Global Fat Bike Day- Participant Review

On Saturday, December 5th, UpaDowna hosted a fat bike event in honor of the Global Fat Bike Day that is celebrated yearly all around the world! This year we were extremely lucky to get to host it at Camp Shady Brook YMCA! It was a great place to have the event complete with cabins, warm fireplaces and hundreds of acres to explore! We had wonderful sponsors such as The HUB Bicycle Shop that brought their fleet of fat bikes up, as well as Upslope Brewing Company who brought…you guessed it, the beer! Look for this event to happen again the first weekend of December in 2016!

Here is an awesome recap and review of the event from one of our participants:

“I took my family up to the YMCA Camp Shadybrook in Deckers, CO to ride bikes on trails that were snow-and-ice covered. You might ask…how can you ride a bike in the ice and snow?! The awesome thing about UpaDowna is that they have many “cooperators” who work with them to put on these events, so when we arrived in the muddy parking lot that day (how many people go out in these kinds of conditions to do activities, typically?), there were a range of the “fat-tired” bicycles lined up for us to ride—what a cool site to see, first thing when we didn’t know what to expect!
We were quickly greeted by a friendly “staff” of friendly people from UpaDowna and The Hub bike shop, ready to help us get on bikes as quickly (or as leisurely) as possible so we could go and have a good time out on the trails at the camp. I have two kids—small people—and I am on the short side, myself, so the great thing about these bikes is that even with the limited variety of frames represented, we were each able to fit comfortably on the bikes. The crew adjusted seats and fitted them just for us, so even my ten and twelve year-olds could have access to the fun offered by fat tire bikes.

The wooded adventure consisted of stream-crossing, cliff-viewing and we were never far from others, which was nice considering we had never done this kind of bicycling before, though truly—riding a fat tire bike is just as easy as riding any bike! Knowing that assistance was close by if we needed it, the trail never felt crowded and the woods were as peaceful as ever. Aside from the clearly marked trail, one could also go off on their own in any direction.
The beauty of where we were, is that we were able to engage in other activities as well, like a frozen pond for ice skating and a hill for sledding. My kids were so happy because there was no shortage of activity to keep their interest…that’s what happens when one goes to the woods!

I spent time talking with those involved in UpaDowna, the organization, and I found out some pretty great things. They go out of their way to help anyone access the outdoors, including those with disabilities. The way I see it, their goals are to provide an easy way for people to access and learn a new outdoor skill—perhaps something they were intimidated by or that seemed like too much effort to get the equipment needed, etc. Once someone learns the new skill, UpaDowna hopes they have created fledglings, ready to go out on their own to pursue these sports and activities. They work cooperatively with many agencies looking to promote these same types of good times.
UpaDowna receives and relies on many generous donations and every little bit counts in order for them to be able to supply and provide the public with great access to gear, parks, wilderness areas (and, I forgot to mention—beer!), all for free (donations are always encouraged). It’s an incredible organization doing incredible things to bring exercise, fresh air and outdoor fun to people like you and me! Please consider giving to UpaDowna now, and in the future so they will continue to thrive.” ~Rebecca Berson