Group Rides, Ride Report, Woodcock Fat Bike Group Rides

Ride Report: Checking out WCW’s Fat Friday Destination Ride

November 16, 2018 Tom Kolesnik Leave a comment

Really glad I could make it out to Woodcock Cycle Works (WCW) tonight to join their “Fat Friday Destination Ride” that was lead expertly by Currie and Miles – well done guys! 🙂

We had a nice group of fatties, one MTBer (hey ‘Muddy Guy’, where’s your FB? ;-]) and one skinny.

We cruised some side streets, paths and bridges to the edge of the Forks area … all good until one newly modified to tubeless fatty tire went flat and we had a group ‘fix it’ session …

hmmm almost, almost … nope … two less riders in our group as ‘flat fatty’ and friend returned back to the shop. 😦

So off to the Assiniboine Park Duck Pond shelter we went …

The pitstop was nice on a cold night ride. 🙂

Back to the shop via park pathways, Wellington, train bridge and quiet side roads …

Customary ride by the Legislature …

Hello Riel …

Here’s Miles pausing us for a drink/snack break …

Here’s Currie, Miles and Guy back at WCW …

Thanks again Currie and Miles for leading the ride and ‘Rolling with the Fat Flat’ to adjust our destination ride to the Duck Pond. 6:00 to 8:30 for a fun group ride! Nice! 🙂

If you are interested in WCW Fat Friday Destination Rides, then contact WCW or connect with their FaceBook Event Page HERE (or click image below):
https://www.facebook.com/events/299720427527872/

Cheers, Fat Tom K

Group Rides, Race Report, Woodcock Fat Bike Group Rides

The Ice is Here

November 15, 2018 gregorycharlesmcneill 1 Comment

Watch your pressures. Husker Dus 3.8s are good on the summer pavement, good in winter in a straight line, but on an off-camber descent, be careful, because there is ice on the trail.

Yes I wiped out. Nothing major. No broken bones. I feel it’s good to wipe out, for if you do not get hurt too badly, it keeps your ego in check.

I will be switching to 4.8s Lou/Lou unstudded combo that came with my 2015 Blackborow. Great tires. Now is the time for the winter gear.

The Thursday night ride with the Woodcock Cycle club was a blast! Tim made sure everyone was safe, and the ride was short and brisk. We traveled North from the shop, first on Gabrielle Roy, then Whittier, Forks, and then back South down Churchill, over the St. Vital bridge, and back to the shop. It was a no drop ride so we stopped and chatted. Everyone was in good spirits.

Thankyou Coach Nic! See you next Thursday!

Global Fat Bike day

7th Annual Winnipeg GFBD Ride – Sat Dec 1st 2018: It’s going to be a Huge Blast!

November 6, 2018 Tom Kolesnik Leave a comment

Giddy Up Winnipeg area Fatties – it sure looks like our 7th Annual Winnipeg Global Fat Bike Day Ride planned for Saturday December 1st 2018 is going to be Bigger and Better than ever! 🙂

Four days ago, I announced our Wpg GFBD Ride Leader’s Team plans and invited local fatbikers with a Public FaceBook 2018 Wpg GFBD Ride Event and we already have over 100 looking at attending! That’s a larger number than in previous years when 100 riders actually joined the ride. In fact, because there are plenty of riders who are not on social media or chose not to commit until a few days before GFBD, it sure looks like this will be our biggest.

Here’s the plan:

No costs … just bring a smile, your fatbike (borrow or rent one – but we are inclusive, so a MTB can work for most or all of the route and you can parallel the Seine River on roads if necessary), toque and a helmet of course (silly helmet covers are always welcome 😜).

Just like in previous years – we will meet outside at:
The Forks Canopy/Tower Atrium area at 12:00 Noon, Sat 1 Dec 2018:

2017 Wpg GFBD Ride - Route Recce Pic 1

2017 Wpg GFBD - Tom's Pics 1

We will organize and then head off on our ‘Media Ride‘ at 12:15 (led by Keith Holm, Lou Fatinski, Guy Anthony, Chris Black, Jonathan Letkemann and myself) …

Screen Shot 2015-11-28 at 7.21.43 PM — Here’s the ‘Media Ride’ section from the Forks ‘Canopy – Atrium’ start to the East side of the Red River across from the St Boniface Cathedral via the Esplanade Louis Riel Footbridge.

2017 Wpg GFBD - Tom's Pics 2 — Riding down from the Forks Market area.

2017 Wpg GFBD - Tom's Pics 3 — Here’s Keith Holm (orange helmet) leading our ride up towards the CMHR.

we will ride across the Esplande Louis Riel Bridge …

2017 Wpg GFBD - Tom's Pics 5 — High Fives (and Low Fives) are always welcome as we cross the bridge. Here’s one of our ride guides Guy Anthony (yellow bike) leading the way.

We will arrive at 12:30 at our usual Group Photoshoot on the East side of the Red River down from the St B Cathedral …

2017 Wpg GFBD - Tom's Pics 8

… at our usual Group Photoshoot on the East side of the Red River down from the St B Cathedral, where our very own super Fatbiker-Photographer Gregory McNeill will be waiting to capture our now-classic Winnipeg GFBD group photo.

2017 Wpg GFBD Ride Grp Pic - Gregory McNeill

After our group photo we will head of on the same route as last year as one group (about 90 minutes from the Photoshoot to the Chilifest Pitstop).

Depending on weather and road/trail/river conditions the route may change, but your current ride route will likely be:

Wpg GFBD 2018 Ride - Route Full Loop — This the same route as last year and it worked really well.

From the Photoshoot we will head north along the Red River shoreline trails …

2017 Wpg GFBD near Whittier Park - Blake's Pic — Great picture taken by Blake Anderson (he climbed the old toboggan tower by Whittier Park)!

and then into Whittier Park to ride the single-track trail …

2017 Wpg GFBD - Tom's Pics 10 — Riding the Whittier Park single-track trails.

and south onto the Seine River shoreline trails …

2017 Wpg GFBD - Tom's Pics 11 — Riding the Seine River single-track trails.

We ride trails until south of the Westeel Plant until just east of the top end of Youville St, where we will exit the shoreline and up onto roads …

and ride south on Youville Street for three blocks, cross Marion Street via cross walks (light controlled):

2017 Wpg GFBD Ride - Route Recce Pic 17 — Marion Street crosswalks (light controlled).

We continue south on Youville St for another four short blocks south to Dubuc St to head east until we can access the Seine River edge trails off of Dubuc St for short distance then onto the Seine River (well frozen safe section) south for about 15 minutes of beautiful winding sheltered river riding …

Gregory's 2017 GFBD flickr Album 3 — Here’s some of pictures of us riding onto the Seine River taken by our Official GFBD Photographer Gregory ‘G-Mac’ McNeill who will be active again this year.

2017 Wpg GFBD on the Seine - Blake's Pic 1 — Here’s a great view of us riding onto the Seine River captured by Blake Anderson.

2017 Wpg GFBD - Tom's Pics 15 — Solid frozen/firmly packed snow conditions last year made our ride on the Seine River ideal!

2017 Wpg GFBD Ride Grp Pic on Seine River — Here we are reformed as a group on the Seine River.

We exit west off the Seine River by Humboldt Ave and ride west via more quiet roads …

to Kingston Row/Crescent …

2017 GFBD riding to chilfest pitstop - Gregory's Pic

… leading to our “Chilifest” pitstop at a fatbike-friendly home on Kingston Crescent near Kingston Park (arrive +/- 2:00-2:15 PM).

After ‘chillin’ time, you can head home or back to the Forks via Churchill Parkway directly to the Forks (30 minutes) or head homeward as best suits you. We will have guides heading back to the Forks leaving the Chilifest pitstop at 3-ish, 3:30-ish & 4-ish.

2017 Wpg GFBD Ride - Route Recce Pic 33b

Of Note:
This year we are fortunate to have the Safety Support from Robert Paige of Xtreme Sports Medics. He and his Medics Team will be following our route with his fully equipped Medical Vehicle and always ready to respond (not that we should need their help).

* Btw, we will be obeying all traffic signs on our group rides, though we hope to use as much trail as possible … and no one will be left behind. 🙂

*Btw 2, like last year there will be other riders and groups that will likely meet up in their part of the city to ride as a group to the Forks to join in or who may wish to have a group ride after our Wpg GFBD Ride – excellent, the more the better.

1. There is usually a group that rides in from the NE (Transcona).

2. There are a number of guides and riders who are planning to meet at the Elm Park (BDI) Footbridge at 11:00 AM to ride to the Forks – Keith, Chris and I will be with that group.

3. There will be a group riding from Woodcock Cycle Works (WCW) on St Mary’s to ride to the Forks – Nic Robitaille is the WCW Lead Guide.

Check out my video of our 2017 Wpg GFBD Ride:

Any questions or route conditions updates, please make a comment or email me through the ‘Contact Form’ on this site.

Cheers,

Tom Kolesnik

‘Fat Tom K’

Event, Group Rides, Uncategorized, Woodcock Fat Bike Group Rides

A Great Local Fatbike Ride with Some Friends

November 3, 2018 gregorycharlesmcneill 1 Comment

Currie and Miles led the Woodcock Friday Fatbike ride around southern Winnipeg last night, and it was a blast! There was a group meeting prior to riding and it was generally accepted that tonight nobody really wanted to get muddy, and that we should stick to paved trails/limestone as much as possible. We were also informed that the Friday rides are supposed to be a little more ‘low-key’ than the Thursday night’s single track rides, which can be intense.

Riding at night with lights was super fun, and it was a great way to spend the Friday evening with some friends and tear up the tarmac!

Thankyou Miles, Currie, and Curt! Curt’s strava of the ride is here