In 2014, a crazy guy named Sam Ames, some volunteers, and about 50 very trusting riders gathered in Bakersfield, California for a lark of an experimental, mixed terrain bike circus. The Rock Cobbler was born, and quickly began to grow. Cobbler combined a wildly variable course, beautiful emerald rolling hills, silly gags, and a positive atmosphere to form something that was not often seen in the cycling landscape in those days: A singular bike party.

The Fat Pursuit is a winter ultra event located in and around Island Park, Idaho. There are two distances, the 60k and 200k, and there are three different disciplines, biking, running, and skiing. I did the 200k on a bike last year and had to come back for more. Looking at the weather prior to the race I knew it was going to be a tough one. Lots of new snow had fallen making the course soft and slow and with lows in the -30F range plus wind chill it was sure to be an exciting one.

Words clutter. So without delay, here is a video we shot of a most perfect outing to White Rim with friends in late October, 2023.

This Journal entry is the third entry in Brynn’s series about the things that took them away from the bike, and the things that brought them back. You can find chapter 1 here, and chapter 2 here.

Grief brought my life to a standstill. At first, I didn’t know who I was anymore: whether I would be able to continue nursing, and, if I did, what that would look like. After years in the ICU, years during the pandemic, and then finally watching my father waste away on a ventilator, work was a constant trigger point. 

What I also knew is that I don’t do well when I’m not moving. I decided to take the leap and try travel nursing out in California, which was the last place I had really felt like myself. The year prior I had worked at the clinic in Yosemite National Park and it had been life changing. I had fallen in love with the West coast, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and backpacking. I wanted that energy back again.