Want to hurtle down a snowy mountain on a bike? Fat-tire biking is the sport for you. Cyclists whizzing down trails in the summer is a pretty normal sight. Cyclists taking on the same trails in winter — through snow, slush and debris — is far less common. But fat biking, where cyclists slap on fat tires to keep pedaling through the winter months, has become a sport of its own. A fat bike looks like a bike on steroids: a regular frame with larger tires designed to handle ice and snow. The saying goes something like this: “When the skiing is bad, the fat biking is good” — enthusiasts thrive on tackling the worst that winter has to offer. The fat biking world has become competitive in the past few years, but it retains an endearingly goofy side. At the 2018 world championship, amateur competitors dressed as Scooby-Doo, Vikings, ballerinas and an adult baby (clad in nothing but a diaper) and stopped for whiskey shots throughout the race. So, fun all around. |