Year End Donations To Woolly

Happy Winter Solstice to everyone in Woolly Land.  Maybe you are out enjoying the groomed fat bike trails (when the temps aren't above freezing of course) or maybe you are just dreaming of the spring and the sweet dirt single track.  No matter what if you are also thinking about year end donations I encourage you to consider donating to the Woolly Bike Club.

The Woolly is a 501c3 non-profit so your donations are 100% tax deductible.  Head on over to our Donation Page where you can find a PayPal link to donate from the comfort of your own home.

Donations to the Woolly go right back into the trails and community.  Things like gas to feed Bjorn this winter and the  tools and equipment to build and maintain the trails.

Woolly Closure For Solstice Chase Saturday 12/17

Happy Solstice Chase Eve!

Woolly Closed for Grooming and Solstice Chase Friday 10pm to Saturday 3pm

The Woolly is extremely excited to host the Solstice Chase tomorrow.  We are pretty excited about the impending snowmaggedon as well.

So while that first picture is some sweet groomed corduroy, it isn't going to look like that later tonight. In order to give Bjorn a few good hours to get things in the best shape possible, the trails are closing tonight at 10pm and will be closed through the conclusion of the race tomorrow at 3pm.

Its going to be COLD the rest of the weekend, but feel free to bundle up and enjoy the Woolly if you can safely.

Bjorn Awakes! - Woolly Groomed For First Time 2016/2017

Bjorn has awakened from his summer slumbers and has made his first pass on the Woolly for the 2016/2017 fat bike season!

Woollyland got about 5" of snow over the weekend and a few folks got out and enjoyed the fresh fluffy snow before it finally stopped falling Sunday evening.  Once all the fat bikers were snug in their beds, Bjorn ventured out and the entire Woolly network plus all of the trails that will be part of the Solstice Chase this weekend got their first grooming.  This first pass serves to fill in all of the ruts in the snow, low spots in the trail, and establishes a good solid base to build upon for the rest of the winter.

Time to get out and #ridegroomed!

Thanks Bjorn!

Volunteer at the Solstice Chase

Of course by now you know that the Solstice Chase is being held on the Woolly trails.  The race is fast approaching (Saturday December 17th) and as Frank is working extremely hard to get all of the details completely dialed he could use a few more good people.

First, you've got one more chance to sign-up.  Registration is open through this Friday only.  The race is operating at capacity so there won't be a chance to register later.  So if you want to give the race a go, better get on it.  Go here to register.

But if you want to be a part of the big event, but don't want to ride, I strongly encourage you to volunteer.  I have personally volunteered at all of the Solstice Chases and have had a blast each year.  So if you would like to give back to the Woolly, help out Frank, and hang with cool people for the day, please reach out to Frank and let him know you'd like to help.

Frank@CyclovaXC.com

Woolly 2016 Global Fat Bike Day Recap

It has been a rough start to "winter" fat bike season here in Woolly Land.  Even if we didn't have snow, one would like to hope the ground would be nice and frozen so we could ride Woolly single track.  Sadly this year it has been exceptionally warm keeping the ground from freezing and then layer in a good amount of precipitation and riding the Woolly Trails for Global Fat Bike Day 2016 was just not going to happen.

Fortunately in Woolly Land we have a great set of alternatives to consider.  While a ride on the Gandy or Stower trail would have worked, you can do that all summer.  Instead Jason put together a totally awesome fat bike ADVENTURE in the playground that is Sterling Barrens State Nature area.  Equestrian trails, ATV trails, fire roads, and gravel roads all lush with lots of sand makes for the perfect terrain for a fat bike.

The ride started out of the Wolf Creek Bar.  That is a bit more of a haul than the Woolly trailhead for most so I wasn't sure what I would see when I pulled into the parking lot just before 9 on Saturday morning.  What I found was a lot of people excited to ride fat bikes!  We never quite completed a head count, but we had right around 25 riders.

I'm really glad we had Jason as our tour guide.  There are many roads and trails going all over in the wilderness.  There actually is a little cell service so you might be able to get a map up, but getting the guided tour is much better.

We frequently stopped to regroup and grab a quick drink.

For me, the equestrian trail was the highlight of the ride.  You definitely appreciated the fat tires and the ground that was freezing up.  The trails were "handle bars deep" in a few places.  The view from the ridge over the Trade River was pretty awesome.

After rolling a short stretch of pavement we were back into the woods only to duck out into this huge sand pit.  We all had fun trying to ride around the big pit.  A few more watts may have been required to do real donuts in the center depression, but that didn't stop us from trying.

After nearly 3 hours we started rolling back to Wolf Creek Bar for some refreshment and rehydration.

Thanks for the adventure Jason!

Global Fat Bike Day Group Ride (12/3 - 9am) - Sand Barrens Recon

The high road or the low road?

The weather has been just awful lately.  Cold enough that getting wet really stinks.  But not cold enough that the ground is going to freeze of the precip is going to come down as snow.  And man has it been wet.  It's not too often your sump pump runs in December in Minnesota, but mine is.

Despite all that, we are still super excited about the relocated Global Fat Bike Day group ride in the Sand Barrens.  In anticipation of a fantastic group ride this Saturday, one of our members did a little recon up in the Barrens the other day.  Conditions for a fat bike ride look primo!  You might get by on a mountain bike, but its going to be a slog.  Fat bikes are strongly encouraged.  It is GFBD afterall!

We are eyeing a roughly 22ish mile loop at a casual no-drop pace that will take 2-3 hours.  We say 22ish, because there are lots of opportunities to shorten or extend the loop depending on how the ride is progressing.  Casual and no-drop mean just that.  If you show up to ride we won't leave you behind.  Plenty of stops and conversation.  If you want a fat bike hammer fest, sign up for the Solstice Chase in two weeks.

The weather is looking perfect so come on out to Howlin' Wolf Creek Bar at 9 on Saturday morning and join us for a fat adventure.

Be sure to hit up our Facebook Event and let us know you are coming.