Plus Bikes sticker on his little 20-inch Fat Boy. Damn. Yeehaw. Representing up Fairbanks way. Killer, man. Well, that's what I would- Yo, so- Go ahead.
5:23
Go ahead. Oh, I was gonna say- No, you go ahead... that's what I was gonna ex- No, you go ahead. [laughs] I'm gonna go ahead. I was gonna say- No, no... somebody from- You go...
5:30
from Alaska would have to say, "Well, I'm already here," 'cause- Yeah. Well, I am, and that's, that's why, that's why I called.
5:38
So the breakdown is we have thousands and thousands of miles of dog mushing, ATV, snow machine trails in Fairbanks, Alaska.
5:47
There's not one point in the city that I can't ride to from my bike and get to Nome from here, like, on trails. Wow. So it's... I, I, we live in, we live in the Moab of winter fat biking in Alaska.
5:59
Like, that's where I live, and that's, uh, that's my dream destination That's killer, man. And, and you guys are known to have the horniest moose and muskoxen in all of North America. And men too.
6:13
[laughs] We have a lot of those up here too. We have a lot more men than women. Yeah. So we, yeah, just all kinds of horny, you know, male just things, yeah. Killer. But, uh, yeah. Well, yeah, yeah.
6:26
So we got, we got good trails up here, and we got awesome snow conditions, and we got a couple kick-ass guys that ride for Fatback that live up here too, and a lady that rides for Fatback, and they're all, like, super-duper champions.
6:39
I don't know. It's kinda cool. I've heard you guys already got some snow. Did it stick around, or are you waiting for a real one to, to, to stay down? Nah, we probably won't get snow till, like, late October.
6:50
Like it, we did get snow, but it, it burned off quick and went away, so- Just a little tease... nah, it's teasing us right now. [laughs] Yeah. Right on. So Kevin's actually gonna be, uh- Yeah...
7:02
doing some bike testing for us, so you might, uh, you might see some strange looking bikes. What are, what are his qualifications? [laughs] Um, I see that guy, I see that guy on a bike all the time.
7:16
I just saw a picture of him where I think he looks like he's about 13 to 15 on a mountain bike. He just posted something on Facebook. But yeah, he's- Yeah, they took that picture yesterday. He is, he is 13.
7:30
So you might, uh, you might wanna do some proofreading and whatnot for him, or help him, help him, you know- Perfect... suss out the, the dregs we send up there, the new mongoose. Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah.
7:44
So what's he, what's he testing for you guys, the, the, the new Scooby? Well, we're, we haven't quite decided. You know, the bikes are just lining up, so it's pretty, uh, it's pretty exciting. Yeah.
7:55
We, we have just about everything coming our way, so don't be surprised- Well, it-... to see him on a, uh, you know, something you've never even heard of before. Yeah. Yeah, that would be fun.
8:07
I'm trying to get, uh, I'm trying to get Advocate to send me a frame so I can race in the ITI. Oh, yeah? Well, that's pretty cool. Yeah, that, that's what I w- yeah.
8:18
I just, uh, I just- Anyway, I will- I just sent them back a frame. Maybe, maybe that's one's going to you. Oh, did you? Yeah. Maybe- Well, actually, a whole bike... I'll talk to him, see what's up. Yeah. All right.
8:29
Well, I'm gonna get... I'm not gonna take any more of your time, but I just wanted to put in my two cents. Tupper Becker, ladies and gentlemen.
8:36
And, uh, I didn't get- Owner of Becker, uh, Precision Sewing and Beer Drinking up there in Fairbanks. Beer drinking, yeah. He makes, he makes the frame packs for the champions of the ITI and, uh, for Liberace.
8:48
I think you made all his frame bags, right? Yeah. Well, well actually, I made, I do a lot of his clothing. Oh. Yeah, boy. The cape line isn't mine, but, uh, you know, the rest of it. That made, that reminds me- Anyway...
8:59
we gotta talk about a, we gotta talk about a, uh, wolverine ruff for, uh- We can do it... or a wolverine tutu or something. We, we gotta hook, we gotta get it hooked up. Cool, man. Well, we do have- Wolverine...
9:11
another call, Tupps, so we'll, uh, we'll let you fly- All right... and, uh, catch you again soon. Bye, Tupper. All right. Take care. Good luck. Goodbye. Much love. Bye. Bye. Are we taking another call? Sure. All right.
9:25
Are they- We are... are they on right now? They, they are. [laughs] Hey, welcome to the radio program. This is your, uh, psychologist, Dr. Gomez, uh, Lake. Uh, I put a lot of uhs in there. Are you there? Yeah, I'm here.
9:38
[laughs] All right. Who are we- Welcome to the show... who are we talking to? We're talking to, uh, the co-host of Fat Camp. I'm Andy. Andy. Oh, Andy. Andy sounds a lot like Chris on the phone.
9:52
Everybody sounds like a man on the phone. Oh, well, well, my middle, my middle name's Chris. How's that? Oh. Oh, so [laughs] Chris Daisy.
9:59
So guys, I'm over here in, uh, over here in the land of the hand and, um, calling in to let you know about my, my own personal dream destination. All right.
10:08
Living it over here in, uh, with the Free Soil Bike Mafia over in Manistee County. Mm-hmm. But, uh,
10:14
you know, you could argue Alaska, but I'm gonna argue over here too, uh, with, you know, over 30 miles of, uh, groomed loop via some rogue snowmobiles.
10:24
And soon, my partner in crime, Ken Blakey Shell, and our leader, Scott Quiring, will be putting out Project X with the Snowshoe 2 XL tires, so it'll be my- I'd just like to, I'd just like to put a lobby in right now for that bike to be named the Gomez, 'cause- [laughs]
10:44
You'll have to take that up with Q on that one, but, uh- Do you know any, do you know of a fatter fat biker than Gomez? [laughs] Even though I am on a diet, I mean- Oh- True that...
10:54
no, no, no, you don't wanna, you don't wanna go about that route. But, uh- [laughs]... Scott and Ken will, Scott, Scott and Ken will be my personal, uh, groomers out there- [laughs]...
11:01
with the, uh, Project X and two, the, the Snowshoe 2 XLs. Those tires are humongo, and, uh, you can hear about them on our show. I think, I think our show's coming up maybe this week. You're gonna throw it up? Yeah.
11:13
Probably Saturday, I think, for the, uh, for the show, and then we have a special edition that's gonna go up sometime next week probably, where you were talking to Thor at Surly. Thor. Oh, man, that was- Thor...
11:24
awesome talking to him, man. He is, like, one of the most righteous dudes.
11:28
He was so easy to talk to and so cool, and filled us in with all we needed to know about the tubeless setup that they're coming out with pretty soon. It was, it was a very, very nice interview. Cool.
11:38
Well, we appreciate you doing two shows in one week. Yeah. Hey, no problem. But, uh- Awesome...
11:44
a- a- and, and also, of, you know, talking about m- my dream destination, not only can, uh, do we have these, uh, 30 miles of, of, you know,
11:54
uh, single track by these snowmobilers, but we also can pop out onto Lake Michigan and do the shoreline during the winter, which is amazing. Hear, hear. Right, so- It's good on this side- Yeah... of the lake, too.
12:05
[laughs] So Traverse City? Oh, I know. Are you guys talking about Traverse City? [laughs] I'm just giving you a hard time. No. I know Manistee's just-... city, oh my gosh.
12:14
Anyways, I'm not gonna talk about Traverse City, but here's the new thing too, though, we got, guys. Um- What's that? Out at, uh, The Big M. Yeah. And I think, Gomez, you're familiar with The Big M. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:22
It's a tiny little mountain. In cooperation with, with, uh, in cooperation with, uh, the National Forest Service, as well as with the local Cross Country Ski Council.
12:31
They're, um, they're allowing, um, Ken and I to groom a five-mile, um, specified fat bike loop right next to the cross-country, uh, ski loops, separate from. But, uh- Cool...
12:45
Ken and I are working on getting a snowmobile, and we've ordered up, uh, some roller from, from the freaks in Wisconsin. Um- Carothers... a guy named Will. A Carothers groomer. Carothers Brothers roller. Yeah. Yeah.
12:56
He, he, uh, he's gonna, he welded this up for, uh, for us, and um, he's gonna send it over to us.
13:02
We're gonna slap that on there, and it's really cool that the National Forest Service is just totally gung-ho and, and giving us the big thumbs up to, to make a specified fat bike loop, and we're really stoked about it.
13:13
Yeah. When I was out at the Fat Bike Summit last year in Jackson Hole, that was something I heard from the guys that oversee, like, all the national forests.
13:20
They're like, "We got so many miles of trails, we can barely manage them ourselves, and we love to work with people who can, you know, kind of come in and make a good plan and do something in an area where we can utilize them."
13:34
So right on to you guys. Yeah, the, that's awesome.
13:37
The, the gal that I'm working with at the National Forest Service is, uh, you know, she, she told me the other day, she's like, "The National Forest Service says no so many times that we need to start saying yes to more people."
13:47
And, and all I've gotten from her are just big, huge green lights of just go, go, go and just let me know what you're doing, and if you're stump grinding to, to help out the trail.
13:57
And it, I'm, it's just, it's really cool. But, uh, that's, that's, that's why I'm plugging, uh, you know, the Manistee County over here on the, uh, west coast of the Land of the Hand.
14:07
But if I had to go anywhere, I think you'd agree with me, Marquette is the place to go. Oh? Oh, yeah. Oh. I gotta get up there during the winter. I've only been up there in the summer so far.
14:20
Oh, they are rolling so much, um, so much single tractor in the winter. Um, I mean, they're just, they are just, they dove head into it.
14:30
And, um, you know, that, that, uh, what's that video that they put out, the- Cold Rolled. Cold Rolled, yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, I, I [laughs] I've watched that 100 times.
14:39
[laughs] Now that we're, you know, now that we're getting into getting ready for fat biking in the snow, um, you know, we, we need to watch that a couple more times 'cause Marquette has got it going on.
14:51
One of the things that's cool about Marquette and why it's possible for them to do that is, you know, they have a special tax on the, on the rooms that people stay at up there to do things like this to promote people coming to that area.
15:03
So I think, you know, other areas that wanna make an impact and become a fat bike destination need to look at that model and go, "Uh-huh, we're gonna have to figure out how to pay for all this, and here's one way to do it that's a relatively, you know, small charge on a, on a individual basis," but it does add up to a pretty good chunk of cash where they can do some things like they're doing in Marquette.
15:24
That is pretty awesome. And, and, and Ken Blakeyshel is, is, he's got his fingers in some local government, and- [laughs]...
15:29
um, I think he's gonna start to, uh, kinda, you know, um, suggest those, 'cause he was the one that brought that to my attention about that tax. And so, um,
15:39
I think he's got some, some pull in some, some places to do that. Uh, so it's, it's, that's a really great idea that they came up with, and I think more people need to be doing that. Right on. Cool.
15:49
So you wouldn't even leave the state of Michigan for your ultimate destination? Oh, I would, I'd stay here, and then I'd, I'd go to Marquette. Right on. Oh. Awesome. Yeah. Well, that's high praise. I call bullshit.
16:03
Right on. [laughs] Of course you would. Of course you would. [laughs] But that's all right 'cause I take my vacations over there, so I guess you might be right. Yeah. And plus with the hell though I am. Oh, yeah.
16:14
All right. Well, thanks, Andy. Hey, yeah, I'll let you go, and, um, we'll talk to you soon, guys. Yeah. All right, see you, Andy. Right on, man. All right, peace. Talk to you later.
16:23
Hey, we're gonna take a quick break here, and we'll be back with our special guest, Micah Rice from USA Cycling. Micah Rice.
16:36
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16:56
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17:05
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17:12
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17:29
You're tuned to Fat Bike Radio. Hey, welcome back to the program, folks. We've got Micah Rice, USA Cycling's VP of National Events, on the line, and we're gonna talk Fat Bike Nats, among other things.
17:45
But, uh, but first, Micah, you know, I've never been a racer, uh, maybe on a local level back in the day, but can you explain a bit about what USA Cycling does?
17:54
Is it just for racers, or how do, how do all cyclists benefit from USA Cycling?
18:00
Well, USA Cycling is, is, uh, kind of the governing body of cycling in the United States, and, uh, that does include competitive racing such as, you know, uh, from all five disciplines of cycling, so mountain biking, road biking, track racing Um, cyclocross and even BMX, kind of Olympic style BMX on a supercross track.
18:23
So w- we cover a lot of, uh, l- lot of different disciplines. Um, and, you know, of course, four of those disciplines, uh, mountain biking, road, track, and, uh, BMX are all Olympic, uh, disciplines as well.
18:39
So we, we field teams that go to the world championships, that go to the Olympics, that go to the World Cups, uh, on the athletic side, and we, uh, we choose those teams, and we have a whole set of criteria for that.
18:51
But we also help kind of govern, uh, bike racing in the United States, uh, as well as, um, a lot of stuff down into more of the grassroots, you know, non-competitive stuff.
19:02
So we have a lot of fun rides and Gran Fondos and, uh, a- and more races like that, that are more participation based and not just, you know, if you're a hardcore cyclist as well. So we have a pretty, um,
19:17
a, a pretty, uh, a pretty, uh, wide, uh, range of things that we help with cycling in the United States, so, uh, a little bit of everything. Cool.
19:25
So, so just from a kind of an organizational standpoint, maybe how, uh, does fat biking fit kind of in the mountain biking realm of stuff? I- is it- Yeah, we look at fat biking as kind of a mountain bike discipline.
19:37
You know, obviously it's a very specific bike, but there's a lot of different disciplines within the discipline of mountain biking.
19:43
You've got a, a pretty wide range of stuff from the cross-country racer to, uh, the downhill racer, um, y- you know, even something like dual slalom or enduro, uh, you know, other way to- Yeah, that one, that one's really been catching on.
19:58
Enduro's been going kind of nuts for participation it seems like. Yeah, enduro is just, it, it's so much fun to participate in. It's just one of those things that, you know, riders really love to get back to.
20:10
You know, why do we ride mountain bikes? Well, we ride mountain bikes to go down the hills, right?
20:14
[laughs] I think a lot of people are really having a good time with, with kind of that enduro style, um, racing or even just kind of a, a participation piece with that.
20:24
So, so we definitely kind of put fat biking in that category of mountain biking. Um, the cool thing about a fat bike, of course, is that you don't have to have snow to do it.
20:34
Um, the first ride that I ever did on a fat bike was actually on, you know, a mountain bike single track trail in, uh, in Reno, so. Oh, cool.
20:42
Uh, but, but I think that, um, you know, a lot of people kind of coming from, uh, a fat bike, uh, it, it, it's a very utilitarian kind of root that, that fat biking has, you know?
20:55
The people that, that needed something to, to have transportation, uh, on snow. Uh, and so I think that's kind of
21:03
slowly turned into kind of some racing stuff, but, you know, there's a lot of people out there that don't necessarily wanna, um, wanna compete, uh, you know, in a true race.
21:13
So you've got a lot of people out there kind of more of a, in a participation mode on fat bikes, which is great. Yeah, sure.
21:20
Um, you know, I, I kind of read your bio a little bit and you've done a lot of, uh, different, uh, different things over the years, including being an athlete.
21:28
You've been a race director and a team manager, and obviously now you're at USA Cycling. What do, what do you think USA Cycling brings to the table that maybe fat biking hasn't seen before?
21:41
Well, you know, I think, um, a- again, fat biking is really evolving from kind of being this, you know, "Hey, I want to ride a bike in the winter," or, "I need to ride a bike in the winter," uh, so, uh, you know, what is a bike that actually gets me f- from point A to point B when there's a, a bunch of snow on the ground?
21:59
And I, and I think that,
22:02
um, you know, we can help, uh, from a lot of standpoints, shine a spotlight on, you know, specifically the sport, um, a- as a, as a participation sport, uh, as a racing sport, um, you know, offering a national championship, I think.
22:18
Um, you know, talking to, to Steve over at Borealis, you know, he was really excited that he was able to partner with us, uh, on a national championship because he felt it really kind of legitimized the sport of fat biking to kind of those racing masses, and not just as a, you know, a bunch of,
22:40
a bunch of beer drinking dudes- [laughs]... who just wanted to go out and ride- Guilty. [laughs]... you know, fat bikes. And, and, uh, y- you know, obviously, you know, there, there's a, there's a lot of fun aspects to,
22:52
to, to fat biking.
22:53
There's a lot of, you know, true racers that, in the winter, cross over to, to using a fat bike for training, uh, maybe even are not racing it, but, you know, this is a way for them to get a, a, a hard workout in when it's 20 degrees and, a- and, and snow on the ground.
23:11
So, uh,
23:13
the, I think that, um, a lot of people kind of look at it as a way to say, "Hey, you know, USA Cycling, a, a racing organization, you know, with a lot of roots in racing, i- is taking notice and providing, uh, kind of a venue to show off the fat bike in the, the quiver of national championships that they run."
23:32
Yeah, you know, it, well, you guys kind of jumped in at the top with, with putting on Fat Bike Nationals last year and, you know, I, I've been aware of USA Cycling for years, obviously.
23:42
It's, it's something you run into all over.
23:46
And, um, well, you know, what kind of precipitated kind of jumping in at the top rather than sort of starting at the grassroots level and kind of working, working the way up to the national championship?
23:56
Is there, are there plans in place to, you know, kind of, uh, go from the top down at this point rather than from the bottom up?
24:05
Well, but we've, we've sanctioned, uh, fat bike races for a long time, um, so that, you know, kind of being part of, you know, some of the grassroots, um, racing out there already is, is not new at all.
24:19
Uh, a lot of race directors out there, you know, they know that we've kind of got the- You know, probably the strongest, least expensive, um, for what you're purchasing, insurance product on the market, for example.
24:35
Okay. So a lot of people know that if they, they run a bike race, um, you know, they've gotta insure the riders, they've gotta insure the landowners, they need to insure themselves.
24:44
We actually have a product, um, it, it's the same product that we use for our other races, um, that applies to fat bike races as well, uh, in the winter.
24:53
So I think a lot of people have already been kind of using this, um, uh, to start kind of from the bottom on these grassroots races in, in a lot of areas in the United States.
25:05
Uh, we kind of have a both a, a bottom-up and a top-down approach on it. Mm-hmm.
25:09
I think that, you know, being able to have a national championship at the highest level and, and, um, you know, having some of the, the top athletes in, in, uh, in the sport of cycling being able to, to come and, and participate and kind of shine a spotlight on it from that, from that top cap, uh, at a national championship, I think that shines a light on the fact that, hey, you know, USA Cycling, you know, we, we do appreciate and enjoy fat biking as well.
25:39
Uh, we, we do wanna sanction, uh, grassroots events and be part of that. And, and, um, we're not all about just the hardcore racer.
25:49
We, we do enjoy putting on events and, and having fun and, and, you know, doing them in the winter at ski resorts and, and we want to be part of that and, and, uh, and have the ability to.
26:00
So I, I think that's kind of, kind of why we decided to, to run our first national championship this year in 2015.
26:07
Yeah, one of the things, I mean, Gomez was out there covering it, and one of the things I thought that, uh, a, a lot of the, the, uh, more local races just don't have the resources for was there was like a five-person crew from VW doing, like, coverage of it with a drone pilot doing camera work and everything.
26:24
It's like, yeah, that's pretty cool. [laughs] Y- yeah, that's the whole point.
26:29
I mean, we wanna bring, um, you know, a lot of the suppor- the supporters, some of the sponsors in f- you know, that are, you know, they, they're used to sponsoring some of the,
26:40
y- you know, the very high-profile events, you know, like, you know, road racing or, or top-end mountain biking. But to be able to bring, you know, VW in to, uh, I mean, they do a, they did a special video.
26:52
You can look it up on their, uh, on their, on, on the, on the VW, uh, YouTube channel.
26:57
They did some special, uh, stuff, as you said, with drones, and they brought in their very new, uh, their Golf R, uh, kind of their, you know, their high-end kind of, um, uh, sports car- Yeah...
27:08
that they, that they just came out with, and they did, you know, kind of a, an integration with video ab- you know, with that car and, and fat biking and, and they just loved it.
27:18
They had a blast, and this is something that, you know, again, you're talking about a, a, a pretty big deal sponsor in the United States.
27:26
I mean, Volkswagen, that's a, that's a high-profile, uh, you know, non-endemic cycling, you know, sponsor that is all of a sudden excited about fat biking because they, they were out to that event and, you know, they're big, the g- the folks came in from Herndon, Virginia, to, to see it.
27:42
And, and so it's things like that that are gonna help grow the sport of fat biking and make, make it even more accessible and get manufacturers to make even more bikes and create more demand, and it's things like that that, you know, USA Cycling can help out with by kind of shining that spotlight, so we were excited to be able to do that.
28:01
Yeah. Cool. So, uh, so the nationals are coming up in February. What's, h- how do you qualify for it as a, as a local racer? What's the kind of procedure to become at least, uh, you know, qualified to enter the nets?
28:17
Anybody can enter. Okay. We've got categories for anybody. Uh, it, you know, the, the top-end racer can jump in, uh, and, y- you know, if you, if you've been to the Olympics before, you're invited. Jump on in.
28:31
If you have never raced your bike before, and y- you might even, uh, come on in and, and, and need to buy a, you know, a USA Cycling license because you've never had one before, uh, not a problem.
28:43
Uh, la- you know, this last year we actually, we, uh, we did a special deal where anyone that never had a license before, we gave them a pair of, uh, like $300 pair of sunglasses, uh, just for s- der- just for registering and, and jumping in and getting your first, your, your first license, uh, because we've got, you know, a lot of people that, that had never raced before.
29:05
And I, I think there's categories for everybody. We, you know, we wanna make it really accessible. Uh, there is no qualification necessary, and, uh, we invite everybody to come on out and, and have a good time.
29:17
We, we had a great time, uh, this last year at Powder Mountain. They did a really great course for us. We had a, a gorgeous day. I'm sure Gomez talked about it. Uh-huh. Yeah, for sure.
29:26
It was a beautiful, beautiful day out there, um, uh, at Powder Mountain near Ogden, and, um- So-... the course was a lot of fun. They had really groomed it well with their groomers out there. Uh, they had some jumps.
29:41
We had some, uh, really cool berms. We had some fun stuff through the, through the aspen trees kind of on the backside. So, uh, it's really something that's gonna appeal to everybody.
29:52
It's, it's not a super crazy hard course, but, you know, there were some hills that really, you know, spread it out for the, you know, for the top racers to really, to really, uh, go hard on, and, and I think everybody walked away with a really, you know, having a really good time.
30:06
Cool. So it's back in Ogden this year, right? Yes, back in Ogden this year in February. For, for 2016, yep. And we actually are, um,
30:15
one new thing that we're doing this year is we're actually, um, joining up with the snowshoe, you know, USA Snowshoe, and they're gonna run a, a snowshoe national championship on the same weekend. Oh, cool.
30:27
Not on the same day, but kind of using a similar course. Uh, so we'll have a great time with them out there.
30:33
And the people that like to snowshoe and fat bike, we, you know, we've got something for everybody at, for, for both days of the week.
30:39
Yeah, it's something that we use a lot, uh, to just kind of prepare trails for fat biking is, you know, f- go out there and snowshoe them for a day or two, and then, then, uh, they set in nice and, and are awesome for doing fat biking on.
30:53
Yeah. So we're working with them on, on a, kind of a cool weekend of, of, uh, snowshoeing and fat biking. I think it'll be great. Cool.
31:00
So after, after 2016 in Ogden, you're moving to Michigan for two years, into, uh, Grand Rapids. Is, is there a plan? Yeah. Is that kind of like a, a j- is there a plan to move it to other venues,
31:13
uh, going forward from, from Grand Rapids? Yeah, typically we, you know, every two years try to move an event like this. Uh, a lot of our national championships move every two to three years.
31:27
Um, we did award the next bid to Grand Rapids. They've got a, a, a great course that they've used for, um, for s- for already some, some fat bike, uh, kind of grassroots racing that's, uh, near the golf course out there.
31:43
Uh, they were super excited to host it, and, um, we think that's gonna be a really good event. We know that there's a lot of, um,
31:51
a lot of fat bike enthusiasts in the Midwest, so, you know, we think that that'll be a, kind of a popular venue for everybody.
31:57
And, and then, um, you know, we'll have a bid process to, to award 2019, 2020 at some point in the next couple years. So, uh, we like to keep moving it around and get a, kind of giving every region a chance.
32:10
Uh, you know, do I, do I think that we're gonna, you know, head to Florida or SoCal for Fat Bike Nats? I don't know. [laughs] And- Maybe it's something we can turn into a- Turn it into the Beach Nationals...
32:22
you know, do it, do it on the beach. Right. [laughs] And do kind of a sand championship- Yeah, yeah... as, as well. Those are some great spots out on the- Those are all things that are, that are possibilities. Sure.
32:29
And, and that's the great thing about, about fat bike, we can, we can do it in a number of different ways at a number of different times during the year and, and still have a good time. Yeah.
32:38
So, you know, I assume that you talk to, uh, other organizers around the world for all the other disciplines you're doing.
32:44
Has anybody made any kind of rumbles or, or noises about, uh, potentially looking at fat biking as an Olympic sport? Well, we, of course, we always are trying to push the IOC to, to add, uh, more cycling events.
32:57
We'd love to see, you know, something like fat bike.
33:00
I know that there's, there's already some rumble about cyclocross in the, in the Winter Olympics, and if we could figure that out, uh, to, to bring fat biking to the Olympics, I think we'd love to do that. Um,
33:11
it's always a little bit tough. You know, there are always, uh, there, you know, the IOC looks at, you know, the current rule about Winter Olympics, it's something that must be done on snow or ice. Okay.
33:23
And, um, as we all know, you can do, you know, you can ride a fat bike, uh, in the middle of the summer on sand or anything else.
33:31
So by their current definition, it doesn't fit into the Winter Olympics, but, um, we continue to try to, uh, push them to slightly change and modify their rules on how to get in so that we can have, uh, more stuff like this.
33:47
Yeah. But, uh, there's always rumblings, but I don't, I don't know if it's gonna, gonna happen soon. [laughs] Well, keep, keep working at it.
33:55
Hey, we really appreciate you being on the show and taking time to talk a little bit about, uh, about USA Cycling and, and how fat biking fits in.
34:03
Um, you know, maybe we'll, we'll get you back on as we get a little closer to the Nats and see how that's shaping up. Absolutely.
34:10
We're, we're looking for a, for a good time out there in, uh, in Ogden and Powder Mountain.
34:15
Again, uh, last year, you know, we were able to run a great event there, and then, uh, went skiing the next day, uh, before we, before we headed home, so it was a really kind of a fun little, little, uh, w- winter vacation.
34:28
Cool. [laughs] All right. Well, thanks, Micah. We'll, uh, we'll talk to you again. All right. Thanks so much. All right, man. Bye. Bye. All right, Micah Rice, ladies and gentlemen.
34:40
Let's take a break, and when we come back, we'll reveal next week's call-in question, check in with the Fatty Farm field report, and check out some links.
34:49
[singing] You're tuned, you're tuned to Fat Bike Radio, Radio, Radio. Hey, so listen up. This is your brain.
35:06
La, la, la, la, la, la. Sing a happy song. La, la, la, la, la, la. Smurf the whole day long. And this is your brain on plusbikes.com.
35:17
[upbeat music] Any questions? This is Ned Overman, and I listen to the weekly dose of fat on Fat Bike Radio. Now we're back in your ear hole.
35:36
JK, what is next week's call-in question? Next week's call-in question is, what is the contents of your flask on these coldest days that are soon approaching to warm your spirits? And- Spirits, to warm your spirits.
35:53
Yes, that. Or other, other, I guess other things are acceptable, but... Sure, you might put- 'Cause a flask doesn't have to be alcohol, does it? No. No, it doesn't. It would be smart, but it doesn't have to be.
36:05
Goat's milk. I like to pack the goat's milk. [laughs] Hey, well, go ahead and call in next Wednesday from 8:00 to 9:00 CDST to 818-918-2453, and let's discuss.
36:19
Hey, in the meantime, this week's question, we had, uh, we had a few people tweet us answers. Yeah, you gave them the option of doing a non-call-in. Right.
36:28
In case they're, like, you know, afraid to talk on the phone or don't wanna leave a voicemail, which we could do, too. Some, some people have kids and, you know, the 8:00 to 9:00 hour- Maybe...
36:37
is time to read a story and, uh- You know? Or light off some fireworks with the kids, whatever. Right. Well, tell us a story about what these people thought their fat bike dream destination would be.
36:49
So our man out there in Wales, Jeff Price, he said, "This week's question, I'd..." I, I'll try and do a British accent. "I'd love to ride my fat bike in Alaska or Patagonia or Iceland."
37:00
[laughs] "Or to ride with you guys would be pretty cool." [laughs] Wow. [laughs] I know, pretty bad, huh? Ride with, ride with... Oh, yeah. Ride with you guys I thought was the bad part of that. Oh.
37:10
Yeah, but that, that was actually the good guys. Be like Bruce and say, "Youse guys." Youse guys. Youse guys. And drink some scotch with youse guys. And, uh, Olof- Yeah... actually tweeted us. Yeah.
37:22
We're actually gonna hear from Olof in a little bit. He, he sent us in a little clip from his, uh, his bike camp, and he said that he's just ridden his favorite spot.
37:31
They were 250 miles north of the Arctic, or 250 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle on the highest mountain in Sweden. I know. He goes deep into the metric system in his message. Yeah. We don't do that over here.
37:44
So I, I, as I do, I, I texted some of my, uh, ride friends, and I texted my friend Amy Mossman Schmidt, [laughs] and she replied to this week's question, "Your bottom."
37:54
And then she put a picture of a shark wearing lipstick with, like, giant teeth. So that's her dream bike destination. Is my bottom. Your round rump. Apparently so. My hairy, round rump.
38:05
[laughs] I think she might've been being sarcastic. You think? I, I'm, I'm scared of the teeth on the shark, though.
38:13
[laughs] So, you know all that social media stuff out there, there's even some, uh- Facebook messages... stuff on the old Facebook there. Oh, it's called Facebook- Okay [laughs]... these days.
38:24
Jordy, Jordan Blackson, he, he's from Anchorage. He says Iceland is high on his list of dream fat bike destinations. I think it's on my list, too. Yeah. Nobody mentions Greenland.
38:36
I wonder if just 'cause they haven't really stuck their thumb in it yet, or what. I don't know. Hmm. I don't know. It's a destination. Maybe I'll think about that being my answer later. Maybe. Maybe.
38:47
Is, uh, isn't that next week we answer? [laughs] Well- I don't know... it's our show. We can do it whenever we want. Oh, that's true.
38:53
So Nicholas Blade said, "Norway, though I'm pretty lucky that I currently live in the fat bike mecca of Anchorage, Alaska," right there with Jordy Blackson. And Travis, our fatbassador. Yeah. Yep, Anchorage.
39:08
And then- More fat bikes per capita than any other city in America. Yeah, true. Maybe. I just made that up, but- Really?... it's probably true. Uh, it seemed like it when I was there.
39:17
Kathy Browning said, "Across the Meseta de Somuncura, Rio Negro province in Patagonia, Argentina." Yeah, I wasn't gonna do that one 'cause [laughs] I- And then onto the-... can't even say them fancy words...
39:30
and then she says, "Onto the ocean at Puerto Madryn." Is that also in Argentina? I think so. Hmm. The Pampas de Argentina. Yeah. That, that sounds pretty bad ass. South America,
39:44
I think that's- That is s- somewhere to go that I've never been. It's true. Well, I haven't been anywhere, really, except these 48 United States.
39:52
[laughs] So do we have another caller, or is it time for the Fatty Farm Field Report? I'll let you know when we have another caller. Oh, all right. What are you- Well, then it's, uh-...
40:01
like, clairvoyant over there or something? [laughs] I... [laughs] I don't know. I, uh, I can't see your screen. Maybe I am. But you're not- [laughs]... in this case. Oh, all right.
40:11
[laughs] So I guess then it is time for this week's Fatty Farm Field Report. [gentle music] Hey, guess what? This week's Fatty Farm Field Report is sponsored by Uncle Dick's Bead Slip and Uncle Dick's Guitar Pick.
40:28
Check both of those out at uncledicksbikeshop.com. Yeah, yeah, Uncle Dick, just a little dab on that trouble spot, and kablam. [laughs] So last week's show, we did answer the question last week, right?
40:43
Yeah, we did, but I don't know- Which I, I don't even remember what my answer was, but I remember what the question was. It was, uh, do you ride with earbuds or- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah... a Bluetooth.
40:52
Now I remember my answer. Yeah. I, I, I would've changed my, the answer of my song. Oh, you're fickle that way? Yeah, 'cause I, a favorite song doesn't last very long. It's just, like, the song of the moment, so.
41:06
My, my song of the moment is, uh, Baker's Field by Social Distortion. Oh, very good. Mm-hmm. Very good. It came up on one of my Apple playlists just kind of out of the blue, and I'm like, "Rewind, rewind.
41:17
That's a pretty good song." I got, I have, uh, Sam Hall, Johnny Cash, Keeps Com- no. [laughs] Oh, yeah. [laughs] That's a good one, too. It's amazing the way the old, uh, iTunes- Damn your eyes... shuffles- [laughs]...
41:30
comes through for you.
41:31
So we kind of alluded to this a bit earlier when we talked about Olof's response to this week's question, but, uh, he sent us in a little clip via the voicemail while he was doing his, uh, his bike summit up there in Swedish Lapland.
41:46
So let's have a quick listen. Hey, guys. This is Olof calling from Swedish Lapland Bike Summit. I'm currently in the jacuzzi having a beer. Been riding the Mukluk,
42:04
900 meters climb vertical, about 10 kilometers way up in the mountains, 250 kilometers above the Arctic Circle. Lars just joined me with a pint and a brew. I don't know.
42:22
Life is good. We're having a blast. This is really all you need. So cheers, guys, and thanks for being fat. All right, Olof. Olof. So that's- [laughs] Social cat. From, from a jacuzzi.
42:40
And I like, I like Lars's part in there. Right He, he was right on it I think some of those bubbles were Lars'. [laughs] So next week, kids, we are, this, this time next week, we will have, uh, totally conquered
42:56
Interbike. The outdoor dirt demo starts on Monday, and Dirty Sven and I are going to, uh, assault that, that dusty desert thing. And you know what?
43:08
They, they have a bunch of bike companies that are returning, Giant, Tram, Shimano, Specialized, Fuji. Fuji has a hard tail and a Dually Plus bike. Marin, Cannondale, they have the new Fat CAD. Mm-hmm.
43:22
We actually get to see and ride and rub our nut sacks all over that bike. And- Is Ka- is Katie gonna be there too? I don't know if she'll be there.
43:29
[laughs] Um, and they built a new fat bike challenge course, uh, for us to be able to [laughs] evaluate what they're calling this new emerging category. Well, we're emerging. So are they, are, are they flying snow in?
43:45
Uh, that's what I... Yeah, that, that was gonna be my joke. [laughs] Well, I'm, I'm looking at the weather for next week, and it's, uh, it's gonna be... Well, it'll be in the 90s.
43:55
At the earlier it was supposed to be in the 100s, so- But it's a-... potentially should be pretty nice out there... it's a dry heat. Right. And your snow will last weeks, weeks at those temperatures. Indeed. We, uh,
44:08
we tried to call Badger Bikes to get to the bottom of, uh, of that whole deal, but, uh, we, they weren't even open. They weren't answering their phone. Thank you for calling Wheel & Sprocket Internet Department.
44:18
I'm sorry we missed your call. Our business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 6:00, Saturday, 10:00 to 5:00. Maybe they have our number blocked, but we're gonna call next week again.
44:29
Just to ask them what Badger Approved means. Yeah. Yeah. You know, just to suss out their Badger Approo- Approval process. Right. Who are these badgers, and who did they vote for in 1960? Are they component-specific?
44:42
Yes. So we posted a review of some socks on Monday, and one of our readers kind of flipped out about it. So I'm just here to tell you, boys and girls, we're going to bring fashion to fat bikes.
44:59
There will be apparel posts, silly sock posts, hats, gloves. Whatever you would put on your body while you're fat biking, you're just gonna have to get used to that being on the site.
45:15
Yeah, I think it's a legitimate thing. Come on. I'm wearing socks. I'm wearing underwear. Yeah. Some of those have to be my favorite things. It was done in tongue in...
45:23
Uh, I mean, I wrote the thing, and it's done in tongue in cheek. And it's okay for you to guys not to like every one of our posts, but- But-... he just said, "Socks. What does that have to do with fat biking?"
45:31
[laughs] But damn, but damn your eyes. [laughs] It's like, well, um- I am Samuel. What does it- Damn your eyes... [laughs] Does that really mean, like, he doesn't understand socks, or...
45:43
It looks like Uncle Dick is making his exit. He's gonna unplug. Uncle Dick, unplugged. 'Cause he's gotta go get in line for the, uh, open mic over there at Linneman's, right?
45:56
Yeah, we kind of kept him here late a couple times, and he gets, gets tired by the time it's time to hit the stage. So thanks, Uncle Dick. You rock. Hey, text us and let us know what, uh, position in line you are.
46:08
The scene, man, the scene. Let us know if you're number three or less. And that takes us right into the fat bike linkage. You know what I'm saying? Uh, yeah.
46:20
I actually updated the, uh, some tire weights on the old fatbike.com tire weights, uh, sheet. You know, that thing- Updated the-... has been going on since 2012, that fat bike- We added the Bombolinis in there...
46:32
tire weight page. Another- Oh, yeah... commenter said, "Those tires are so heavy. They're 200 to 400 grams heavier than any other tire." Uh, not true. Not true. Not true. Check out the page.
46:47
So if you look at that page, you see 1420 is- Right in the meat of most- Yeah... fat bike tires... middle-ish.
46:57
So, uh, our Bike Black Ribbon test pilot, Jeff Price, he went riding with the one and only Coast Kid, Bruce, over there in Scotland, and they made a video. And there's the link right there in the show notes.
47:10
Check it out, video action. Yeah. Bruce has been pretty active with, uh... 'Cause apparently he's, it's harvest week over there. I know. He's been doing all sorts of riding. I see it, Thrashers. Thras- Thrashers.
47:24
[laughs] That's got big teeth. [laughs] Hey, th- there was a bunch of, uh, uh, electric fat bike news for some reason this week, maybe leading up to, uh, Interbike or something. But, uh,
47:35
Italian motorbike company Fanatik is making electric fat bikes. That thing actually looked pretty cool. I first saw it on a g- a Gizmag- Yeah... thing, but now found it on...
47:45
So both the link to that and the actual company are in the show notes. I think electric motorcycles would be cool. That's kind of what the Bolt Taco is. I don't even know if I put [laughs] the link into that.
47:55
But, uh, they did a 2,000 watt. I think it's in plus bikes. When we get down there- All right... I'll tell you about it. All right. Then, uh, Olav has- Bye, Dick. [laughs] Uncle Dick has left the building.
48:08
So Olav has a, uh, link here about his bike summit. They went way up in the mountains, way up, kilometers. Kilometers, 250 kilometers.
48:18
Above, above the Arctic Circle, and, uh, then hung out, drank some beer, rode some more. So click on that link and you will know more than you knew before you clicked. Mm-hmm. Uh-huh.
48:33
He got, uh, uh, the Rolling Rendezvous happening in Grand Teton. He coming up pretty soon, right on the other side of the mountain from Jackson Hole, and they're including some fat bike shenanigans in it.
48:43
It's, uh, it's mostly a mountain bike thing, but- Check out the link if you're interested in what's going on in that area Lots of fat bike races this year.
48:50
There's just gonna be even more than what was crazy more last year. Right on. We like that. We like that. We're, we're fans of more. And then we're, what, what, what now? Plus bike links. What now?
49:08
[laughs] There are plus bike links, man. Whoa. [laughs] The Stumpjumper 6 Fattie. Is that leftover from, like, if we have this, have we had this same link in every show- I don't think so... for the last- No...
49:19
three weeks? This is, like, the 89, it's the $8,900 one or something. Oh, all right. Maybe it is. I don't know. Whatever, they're getting a lot of coverage. Yeah. But yeah, I think the, the, the bottom line was
49:30
that's a, that's an expensive bike. Well, and it's a bike that I'm interested in trying out, for sure. You bet. And then you got this Bull Dako 2000 watt. Yeah.
49:39
[laughs] Well, this came up when, when I was looking at that other, the Fanatik, that they make a 2,000 watt. I mean, most fat, electric fat bikes are 250 to 500 maybe. Holy cow.
49:48
This thing's got a 2,000 watt motor, which is, I think, four horsepower- Wow... or somewhere in there. And it's a plus bike. Get this, 24 plus. 24 plus. 24-inch wheel with a three-inch tire.
50:03
So we, we're, we're christening that 24 plus. Nice. Even though Surly made a 24-inch 65 millimeter rim probably 10 years ago now- Right... or eight years ago. True that. Yep. The, uh, 11th anniversary one-by-one, right?
50:18
So the last link there is, uh, it's about a Krampus that they have rigged for touring, so check that out. I'm gonna do some touring on my Krampus someday. I rode mine in the rain yesterday.
50:36
Right on. Well- That's the show, ladies and gentlemen... hey, thanks again to Surly for sponsoring the radio portion of today's broadcast. Be sure to stop by the fatbike.com gift shop. It's right next to the VIP lounge
50:54
on our Facebook page, and then buy yourself something pretty. Yeah. Speaking of something pretty, we got some new stuff up there. Yeah, good.
51:03
And actually coming up on about a week, a little bit more than the week before the first, uh, printing run of Yeti Van Evil T-shirts. Yeti Van Evil. You should probably go check that out.
51:15
There'll be a link in the show notes. Join us next week where the question of the week is what poison or elixir do you fill your flask with on those cold winter rides?
51:31
Call 818-918-2453 anytime day or night and leave Sven, JK, or Gomez a message. Or you can call during the show. Yeah, you can do that too. But you don't have to. Speaking of calling during the show,
51:47
we got a caller during the show. [laughs] Dang. We were almost able to clean getaway, but- Yeah, we just almost cleaned out the queue. Welcome to the radio program. Gomez clearing his throat.
52:01
[laughs] Who do we have on the line? It's Adam. Adam. How's it going, dude? What's up, dude? How are you? Oh, fuck. Dude? One dude. I'm good. Just the dude? Ah. [laughs] It's a fuck all.
52:17
[laughs] So you said that you're- I'm getting ready for Interbike. Yeah. But it's all good. Are you putting stuff in boxes? Putting the boxes in a truck? I'm building wheels right now. Hold on, I gotta turn down my...
52:29
I was jamming. Um, no, building some fat wheels. We're gonna have two fat bikes, plus bike. Nice. So that'll be sweet. Killer. I just sent you the bike back t- So- Uh, what was it? Tuesday. Yeah, yesterday.
52:44
Yeah, I want to ask- You wanna fill in people where Adam's actually at now? Oh yeah, Adam Blake is, uh, with Advocate Cycles now, the maker of the Watchman and the, uh- Yeah Heyduke. The Heyduke. Heyduke. A plus- Yep...
52:58
and a, and a fat bike. And he's, he's gonna be, uh, meeting us out there at Interbike, where we will have fun and ride bikes and stand around and jaw a lot. Jaw. Yeah. Grin a lot, too. So, uh, Mr.
53:17
Blake, what is your dream destination for fat biking? You know, I, uh, after, I was talking to Keaton from, uh, Bike Bag Dude. Uh-huh, uh-huh.
53:29
And I think getting down into Australia and riding the shoreline of, or, like, New Zealand maybe. Mm-hmm. Riding the shorelines there for a while and doing some, like, beach camping.
53:40
And then- I think that's gotta be- And then going over to Fiji and doing some scuba diving, and then going to the Big Island Hawaii, riding some lava. It's like a whole Pacific Rim tour.
53:52
The, I think the, yeah, I think the Pacific Rim, uh, scenario, scenery, all that good stuff is kind of where I wanna, you know, where I'd wanna go. Australians just all have such a great attitude, too.
54:05
I've never met a crabby Australian. [laughs] No, they're nice. But you never dated a crabby Australian. They can be nice people. [laughs] You dated an Australian that- It's like the Men Down Under song. Yeah.
54:16
Or the Men At Work song. Oh, yeah. The Vegemite sandwich. Men Down Under. I come from a- Yeah... land down under. Oh, yeah, yeah. [laughs] Where women glow and so do I.
54:25
Well, th- I think you have the first vote for Australia/New Zealand, and that, I, I believe the golf clap for Adam. [clapping] Well played. Clappity clap. Everybody else is all up in, you know, Europe and- Europe? Ah.
54:40
South Am- South America... yeah, I mean, I guess. One of our own guys said, "Yeah, Michigan." Yeah, and the guys from Fairbanks said Fairbanks, Tupper. Yeah, 'cause Fairbanks, they're just looking for fresh meat.
54:52
[laughs]... this time of year. [laughs] Come on up, we'll freeze you and then we'll just eat you sometime in February. Just kidding, no cannibals in, in, [laughs] the cannibals of Fairbanks, don't call the show.
55:04
We were just kidding. So Adam, what else you got? What else you telling... You just moved back to the Midwest. How's- I-... Minneapolis treating you? Yeah. Have you been mugged yet?
55:14
I haven't been mugged yet, although there's been some muggings on my bike route, so that's pretty fun. Oh, yeah. I can't wait to get in a fist fight with a homeless bum. Yeah. Different than a normal bum.
55:26
And, uh, you know, just, just look, make yourself look huge. Ooh. That's, that- I look huge anyways. [laughs] That's what she said. The beard helps. Have to work- For sure... that in at least once per show.
55:41
[laughs] Yeah. Ay caramba. So cool. Gomez, I guess. Hey, uh, so, I, can we talk plus size bikes? Oh, sure. Yeah.
55:53
So I got to ride a specialized Stumpjumper, uh, Knobby Nick 3.0 tires on it- Oh... 27 and a half. Uh-huh. Yeah. That bike ripped. Very cool. And generally, I would shit talk all over the big S, you know what I mean?
56:09
Yeah. But I've gotta say that, uh, with, it had some 50 mil carbon rims on it- Mm-hmm... and it's gotta be like 120 travel front and rear. Yeah. And it, but it just ripped. No kidding.
56:25
So those are the Schwalbe 3, 27.5 by 3.0 Knobby Nicks that we saw at, at, uh, Sea Otter, but nobody has actually seen one. You've actually not only petted one- I'm holding-... mounted it. I'm holding it right here.
56:39
Oh, you, you. See, this is why we have people call in, 'cause- So is the Stumpjumper that you were riding, like, the full on one? Full on in what way? Like, full carbon. In the full on... Yeah. Oh, yeah.
56:54
[laughs] Full on carbon bot with the weed box and the down tubes and stuff. [laughs] Uh-huh. That's exactly what I was just gonna ask you. With, the one with the glove box. What'd you put in there? "My weed." Yeah.
57:05
So anyway. Yeah, the weed and the portable bong. [laughs] There you go. Could you just use this fork leg for that? They should make an accessory. Well, they used to make the bar end plug. I have those from, uh- The p-...
57:17
Pentike. Yeah, ash bars and stuff. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So we- Actually- Yeah... yeah, the bar ends anyways. Yeah, that's what we're talking about. But anyway, you got to run- Yeah...
57:29
you got to run the plus size tires on the FSR, what they call the 6Fatty. But with some aftermarket, uh, 50 millimeter carbon rims, that's some pretty- Yep... pretty high tech stuff there, my man.
57:45
And, uh- Yeah, I may actually rip it this weekend. Advocate has some big news coming out at Interbike, so, which we can't really talk about right now.
57:55
We like to keep our secrets- No, we can't talk about it for another week... until it's time not to keep the secrets anymore. I know next week we reveal it all. Yeah. It's like everybody goes there and gets naked.
58:06
Yeah, there's some big things coming. Yeah, I'm, uh, I'm psyched about it, and glad to have you back- Yeah, we just, uh-... in the Midwest, brother... we were at Copper Harbor last weekend. Uh-huh. Copper Harbor.
58:19
So we did some testing. Yeah, are you, you been there? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Dude- Uh-huh... it was a trip. That's, uh, that's some pretty rad riding. I know. Are you a black diamond guy?
58:33
Uh, I did ride downtown, and I didn't do Flying Squirrel, which is their big jump, uh, line. The jump line and their ride trail, as well as the small jump line.
58:48
And, uh, pretty proud to say I only had to walk one thing. Right on, man. Cool. Well, you got those skills. But I was riding other people's bikes, so if it dumped it in a crack or something- [laughs]...
58:59
there was no harm on me. Uh, you know, when, [laughs] when we were down at, uh,
59:05
Interbike a couple years ago at the dirt demo, I took out a titanium prototype full suspension fat bike that was the personal pride and joy of the owner of some unnamed company at this point.
59:17
But I took it and compressed down in one of the, one of the, one of the, uh, uh, jump lines, and came out of it hard and went back on the other side with some pretty good air, and it kinda stopped working.
59:29
[laughs] And I felt so bad 'cause I, like- You broke the guy's bike... kinda sorta, it was rideable after that, but it just over traveled the suspension, and I was like, "Oh."
59:38
But, you know, I guess, I mean, I'm not the biggest jump guy in the world. Me neither. I felt bad about wrecking his bike a little bit though. That's what a dirt demo's for though, is- Yeah. Yeah. Truly that.
59:49
Are you guys gonna be at the outdoor demo as well as inside, or are you just gonna go inside? No, we'll just be inside this year, but, uh, the plans are to be at Outerbikes in Moab and- Oh... uh, Whistler both next year.
1:00:03
Really? Awesome. Rubbing elbows with consumers and slinging bikes. That's such a good idea. You know, riding is believing. Yeah. Uh, oddly enough, we have another- Yeah, riding is-... another caller on the line.
1:00:17
Adam, do you wanna hang out while we check in with who's giving us a shout here? 'Cause it might be dirty. Yeah, that sounds good. What are you, like, clairvoyant again? Yeah. Stop calling me Claire. Claire.
1:00:29
[laughs] I don't know, you haven't been watching Agents of Shield? The clairvoyant is, like- I know... one of the nemesoi. I know what it mean, man. Hey, welcome to the radio program, new caller.
1:00:38
We have Adam Blake on the line, along with Gomez, Fenn, and JK in the studio. To whom do we have the privilege of talking? Old Bear down here in Rolla, Missouri. Old Bear, what's up, brother?
1:00:50
See, it's not Chris, you clairvoyant jackass. See, the- Dammit... that's why I said you can't call me Claire, 'cause I don't, [laughs] I don't know nothing. What is there, calling Clarence now? Oh, uh-
1:01:04
What's up, Old Bear? That's where I'd buy 'em many years ago. [laughs] Hey, nothing much is happening down here, so I've been getting a lot of riding in. Very cool. We've been- So I've been thinking about this, Old Bear.
1:01:15
I think that come the cold of winter, I think Sven and I are gonna take a drive down, and we should go riding with you, dude. Yeah, we've got a invitation from some folks down in Georgia, too.
1:01:27
Kinda make a little loopy-loop deal. Oh. And also North Carolina. Yeah. Road trip. Yeah. Say it, say it with me. North Cackalacky. North Cackalacky. [laughs] I smell road trip in February. Yeah. Yeah.
1:01:40
So- Road trip in February? Yeah. Yeah. So how's the weather down there? What do you typically get for a, like, you know, a late January, early February day down in, in Rolla, Missouri? Uh,
1:01:52
it, it can be as, you know, in the minus up to about 40 or 50 degrees. Maybe even warmer, but generally it's about 30 some odd degrees. Perfect. Like it. That's- Not much snow. I mean, we don't get...
1:02:07
Uh, there might be this year, but we didn't get hardly any snow last year. You just wait till we come. It's gonna be the biggest ice storm of the century.
1:02:15
[laughs] [laughs] We'll bring it, we'll bring it from, we'll bring it down from the north like the, like, like the Union Army a- crushin' down- Hey-... on the Confederacy...
1:02:24
the last time I was in Little Rock, Arkansas, it snowed there, okay? So- [laughs]... I, I'll bring, I'll bring weather with me. So it's gonna be, it's gonna be pretty, it's gonna be pretty kick-ass, as we say here.
1:02:36
He's a, he's a weather machine. Mm-hmm. So do you have an answer- Yes... for our dream destination question? My dream destination is actually one of three places. All right. I pick one, though, right? Right.
1:02:51
Well, you can say, you can say all three. Uh, I would say Sedona, Moab, and, uh, the Oregon Coast. Oh. Ah. Alaska. Actually, Alaska. But- That's far, but that's good...
1:03:01
my, my, my brothers would probably Sedona because it doesn't, you know, Sedona in spring, 'cause it doesn't get too ungodly hot down there. Mm-hmm. And they got those cosmic vortices there.
1:03:15
But I can't take the humidity here. I, I w- I met a lot of ladies with crystals on last time I was down there. [laughs] I like Sedona. Mm-hmm. I haven't ridden a fat bike down there yet.
1:03:24
I don't think I've ridden a fat bike there, either. Mountain bike. I think, uh- But not fat bike. Yeah. Fat- or mountain bike, yes. Fat bike, no. What do you know about, uh, Sedona, Adam?
1:03:32
Do you, have you been down there? Never been down there. I sort of- Never ridden down there. Well, shoot. Submarine Rock's the big, the big name brand ride down there.
1:03:42
Shoot, fire, we should all just make a trip down there. Yeah. We should, uh, we should h- hit up Troy, Troy Barrick from, uh, Over the Edge. He always has a big party down there in the springtime.
1:03:56
Oh, a little plug for Over the Edge there, Troy. [laughs] He's, he's like our business consultant. Just put cool shit on your site. That's all you need to know. [laughs] That's Troy Barrick. And what do we do?
1:04:08
We put socks on there. [laughs] Did you read my sock review, Old Bear? Do I what? Did you read my sock review? Not yet. I'm going to, though. I, I don't, right now, I get internet sporadically on my phone.
1:04:25
My computer kind of bit the dust. That's, that's the, s- you're in the same boat that I am. If only we could all be in that same non-technology boat. You, you shun technology. Yeah.
1:04:37
Like, how would we do this show without technology? [laughs] See where I'm goin' with this? I had to text, I had to text Sven to look at Facebook to answer questions about the new store. That's, that's what he does.
1:04:51
He just, he, you just don't like the Spacebook. I, yeah, I don't really try to do too much on Spacebook. It is a huge time-waster.
1:05:00
Well, and I feel like if I don't waste time on it to kind of get in the groove of what everybody else is doin', I'm just interjecting shit that's just, like- Yeah... stupid. Yeah.
1:05:10
So it's one of those things, I think you need to be invested in the whole thing, and I am not that invested in it, for some reason. You know, you gotta choose- I have other things I do...
1:05:19
you gotta probably choose between a few things. Kitty pictures, kid pictures- Like meow... dog pictures- Oh... bike pictures- [laughs]... and I think that's, and old car pictures.
1:05:32
So- Uh, I do see some pretty kick-ass old cars on there. Yeah. It isn't like I don't look at it. I just don't actually comment that much on it. Yeah. Me neither. I don't think I have that much interesting to say.
1:05:42
Me neither. You don't think I- [laughs] Damn it. [laughs] I'm outta here, Jim. [laughs] All right. Just kidding. [laughs] Okay, Old Bear.
1:05:54
So you came up with four things, and Sedona is the one that you would pick if, uh, if somebody threw, threw some money at you to take a trip? Somebody said, "Free airline ticket anywhere- Oh, yeah...
1:06:03
for you and your fat bike." Hmm. Man. Fly to Ant- fly to Antarctica. If, okay, wait a second. Yeah, go to Antarctica. All right. If somebody said that to me, I'd go to Antarctica, just because if it's all expenses paid.
1:06:15
Antarctica? [laughs] Well, heck yeah. It's a $60,000 trip. I don't think my pacemaker would take that well. [laughs] Yeah. You been, you been- I mean, I got one of these... I'm bionic.
1:06:26
I got one of these pacemaker defibrillators in my chest, and, uh, I gotta watch, you know, the temperatures I ride at, the humidity I ride at, you know. So I ride late at night. Well, not late at night.
1:06:39
From 6:30 to about 7:30. I get out for an hour. Sure. But yesterday was nice, so we got out for a nice long ride, about 40 miles out in the gravel, dirt, and pavement.
1:06:51
So- See, and then you do the rides like that that are just kick-ass. You, you did that- Uh-huh... the full Berryman Loop, and that is, that is a burly ride.
1:06:59
That is a ride that would, that would make me pee my pants, for sure I'd, I'd need- You know- I'd need a defibrillator in my chest to, to do that ride, for sure. Or after that ride. But you're probably not as old as me.
1:07:15
I'm 63. No, I'm not as old as you, but- He, he's sneaking up on your back door, though [laughs] I just, I just feel old. It's, it's like Wayne from Glenwood Springs.
1:07:25
He's, he's another heart patient like me and we correspond quite a bit. Mm-hmm. We're on MTB, our forum all the time, on fat biking and health. I started that thread and it's got over 1,000 votes. Oh, wow. Hallelujah.
1:07:38
I see- Yeah, I know that post... you know, I, I kinda- I know that thread... I kinda see a new, uh, a new segment on the old fatbike.com site. Yeah. Fat biking and health. Fat bikes and health. 'Cause the, the...
1:07:47
A lot of people have used- Ooh, that'd be good. That, that's, that's the name of my thread, fat biking and health. All right, Old Bear, you're, you're the, you're the guy for the fatbike.com.
1:07:56
Well, we c- we can suss all of this out when we're, uh, when I'm hanging over my top tube panting at the top of one of those hills down there in the Ozarks this winter.
1:08:07
[laughs] I tell you what, you're more than welcome to come down and ride. I don't own a car. Uh, my bike is my car. That's the way it should be. So I don't get over out that way very rarely.
1:08:19
Well, we're gonna probably bring a car with us, so- If we can't teleport down there [laughs] I'm- Yeah... I'd love to ride down, I just don't have the- Yeah... two months to get there. Yeah.
1:08:30
So we'll, uh, we'll stay in touch and we'll figure something out this, uh... When we get tired of, of winter and, and, uh, snow, we'll, we'll head down to the Ozarks. Okay.
1:08:45
Hey, I got a question, real quick question for you guys. Sure. Go ahead. I misplaced my fatbike.com button, the one you guys sent me in my swag. Oh, yeah. Could you send me another? Oh, hell yeah.
1:08:56
[laughs] So- Ab- absolutely... Sven will take care of that for you. It got misplaced because I, we cleaned my bedroom up and somehow it got lost.
1:09:04
Like, I, I had my fish tanks in there and somewhere, it didn't get in the fish tank, I know that. [laughs] But somewhere, it just got lost. Well, I, I probably have- I wear it all the time. I wear it on all my shirts.
1:09:16
Right on. I probably have your address, Old Bear, but can you just send it to me again to
[email protected]
, just so I'm sure I've got it? I'll get you some- Well, um-... some more goodies off...
1:09:25
my, my problem is, without the internet, I can't email you. Oh, right on. I, I know I have it 'cause we've, we've sent you stuff before. Yeah. Okay. It'll be, it'll be in his, his archives.
1:09:37
Yeah, because my, my cry monkey T-shirt is worn, like, three times a week. [laughs] Yeah. Well, you're one of our most- So I love that shirt... loyal listeners. You, you deserve whatever we send you. Absolutely. Okay.
1:09:51
We really, we really like you guys. I, I really appreciate the show because it's, it's a voice for us fat bikers, you know? Down here, we're few and far between, but it's getting better. Yeah.
1:10:05
We hear from a lot of, lot of great people. We, I mean, just today, you know, Adam from Minneapolis, not long ago from Colorado and Alaska and, you know, people from, from all over. It's just like a big, happy community.
1:10:19
Indeed. We love doing the show. It's, it's, it's growing by leaps and bounds. And even Micah from- He, it's, it's the lifestyle... wherever USA Cycling's from [laughs] It's not a hobby, it's a lifestyle. Right, right.
1:10:28
You bet, buddy. Hey, thanks for your support and your call. Okay. We're gonna wrap this bad Oscar up this week. Yeah, yeah. See you, Old Bear. Can't wait to go- Okay... riding with you, dude. Yeah, it'll be good.
1:10:41
Anybody else on the line? Just Adam. I'm still here. Adam. [laughs] Was his name Old Bear? Yeah. Old Bear. That's a sweet name. Yeah. I would ride with a dude named Old Bear. See ya. Yeah, he calls in a lot.
1:10:53
He's, he's, uh, he was a, he had a heart problem and his doctor said, "You gotta do something," and he took up fat biking. And he's- Hell yeah... he's still damn alive. And he does big rides.
1:11:07
I mean, he d- he did the full Berryman Loop, 26 miles of real burly single track with climbs that are 1,000 feet at a crack and, like, seven switchbacks up- Wait a second, and you're making us go out there? Yeah.
1:11:23
[laughs] [laughs] Well- Wait, can I do one of you? [laughs] Maybe. Maybe. After 1,000-foot climb, you damn straight I'm gonna be doing that. Well, there's gonna be climbs up there in Cuyuna, Adam
1:11:39
and Tim and who else did you say is gonna, uh, gonna b- Noel. Noel. Noelie, Noel, Noel, Kurt, right? Yeah, our homie Noel. Oh, that is awesome.
1:11:52
When you, when you put that together, I didn't put- Yeah, that's shaping up to be pretty fun... I did not put two and two together there, so yeah, that's gonna be a good crew. Yeah.
1:12:00
So up at we're, we're gonna go- That's gonna be a good crew and good time... we're gonna ring in the new year of 2016 in a yurt at the Cuyuna Lakes Recreation Area. I would like to wear a skirt in a yurt.
1:12:13
[laughs] I think I might fit back in my skirt by then. [laughs] Yeah, it might hurt- Yeah... in a yurt. That is what she said. [laughs] You don't wanna get hurt in a yurt. All right, man. No.
1:12:27
Adam, you got any closing comments? We're gonna wrap this thing up here. Uh, nope. I am out of anything to say. I'm just gonna hope to see anybody at Interbike. Anybody going to Interbike, come see me. You bet. Say hi.
1:12:42
Say hi to Adam. Advocate Cycles booth n- We'll see you guys... what, do you know your booth number yet? Uh, 22, uh, hold on. I do know it. It's not in, it's not in BMX World, is it? [laughs] Don't get stuck in BMX World.
1:12:58
[laughs] Don't get stuck in. It's hard to get out of there. I know. Or, or, or in China World. Oh, they p- sh- don't, they don't stick you back there where, uh- Where Sarma goes... where Sarma was. [laughs] It's 4211.
1:13:08
Ah. 24211. I'm gonna have that tattooed on my- 24211... 242. Oh, I like Front 242, uh, that industrial band. [laughs] Oh, yeah. All right. Well- Jesus is here... wherever you are- Hey, you-... we'll hunt you down...
1:13:23
you're in happy Jesus. [laughs] And with that, I think we can end the show. Pretty much. Us doing some industrial dance music. JK and I's new band. [laughs] Happy birthday, JK. Happy birthday and happy trails.
1:13:41
Oh, happy birthday. And- Oh, thank you, man... uh, and happy internet and happy Interbike and any other inters [laughs] No... you wanna mention? [laughs] Intercourse. [laughs] Of course. Oh, yeah.
1:13:55
[laughs] All right, kids, go ride your bikes. Peace. See you. Goodbye. Bye. You've been listening to Fat Bike Radio's Weekly Dose of Fat.
1:14:07
Find us on the web at fat-bike.com/radio. We'll see you next time.
1:14:16
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