Fat bike racing isn't just for the winter anymore

I was torn.  A beloved race of mine was refined to a loop course and reserved for one of the hottest weekend's we've had all year.  As much as I love the outdoors, I can't handle it when it's too hot or too humid which is why I'm rooting for global warming to trigger a mini-ice age in my lifetime. All joking aside I do have a tendency to run hot as compared to others and get heat exhaustion very easily; the flip side being that I never, ever get cold.

Hampshire 100 was to return this year as a lap course, with the 100k consisting of 2 30 mile-ish loops with 3,750 feet of climbing for each one.  I eagerly signed up and started training until I saw the forecast a week before the race which was calling for a high of 85-90 with humidity as high as 80-90%.

I don't mind a good suffer fest every now and then and the 100k is certainly that.  But I wasn't particularly feeling like suffering while melting at the same time, so I reluctantly emailed the race director a few days before asking if I could drop to the 50k, which would allow me to ride the new course, but not die.

I didn't feel right riding the 50k on my race bike when I had been training and racing other long distances so I signed up for the fat tire option.  I figured that this would most certainly be a challenge as I have never ridden the fat bike that far.  I rode the fat bike a lot in the winter and it was certainly fun.  I had been missing the fun factor with my constant training for races this summer and so I designated Friday's solely for fat biking as it was a way to goof off before my long Saturday rides, or races, but those rides were no longer then 1 hour and were less then 10 miles. This was going to be 33 miles on a very tough course.

The fat bike ready to ride

4" tires and a fully rigid steel frame

My fat bike is not a fast bike.  It is built like a tank, and rides like one.  Basically rolling over anything that gets in its way, however a race bike it is not.  The frame is built from tanged chromoly steel which makes it very strong, but very heavy.  The tires are 4 inches wide and there is no suspension; it is a fully rigid bike.  That makes it an excellent climber, but a terrible XC race bike.  Still, you race the bike you have, not the bike you want, so I made my way to the race eager to test my mettle and my bike against the course.

And I was not let down.  Riding the new course on a fully rigid, steel fat bike weighing around 40 pounds was no small task.  However, I met this challenge head on and grinning for most of it, with the exception of the last dozen miles of single track that managed to literally destroy me.  The fat bike excelled at the climbs, even allowing me to clear the "Crotched Mt" climb when everyone else was walking.  And, it still managed to speed me down the hills with the characteristic monster truck tire whirling sound that is so fat bike, and even managed to float me over the muddy and sandy sections (and there were a lot thanks to the previous night's thunderstorms).

But the rooty, rocky single track was to be my downfall.  It was not the bike itself that made this bad, but my spoiled arms, back, and core that has grown used to the comfort of full suspension bikes. My arms were actually more tired then my legs (which were wiped out from pushing a 40 lb bike).

I was actually able to feel the knots forming in my back as I was crushed over every rock and root.  After awhile I learned to grin and bear it as I tried to go as fast as I could over the rough stuff, hoping that speed would minimize the pain: it didn't.

I finished in 4 hours and 37 minutes with 2 fist pumps in the air, ecstatic that the tenderizing treatment my muscles were undergoing was over.  Despite the difficulties in the single track I was very glad I raced the fat bike.  It was hard, but sometimes doing hard things that are out of our comfort zones is how we become better.

I feel this race has made me a better rider by taking away the technological advantages I have grown accustomed to and going more old school.  Despite the fat tires I was forced into picking the tightest lines I could and I was made very uncomfortable during this race, which was a good thing.  Most important of all the fat bike made me smile and laugh even when I felt horrible and that's why I race: to have fun.

Racing the Hampshire 100 on a fat bike

Would I bring my fat bike to every summer race?  No.  But I'll certainly bring it to at least one so that I will never forget why I ride.