Territory Change
Ever since I began fat-biking in March of 2013, I've been roaming across the area between Biel and the Chasseral. When the snow cover didn't reach town, I used to drive to Les Prés d'Orvin or Nods. Now that I live in Grenchen, that area is out of reach. Since Christmas, snow has remained at the foot of the mountains, making the drive to higher elevations unnecessary. Instead of driving to my old fat-bike playground, I've been exploring the mountain chain north of our house, and it's pretty spectacular.
Leaving home the ride starts with climbing 2'000 feet to reach a winter wonderland crisscrossed by countless snowshoe trails and groomed gravel roads that connect the numerous vacation homes along the top of the mountain. Some of the snowshoe trails are marked, and many are not. Once the sun drops low, it's time to return home. A beautiful, but at times risky downhill trail quickly destroys the 2'000 feet and spits me out into a fun labyrinth of trees. In the summer, it's easy to follow a footpath through those woods. In the winter, the most fun is not to get lost in the maze of trees, especially in the late afternoon when daylight is darkening. As long as the weather permits, I'll be fat-biking up there. It's a lot more convenient to start at the house without having to drive someplace.
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Another Round Of Changes
Just about when the pandemic started, our two cats were diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. The disease was already advanced in one of the two girls. She lived longer than the vets had given her but passed away two years ago. Her sister, now 19 years old, is hanging in there. She is only still around because we are doing everything to give her the best quality of life for the time she still wants to soldier on. Care-taking, whether it is for an elderly parent, a disabled child, or in our case, aging cats with a progressing chronic disease, requires a big part of one’s time. My riding has dropped from a peak of 8’700 km in 2018 to 3’000 km last year. Because of that, a couple of my bikes have not put on more miles. Since I had to be at home a lot for caretaking, I had time to take care of my dormant bike fleet. I replaced and updated components, instead of riding and replacing my bikes as I normally would.
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Small Steps To Fight Climate Change
Our climate is heating up rapidly; even more rapidly than climate scientists predicted. Droughts are causing mass starvation and displacement of millions in large parts of the world. Other parts of the world are going up in flames. In October 2017, large areas of the city I used to call home for ten years were incinerated and three more wildfires brought smoke and destruction in 2019 and 2020. Hurricanes are growing stronger and more frequent. Switzerland, which I call home again, is getting hotter year after year. It's not uncommon for February to feel like May. Summer months see more frequent and grueling heatwaves. Swiss summers used to be the best time to ride. Now, summers are the first season during which I often take a break from cycling.
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Another Cockpit Change
When you're the mean bastard who tortures his wrists on top of mountain bikes without suspension like I do, the least you can do is let your wrists hold onto the bars in the most natural way possible, so that they're not angled or twisted in any way. Alt bars with tons of sweep are the solution. I went from Answer bars with a 20° sweep to Jones with a 45° back sweep and my wrists have been happy ever since. Ritchey now has an alternative available with a bit less sweep. The Kyote with 27.5°. At the same time, the Kyote is considerably wider than a Jones H-Bar. 800mm versus 710mm. When I saw it on Bike24 and saw the price tag (25 EUR), I had to get one. Due to the different shapes, I also needed a new stem in order to use the Kyote. I went from a 100mm long stem with the Jones H-Bar to a 40mm stem for the Ritchey Kyote.
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