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Full Spectrum Cycling
Weekly Dose of Fat – Show #124 Fat Bike Birkie Pre Show and ITI Coverage
Mar 10, 2017
Weekly Dose of Fat – Show #124 Fat Bike Birkie Pre Show and ITI Coverage
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0:00
The Weekly Dose of Fat, show number 124 for Friday, March 10th, 2017.
0:06
[instrumental music] With Daylight Shavings Days approaching, we bring unto you from the future, the people in the studio, Sven, Zito, and JK.
0:27
And that, that is JK. Hi there. It's amazing. Welcome, boys. Hola, hola. Hello. What's hap- what's hap- Hey, you know what March 10th is? My ma's birthday. Oh, happy birthday- Happy birthday... Sven's mom.
0:40
We're going duckpin bowling. Nice. Nice. [laughs] Where? A place called The Thirsty Duck. Where's that? Wauwatosa. Oh. Wauwatosa. Wauwatosa. [laughs] All right.
0:54
I'm one of those TV newscasters that can't say any- [laughs]... any town name in Wisconsin. Anyway, JK- How's it riding up there? Yeah, it's all the way west of here about five miles. Okay. [laughs] Oh, Waukesha?
1:06
Wauwatosa. Oh. Wauwatosa. [laughs] Wauwatosa. Wau- With the emphasis is on the wrong syllables... emphasis. Uh, uh, uh, so- Oh.
1:15
The Weekly Dose of Fat is brought to you today by the numbers eight and 24, represented hither and yon by the Surly Eight and 24 pack racks. Learn more about fun with bikes at surlybikes.com. Hey, JK,
1:31
what's on the show today? Well, we start the show with the event of the week. This week it's the Fat Bike Birkie in Hayward, Wisconsin. We'll chat with Jerry Wright about the race and the Kamda party afterwards.
1:43
Travis is gonna give us a shout and talk Alaska Adventure Racing. We'll share links from the internet. We check in with the Fatty Farm Field Report, brought to you by One of USA.
1:53
And in our special segment, we take calls, answer questions, disseminate information, control the message, spread rumors, further propagate the narrative. Are we gonna have any alternative facts on the show today?
2:05
[laughs] There are no alternative facts. I think we, we... I tried to do an alternative fact before, [laughs] but hey. I call it rationalization. [laughs] The things I do in my life. You know what? Uh, I need a beer.
2:18
Oh, d- wait, wait. Top of the hill. Oh, well, uh- Clangy clangy. [bottles clanging] Uh, brought some Fantasy Factory from Carbon 4 in. Oh, hey. I hate that. [laughs] I mean, it's, uh, it's...
2:31
When I was bar-tending, man, that sold like hotcakes. I know. It was, I, I think it, it was the first place I had it. [laughs] At the first place I had it was over at, uh- Wait. See if you can tell me what this is.
2:41
Oh, that was a poor open. An uncarbonated [laughs]- That was a poor open. That was a poor open... Miller High Life. I had a little too much grip on that.
2:48
No, I think, uh, the first time I had this Fantasy Factory was at, uh, Tonic when you were bar manager. It was, um... Yeah, it sold like mad. Sold like mad. And you don't care for it. I, it's, it's not my cup of tea.
3:00
I like, uh, clean. High Life, just bland. But it's got a picture of a freaking cat with a gun on a unicorn on the label. Yes. That is- Shooting rainbows... shooting rainbows. Breathing fire.
3:13
[laughs] Hey, it's already that time. Let's, uh, let's get a caller on the line. Do we have one? Welcome, lady and/or gentleman. [laughs] Who, who is it? [laughs] Evening, gentlemen. [laughs] Who is this?
3:28
What's up, Travis? [laughs] Travis, aw, man, I took today off so we could ride the beach, but I got a massage instead 'cause you weren't here. Oh, man. Well, you know, at least something good happened.
3:40
[laughs] Yeah, it was excellent. Yeah, it was, uh, I don't know, 60 again this past weekend, so. We'll get it going. Yeah, I was getting those updates. Looks like they're trying to churn up that four inches of ice, huh?
3:52
Yeah, we're gonna have, uh, Jerry's gonna call us in a little bit. He had the, the finger on the pulse up there. He lives right in Hayward, so, uh, when he gives us a shout- All right...
4:00
we'll find out a little bit more because the event of the week is the Fat Bike Birkie.
4:06
You know, they're gonna run it no matter what, it's just a matter of what they actually come up with for a course because, you know, bicycles aren't like skis. You can ride them on the gravel.
4:16
Little, little tough to cross-country ski [laughs] on a gravel road. And the mud. [laughs] Right. So what's happening with Travis? Oh, man.
4:24
Getting the prep for Talkeetna 300 this weekend, and, uh, looking forward to heading up that way for my first time. Tell, tell us a little bit about that while we're waiting for Jerry to call in.
4:34
I've, I've, I've read about it. I've- Sure... confused it with other races, and now I'm completely in the dark. It's, uh, it's up in Talkeetna, about two hours, two and a half hours north of Anchorage.
4:44
The, uh, quaint little town with amazing views of, uh, uh, Denali, AKA Mount McKinley. Um, and it's a, uh, you can do a 20, 40, or a 60. So it's a 20-mile course, and, uh, you can choose one, two, or three laps.
5:02
And being a, uh, overweight, beer-drinking, middle-aged fat biker, I'm going for the 20. Right on. Yeah, yeah, should be good. I know, I know what I always confuse it with.
5:11
I always confuse it with the Tuscobia race that's, it happens in Wisconsin, 'cause they, they both start with T. I think that's why. And they have bikes. Gotcha. And they, and they have bikes.
5:20
Yeah, reports are that the course is in exceptional condition. Uh, Greg Mattis has been up there
5:27
several weekends as of late, running through with a snow machine, pulling a, a grooming wheel behind it, and they went and brushed it out last weekend. They had some mulders and, uh, things to clear out. And, uh,
5:39
we've had... I mean, I haven't seen a cloud in, like, three or four weeks. We've just been clear and cold. So, uh, and we've got lots of snow, so everything's set up really good. Should be a, should be a good event.
5:50
And, uh, yeah, from what I hear, you know, it's supposed to be the, the biggest fat bike party in Alaska all year long. Wow. Sounds fun, man. That 20 miles is right up my- Yeah... right up my alley.
6:01
That 20-mile loop, yeah, I'd probably cut that by 10. [laughs] Hey, you were talk- [laughs]... you were talking about grooming a little bit with Greg running the snow machines on the trail.
6:10
Um, I think it's next Tuesday maybe, we've got a story about a thing called a track sled, which I've never seen before, but apparently they're big in Russia.
6:19
And there's a dude that makes them here in, uh, Minnesota that it grooms trails, but in a different way than what we've kinda seen before with snow machines or rollers or whatever.
6:27
So if you wanna learn more about trail grooming, maybe scope that out. What i- wh- wh- wh- what is it, the machine? You kinda stand behind it.
6:34
It's got a track in the front of it, and you kinda use your weight to lean it so you can make, like, bank turns and stuff. Oh. It looks pretty cool. Turns with berms. Turns with berms, yep, yep. It looks sweet.
6:44
Uh, our buddy Ken Blakey Shell did a really nice job on the story, so make sure you take a look at his hard work. [clears throat] Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. Dead air.
6:57
[laughs] That's what the, that's what the edit button's for. Yeah. [laughs] Da, da, da, da, da. You know what, uh, when, uh- Da, da, da, da... was it, uh- Da, da, da, da... was it, uh, Nick that was in here- Yeah...
7:08
in the studio? Yeah, yeah. He go- he sent me a note. He goes, he goes, "Man, I tell you what, after you went through and edited that, it made a lot more sense than when I was sitting in the studio."
7:20
[laughs] That's pretty funny. That's pretty funny. Oh, right on, man. So Travis, have you been riding at all? Uh, yeah. Yeah, I have. Uh, I've been riding a lot. Our, our trails are so supremely buffed out right now.
7:36
And, uh, yes, we've been real cold in the morning. I think yesterday it was 19 below at my house when I woke up. Whoa. And when I got home about 2:00, it had warmed up to, I think, 18 degrees. Sweet.
7:47
So yeah, the afternoon rides, and, you know, we got the daylight pouring back in up here, so- Good deal... you know, night rides aren't even starting.
7:55
If you want a night ride, it's about 7:30 now before you even need to turn a light on. Great. Great. Yeah, it's, it's the, uh, March to December period- I like my night rides with no lights... that's severe.
8:07
Night rides with no lights. Wednesday night style. Minneapolis mafia. Turn off the lights. Oh, it is Wednesday, isn't it? Yeah. [laughs] Right on. The Wednesday night rides up there were insane. That was a good time.
8:23
E- any, uh, all year round. Travis, what are the trails like? Are they all packed snow? And, and, and if so, is it, like, does it get frostier? Does it stay... You know, does it get icier? Does it stay pretty y- loose?
8:39
You know, right now everything is, is, is just packed perfectly. No studs needed or required at all. There's only one stud on your bike, right? No ice. Uh, just grippy- [laughs]... grippy snow.
8:52
Just, Travis, there's only one stud on your bike, right? [laughs] Yeah, yeah. [laughs] It's on the seat, on the saddle. [laughs] Well, I'm, I'm, I'm n- Yeah, we're, uh- I've never been a fan of the studs.
9:02
I re- I reviewed some for fatbike.com. I don't know if I can say what I reviewed, but I- Yeah, rev- say whatever you want. That's why you get the stuff...
9:11
it was, it was the off c- uh, uh, the only difference they made was on off camber slick ice between that and, God, I think I was running, like, a Nate and something else. It was on that purple pug.
9:22
And, uh, but I reviewed those Dillinger studded tires, and going through the deep or, uh, anything other than l- literally off cambered slick ice, they really didn't do much for me.
9:37
Maybe I wasn't going aggressively enough, but- You, you got the... Yeah, well, you've got that balance thing going on, so. Yeah. But I like thin to win anyway.
9:46
Well, I, and I- Well, I, I, I remember the, uh, the Dillinger stud when, about this time, when don't need them. Right, right. But didn't have them out, and that's when I slid out and right into Lunds.
9:58
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. [laughs] Yeah, yeah. Yeah, studs on pavement aren't the greatest thing. No. No. No, for sure. Especially when you're trying to be a smartass and sl- skid into something.
10:06
I, I mean, the best, the best spots I've had them was down on the lake when it's icy- Yeah... and there's, like, the moon, the moon effect down there with...
10:13
And, and, and you wanna ride on the, the side of those, those big, uh, mounds. They definitely dig in good. Yeah. I just bounce off them. Mound. Yeah, with my shoulder.
10:24
No, I'm talking with just bloop, bloop, bloop, bloop. [laughs] Slalom. Yeah, moguls. Yeah. Well, kind of, yeah. [laughs] You just gotta let the momentum go. Ch, ch, ch, ch, ch.
10:31
Keep the bike under you or just stay on top of the bike. But- That was my skiing sound effect. Ch, ch, ch, ch, ch, ch. Yeah. I got you. [laughs] I guess- Yeah...
10:42
I guess everybody, uh, uh, uh, you know, that's not in the studio can't see him doing the dance, but- Yeah. [laughs]... there's a, there's a si- there's a dance that goes with that sound effect.
10:50
[laughs] We could, uh, we could- Paint the word picture... I guess we could put a cam in here and do sort of an ESPN cam on, on the air thing, and then people could see how, how much fun we really have in the studio.
11:01
[laughs] I know. We'd have to put that bong away. Bong. Oh, no. That's a Galliano bottle. Could be a bong. Yeah, I know. It's a vase. [laughs] I thought about it. It's just a vase.
11:14
But what would we need, what do we need a bong for? Uh- To hold flowers in. I don't know. Oh. Hey, guess what? We got another caller on the line. Anyone we know? Welcome to the radio program, caller. Hi, Jerry.
11:30
Sorry I'm late for calling in. I was helping a friend get his bicycle ready for the big race on Saturday and du- and lost track of time. All right. Hey, well, it, no problem, man. We were just, uh...
11:41
Travis is on the horn, too, up from, uh, Alaska way, and he's gonna lurk while, while you and I and, uh, Zito and JK talk a little bit of, uh, local fatbike Birkie business.
11:51
Jerry, uh, are, are Jerry and Travis, uh, acquainted? Uh, by email. All right. Yeah. All right. So you guys know one another? Yes. All right. Excellent. We, I... Yeah. I know Travis from Alaska.
12:04
[laughs] There's only a couple of them. You know, there's only, like, 10 people up there, isn't there? In Hayward or in Alaska? Alaska. Hayward. Oh, either. [laughs] All right.
12:15
So, uh, Jerry is calling us from Hayward up there where they're gonna have that big old race this weekend called the Fatbike Birkie, and, uh, appreciate you calling in, Jerry. Welcome to the radio program.
12:27
Oh, my pleasure. So- Not my first time on. No. It's always fun to be back. Right on. Yeah, well, it's always good to have you on 'cause you're a, you're a knowledgeable guy.
12:35
You, uh, do a lot of riding and, uh, by gosh, we like you. [laughs] Okay, then.
12:41
[laughs] So, uh, in, one of the big stories be- even before the race started, and before we get into the other big story about the race, is how much this thing has grown over the last few years.
12:53
I read that they, uh, they let in 1,200 people this year. Is that- Yeah... is that crazy up there or what? It, well, yeah, that's, uh...
13:02
The, the, the idea was to keep growing it and to see just how big they could manage it.
13:07
Um, the, with winter trails, there's always a point at which the trail starts to deteriorate, and so they just weren't certain how many bikes that would be until it started to deteriorate.
13:18
So this year is gonna be a real test of that. Yeah, so what- In some ways, this one- They're letting more people... J- excuse me. They're letting more people in, but it's, aren't the, ar- isn't there no snow?
13:29
Isn't it, isn't it horrible conditions for that many bikes? It's very interesting conditions. The, uh, the Birkie Trail itself is just a solid sheet of ice right now. Oh, that's fun then.
13:40
And the, and the crew's been out there. They were, they've been work- trying various ways to chew up the ice to make it safer. Um, I was talking to the race organizers today and- S- slow it down... wa- Slow it down.
13:53
[laughs] I mean, it's a skill set. There's a, get your skill set out and make it across the ice. Put studs on, if you have to. [laughs] I'm sure people will be running them.
14:02
Um, well, he said they, they wanted to, they're, the, they wanted to make it a safe race for everybody of varying skill levels, and although there'd be a lot of people with studded tires and the skills to ride on that icy course, they knew that a lot of people would not be able to.
14:16
So today, they spent a lot of time trying to find an alternate race course, and they came up with something. Oh, very good.
14:23
So the, the new race course is just gonna be a 10-kilometer loop that the long racers do four times and the short racers do twice. Cool. I actually- For 20K and 40K respectively...
14:36
you know, maybe for, uh, spectator friendly, it's nice to have something that's a little tighter like that.
14:40
I mean, you know, covering that race, taking photographs, y- if, you can get to, like, two spots on the course, even if you're chasing it down pretty fast in your car because they move so quickly. So this, uh- Yeah...
14:51
this shorter, uh, idea might be pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, but, uh, as I indicated earlier, you know, they're, they were wondering how many bikes they could handle before the trail would break down.
15:00
Well, uh, they're gonna have, with 1,200 people on a 10-lap course, it's gonna be like having 6,000 people there. Um, pretty wild. Yeah, yeah.
15:11
Well, then I guess they'll get their answer then, and maybe they can up it to 6,000 next year. [laughs] Yeah, right.
15:18
[laughs] So the- The race didn't fill until, like, a week or so ago, but, uh, so I don't, I don't know the, it, how long it would take them to get 6,000 entries, but sooner or later.
15:27
Well, Jerry, you know Travis was gonna make the trip, but he was looking for more the, kinda traditional, um, Birkie course race, where it was, you know, definitely snow and definitely, you know, a, a 40K run, and, and, uh, totally understand not making a trip when it's, uh, such an outlay to come from Alaska.
15:46
Um, Travis- Yeah, well, it's-... what do, what do you think of this short course idea?
15:49
It's, it's gonna be 40K, and the, the new course, they found a bunch of ski trails that were abandoned this year, so they weren't groomed at all.
15:57
They're still about 80% snow covered, these trails, and there's some icy spots. The start area is really icy. They're gonna be out putting some sand down on some of the icier spots, I'm told.
16:10
Um- Don't fret it, just shred it. [laughs] Just shred it. They tried to shred it, but they couldn't, they couldn't chew it up, uh, in any way that made it work, so. Dynamite. Um. [laughs] Dynamite. Gee.
16:26
Yeah, we need to hire you apparently. [laughs] Yeah, Zito's course grooming technique 101. I know a little bit about everything.
16:35
[laughs] So, um, I know, so the race will go on, and it sounds like they've got a plan for what the course is gonna be. I guess that means that the CAMBA party's gonna go on as well. Uh, what- Absolutely...
16:45
what i- I know we talked a little earlier today, and, uh, you guys got a, a, uh, a lot of prizes and a big shindig going on. What's that gonna be like?
16:54
Yeah, um, it's, it's kind of, uh, patterned after the same party we've had the last few years.
16:58
You guys started it, uh, in that first year, 2013, and then, uh, we just kinda picked up the ball and been running with it, with a similar format.
17:07
Um, we've got, like, $10,000 worth of product that have been given to us by area businesses and industry leaders, so there's gonna be plenty of stuff to, to, to either win, either in a raffle or to win in a silent auction.
17:21
Uh, it's gonna be split up between those two types of ways to get product at, at the party. Um, the biggest ticket item at this point is a, uh, carbon 27.5+ hardtail mountain bike from Framed Bikes. Oh, nice. Yeah.
17:39
Yeah, I saw you guys had some carbon wheels from, uh, uh, yeah, those other guys with, make carbon wheels. Dirt, Dirt Components. There you go, Dirt Components, and, uh, just a whole bunch of stuff.
17:49
So I think, uh, all that stuff goes towards CAMBA to help make more trails and groom winter trails and all that good stuff? Yeah, this is, uh, this is winter only.
18:00
So all of the money that we're raising is going to, uh, help us groom trails, either by purchasing more grooming equipment or paying, um, staff to actually get out and, and, and groom it.
18:12
Uh, we hired a head groomer this year, um, when we realized that, "Jeepers, we're, we're, we're grooming an awful lot of stuff.
18:18
It's spread out all over like crazy, and it's hard for volunteers to just, to keep track of everything."
18:24
So, uh, about a month ago, we hired a guy to actually figure out how we're going to be doing all of this and, and, uh, and coordinate everything and fill in the gaps and make sure that everything's groomed properly- Is that a full-time job?
18:36
... when everybody comes up to play on the weekend. Is that a full-time job for that guy? Um, no, it won't be full time, but, uh, it'll, it'll, it'll, it'll be 15, 20 hours a week, I suppose All right.
18:46
Does he get a little cabin in the woods or anything like that? A little tool shed? [laughs] Yeah. Uh, you know, on a late grooming night, he can always shack up in one of the Birki, uh, Birki warming huts.
18:56
Oh, yeah, yeah, that's right. [laughs] That's right, for sure.
18:59
[laughs] Hey, uh, Gerry, I mentioned to Travis, uh, a little bit ago that I think it's coming up on Tuesday, we got a, a review of a thing called a track sled, which is a, a different kind of a grooming, uh, thing than I've seen, uh, used regularly around here.
19:13
Yeah. Looks really interesting. Um, have you guys seen one up there? Yes. There's... I'm, I'm familiar with three different manufacturers of that type of product.
19:23
Um, there's one in, uh, I wanna say Fairmont or Jackson, Minnesota, South Central Minnesota, called the Best Track Sled. Yep, I think that's the one that, uh, that's the one that, uh, Ken is gonna review. Yes.
19:37
Uh, people in Rochester are currently using one to groom their trails. The guys at Cuyuna have been using one for a couple of years, and they've been working with the guys over in Jackson to improve it.
19:48
Um, the next thing that they're doing is, is, or that what they've been doing, is looking at a, uh, a specific type of drag, a drag specific to fat bike grooming, and they haven't yet marketed it, but they're working on that.
20:03
The, the Russian fellows who make the Snowdog are also working on, on a s- fat bike specific implement to pull behind the track sled, their track sled.
20:15
Then there's another company that I just became aware of out of Central Minnesota, and I can't remember their name, I'm sorry, but I, I just don't remember what they're calling their product, but it, it was, they designed it from the ground up to groom fat bike trails.
20:30
Well, well, there's definitely some interest in it, and, uh, hopefully we can get more snow to groom. Someone posted something- Yeah...
20:37
the other day with a bunch of, uh, uh, fat bike wheels put together that they were using to groom. Oh, yeah, a different kind of a roller. Yep. Yeah.
20:45
Uh, like a, it had actual fat bike tread tires on it with, must have been rims and weighted somehow. I didn't look too far into it. I just glanced at it, but it looked kinda cool, you know, if you're into groomers.
20:56
All right, Gerry, hey, before we let you go, I got one more thing for you. Sure.
21:01
Um, each week we try to answer a question or two from, uh, that readers send in to the website through the contact form, and we got one this week from David. He says, "I loved Aaron Hatala's article about the Farley 9.8.
21:15
Best write-up on that bike across the board. I got more out of Aaron's review than anything e- than from anywhere else, Bike, MTBR, Bike Radar, et cetera. Kudos.
21:23
I'd like to hear more of your thoughts regarding 29 plus setup."
21:27
He's leaning towards a year-round bike and wonders, you know, taking a bike like that, that's a 26-inch tire bike, putting 29 plus tires on it in the summer.
21:36
You know, I know you've got a bunch of experience with your Lynskey. What do you think of, of doing that kind of a conversion on a fat bike? Yeah. I was the first kid on my block to do it.
21:45
Um, built up some, some of your wheels, the, the Northpaws, and, uh, and I, I love it. It, it's, it's, it's just great. Um, it gives you a 30-inch wheel. They really roll over stuff.
21:57
Um, my bike was a little weird because I've been always running a five-inch tire on the front and a four-inch tire on the back, uh, 'cause my bike came with a shorter fork than what it was designed for, and that kind of set me back to the factory s- designed geometry.
22:15
And then when I threw equal sized tires on, it gave me the steeper geometry for summer. Um- Oh, that's very cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I always liked that idea.
22:25
And I put a longer fork on now, so I've got more modern geometry.
22:29
Now I've got a 68-degree head angle when I have the five-inch tire on the front and a four-inch on the back, and it'll be 70 degrees, I think, when I, uh, put the, uh, equal size, um, 29 plus wheels on for the summer, and I think that's gonna be a real nice geometry.
22:45
I think I'm gonna really like that setup. So you think, uh, he's gonna have a good go.
22:50
He's got a, I think he has a Farley as well, and, uh, he just, uh, you know, instead of getting something purpose b- built for summer, I think this is a great idea. It's not like it's the new idea- Yeah...
23:00
but it's a, it's a new idea to him, so. Yeah, the g- the, one of my best friends, the, uh, the owner of Wildcat Groomers, um, has a Trek Farley, and we built up a set of 29 plus wheels for that, and, and he loves it.
23:13
He says they run really well on his Farley, so. Awesome. It's a, it's a, it's a good fit on a Farley. Any- anything else you wanna lay on us before we let you go? Um, I, nothing I can think of.
23:25
[laughs] Looking forward to seeing Gomez up here. Sorry, sorry we won't be seeing you, but, uh, so it goes.
23:31
Yeah, it's, it's the mom's, uh, 80th birthday, so gotta make sure that we s- keep her, keep her happy while she's still around. I never get invited to the fun stuff. You bet. [laughs] I always gotta crash the party.
23:43
Crash the party. Crash the party. [laughs] All right, Gerry, thanks for calling in. Um, I hope you guys have a good event. Maybe we'll catch up again and, uh, see how it went, and, uh, good talking to you. All right.
23:55
Very good. Good luck this weekend. Have fun. Take care. Well, we'll take a quick break here, and when we come back, we'll, uh, we'll get into some of this other stuff. So I heard you need a fat bike.
24:06
Come to Zion Cyclery in Zion, Illinois. We have all brands: Trek, Borealis, Salsa, Felt, Surly, and more. Yo, we have all the cold weather gears by 45NRTH and Bunduga.
24:21
Keep those fingers and toes nice and toasty. We fix bikes also. So you have any problem, brakes, gears, suspension, we have the best mechanics in town. So yeah, visit us at zioncyclery.com.
24:40
You are once again listening to Fat Bike Radio All right, everybody. Oh, shit. Looks like we're, looks like we're ba- [laughs] back from the break.
24:50
People are, people are lighter by a, by a couple of ounces and, uh- [laughs] Ready to take on some more... you know, ready to take on some more. [laughs] So, uh, hey,
25:01
I think it's already time for the Fatty Farm Field Report. All right. If Hollywood calls, we gotta interrupt it, 'cause he's Hollywood.
25:06
Yeah, well, well if Hol- Hollywood, Hollywood called and briefly listened to our conversation earlier, we'll see if we can- He was bored... we can raise him back. Yeah, we could. We gotta be, uh, Johnny-on-the-spot.
25:16
We could have brought him in on that. I think he's going to the Birkie, that's why- I just-... I wanted to bring him in. Yeah. We'll get him in. He's, he's done the, he's done it a couple times. Right on.
25:24
Um, so- So the Fatty Farm Field Report is brought to you by 1UP USA. 1UP USA makes the best fat bike rack we've ever tested. We'll have a link in our review in the show notes. It's like 1UPusa.com [laughs]
25:40
with the number one..com..com. So I was, uh, I was listening to the, uh, the public radio station here in Milwaukee, and, uh- The Mighty 91? It was, uh, 90.7 or one of those guys. All right.
25:55
Which- whi- whichever one it was, it's Wisconsin Public Radio and where the... You know spring's coming when they start talking about cycling and stuff, and they had the executive director of the, the Bike Fed on.
26:04
[sneezes] But one of the things that came up out of it was that this weekend in Madison, there's two cool events, the Midwestern, uh, uh, Bike Show and the [laughs] I wanna say it right, CanoeKopia Show and Sale.
26:21
They're both at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, which is a big, a big venue to have lots of, uh, floor space and whatnot. Is that the old Dade County Coliseum?
26:30
It's right there where, uh, John Nolan is, somewhere in that area. Okay. Yep. Yep, so- Hiya, Johnny...
26:35
if you're a, if you're a Midwesterner, I think, uh, Rutabaga's the biggest kayak and canoe dealer, I think, in the country. So that's one thing, and then the Bikerama deal is a, a, a big bike show and sale.
26:48
So if you're in the area, check it. And now we have Travis with us still, and one of the reasons I wanted Travis to call today was to talk about ITI News.
27:00
Travis, what do you know about that race up there in your neck of the woods? Yeah. [clears throat] It has been a, uh, a real tough year. Uh, I got an email from Katie Merchant, uh, a couple days ago.
27:13
Scratches were, and I've been following it on the, on their website and, uh, so more scratches than, uh, finishers into McGrath.
27:25
The reroute, they, they couldn't get over Rainy Pass this year, which is just crazy that that's the one place that had the lack of snow.
27:32
But, uh, they went through Ptarmigan Pass and came down Hells Gate and, uh, it was pretty much a push, you know, for the first half of the people that went through there. Um, absolutely brutal, just
27:46
super sugary snow that they, uh, couldn't possibly ride on.
27:50
And, uh, yeah, I've been following the C- the Craig, Craig's, uh, blog as well and, um, saw the story on there about Cody Johnson, uh, falling into the river and, uh, his girlfriend, Amy Breen, was right behind him, and she was, she's a, uh, Amy won the 350, uh, at McGrath this year, which is just awesome.
28:12
She's a super, super nice lady. And, uh, but yeah, that was terrifying, man. Cody went in the water and they were still, I think, 20 miles out from, from Rohn and, um,
28:23
and it was pretty bad, pretty, you know, coulda, coulda been a life and death type, type of situation there.
28:29
So, you know, the last three years, the course, we've had just crap winters and above average temperatures and not much snow. So the last three seasons it's been a pretty fast race and course records being set.
28:43
And, uh, yeah, this, this winter, uh, Alaska's back. [laughs] And, and throwing the book at him. [laughs] Yeah, I read that, well, Jay Peterbury won the race is what I've, uh, gleaned from Craig's, uh, blog. Mm-hmm.
28:58
And his finish time was more than a day slower than Tim Burnston, who finished second this year, than his time last year. So obviously the conditions were much more- A day slower... traditional. Yeah, a day slower.
29:11
Oh, yeah. That's good, though. [laughs] That's good racing. Yeah. So I- Yeah... I, I mean, I can't imagine falling into the, to the river at, when it's 20 below and, you know, you gotta make a decision at that point.
29:23
You're only 20 miles away from your destination, but it's also, you know, completely insane conditions, and he had to make a decision whether to stay and bivvy there and try and dry out or head on, and he, he made the decision to head on, which it sounds like if Amy wasn't there, that may have been a, a bad call.
29:39
Right. Definitely. Definitely. I think. I've, I've, to be quite honest, I've never put myself in a situation where that is necessary. [laughs] And that's... We gotta get Grayboy to call him.
29:52
When they were, when they were up at the Bering, doing the Bering Sea on Alaska, and they were portaging, but portaging by boat, and one of the kids in their group got sucked out to sea, and they're like, "Well, maybe a Japanese fishing boat'll find him."
30:06
[laughs] And it, it was Dave Gray and a bunch of dudes, and they're like, "Well, maybe, you know, what is, what, what, what can we do? We can't go out there and try to help him."
30:13
And all of a sudden, like, three hours later, here he comes off their fucking starboard side or their port side, just pedaling in like mad and made it into a lane and caught back up with them. Wow.
30:23
But they were like, "Dude, I guess they call him Survivalist for a reason." Yeah, yeah. You guys are fucking nuts is what they are. [laughs] Yeah, absolutely. Oh, maybe a Japanese fishing boat'll pick him up.
30:34
Like, what the fuck? [laughs] I, I can't do that. Oh, man. So- I don't speak Japanese Arigato. [laughs] Jackass. [laughs] Jack-a-boing.
30:50
So yeah, so Jay took the win to the 350, Tim Burnston. Neil, uh, Belchenko from Backbiker, uh, Backbike [laughs] Bikepacker.com. Uh, his first, his rookie year, he took a third up there. Awesome. Yeah.
31:04
Yeah, Neil was, was killing it, and, um, I was wondering if Tim would, would catch him or not. He had, uh, he had some, some tire issues big time. That's, that's what really slowed him up. Yeah.
31:19
Well, congratulations to those guys, for sure. But, uh, he came back, he came back and caught, and caught Neil. Yeah. Yeah. Congratulations to all of them who, who even just, you know, set out on that adventure.
31:29
So, so meanwhile, while those guys are warming up for the last few days, uh, Kevin Breitenbach and a few other guys are still trudging 1,000 miles towards, uh, Nome.
31:39
It's, uh, it's just like, you know, I don't know what those guys are going through, but we're 10 days into it now, and Kevin's, like, 565 miles into the 1,000 mile race.
31:52
Yeah, I couldn't even im- couldn't even imagine attempting that. [laughs] Yeah, I know.
31:57
You know, I think the check- the checkpoints are a little tighter once you get out that way and you get on the Yukon, so, uh, you know, it's, um- That's insane. [laughs]...
32:05
I think at least a little more, you know, maybe safer out there, if that's even a choice of words. [laughs] I guess, uh, you have to worry about wildlife too at some point, don't you?
32:15
Most of them are sleeping when it's 20 below, hopefully. Oh, dude. [laughs] Yeah, the bar- the bears are sleeping, but, uh, uh, I just saw a post from Josh Shelf. He's on, uh, he, he's a, he's a big name race director.
32:29
In fact, he just won the Homer One, uh, the, uh, Homer Epic 100 last weekend. And, uh, and, and he's on the Chain Reaction 907 team, and he had a post on Facebook.
32:40
Uh, he came across a wolf, um, a, a collared wolf up on the Anchorage hillside, in fact, where I was just riding today. And it, uh... Said it was pretty nerve-wracking. The thing followed him for a while.
32:53
[laughs] Trying to s- Whoa... trying to see if he was a weak link in the chain? [laughs] Or to, yeah, if he's gonna drop some sn- maybe the- [laughs]... foods and...
33:01
I saw, I saw, I don't know what it was, like, a, a big canis type animal, I think. What, what do we call them around here? Coyotes? The coyotes.
33:10
Yeah, uh, along that stretch of railroad tracks one night really late, like 3:00, 4:00 in the morning coming north along, you know, behind the, uh, the Oozing Goose factory there. America's finest diversity, huh? Yeah.
33:22
Oh, yeah. [laughs] Right on. Hey, guess what? We got another caller. Welcome to the radio program. Who do we have on the line? Old Bear down here in Alabama. Hey, Old Bear. Old Bear. I, I figured it was you.
33:37
I was, I was just looking at your, uh, your Mobile, Alabama phone number saying, "Ah, I bet that's Old Bear." We, we got, uh, we got some guests on the line today, and we're doing a little chatting.
33:46
Sounds like you've been listening in. What's- Ol- Old Bear, are you, uh, are you, uh, riding a Bear, Bear Grease there? Is that what you... Is that your game? What was that? You ride a Bear Grease?
33:57
What's your, what's your rig? No. What's your rig of choice? No, no, no. My rig of choice right now is what I can afford. It's a, uh, Graviti Bullseye Monster Pro with a Bugu on the front. Oh. Yeah.
34:11
It's kind of- Old Bear's been, uh, been using the fat bike to, uh, maintain his svelte appearance. I am losing weight again.
34:20
Instead of being warehoused [laughs] in this home, I live with just a couple, well, mile and a half from a real nice creek trail down here.
34:29
There's really no public land in my area, but I found a creek I can sneak along and, you know, uh- Is it, is it someone's footpaths?... get some exercise in. Just a bunch of footpaths? That's cool.
34:42
Yeah, it's, it's really neat. There's still a lot of sand and you got a lot of, lot of clay down here that's the makeup of the soil. And [bell dings] I get out and ride, you know.
34:53
Do you ever run into any kids down there without their parents? Huh? You ever run into any kids down there? Oh, yeah. Without, without their parents? [laughs] Not really.
35:08
[laughs] You got Zito asking you all sorts of- Oh, yeah... all sorts of nefarious questions over here. He, he's not familiar with the, uh, the legend of Old Bear, I don't think. I don't think so.
35:19
[laughs] Old Bear is a longtime listener. Longtime listener. [laughs] And is actually from- Longtime listener, yes... yeah, actually your- Yes...
35:28
w- were you originally from Wisconsin, or did you just spend some of your formative years here?
35:33
Well, I spent through my formative, formative years up in Hayward area, a little town called Springbrook on 160 acres of farm. Oh, yeah. And then- And Old Bear's, Old Bear's pushing, like, 112 now. Is that correct?
35:47
[laughs] No. [laughs] I'm 65. I'm nearly 65 now. Dude, I'm already getting mail for Medicare. Uh, he's getting... He's, he, he's a, he's an Old Bear for a reason. He's not Young Bear. He's Old Bear. Old Bear.
36:02
Even, even riding, I just wanna let you guys know that, uh, I put the tires off of Rybak onto the Pro, you know? The Rybak's riding around on V8s and they suck. [laughs] Ah, yeah.
36:17
[laughs] They're not that good of a tire. No, true that. You, you've, you've, you learned that in the past, so. Oh, yeah. From the missions over to these new tires.
36:28
Rybak's got, like, 3,200 miles on him, you know, so he just is enjoying his retirement and- Cool. Hey-... you know, Pro's called Blue, and we... I just ride him everywhere.
36:40
It's slow, but around here- Ol- Old Bear, Old Bear, you know who Patty Smith is? Who? Patty Smith Musician? No. Oh, all right. Uh, our, our guy, uh, JK here is, or JK here is going to see her tomorrow night. Oh, yeah.
36:56
Yeah. She's the godmother of punk, isn't she? You betcha. JK's going to see her tomorrow. Yeah. I'm not.
37:02
All right, Old Bear, I'm gonna put you back in the, uh, in the screening room, and, uh, we're gonna mosey back on through the show. But it always good to hear from you. Yes, good to talk to you guys. Yeah.
37:13
No touching yourself in the screening room, by the way. [laughs] Don't get anything on that couch. Hey, hold on a second. Hold on just one second. Okay. I'll tell you what I'm doing. I'm sitting outside.
37:22
It's 72 degrees in a pair of shorts. Thanks for calling, Old Bear. We'll talk to you again. And that was Old Bear, ladies and gentlemen. We haven't actually talked to him for a while.
37:34
So, uh, it'll be good to have him call in. We, we didn't get to talk to, to him for a while. Talked to who? Him. We smoking here? Negative. All right. Yeah. Got a hankering for a hunk of tobacco.
37:46
[laughs] Old Bear brings out the tobacco in me. Hankering for a hunk of ch- cheese. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Oh, hell yeah. So we, uh, Travis, we kinda got through our ITI thing, didn't we? I think we did.
38:00
We're gonna- Yeah, I think so. Travis, how old are you? 47. You don't ask a lady that question. Hot damn. What are you wearing? [laughs] What are you thinking? Wait, wait, wait. When's, Travis, when's your birthday? Uh,
38:17
Halloween. Oh. Actually, on the 31st? Yeah, yeah. So you're- And I got red hair, man... so you're a Libra. What are you... Is this, uh, astrology with Zeto? Oh, he's a... Well, no, but- This could be a jackass...
38:32
but I, we, we're very close. I'm, I'm a 14th. October 14th. So I'm a Libra, yeah, and we're m- like a year apart. My wife's the 30th, my sister's the 11th. We're, there's too many October people. That's good stuff, man.
38:44
[laughs] Surrounded on all sides. Virgos rock. Travis, when are- [laughs]... Travis, when are you gonna get down here again? Next year, man. Uh, we, we, we, uh, just rescheduled our tickets for, for next year.
39:02
And, uh, I'm gonna, I'll be giving it another stab, for sure. So w- if, if we wanna see you before then, we gotta come to Alaska? Yeah. Yeah, I wanna mention that, man. You guys got the, uh, open invitation. Come see me.
39:16
Uh- I will- How come we don't have, uh-... change it out... how come we don't have the- I would like to go out... how come we don't have the Alaska Chamber of Commerce on, on this as an advertiser?
39:25
[laughs] That's a good question. God, I gotta get to work. You guys are fucktards. [laughs] Yeah. Hey, man, if you got skills, you just make it happen. Uh, we'll see what happens. [laughs] We'll see what happens.
39:39
Is, uh, is there a train that goes up there? 'Cause I'd sp- there's- There's gotta be an Amtrak... I wanna go up that way on a train. But that's kinda... It is probably cheaper to fly. I would love to go on the train.
39:47
Probably. I'd rather go on a boat, but... On a boat? Across countries. Yeah. A, a land yacht? [laughs] No, a boat. Like you go to San Francisco and go on a boat, or you go to Portland and go on a boat. Banga, bangatch.
40:00
[laughs] All right. Well, you can take the train to San Francisco. I'd really like, I'd really like to use a magic carpet, but my magic carpet's in the shop this month, so.
40:11
Hey, speaking of magic carpets, you should call, uh... Hey, we should, I should call. Should I call, uh, I should call the Taco Stand. Let's call the Taco Stand before they shut the kitchen down. Taco Dave? Yeah. Yeah.
40:23
We're gonna call Taco Dave so that we can, uh... I have to figure out how this thing... How do you make the... Oh, man, here we go. I'm gonna make a, a call so we can...
40:32
'Cause they close the kitchen at 9:00, which is just a few minutes away here, and wanna make sure we can get our damn tacos this week. Tacos are important. Meanwhile, let's see what happens here.
40:43
[laughs] Does this technology work? Who's working tonight besides Dave? AJ. AJ. And maybe that, uh- North Shore American Legion. This is AJ. How can I help you? AJ.
40:57
Hey, it's, uh, it's Greg and, and JK Livin calling from Fat Bike Radio. Uh- Oh, hey. How's it going, guys? Hey. Good. You're on. Good, man. You're on the air. Y- you're live on- Oh... on the, on the recorded radio show.
41:10
[laughs] Ooh. Ooh. Well, that's a, that's a first. I had no idea you sounded so sexy on the ph- You want me to throw out that call to Dave here? Hell no. Why would I wanna talk to that guy? [laughs] True.
41:19
I'm, I'm the o- I'm the funny one at least. You're, you're the voice of the, you're the voice of the American Legion post. Makes sense. Uh, yeah. Hey, let's, let's, let us talk to Dave.
41:27
We got a, give him a quick- Can I have a grilled cheese?... taco order. Can I have a grilled cheese? All right. I'll pass it over. Right on, man. Can I get a grilled cheese, or is it just tacos? Yello. Hey, Taco Dave.
41:37
What's happening? Who is this? This is, uh, this is Greg and JK calling from Fat Bike Radio. Oh, really? That's right, brother. We wanna- No shit, dude...
41:46
we wanna make sure that you have some tacos ready when we get down there in a little bit. I got the tacos, man. I got tons of tacos ready. Right on. I need t- What do you guys want? I need- Can I get a grilled cheese?
41:57
No grilled cheese, jackass. Oh. [laughs] Yeah, grilled cheese. Grilled cheese tacos, son. Yeah. Hey, get me, get me two- Ooh, that's a quesadilla... I need two chickens. JK? I need one chicken.
42:11
A- and I need 17 ground beef. What, two beef and two chicken? 17. Pay, pay no attention to the man with the, the, the glasses over there. Uh, it sounds like- 17... sounds like three chicken tacos, Dave. Yeah.
42:26
That s- sounds like a real order. Three chicken tacos is a real order? You betcha. You guys, you guys barely are even eating anything. [laughs] 17. I, I mean, uh, 17 is a little better. Yeah!
42:40
[laughs] That guy's gonna run away- Yeah... with his tail between his legs. All right. Make it four. I'm calling Simon. All right. Four chicken. Four chicken. All right. Four chicken? Four chicken. Okay. Do I have five?
42:52
Okay, come on, come on. Go do five. Even, even numbers work out. We, we'll get- Four chicken, one pork. We'll be down there in a little bit, man. Four chicken, one pork. Four chicken, one pork.
42:58
We'll talk to you in a little while. Four chicken, one pork. [laughs] Come on. Do you want hard or soft, guys? Do I have a pork? Uh, soft. Do I have a pork? Soft. Soft. Flaccid.
43:04
Four chicken soft, four chicken soft, and what was the other one? Flaccid. One pork hard. Flaccid. Just four chicken soft flaccid tacos. The other guy- Hard pork... he ain't coming down there. Hard pork.
43:13
Just tell him to shut the hell up. Hard pork. Hard pork. [laughs] Hold on. You guys are both talking. I only heard the four chicken. I thought there was something else. Nope, that's it. Hard pork. Next thing. That's all.
43:21
Bye. Okay. Hard pork. All right, guys. [laughs] Goddammit. We're legitimately ordering freaking tacos here, and that guy's- He is so spitting in your tacos. All right.
43:34
You like kicking your t- your tacos around the floor. They're gonna have to clean the sink and then [laughs] put it, make your tacos with it. Oh, man. That was fun. We should order food from Cops next time.
43:44
[laughs] Yeah, but we're really going there to eat tacos. We're not- We're not really going to Cops to eat any freaking hamburgers. I might have to order Cops. Well, there you go. All righty then. Well- Cops sounds good.
43:58
Travis never had a Cops burger? [laughs] No. What's that? [laughs] He's never been here at all? No. Oh. Dude, you gotta come for the Cops burger alone. Fuck the fat biking.
44:10
Hey, you know where we're going for burgers tomorrow? Where? Mazo's. Oh. On 27th and Oklahoma. Since- I've heard... since 1934- I've heard... they've been making- Mundy used to bring them into me.
44:21
They've been making chocolate malts and, uh, hamburgers. Yeah, will he bring me one to work? Ah, maybe we'll have someone- Maybe... pick some up. I'm in the box tomorrow. There you go.
44:28
I'm dispatching, so I'll have a driver pick up a box. Yeah, there you go. Do they sell them by the crave case? Don't know. Never been there before. [laughs] It's my first time. I'm a Mazo's virgin.
44:38
Scott Mundy brought me one right after I ordered fried chicken once. Mundy Mundy. [sings] Da, da, da, da, da, da. [laughs] All right. All right. So Travis, any final thoughts?
44:49
We're gonna wrap this puppy up and go get our damn tacos. Hopefully there's- Right on, guys. Well, uh, yeah, hope everybody, uh, hope the Birky goes off well and everybody has a kickass time.
45:00
And, uh, I'll be covering the trio for you this weekend. Uh, get a, get a little report, some pics and stuff in to you. Sounds great, man. And hopefully, yeah. Hopefully get some shots of Mount McKinley, man.
45:12
It's supposed to be, uh, clear, sunny, mid-30s. Sounds perfect. So- So did they, did they rename it back to Mount McKinley again, or is, did they stick with Denali? I know there was some m- Nah... rigmarole about that.
45:26
We're sticking with Denali. Yeah. [laughs] Like- Yeah... you can't change the name again. Yeah, so, so sticking with Denali. Cool, man. Right. Sweet ass. Rubber side down, brother. Right on, guys. Rubber side down.
45:38
All right. Rubber side down. Hey, this is one of those things that I forgot about before, but, uh, you know, we get those comment things.
45:46
We talked to, uh, Jerry a bit about, uh, somebody that asked a question about wheels. Somebody just sent in a comment. I- his name is Alroy. Alroy. I'm not sure if that's- Al-... that's his handle or it's his real name.
45:58
Oh. But, um- Ooh... he sent us a note saying that, asked if we were aware that 2017 is the 200th anniversary of the bicycle. I hadn't- I didn't know that... I had no idea. No.
46:10
And- I wouldn't have thought it would've been. I thought Benjamin Franklin invented it- Oh, was-... it was before then... yeah, when he- When he was flying it on his kite? Yes. And chasing dinosaurs.
46:18
I'll order some stuff here, please. Cha- chasing dinosaurs with his kite and key. Wee. Yeah. I don't know. So- Order some stuff here, please... apparently, he read it somewhere, so it must be true. Yeah.
46:29
I'm not sure if it's an alternative fact or it's an actual fact, but- Who invented the bike? Uh. Uh, asked, uh, Johnny Bicycle. The Wright brothers. Who invented- The Wright brothers.
46:39
Who in- Well, they made bikes- No, they didn't... but they didn't invent them... they were mechanics. Who invented- [laughs] Hey, don't disparage the Wretch... who invented the mountain bike? Uh, Donnie Mountain.
46:48
[laughs] Lance Mountain. That was cute. [laughs] That laugh was cute. Lance Armstrong invented the bike? Lance Mountain. No, Lance Mountain. Oh. Skateboarder. Yeah. Oh. Or Leslie West. I think he played in Mountain.
47:02
I thought for sure somebody was gonna say PB&J. Leslie West? Yeah. From The Rave? No. Eagle's Ballad? [laughs] I'm like, wait, whoa. No, he was, he was much larger than- You're hitting the way back machine here...
47:11
he was, he was much larger than her. Way back home with Paul Simon. [laughs] Way back home. All righty. So- A needle pulling thread.
47:23
[laughs] I guess our show this evening's been brought to you by the bikes, parts, and chaos of Surly Bikes. Learn more at surlybikes.com. Call 818-918-2453 anytime day or night and leave us a message, you know?
47:39
We might call you back. Till then. Till then. Ta. Cheerio. [laughs] You've been listening to Fat Bike Radio's Weekly Dose of Fat.
47:53
Find us on the web at fat-bike.com/radio. We'll see you next time.
48:01
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