Look what followed me home!

Last week I received a great gift - a certificate for a fat bike. Since I was heading out of town the next day I had to delay a visit to the local dealer - Galleria Bicycle to try out bikes. The certificate was for a Framed Minnesota 2.0. I did ride their 15" model but it was too tall for me (aka, I was hitting the bar when standing over the bike). Brent the owner convinced me to try the Wolftrax, which, even though it was the same frame size, has a lower stand-over height. The fit seemed good and after thinking about it overnight I let him know I wanted to buy this bike. Luckily for me he had the color combination I wanted on hand and had it built up later that day. Sadly, I didn't have time to pick it up until today.

Framed Wolftrax 15" next to my Fit

Once I had a quick tutorial on removing and re-installing the through axle it was time to head for the trails for a quick ride before darkness fell. 

Can't ride over it, can't ride under it. 

I headed to a new section of the Duluth Traverse off of the old Mission Creek Parkway. I was joined by my daughter and son-in-law for a short bit, but due to a mechanical issue with one of their bikes I was on my own after about a mile. I was having fun learning how this bike handled on the trails and rolling over terrain that would have made me think twice on my mountain bike. I did encounter a short section with many mud puddles and dismounted and walked through a few to prevent further damage to the trail. When I reached the downed tree I took a short break to capture this photo and then lifted the bike up and over for a bit more riding.

I ended up turning around after 2.5 miles as I was loosing light fast. On the way back I flushed:
 - a grouse
 - a beaver (which ran across the trail in front of me, then waited until it was well into the pond to slap a warning)
 - a few deer

All in all it was a good first outing on the bike.