Winter Fat Biking at Hylands Golf Course
/KITC would like to welcome back guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel. During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival. During a non-pandemic winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet.
The first time I saw a person cycling on a trail while I was cross-country skiing, I thought I was imagining things. I am used to seeing winter cyclists but not in the forest. Doing further research, I discovered they were participating in the new sport of fat biking.
I hunted around the city and found much of Ottawa also wanted to try out fat biking. Several bike rental places were almost always booked for the weekend and good luck buying one.
With winter almost over, I found out the Hylands Golf Course, rents out fat bikes at a very reasonable price and also has fifteen kilometres of trail to enjoy the sport.
My wife, Sandy and I arrived at the winter activities centre on a brisk but not too windy Monday morning. Immediately, I liked the place with old-style cross-country ski and snow boots decorating the exterior.
We were warmly greeted by the operations manager, Marc-Andre. We told Marc that we had never gone fat biking before. He quickly set us up with helmets and properly-sized fat bikes. He also gave us directions for the various loops and we were ready to go.
From the moment, I hopped on the bike, I loved it. The crunch of snow under the balloon-sized tires was incredible. To start, we did the one-kilometre practice loop. If you can ride a bike, you are able to ride a fat bike. The gears shifted perfectly and the brakes worked well.
After finishing our practice loop, we were ready for a bigger challenge. Marc recommended we try the five-kilometre loop. He said it normally takes about forty-five minutes to complete.
We set out and quickly discovered how well-groomed the trails were. The fat bike course also doubles as a cross-country trail. There was ample space to fat bike and not impinge on the cross-country ski track. We had a couple of skiers gracefully glide by while we were cycling.
The trail wound its way around the golf course. Sandy and I stopped frequently to enjoy the scenery and take photos. I imagine the trail serves for golf carts in the summer. It was fun seeing the signage for the various golf holes. Perhaps winter golf will become a thing.
The trail had enough small hills and curves to keep it fun. As mentioned, it was impeccably groomed so ice was never an issue. We also enjoyed the varied scenery ranging from pockets of trees where it felt like forest to more open areas.
Sandy and I do not profess ourselves to be Olympic athletes, so with the photo stops and water breaks we were probably on the trail for about an hour and fifteen minutes. There are further loops of nine and fifteen kilometres.
We arrived back at the centre and were sad to give up our fat bikes. Fat biking is definitely an activity that will become part of our winter fitness routine.
I think fat biking is accessible to all families if the kids are somewhat older. If you have a sporty eight-year-old it would most likely work. The bike does take more effort than a road bike but a person of average physical condition will be fine. The bikes were surprisingly light. My son’s mountain bike is heavier.
Hylands golf course has other winter activities than just fat-biking. As mentioned, they have fourteen kilometres of classic and skate cross country ski trails. They also have hundreds of acres that can be explored by snowshoes. They even have an outdoor rink that is serviced by a Zamboni!
From start to finish we felt very safe as all staff were wearing masks while inside or assisting us outside. The trails also allow for easy social distancing.
The rental of equipment is very reasonable. It should be noted that Hylands is geared towards active/former military and their families. However, civilians are welcome to use their facilities as well. I found their price point to be much lower than anywhere else I checked in the city. The rental of a fat bike and helmet was 25 dollars for unlimited day use plus a five-dollar trail fee.
Winter may almost be over but it is well worth to check out Hylands if the snow remains or put it on your bucket list next season. We know in Ottawa, winter is always just around the corner!
For more information, visit www.hylandsgc.com and click on winter activities. Under current Covid measures reservations for times and equipment must be made by email via their website or phone.
