Winter Adventure and the Warmth of Community
I first met Jay Petervary, ultra-endurance cyclist, ambassador of sport, and the founder of Fat Pursuit back in 2017, at a winter workshop hosted by Pedal of Littleton in Colorado. Captivated by his passion, knowledge and experience with fat biking in events like Arrowhead 135 and Iditarod Trail Invitational I was inspired to dream bigger with my own brand new obsession of fat bikes and human-powered travel in winter. I was curious and he was, and always will be, eager to teach.
Jennifer Hanson’s Fat Pursuit
Jennifer Hanson lives in Florence, one of the hottest parts of the arid state of Arizona. While many people around the country are fleeing the cold winter temperatures of the north, often ending up in southern Arizona, Jen and her husband Jason headed up to Idaho for the 200km Fat Pursuit. Even as a desert dweller, Jen is an accomplished winter ultra racer with finishes in both the 2022 Fat Pursuit and the Iditarod Trail Invitational. She’s shared some beautiful images from this year’s Fat Pursuit and a quick recap of how her race went down.
Faces Behind the Dots – Fat Pursuit 2023
Based out of Island Park, Idaho, Jay Petervary’s Fat Pursuit is one of the most highly regarded winter ultras on the calendar. Covering 200 kilometers of “groomed” trails in the Yellowstone area, the event is notorious for lots of snow, difficult conditions, and extremely cold temperatures. One of the more unique aspects of this winter ultra is the organization’s desire to help people develop winter backcountry experience. They run a camp beforehand teaching winter skills and make sure that the racers in the event have more winter know-how than just the ability to ride a bike fast. Somewhere along the course, all racers have to stop and bring eight ounces of water to a boil using only the gear that they’re carrying on their bike. The Fat Pursuit is more than just a race, it’s a chance for people to test their winter skills in a remote environment with the safety net of checkpoints and a race organization.
