Feeling a little unprepared for a fatbike race I’m planning to do on Saturday, I spent quite a bit of time on the Beast this last weekend – trying my winter gear, testing my legs, figuring out riding positions, feeling the wintry mix on my face, learning the best way to fly off my bike and land in a heap.

I enjoyed 98% of my pedaling, but perhaps the best stretch of riding was a figure-eight around the two islands in the lower Lyman Lake at Carleton College. I loved the oddity of riding under (or leaning my bike up against) bridges that are, in the lesser seasons, standing in murky, fishy water.