Winter in Ottawa is fat bike season

Winter around Ottawa is fat bike season, so mind your manners!

GREAT TRAILS ARE ALL AROUND US

By Sheila Ascroft | Photos Ottawa Mountain Biking Association

Trail etiquette is important wherever you are outdoors, but especially if it’s fat biking on a shared trail with crosscountry skiers and snowshoers. They may not expect (or even want) to see a bike coming down a forest trail.

Essentially, fat bikers should yield to both.

Fat biking has gone mainstream with more and more big-name bike makers putting out new models. Dave Macki, coowner of Phat Moose Cycles (on Hawthorne Avenue near Main Street) said, “Brands like Surly have been making their Pugsley for years. Salsa made one for a long time as well, but now everyone under the sun makes a fat bike.” Which highlights the need to behave courteously.

The Ottawa Mountain Bike Association (OMBA) knows very well that more people are fat biking and that they want access to more trails, including those in Gatineau Park. So the association has been working with the National Capital Commission and other user groups to gain Park access – and has succeeded!

OMBA president Sandra Beaubien said there will be a fat bike pilot project this winter on snowshoe trails 64, 65, 66 and (possibly) 67. She said that like crosscountry skiing, “fat bike access will be weather dependent and trails will open weather permitting.”

Also, only fat bikes with tires measuring 3.5 inches or wider are allowed, with 10 psi or less air pressure. These tires leave fewer ruts. Fat bikers have to buy an NCC snowshoe or ski pass to use these newly available trails.

Rules of the snowy road

While you can ride fat bikes just about anywhere there is packed snow – snowshoe or snowmobile trails are ideal – there are limits to where and when you should ride. Good judgment, safety and respect for other trail users are paramount.

The International Mountain Bike Association Canada has guidelines for fat biking on groomed cross-country ski and snowshoe trails and backcountry riding: • Ride only in areas or on trails that allow and encourage fat biking. (Our sidebar lists some of them) • Do not trespass. Know whether you are on private property. Obey land-use rules. • Don’t ride in temperatures above freezing when fat tires damage trails. If you have to dismount and walk up easy hills, then it’s too warm for riding. Wait for truly cold weather. • Avoid locking the rear wheel and skidding on descent. The resulting ruts could mess up other users’ progress or safety. • Yield to all skiers especially at intersections. Skiers have no brakes, but bikes do. • Yield to snowshoers too. Their efforts made that packed trail you’re riding on.

Stop and move off the trail if you can. • Stay off track-set, cross-country ski trails.

Ride on the hard-packed skate tracks instead. • Leave room for skiers to pass; don’t ride side-by-side with friends, blocking the full trail. • Don’t disturb wildlife. Many animals spend winter on the brink of starvation. Stress or the need to move quickly can drain their energy. • Learn safe ice travel. Is the ice thick enough to support you? Take ice fishing picks and a length of rope when riding on lakes and rivers. • Pay attention to changing weather. New snowfall or a thaw can make the return trip tough if not impossible. Tire tracks can vanish, hard snow can turn to slush, and river ice can melt. Know the forecast and be aware that fickle weather can undercut what started out as a safe route. • Carry provisions in case you have to stay out longer than planned. • Make sure someone knows your plans, what time you left, and when you expect to return. There may not be a cellphone signal in the bush. • Be a good ambassador for your sport: be polite, educate other riders and discourage bad behaviour.