TIRE TREND  The fat bike craze has inspired Nipika Mountain Resort to develop a new fat bike trail system that will be unveiled on Global Fat Bike Day on December 3rd.File photo

TIRE TREND The fat bike craze has inspired Nipika Mountain Resort to develop a new fat bike trail system that will be unveiled on Global Fat Bike Day on December 3rd.File photo

By James Rose

Special to The Pioneer

For those interested in the growing sport of fat biking, Crazy Soles and Nipika Mountain Resort are celebrating Global Fat Bike Day on December 2nd and 3rd.

The two-day celebration gets underway at the Crazy Soles storefront on Friday (December 2nd) at 6:30 p.m. with the Fat Biking 101 event. Fat Biking 101 will serve as a primer on key information everyone needs to know to get into the sport and, more importantly, enjoy it. Drinks and appetizers will also be served and so people planning to attend are encouraged to RSVP to Crazy Soles beforehand.

We will cover things like proper clothing to wear, appropriate tire pressure, how to deal with variable snow pack conditions, and necessary items to pack with, said Crazy Soles co-owner Beva Kirk. Fat biking, especially in the winter, is pretty different than just going for a ride in summer, whether it is on a fat bike or just a typical mountain bike.

The following day, the celebration continues with a group ride planned at Nipika Mountain Resort. The free ride starts at 1:30 p.m., but participants are encouraged to be ready to go by 1 p.m.

Coinciding with the group ride, we are very excited to be unveiling our brand new fat bike trail system here at Nipika, said one of Nipikas event organizers Marni Wilson. The new trails (25 kilometres worth) are separate from the cross-country trails, will be about three feet wide on average, and consistently groomed. The trail route will extend to the north and will lead all the way up to our propertys natural bridge. Eventually, our goal is to feature a total of 35 kilometres of trail exclusively devoted to fat biking.

As part of the group ride, there are also bike games planned throughout the afternoon and a potluck dinner to cap it all off at 5:30 p.m. For those keen to try out the sport, there are several fat bikes that can be rented from Nipika as well as from several of the Invermere areas local bike shops.

Around the world, the sport of fat biking has grown tremendously in popularity. Mountain bikes equipped with extra wide tires (hence the name) make riding on snow easier, but not necessarily easy. The bikes have added a whole new season to the pedaling calendar and have become the fastest-growing category in the cycling industry. The mere existence of a global day of recognition reflects this growth.

In the last two years, we have seen a huge increase in demand for fat biking, said Ms. Wilson. People are now coming to Nipika just to ride fat bikes, and our rentals are often booked solid throughout the winter.

For more information and to RSVP for Fat Biking 101, contact Crazy Soles at 250-342-2074 or [email protected]. More information can be found on the Nipika Mountain Resort Facebook page.