With the unseasonal lack of snow and cold temperatures in the Wisconsin Northwoods , fat bikers have been making lemonade out of lemons by taking the opportunity to ride the plethora of frozen lakes. Lakes are normally covered with deep snow this time of year, making them difficult to ride on other than following snowmobile tracks. While the lack of snow means our regular fat bike trails are not groomed, the upside is a fat bike can now ride almost anywhere!
Like last year, we experiencing another winter with very little snow. We have enough to make it pretty, but we are at least two feet behind where we should be, so neither the fat bike trails nor the snowmobile trails are getting groomed. Unlike last year, the temperatures are cold, so the lakes are all frozen. This makes for a rare opportunity to easily make a day of riding the ice around a big lake or from one small lake to another, connect them by riding frozen flowages, MTB trails, logging two track and gravel forest roads. Studded tires take all the worry out of it, but there is just enough snow on most lakes to do it with unstudded tires. My New Years Day Wallpaper Wednesday post about the wolf kill was from a ride I did stringing together half a dozen lakes on a 25 mile route from my home in Seeley, WI.
Since then I have finally circumnavigated the entire 22 miles around Lake Owen and explored many of the 66 amazing free campgrounds on the Turtle Flambeau Flowage. My pals to the east of me have been doing even more of this. Chris Schotz’s Bushwhack Invitational strung together 33 lakes on a 38 mile tour of the Harrison Hills area outside Tomahawk. And it seems like every week, Ironbull organizer Shane Hitz has pieced together a new route linking dozens of little lakes, old fire towers and flowages in the greater Wausau area.
During the winters in 2020 and 2021 we got over ten feet of snow, more than double our typical 60″. I spent so much time shoveling our third story roof that I might have gotten over my fear of heights. Those winters, now followed by two almost snowless winters, show the unpredictability of climate change and the extreme swings Mother Nature can make. I have to wonder if any local climate change deniers will start to rethink their positions if we get another crazy weather winter next year. I doubt it.
While I would love for us to have our usual two or three feet of snow and miles of groomed singletrack to ride right now, I’m having a blast with this new style of riding. When Mother Nature throws us a climate change curveball, we need to try to recognize the pitch as early as possible, take a step back and adjust our swing by making alternative, but still fun, plans. Fingers crossed we have a postcard winter with amazing groomed trails this year, but if we don’t, come roll a fatty Up North anyway. It might just blow your mind about winter fun.
Great idea Dave! Alaska is having a similar lack of snow. It sucks. We’ve been so warm that even lake ice is questionable in places. I’ve been slipping around on our thin sheet of ice. The only upside is the trails are ripping fast.
Yeah, that was our winter last year. We literally had green grass on New Years Day. It did make for some good black ice opportunities though once it finally got cold enough for the lakes to freeze. As pretty and fun as those are, and those are thin black ice is always sketchy. Those winters that hover just below freezing with occasional warm ups also make for candle ice, which is even more sketchy as it can be a foot thick, but structurally weak. When riding ice in those conditions, I wear my CO2 inflatable PFD. I know my fat bike is essentially a big PFD, but the inflatable one around my body gives me a bit more confidence. I always carry a pair of ice picks around my neck when riding lake ice, even when it is a foot thick because unseen springs and pressure ridges can surprise anyone. Have fun, but stay safe up there! And email me a photo of one of your adventures for a Wallpaper Wednesday if you want! Thanks for reading and writing.