Over a hundred fat bikers rolled through the Coal Creek Heritage Society’s (CCHS) free barbeque at the Montane Hut on the 2021 Global Fatbike Day in Fernie.
The cold and snow returned with a vengeance to smooth over ruts and storm damage just in time for the annual day, when fat bikers get going in celebration of the burgeoning winter sport.
“We were counting bikes as they came and went, and there were about 100 through the day,” said Pat Gilmar, who is the volunteer trail manager for the Montane trails, and a director with the CCHS.
“More than I had hoped for.”
The CCHS is dedicated to enhancing Fernie’s outdoor experience, which includes the management, enhancement and maintenance of the trails in Montane and Ridgemont.
Gilmar said that they’d done their best to repair the Montane trails.
“It was the best we could do in adverse conditions - they’ll have to be completed properly in early spring,” he said.
Parts of lower Montane trails were completely swept away, while trails in the upper sections were deeply rutted out.
Gilmar said the Marlu trail was effectively a ‘trench’ due to the rutting, and would be the CCHS’s primary focus in early spring.
READ MORE: Fatties get rolling: Mountain bikers switch to snow
scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
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