What a great start to 2 Wheel Revolution’s Manitoba Fat Bike Race Series … the Falcon Ridge FB Race was a HUGE success!!
Check out this sweet video of the Falcon Race made by Continue Digital:
Check out Gregory McNeill’s pictures at his flickr account here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/116655655@N05/sets/72157675512747564
Over the last few years, Wayne Bishop has worked hard to bring to the community a club that instills the ideology ‘Give Love – Get Love’.
All of the monies generated from Two Wheel Revolution (2WRVLTN) through sales of hats, mugs, shirts, memberships and race registrations get put back into developing new course venues and events.
Wayne has gathered like-minded individuals into his club and is constantly recruiting locals to join. The members are doing it because they love what they do, and people who love what they do are willing to sacrifice. This allows 2WR to lean towards being inclusive with the community, rather than exclusive.
With all of the volunteer power and the non-profit approach to capital, 2WR can give lower entry fees for racers, again expanding the possible number of people who will be able to try out a race. This also results in more spectators with family and friends coming out to cheer.
Even Wayne’s beautiful wife Kim and their two sons, Ryder and Chase, work hard in their free time to keep the machine running. Ryder, who is eleven, has the awesome responsibility of being the club’s secretary.
“Being secretary, there is always some challenges but nothing that can’t be done.” says a positive Ryder. “Sometimes tasks are frustrating but I overcome it and try to get the task done. I really enjoy what I do and it is fun to open up my laptop and have a surprise in my inbox. Every day is enjoyable, even with challenges.”
Well get ready because 2WRVLTN has a good show happening on Sunday January 15th, at Falcon Ridge in the Whiteshell Provincial Park.
Veteran Provincial racer Ken Stojak rode the course last weekend, and was very impressed. “The Falcon Ridge Trail has it all and more. There are climbs, single track sections, downhills, switchbacks, all with out of this world scenery. There are epic views with the ‘On Top of the World’ loop and when crossing the lakes.”
Another long-time sportsman who has raced inline-speed-skating locally for decades is Greg Carrigan. He was out with Stojak and Paul Lapointe doing a pre-ride last weekend and this is what he had to say, “There is something of everything for everybody. Plus there are real nice people running the Chalet and a good burger! I believe if new fatbikers are doing the 10 km after the first tough climb (where they will learn how awesome a fatbike climbs (with the correct tire pressure), they will have a blast!”
Bishop finishes with describing the course, “The course is a 10km loop comprised of a complimentary mix of wide open coastline lake ski trails, tight single track with amazing views and some flowy Fatbike groomed trails that descend back to the chalet!”
“The day will start with a racer check in and tire pressure verification. Some schmoozing and a race start at 11:30 with 5 minutes between classes.” he adds. “Spectators can experience the resort, tubing, live music and all things falcon. Racers will get a meal and beverage, trophies and some Prizing for special efforts, sportsmanship and just general awesomeness! Ideally the outcome from this race is to promote Fat Bikes in MB parks and at Venues with the purpose of creating opportunities for future riding locations!”
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Fatbikes For The Win FFTW
It was a great Saturday to be at the Bur Oak Trails at Bird’s Hill Park. There were almost 10 fatbike riders out there, navigating the soft snow freely given to us by Mother Nature over the last week.
Mike Vandale from the Woodcock Cycle Club loved it! “ (it was) The perfect day not too warm! (the) Trail was a little soft but it will be awesome once it sets up.”
The soft conditions had the riders dial in their pressures once on the course. It is easy to deflate in the cold, rather than inflate, so deflating a higher pressure is the norm out on these winter rides.
“I think most of us were running 4 or 5 psi.” states Mike.
Many local people were out there today, including Greg Carrigan, Gilles Paquette, Steve H., Tim Woodcock, Mark Kleinholz, Jon Letkemann and finally Mike Vandale. Tim even convinced a few snowshoers to ‘come to the dark side’ and try out some fatbikes to see how they are. These park adventurers looked interested and seemed to want what us fatbikers already have – fun!
Today’s ride on groomed trails could not have happened without the steady work of Pete Romeo and others like John M. (who was snowshoeing today – packing the trail). Many thanks goes out to these people.
And for those who cannot make it out to BHP (Bird’s Hill Park), there will be a weekday ride this Thursday starting at Woodcock Cycle on St. Mary’s. Vandale finishes with, “The Thurs night ride starts at WCW 6 PM, usually head straight for the Seine River. (it) Sounds like we’re going to head south on the Seine this coming Thursday.”
Contact Woodcock Cycle for more details.
Fatbikes For The Win FFTW
Here’s an invite from Dan Lockery:
“A week off and even more snow? Time to head out for the next recon ride! Interested in joining us? Here are the details:
Date: Sunday, January 1, 2016 (Happy New Year!)
Time: 10:30am (we celebrate by starting later)
Location: Niverville, we will meet in the parking lot of the arena in town (turn North on Arena Rd. from Hwy 311).
Purpose: To scout the Actif Epica course between Niverville and Crystal Spring along the Crow Wing Trail.
Who: The Course Organizing Crew (Pete, Dallas and Dan) invite you to join them at a slow rolling pace (perhaps including some walking depending on trail conditions) and they would love it if you brought ANY type of bike and joined them (bring friends on bikes too!).
The Plan: To ride South along the course from Niverville and capture some images of the route conditions while enjoying a fun, sociable ride out to Crystal Spring Colony to meet up with Pete before riding back to Niverville. The approximate distance is just under 20km one way. The plan is to roll out from Niverville at 10:30am and estimate a total ride time somewhere around 3.5-4 hours. In case you are late arriving to the start, you can look for our tracks and/or follow along with the Crow Wing Trail Markers (White arrows on blue background) and catch up with us along the route as we will be stopping periodically to take pictures. Also, it is quite likely that there will be a post-ride discussion over coffee/food at a local establishment should you have the time and feel so inclined to join us. Since we have had significant snowfall, on the return journey we may detour some sections of trail to be respectful of your time.
Important Note: All participants join us at their own risk (e.g. please be safe, wear appropriate winter riding clothing (it might be cold), a helmet, bring blinky lights for improved visibility, enough food and water for the ride and a basic repair kit with parts/tools). Citing a famous quote, “YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU”, so please respect the nature of a winter riding adventure, it can be unforgiving.
Hope to see you on Sunday!”
Reports are coming in from 2WheelRevolution and Wayne Bishop (our new ‘East-Man’ Fatbike Groomer extraordinaire!) that the trail grooming at Falcon Ridge is shaping up “super-sweet” for the 1st race of their 2WR Manitoba Fatbike Race Series!
So it’s time to move past excitement and register to race or take part (there is a $25 ride option) on Sunday 15 January 2017 at Falcon Ridge (in Whiteshell Provincial Park).
Check out the awesome grooming Wayne has already completed …
Getting excited? Hmmm … okay, check out the slick race trophies:
Not excited enough yet? REALLY?? SERIOUSLY??? … Okay, check out the scenery:
That’s what I thought … see you at the race! 🙂
Here’s Allan Gilleshammer riding across the ‘Green Bridge’ near the Forks on “The Day After” the snowstorm that hit Winnipeg over Christmas – a slick view on “Shovelling-Fatbiking Day” … formerly known as Boxing Day! 😉
The winning photographer this week? … Gregory McNeill of course! He’s got an awesome eye for the special scenes all around us, that he captures all while riding his fatbike!! 🙂
Bonus Photo: here’s Allan … all smiles during his ride:
Local outdoorsman Allan Gilleshammer joined me in an early ride around Winnipeg’s downtown and Forks area Wednesday morning – helping push vehicles out of the snow while we were on our way.
“The winter won’t be around very long, and before you know it, Winnipeg’s frozen beauty will be gone” said Allan. “I like riding my fatbike. It’s invigorating, and the scenery is spectacular.”
Allan wished he had more time to enjoy the outdoors, whether running, snowshoeing, skijoring, or riding his bikes, but he says he is grateful that he could get out at least one fantastic morning.
Tuesday was a miniature ‘snowapocalypse’ in the southern Manitoba area, and as of Wednesday morning there still were many vehicles stuck and even more that will be trapped in snow for many days.
Fatbike For The Win FFTW
I hear Santa is rolling into town … on a fattie of course! 😉
Merry Christmas fellow Manitoba Fatties! Feast now and gather your strength for the ‘Post-Snowstorm’ shovelling and fatbike slogging ahead! 🙂
Here’s a great view of one of the many groups of fatbikers enjoying Bur Oak Trail at BHPP on Sunday 11 December 2016 (Photo Credit: Gregory McNeill)
This past Sunday was a great day for us fatbikers in the Winnipeg area of Manitoba, as we got the chance to ride GROOMED WINTER FATBIKE TRAIL again in our own ‘backyard’ on one of our favourite trails … (former Bur Oak Trail – now called “Oak Ridge Trail) at Birds Hill Provincial Park!
Now we’ve ridden this trail in the winter before, having packed it by snowshoe and then riding our fatties slowly round and round and round until it was possible to ride with ‘flow’ … so it was today with a bit more packing making it more groomed than usual.
I first connected with a crew of six riders new to me and most of us regulars. They called themselves the “Pinoy MB Fatbibers” and Tito, Drex, Sam, Trek, Jovil and Ador were keen to check out the trails, so I lead them around the main track …
The early morning lighting and fresh snow on the trees had created those special winter vistas that you only really get to appreciate when you are out on the trail.
After a fun ride with the Pinoy Crew, I connected with more arriving fatties …
Once again I link up with a new crew, but this time most were regulars (Peter, Greg, Janice, etc) and off we went …
Of course, it wasn’t long before we connected with our very own fatbiking ‘Photo-ambusher’ Gregory McNeill …
Actually, it’s always a good time for a hot apple cider break when Gregory’s ‘at work’!
Once we turned back toward the south, the bright sun made for some surreal views …
We cruised the newly groomed sections and put in the tougher effort to ride to the narrower and tighter curved sections that had only been snowshoed in so far …
A full lap of all the trail sections takes 1 to 1 & 1/2 hours depending on conditions, pace and number of hot apple cider breaks :-). Anyways, back to the trail head we went …
Just in time for me to connect with two new fatbikers who had just arrived, but missed another group of regulars who were heading off lead by Keith Holm and “Lou Fatinsky”
Angie W. and Chris F. showed up ready to roll with goggles, mitts and balaclavas at the ready (excellent start!). So I lead off onto the main groomed section … north from the trailhead parking lot, but accessed first by going out the west side of the lot by the trailhead sign and then taking the first right onto the singletrack trail for a short east leg of 100 metres before the trail heads north and west.
Chris was right behind me on the way out so he was in view of my rear GoPro video camera.
Chris lead us back and Angie followed with a wide smile on her face the whole way! Yup, the saying is true … “Everyone who rides a fatbike wears a huge smile”!! 🙂
We met up with Keith Holm’s crew and more introductions to our fun community of fatties were in order and partaken.
To top off our day’s adventures on the trail, we had a close encounter with Mike on his fat tire unicycle … that guy’s got skills! 🙂
Back at the trailhead we all marvelled at our amazing luck to have taken part in the first real day of groomed winter trail fatbiking in the our local Winnipeg and Eastern Manitoba area! Good times and more ahead! 🙂
One year is all it took.
Wayne Bishop and his 2 Wheel Revolution have done many things in the past and been involved in many different types of racing, from mountain bike racing to scramble motor cross and fatbike racing.
One year ago, a few local fatbikers got together for a ride at the Grand Beach Trails. Bishop’s name came up, and a few of us had good things to say about him. ‘He is a good man’ was the common theme. The group then decided to support him as best they could from then on.
Today, many local racers and enthusiasts appeared at Bird’s Hill Park’s Bur Oak trails, to pack down the trails with snowshoes, as per Bishop’s request. Sunday, 8:30 a.m., ‘be there’ – was understood.
After the snowshoe people (snowshoers) did their ‘thing’, more fatbikers appeared, to do their part and ride the trail, further packing the snow down as per Bishop’s request. Some of the snowshoers had family commitment and other commitments for the afternoon, so the torch was passed on to the cyclists.
Wayne thanked those he could today, but it is we in the community who thank him. Without him, this would never have happened.
A lot can happen in one year. You just need the right people. 🙂
Alrighty folks, there is some serious fattie fun to be had tomorrow, Sunday 11 Dec 2016, at BHP Park on the Bur Oak Trail! 🙂
Wayne Bishop and 2 Wheel Revolution are planning to be out at Bur Oak by 9:00 AM and packing-grooming the trail by various means (snowshoe and fatbike) until around 11:00-ish.
Fat bikes only, please (borrow, don’t steal, one if you have to). Narrow tires (less than 3.0 inches – though 3.7 and more is ideal) can and usually do ruin soft snow trails. Remember the Park Pass!!” Btw, it looks like at least a ‘six-pack’ of fatties are already planning (says Fbook) to attend.
If you haven’t experienced the sweet Bur Oak trail in the winter, check out our video from last year (even Cdn Cycling Magazine took notice!):
There are lots of great pics and vids yet to be shared from our 5th Annual Winnipeg Global Fat Bike Day Ride. But first, here’s some up-close and personal snaps of my fellow Winnipeg GFBD Fatties as they make Ride Bys and give High Fives as they cross the Esplanade Louis Riel Bridge enroute to our group photo-shoot rendezvous with Gregory.
Yes Charles, we always include you too bud … but, hint – crowd source! 😉
* Btw, that’s the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in the background.
During the summer, whether they be trail runners, hikers, or dog walkers, local people enjoy the Bur Oak trails at Bird’s Hill Park.
Last Sunday was no different, with a friendly invitation sent out via Social Media for fatbikers to meet-up at 1 p.m., and take it from there.
I was there, Pete appeared after seeing my car, and we just started riding the trails and talking. Nice easy pace, talking about everything. With fatbiking, you can go as fast or as slow as you wish, and it’s so quiet in the wilderness that you can have a conversation with someone even if they are in front or behind you.
Dave from Stony Mountain appeared, proudly riding his new Rocky sportin 4.8 tires, and the three of us continued around the course.
There was light snow cover, so the large tree roots were still exposed in some areas, and these can be slippery and tricky to go over. I just prepared myself to put a foot down and took my time. No rush out there. I still wiped out a few times.
The trail is getting better groomed with the fatbikers. We met one trail runner, who was friendly and helped us take some pictures of some newcomers to Bird’s Hill Park (BHP). Igor and his friend were curious about what we do, and I let him ride my bike – I think he’s hooked.
One lap down, and Steve H. and Dave Bartel appeared back at the parking lot. Steve was using 5 p.s.i. front and rear on his CAAD with 4.8s, and he had no problems with the roots. Dave was happy he finally got to ride his new Salsa in the snow!
10-15 cm of snow is predicted for the next few days, but this will benefit the trail. Wednesday night’s 6:30 ride will be interesting with all of the snow – the fast people will be forced to slow down for a bit 🙂
Some riders are heading out to Birds Hill Prov Park today, Sun 4 Dec 2016 at 1:00 PM to check out the sweet Bur Oak Trail – complete with a fresh dusting of new snow. 🙂
Look out for Gregory and his ‘photo-ambushing’ skills! 😉
It should look a lot like this (enjoy) …
Btw, Bur Oak is a BHPPark recognized winter trail for FATBIKES ONLY! MTBs would just leave grooves behind ;-( So bring your fatbike and keep the tire pressures low (less than 10 PSI) and enjoy the fun! 🙂
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