Wisconsin Weekend Enterprise and Feature Package
WASHBURN — It wasn’t enough for Marlin Ledin to bike from
Washburn to Ashland in the oppressive summer heat — he wanted to
brave the journey in a brutal Wisconsin blizzard. So, while the
22-year-old Washburn native was living in Minneapolis last year, he
built a souped-up bike to do the job. The finished product sports
4-inch-wide tires, has hydraulic disc brakes and weighs nearly 60
pounds when fully loaded. It can be ridden over dirt, snow, ice,
pavement and sand, and it’s already taken Ledin on a 40-mile trek
through Twin Cities suburbs and a day-trip along the frozen banks
of Thompson’s Creek. Ledin took the bike out on Chequamegon Bay
Tuesday, grinning as he demonstrated the tires’ traction on slick
ice. As the temperature hovered near zero, the bitter-cold wind
biting at his face and snow swirling around his legs, Ledin was
having nothing but fun. “This is a bike that’s fun anywhere,” he
said. “It’s the most fun bike I’ve ever ridden.” Ledin built his
own version of the rarely seen bike, a Surly-brand Pugsley. The
Pugsley’s most imposing feature is its tires, which are taller and
wider than a regular mountain bike’s and have car tire-like tread.
They act like snowshoes, distributing the bike’s weight to keep it
riding on top of snow that’s up to six inches thick, Ledin said. He
has a spot on the purple frame for a small bike pump, which he uses
to beef up the tires’ air pressure if he’s going to ride on a
denser surface like pavement. Since the bike can go places no other
bike can go, Ledin thinks it deserves its own genre.
BC-WI–Blizzard Bike. AP Photo Planned. AP Member Exchange
Feature.
By Karen Hollish, The Daily Press, Ashland.
Posted
on
Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 6:34 pm under