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You are here: Home / Community / Winter Biking with Bike Truro

Winter Biking with Bike Truro

January 30, 2023 By Truro Buzz

Winter Biking with Bike Truro with Keith, Aaron & Mike.

Image Description: A large group of people on bicycles but not ridging them, wearing warm weather athletic gear and bike helmets stand on a large patch of dirt and surround another person standing on a dirt hill. The person on the hill is wearing athletic gear and a bike helmet but does not have a bike. This person appears to be addressing the group of bike riders. There are canopy-covered booths or tables and trees in the background

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"I'm tired of having people drive by Truro to go fatbiking somewhere else"

Keith made that comment during a conversation we had in winter 2017 about how Truro has such an amazing park to ride fatbikes in the winter but wasn't really well known outside of local riders. Five years later in September 2022, there were well over 200 riders in the Railyard for an event. There has been so much growth it's almost impossible to comprehend but to know where we’re at it’s important to know where we started.
After the winter of 2016/17, I noticed fatbiking gaining momentum. A group of us started thinking ahead for the next winter riding season. We'd say things like “the Town needs to promote winter riding,” “they should do…" "they need to try…” or "why don’t they…” We talked through all the normal things most armchair athletes would say. After our speculation, Keith broached the subject with a Town staffer about a website promoting fatbiking but like most municipal governments they were unable to as it came down to both staff and time constraints.

Keith Gillis, Mike Knowlton and I (Aaron Tooker) are just 3 guys that have a passion for all things biking and love to tell everyone how great the Railyard in Victoria Park is. Keith falls into the “doer” category so, in February 2018 he created a social media page called Bike Truro. We run the page primarily for people to post trail conditions, group rides, and bike info, in and around the Truro area. A way to communicate quickly was needed especially after the first Snowdog groomer was bought in 2017. Sharing information is necessary because Mother Nature is boss with winter riding. You could be riding on a solid trail at 9am and by lunch you could be breaking through and ruining the trail. So, by having a spot where people can post the current trail conditions, the hope was more riders can get out and enjoy the trails before the sun tells us it's time to stop.

Image Description: A person wearing a bike helmet and outdoor winter clothing walks along a snow-covered trail at night. The snow comes up to about their ankles and the trees have snow in their branches. There is light reflecting off the trees and path in front of the person as if they are shining a flashlight to light the path. Their back is lightly covered in snow.

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Promoting that Victoria Park could now groom trails for riding meant that an expectation was put on the Town to have the trails ready as quickly as possible. Grooming for winter riding isn't the same as grooming for skiing, the process is almost the opposite. With fatbike grooming you need to get out and pack down the trail as soon as the snow stops to build a base, then after you set the corduroy you need to stay off it until it freezes. In most cases you will groom later in the evening once people are done using the trail to allow it to freeze overnight. The majority of time grooming fatbike trails can't be done on a normal 9-5 weekday schedule and still have a good rideable surface. This was where the volunteer relationship between the Town and some local riders began to blossom.

Over the next four years we saw more and more riders come to the park for winter riding, so much so the Town realized that one Snowdog wasn't enough. The local business community has always been supportive of attracting people to Truro, seeing the growth and economic spin off potential in having more people come here and play in the park. G&G Computers spoke with the Town and purchased a second groomer that could be used and operated by volunteers in the park.

The momentum kept building and with more riders coming there was something new that needed to be addressed. One night the trails were not setting up like we had hoped and we knew that people were planning on coming the next morning. Sometimes you need to let it set for more than a day, how could we let people know this while we were grooming? So the solution, Facebook Live!

Keith started doing a live video while we groomed to let people know what conditions we were seeing. It worked great! Little did we know that doing live videos was something that people would look forward to. It gave them a chance to see what was involved in the grooming process. The videos started to get a following and one evening a local business owner was watching and decided to help as well. They purchased a third Snowdog and donated it to the Town.
Before long it became common to see more vehicles parked downtown with bike racks than without and the downtown shops were experiencing the spin offs. Most businesses have their slow period in February/March but some have reported that didn't happen. They noticed what seemed to be more out-of-towners dressed in active outdoor gear stopping in and shopping. The Town noticed as well and created a winter position in the Railyard that would have an employee there 12-8pm Wednesday to Sunday grooming trails and maintaining the equipment.

With so many new people coming to the Railyard in the winter, it only made sense for them to come and check things out in the summer. In 2018 a full time summer position was created to keep the momentum going, building and maintaining trails. This past summer the Railyard was able to have 3 full time seasonal workers as well as a summer student working everyday.

There have always been some group rides but with increased interest, they have become much more frequent. Mike Knowlton is best known for organizing group rides and touring people through the bike trials, Mike has occasionally been referred to as "The Pied Piper." Last winter there was "Sunday Funday" and in the summer there was "Bikes and Patios" on Wednesday evenings. This past summer it was normal to have anywhere from 50 to just over 80 riders participate! Now having seen so many riders coming daily we knew that there will be many new people coming this winter to try out fatbiking, anticipating this Mike, as part of the bike sales and service community, recently held an evening session at Jimolly's where he provided folks with the basics of fatbiking as we want people to be prepared and have as much fun as possible.

Filed Under: Community, Events, Health & Wellness, Sports Tagged With: bike truro, colchester, community, family, fatbiking, local, nova scotia, truro, truro buzz, trurobuzz

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