(Photo: Esther Gomes)
If you were out enjoying the rail-trail on Saturday, you may have crossed a large group of cyclists fighting their way through the snow on fat bikes.
On Saturday, March 4, more than two dozen riders took to the rail trail in Mahone Bay to try out fat biking with The Monthly Cycle, a Halifax-based cycling group for women/trans/femme and non-binary folks.
Fat bikes are like normal bikes with wide tires between three and five inches, designed for off-roading on challenging terrain – like freshly fallen snow.
The event was a free ride for new and experienced fat bikers with bikes and guidance from Sweet Ride Cycling in Mahone Bay.
The Monthly Cycle usually hosts bike rides in the Halifax region, but followed the weekly rides being offered by Sweet Ride Cycling on social media and saw an opportunity to expand beyond Halifax.
“We put this session on because we wanted to host a winter event to keep our community momentum going until we begin our monthly rides in the spring”, writes Colleen Wilson, event organiser for The Monthly Cycle.
Participants enjoyed a guided ride through the forest and learned the difficulties of fat biking on fresh snow. The ride was followed by treats and hot drinks at The Barn where new friends bonded over the tough ride.
Olivia Petras, a frequent rider with The Monthly Cycle, did not think it would be so hard.
“It was bouncy. I didn’t anticipate it to be so, I don’t know, it was different. You just had to roll with it,” she says.
Despite the challenges, there was much laughter from the bikers.
Wilson notes, “Our favourite parts were seeing people make new connections, and laughing along the trail as they learned to ride in the deep snow!”
Funding for the event came through Chantier Jeunesse, the Nova Scotia Health Authority and MEC.
Snow and bicycle riding, looks like fun in the spinning wheel kind of a way