LAKE HOPPING ON A FATBIKE

A selfie before departure.

The GPS track:
DISTANCE:  7.5 miles
TERRAIN:  snow, glare ice, snowmachine trails, pipeline corridors, plowed and maintained roads.
TIME:  1:45 hours

The view from the handlebars at the edge of Island Lake.  Getting ready to ride across the ice.

Fatbike and signage at Thetis Lake.

Always be mindful of aircraft on the roadway...fatbikes, too.  That's Parsons Lake in the background.

After leaving Parsons Lake the remainder of the ride looked like this.  Plowed and maintained roads all the way.

The heatwave and resulting meltdown last month created extremely favorable conditions for riding fatbikes.  The snow is frozen as hard as cement and big tires roll over it with ease resulting in snowmachine trails that are smooth and fast.  A perfect scenario for riding from lake to lake--lake hopping on a fatbike.

I pedaled out of my driveway and onto the ice of Island Lake which was slippery in spots, so I traveled slowly until reaching the public boat ramp across the lake.  I rode over to Thetis Lake and then down a snowmachine trail to a pipeline corridor, and another snowmachine trail, to Parsons Lake.  After crossing the ice of Parsons Lake I took plowed and maintained roads back to my house.

Lake hopping loops are just about limitless when conditions are like this and I'm already planning several others.  All it takes is looking at a map and connecting the lakes.  Then hop on yer fatbike and go!

CAPTAIN COOK FATBIKE RIDE

Making a splash while crossing a small stream.  Cook Inlet and the Alaska range are in the background.

The GPS track:
DISTANCE:  13.4 miles RT
TERRAIN:  snow, ice, sand, dirt, mud, water, slush.
TIME:  ~4 hours



Doug riding the beach on his new fatbike.

Taking a break at the unique cabin straddling boulders on Cook Inlet.

Pedaling on the open beach in the sunshine.

Making a brief stop.

Frozen derailleurs.  They didn't work at all.

My buddy Doug got a new fatbike for Christmas and he was anxious to try it out.  So, we decided a good place to start riding would be at the end of the pavement at Captain Cook State Park--in 11 degree temperatures.  Once we hit the beach it didn't look like anyone had been there for a while.  We made good time pedalling to the cabin that straddles the boulders where we took a short break.  Not long after that we crossed a small stream which resulted in frozen brakes and derailleurs.  Since we weren't going very fast we didn't need the brakes, but it would have been nice to shift gears when needed.  We continued to ride until reaching a small point that had a large amount of driftwood on it.  We ate lunch then turned back.  We had timed our ride to take advantage of the tide and it crept closer and closer as we neared the end.  After a four hour pedal we arrived back at the truck, loaded the bikes, and drove home.  The next fatbike adventure is already in the planning stages!