We have said this in the past, but it’s worth repeating – events are a focus for The Unpaved Hub. First off, events are fun! Second, event promoters put a lot of time and resources into hosting events. We want to inform cyclists about them and help drive participation. To that end, we compiled a pretty extensive catalog of mostly gravel and mountain bike events put on by a variety of promoters throughout the country and beyond. Check out the Events page providing a locale-by-locale table of contents to the calendar for the full list. In the coming months, The Hub intends on spotlighting a variety of events and event series on the calendar. In this Events Spotlight – Fat Bike Edition, we want to highlight the discipline and promoters that put on some of the best events in the business – those on snow!
Background on Fat Bikes
Before we get to the events, let’s back up and provide some background on fat biking to the extent you haven’t heard of it. Fat bikes are a type of off-road bicycle that contain tires that are typically 3.8″ and wider. Some run up to nearly 5″ tires. The discipline took off in the mid-2000s. While it has cooled somewhat industry-wide for a variety of reasons, the die-hards and/or promoters haven’t gone anywhere! For them, we are grateful!
These hardy souls have kept alive one of, if not the most inclusive niches of the sport! They do that under “difficult” circumstances. Some ride on sand or dirt year round, but a large contingent only ride when there is snow on the ground. The fat bike die-hards/promoters put a tremendous amount of time and resources into grooming the snow and preparing trails and two-track roads so that fat bikers can get out and enjoy the sometimes fleeting fluffy stuff. In many parts of the country, fat bike event promoters pray to the snow gods, cross their fingers, and possibly their toes for snow on event day. If there is none, they roll with it and still put on great events!
Why Fat Bike Events are awesome!
The Hub’s JB rode in the Mountain State Fat Bike Champs (see event link below) in Canaan Valley, West Virginia in 2018, and can attest to the fact that it was awesome! Look at the websites or social channels of the other events listed below. They appear to be the similar. Electric vibes and shenanigans. Bacon, beer, and whiskey handups! Good natured heckling! Rolling around in the snow! Weird costumes. Afterparties. Bonfires. I could go on, but you get the picture. A fun time around like-minded people.
The best part, the events truly are inclusive. Nobody is going to be dressing you down over that clunker of bike or for failing to show up with “the right” kind of clothes. Heck, you don’t even need to own a fat bike. Many of the event promoters arrange rentals. Definitely run whatchu brung (or rented)!
Fat Bike Events on the Calendar
All of that is to say, get out to one or more of the events listed below to join in the fun and to say thank you to the fat bike event promoters that put in so much time and energy to help others have a great time.
- Cloud City Wheelers – Leadville Winter Bike Series
- Short’s Brewing Fat Bike Series
- Borealis Fat Bike World Championships
- Canaan Valley Fat 50k
- Hollow Oak Land Trust Winterfest @ Montour Woods
- Old Man Winter Bike Rally & Run
- Polar Roll Winter Adventure Race
- Kingdom Trails WinterBike
- Fat Bike Birkie
- 28 Below Fat Bike
You can also find a more exhaustive list on Fat-Bike.com, a place we always consult for all things fat biking. Let us know if you’d like us to add your favorite fat bike event or drop a comment below with your favorite fat biking story!
If you liked this Events Spotlight – Fat Bike Edition, please share it with your friends and family and on social media. If you haven’t already, make sure you keep up-to-date on all The Hub’s content by following us on social media (links on the top and bottom of this page), and by entering your info into the Newsletter signup (to the right and bottom). As always, Ride On!
***Please note that The Unpaved Hub is not affiliated with any of the events on the Events Calendar. The featured logos and images attached to a particular event are the property of the event. Unless noted, the description of a particular event are in the words of the event promoter and derive from the event’s social media page, registration page, or website.