CROCT member Bill N penned this poem after a recent fat bike ride at the River Bend Nature Center in Faribault. With an assist from John R.

The River Bend Winter Ride

Considerate pause
Today’s bitter cold
For Fat Bikers
Young and Old

Bundled uncomfortably
We ventured outside
With tingly numb thumbs
Hope to warm as we ride

Frost builds on a beard
Or else pink on the cheek
With eyes on the trail
We occasionally peek

In the woods nothing moves
Only crystals and white
The only warm thing
Is today’s sun so bright

No critters are out
And the river is hard
This wind is for sure
Making drifts in my yard

There isn’t much talking
Above the steady crunch
Of 2 Buds and 2 Lous
Packed snow is their lunch.

For over an hour
The pedals we turned
Not to measure this ride
By just miles we learned

One last turn one more hill
Oh goodness we’re done
It’s warm in the shelter
This ride’s memory… fun.