Juerg Tschirren rode nearly 6,500 miles on his bicycle in 2020, according to his Strava app, but he was back on his fat tire bike for a ride through the snow New Year’s Day.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Tschirren, 51, of Iowa City, said about the Woodpecker Trail single-track bicycle course in Coralville. “Especially when it’s snowing.”
While New Year’s Day brings many indoor pleasures, such as watching football and eating holiday leftovers, some Eastern Iowans sought the outdoors to jump-start 2021 with nature and exercise.
Tschirren joined David Heitbrink, 42, and Adam Harding, 40, both of Coralville, for a ride along the 3.4-mile east loop of the trail that dips and loops through the woods by Clear Creek. Fluffy, wet flakes of rapidly falling snow added to the 9 inches that fell earlier in the week.
The Iowa Coalition of Off-Road Riders grooms the trails, which are meant for fat tire bikes in winter. Fat tires — 3.8 inches or wider — float over debris and don’t cause ruts on the trails, Heitbrink said.
“It’s nice to get out,” he said. “The treadmill is boring as hell.”