Fortune demo madness!

Well, if there are any doubt that fatbikes are trending, December 21st should put those doubts to rest.

        We showed up at Camp Fortune ski hill just before noon to set up the tents and get the bikes out. There were already folks hovering around. I left the setup to the Tall Tree/OMBA folks and went up the hill to mark out the demo trails we had packed the night before. The trails were a bit soft, but ridable for the most part, especially downhill. The main climb up, which is an access road, was packed smooth. It was a welcome change from last year, when we had 8 inches dump on us the night before the demo.

        I came back after 40 minutes, and the place was a mob. Alek, who admits that is he a bit of a logistics weenie, had taken over getting people on bikes and organizing the wait list, which at one point was 32 people! Thanks to him, and his tasking everyone at the tent with chores, I was left to do the whole meet-and-greet thing, and set up the dual slalom course.

Demo in full effect. Thanks to Christian and Sandra for their pics.

Flounder fixes a bike. A crowd forms, then ignores Flounder for the most part. Jerks.

Waiting patiently for demos. people were in good spirits despite the backlog even with 11 bikes on demo!

    The course was packed the night before, in the dark. I wouldn't exactly call it parallel slalom,  more like  two courses that started and ended in the same place, with the occasional convergence in the middle. Whatever; it's fatbiking.

The Cowan family, helping to set up the course. Thanks!

      About 24 folks started the race. There were men, women, juniors,  a unicyclist (yay Jacob!) and two Santas in the mix. Antoine won for the men,  Rebecca for the women, and Nick won the best wipeout, which occurred right at the finish line; fatbiking is a cruel lover, sometimes. The racing was fast and furious and all undertaken in the spirit of fun. The crowd was numerous and happy to drink and critique, as the racers came down the hill. 

The racers amass!

Santa goes down. Serves him right after I got those socks last year...

Jacob chows down on some beaver(guard).

     Was a good time had? I think so. A lot of people got to try fatbikes, and a lot of fatbikers got to meet new folks. Many thanks to Christian from Beaver Guard for the prizes and pics.

I'd also like to thank all the Tall Tree staff and ambassadors who helped out with making the demo and the race run so smoothly; it would've been impossible without y'all. Alek, Brad, Chris, Greg, Katy, Lauren, Lily, Martin, Mike, Noah, Sandra, Sean, Thom and Watson: you're saints. 

And thanks to everyone who came out and played. Happy holidays, and we'll see you in January!

Dec 21st, Fatbike Demo and fun race, full details!

So, here are the final details for this Sunday,

Thanks to Tall Tree Cycles, along with The Ottawa Mountain Bike Association, there will be another fatbike demo at Camp Fortune before the race. From noon until 4pm, folks are welcome to try a selection of 9zero7, Kona and Surly fatbikes out. No charge, but first come first served. the will be a fire to warm yourself by, and warm drinks. Trails off of the CBC fire road will be packed down(mostly) for you to try. We'll get Junior, RPM, Connector and hopefully some of Pea Soup set up for you. Park as far at the end of of the parking lot, past the lodge, and look for the Kona and OMBA tents.

PLEASE NOTE: No riding on the ski runs, at all!

Around four, people will be invited to practice for the race, maybe earlier if we get it done. The race will be much like last year: Starts 5-ish, dual-slalom, elimination format. Likely we'll set up on the t-bar side of the hill. It won't be about speed, but about balance and skill.  The track will be a narrow, snowshoe packed course, and the turns will be really tight. This year, with a twistier course, I expect a lot of slow speed slideouts. That said, there will be a prize for best huge, yard-sale style wipeout.

If there are a lot of people out for this, we'll do three-cross (each on their own track) with a consolation round. Warm up/practice starts around four, and racing goes until it's over. Prizes for best man and woman, and draws for those who just came out for shits and giggles. 

Best heckler wins a prize! Crowd nominates and decides who is this beautiful bastard!

If any races dressed in a Santa costume, you race for free.

For real: just no sexist, racist or homophobic slurs.  That's not cool. If you can't put someone down without resorting to that crap, you're not trying(and frankly you're not all that welcome at the event' either).

More fire and drinks afterwards. Bring something to share if you care to.

Suggested donation, 10$ with half going to OMBA.

See you all on Sunday!

LPP, season 4!

Folks, I've been lazy.

Neglectful even.

I have a new baby, which is taking up my time. Poor LPP has suffered for it. The poster is still being drafted, and my posting has been infrequent.

The baby isn't of the crying, breastfeeding and soiling type. Instead, I've taken on co-ownership of a small business, and the learning curve has been steep.

That's not to say I haven't been doing anything LPP related, just that everything has been slow to boil. So, there will be a longer post soon, promise.

However, right now I can announce this:

LPP, Lucky #13! Sunday, December 21st 2014!

The event is a Camp Fortune ski hill, Chelsea Quebec. The fun starts around noon, at the far end of the upper parking lot, as close to the biathlon course as you can get. from 12ish to four-ish, there will be fatbikes to demo, coffee, and the trails under the aerial park will be accessible for the day. Around 4, we'll set up a small, non-threatening dual-slalom course and have a fun race. The day will end with a fire and a bottle. Prizes too.

And, I promise more info for the rest of the season soon.

-Flounder