- Video shows Suamico Bike Company co-owner Laura Grovogel riding a fat tire bike in the trail she and her business partner put behind their store in the Vickery Village
- Grovogel plans to bring her group of women fat tire bike riders to ride the trails at the Village Green Golf Course in Howard
- Fat tire biking can be done year-round, but Grovogel says the larger tires help riders to bike over snowy or sandy terrain
- Grovogel says fat tire bikes can cost as little as $800 and as much as $10,000 and up
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
With fresh snow in Brown County, fat tire biking is, quite literally, gaining traction. I'm Pari Apostolakos, your Howard neighborhood reporter here at the Village Green Trails, where one woman plans to boost excitement for the sport.
Suamico Bike Company owner Laura Grovogel wants others to know the pleasure of a fat tire ride.
"If you're looking for outlets for social engagement especially during the winter months, fat biking is a great option."
So she's started an all-women fat bike group called the Fat Bottom Girls. This week she's taking the group to the trails at Village Green Golf course, which are tire ready after plenty of snow and a recent grooming.
"They're a little soft, but they're in pretty good condition."
Howard Parks Superintendent Mike Harris says in recent years trail use has slumped and there's been talk of whether it's worth paying to maintain them.
"We don't know how much use we're going to get, so at some point we might get more use."
But, with heavy snow Harris is hopeful for this season and Grovogel and her girls may be the biggest group in the park yet this year. Needed exposure for the sport and the trails.
"More riders on the surface actually helps the condition of the trail, it firms it up and hardens it up a little bit as well."
Grovogel says fat tire biking, also called snow biking, started gaining popularity ten to 15 years ago.
Her company even partnered with west coast Sage Titanium Bikes which named a model the Suamico.
"I guess you could say that this bike embodies our journey in Suamico."
Fat tire biking is enjoyed year round on snow, sand or even mud, and there's even area competition.
The U.S. Fat Bike Open is happening Saturday in Brillion. It's the second event in the four-part Snow Crown Series. Reporting in Howard, Pari Apostolakos NBC 26.
