Welcome the Phatness

Picked up a very large box from Fastway on Saturday morning and assembled it as soon as I got home.  A Charge Cooker Maxi 2 Took it for a spin out into the redzone and enjoyed the ridiculous traction and go-anywhere capability.  Very wet overnight so the usual Sunday was cancelled and as the day cleared up I realised the mood I was in was due to not riding for such a long time... 

So, opportunity knocked and I chucked the Cooker on the back of the car and headed out to the Ache with the dog.  Straight in and to the right, catching up to a woman on a flash carbon 29er singlespeed, following for a short while then getting by and ahead.  The 4.25 inch tires sticking to the trail like nothing else.  Practically steers itself round the corners.  I took a couple of off-piste lines through here, and any of the sandy blow-outs, the bike just floated right over.  Into the climb to the gazebo and then speeding downhill and through into the bit that'd been closed and then out to the dunes. 

Along the front and I took a couple of lines that regular tires would have sunk right in to.  The sandy blow-outs along the top here proved un-eventful.  Further along I tried out one of the hare-trails off the left and bombed over a back dune into some pines, but then spotted some other dogs (big ones) being walked, so hauled up Jet and turned back to the main track.  Once at the forest section I took heaps of off piste lines, finding adventure left right and centre.  Eventually found one that climbed out to the top of the dune way before the main track does, and followed it along the top.  Sweet riding on sand.  Found the regular track again, where it rides along the top of the dune, then hung a right and ploughed down the path onto the beach.  Fun descent and then with a tail wind we cruised for a km or so along the beach til I spotted a saddle in the dune easily ridden up, finding it to be a horse trail, loose sand though still rideable, and then a right hander back onto one of the main drags in here. 

Along this for a while then took a line off to the left where there may have once-upon-a-time been a track but no longer.  Up and over through around back up and then into a thicket which I had to turn back out of.  Then over and through to a drop down back onto another forestry road further in again.  This one ended up being very close to the singletrack that heads north into Spencer Park, so followed this for a while.  Then, did some more riding around in the forest finding how close various trails actually are to each other, and was on the trail heading back.  Lots of cool lines, wall-ride type things, extra high berms to be ridden, that due to their sandy nature normal bikes would get stalled in.  Lots of fun.

Finally back to 'Muddy Rd' and back into the usual loop trails, taking every old disused track I could find.  Jet starting to tire a wee bit, and me a little.  The fatbike rolls just as easy as a regular bike.  And if it is a little harder, that'll only make me stronger, right?  The last sort of new section that was built to avoid logging is seriously shittily made, and was okay last time on the 5-Spot, but not okay on the old singlespeed, proved not so bad, but not as good as the Turner.  Once back at the final return road, I took one last blast off into the forest, riding randomly in and through and back out, just for the hell of it.  Big tires make interesting echoes when sticks and stones whack them.  Tis quite an experience. 

So.  Test number 1 successful.  Where else can I ride this thing???