A Bike Jacket For Next Winter
A broken down car right ahead of Christmas and New Year, meant driving a loaner until we purchased a new car. No roomy vehicle meant no fat biking. That was followed by one of the poorest winters in years for snow cover. No snow, oh well, no fat-biking. A new vehicle in our parking spot created another necessity - to safely transport my studded fatty inside the new car without damaging the interior. Tire studs are short, but they're awfully sharp and will scratch interior plastic panels and tear fabrics or leather. In our old car, I did my best to be careful. But a scratch now and then wasn't a big deal. With a brand-new car, however, being careful isn't quite enough. I wanted something that would protect our car from those sharp metal studs. Thanks to Google I came across a post in the fat-bike forum on MTBR which pointed me to Amy Middleton's Bike Jackets. I ordered one and then waited ages because it got hung up at Swiss customs. It didn't get much use during the no-show winter of 19/20, but will hopefully come in handy for winter 20/21.
These bike jackets were not primarily designed for use inside the car, though they're great for that too. They were developed to protect your bike from snow, salt, dust, and water when transporting it on a bike rack. Salt especially will corrode everything from chains to bearings. Handcrafted in the USA with durable, cold-hardy materials, a bike jacket zips securely onto your bike to prevent weather-related corrosion damage to your beloved bike. Or use it, as I will, to protect your car's interior from damage or dirt.
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An Icy Fat-Bike Weekend
February has been a disappointing cycling month so far. Temperatures shot through the roof and it rained a lot. The wonderful snow disappeared at lower elevations and suffered greatly up higher. Thankfully, the mercury dropped last Friday to make Saturday the coldest day of the winter, yet. For the first time this winter I pulled my warm Smith Vantage helmet out of the armoire and strapped on my ski/fat-bike goggles. Thicker gloves were pulled out of the drawer and I put on a thicker long sleeve jersey under my winter jacket. Despite riding at temperatures of around -16°C, I felt very comfortable on Saturday's 4 1/2 hour fat-bike ride.
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Global Fat-Bike Day 2020
Right in time for the Global Fat-Bike Day 2020, a low-pressure system brought lots of humidity from the south and turned our mountains into a gorgeous winter wonderland. Five, six years ago, when fat-biking saw a boom, we managed to get a half dozen people together for the occasion. I had honestly not paid attention to GFBD this year as I've not been able to devote as much time to cycling as I would have liked. It was only after instagramming my ride on Saturday that I realized that it coincided with GFBD2020. My Instagram post was tagged appropriately to mark the occasion.
First Fat-Bike Weekend
While the previous weekend was spent single-speeding, last weekend was all about exploring the first snow on my fat-bike. What both weekends had in common was a short drive to get me closer to the Chasseral. From home, this favorite peak of mine is now a 7-hour loop away. While that's doable, I can currently not be away from home for such a long time. For the two single-speed rides, I started in Frinvillier on Saturday and just above Biel on Sunday. For the two fat-bike rides, my point of departure was Les Prés d'Orvin.
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