Dave LaRose believes riding his fatbike on groomed trails during the winter is an awesome alternative sport for winter conditions.
On powdery days, he can hit the slopes at Marble to enjoy the great outdoors while travelling at high speeds.
When the snow is hard-packed he can jump on his bike and reap the rewards of a good workout while checking out some of the sights and sounds of the backcountry.
LaRose, an Ontario native who has called Corner Brook home for the past 13 years, has owned a fatbike for three years and looks forward to embracing an exciting opportunity that is being presented to fatbike enthusiasts in the Corner Brook area.
On Tuesday night, Cycle Solutions of Corner Brook introduced fatbike riding at Blow Me Down Trails — a place where nordic skiers and snowshoers frequent during the cold days of winter.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to access the trails at Blow Me Down because it will help further the fat bike community,” LaRose said Tuesday afternoon.
LaRose has seen the biking community show steady growth over the past few years when it came to mountain biking on a sunny summer day. He has seen some growth in winter riding too, but he believes it could be improved if there was access to groomed trails in great shape.
He believes Blow Me Down Trails is a great place to grow the sport because the facility is blessed with great trails for fatbike owners to feel at home.
During the summer months, he said, it is the norm for riders to enjoy the social aspect of the sport by getting together downtown for a beer and a meal afterwards. He said it would have been a lot better experience if there was a place to socialize within close proximity to where the riders hit the trail instead of having to ride there.
With Blow Me Down equipped with all the amenities a rider would need afterward, he believes fatbikers will really enjoy the experience and he’s looking forward to riding the trails with his buddies.
Peter Ollerhead of Cycle Solutions is happy to see fatbiking offered to the local biking community because it has become a growing winter sport in other places around the country.
“We’re just testing the waters of Blow Me Down to co-exist and hoping to get things to come to fruition as they have been starting to come to fruition to different locations in Canada,” Ollerhead said.
He said riders will be required to follow a number of restrictions to ensure things running smoothly. Making sure tires have the right tire pressure to ensure there is little or any impact on the trails and staying out of high traffic areas are just some of the things being done to make it a smooth marriage between the user groups.
Ollerhead would love to see the sport grow. He believes in the potential it has and if it goes to where he thinks it will then he will take a look at creating a trail pass for riders just like the ones nordic skiers need to have in order to enjoy the thing that they look forward to most when the snow starts to fall.
LaRose had to go searching for some packed snow on a snowmobile off the beaten trail when he went for a ride on his fatbike with two friends during the holidays.
He hopes it was his last time looking for a place to do it.
