So, if you’ve heard rumours of some fatties planning to sleep out on the middle of Lake Winnipeg … their true and we are a GO!

‘Behind the scenes’ a group of six of us local fatbikers have been planning a new adventure to take our previous fatbike crossings of Lake Winnipeg (as part of Jeff & Candy Badger’s annual “Polar Bear Run/Bike Crossings”) to another level of planning, coordination and challenge.

The result is that our core Planning Team has a plan and 4-6 more riders are joining us.  It looks like there will be 10-12 of us – including Bradley, an American from NY (who I met last year when he was taking part in a fatbike training camp on Lake Wpg).

So … we will take on the first (Annual?) of the following adventure:

The “Lake Winnipeg Fatbike Crossing & Campover” on Sat/Sun 25-26 Feb 2017.
– We will have several guides/experienced fatbikers in our group and I will be Lead Guide for our adventure.
– We will do this as a cooperative activity.
– We will be using the ‘Closed to Snowmobiles’, but still marked “Snowman #17 “Piston Popper” Snowmobile Trail from Grand Marais to Gimli (approx 35 Kms) and riding back to the center of the lake to campover.

– We will have the support of several snowmobiles (or quads depending on the snow depth on the lake) thanks to Kevin Champagne and his Brother Peter – thanks guys!

– We have received some sponsorship support from MEC Winnipeg  in the form of camp meals and snacks!  Thanks MEC – always good to have extra food on hand!
 

– I have also received sponsorship support from Wilderness Supply in Winnipeg, that has allowed me to acquire the Big Agnes 6-Person 4-Season Tent for use on this and future adventures. Just used it on the river behind my house – a nice base camp tent:

Thanks Wilderness Supply – you rock!

– Thanks to one of our Planning Team members Alfred Barr (local fatbiker – who is also an RCAF SAR Tech at 435 Squadron based in Winnipeg) we will also have the use of an Iridium Sat Phone!  Thanks Alfred, but I hope you don’t mind us calling for pizza delivery! 😉

– Some of us will be riding with fully loaded bikes:

– Others will use ‘Pulk’ sleds behind their bikes (like Ken just made for this trip):

– While we will be bringing meals to cook on the lake and extras, we do plan to enjoy a hardy breakfast at the Sand Bar Inn in Grand Marais on Saturday before we start and a lunch on Sunday on our return.  We also are planning a late lunch at Kris Fish & Chips in Gimli (owner’s Jeff & Candy Badger have promised a free first drink – thanks you two!).

– Our very own fatbiker-photographer extraordinaire Gregory ‘G-Mac’ McNeill will be riding with us and snapping pictures that will no doubt make us look even more adventurous than we will be …

– We are doing this adventure as a ‘simple – but well planned‘ and cooperative adventure.  We will work as a team and make it a fun and safe adventure.

This is going to be a blast! 🙂

Any questions or interest, you can contact me at:
tomkolesnik@gmail.com

Cheers, Fat Tom K