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.

I drove up to Les Prés d'Orvin on Saturday and returned once more on Sunday. With 30 centimeters of fresh snow, tire tracks dictated my loop on Saturday. On Sunday temperatures rose a little and the snow was heavier. My tires found a lot more grip. I climbed to the top of the ski slope. Gravity, after all, is strong enough to pull a fat-biker through deep, fresh powder. While far from being a fast descent, it's always a fun experience. At the bottom of the ski slope, I turned west to follow a winter hiking trail that had already been groomed. It would have been a good day to head out to the Chasseral and jump onto the snowshoe trail along the crest to return. But for that, I left too late. Speaking of snowshoeing, I think that this popular winter activity will experience more growth due to the pandemic this year. In previous years it usually took more time to have a rideable network of snowshoe trails.

Stats for the weekend: 47.1km ridden, 5h 54m in the saddle, 1'412m climbed. I may have to return this weekend. While rain is forecast for the lowlands, it should be snowing above 1'000m (3'300ft).