Every winter, when the local Red River behind his house freezes over, Tom makes a crossing for all people living there, using the frozen stream as a shortcut. But why the fat bike shape?
“Rather than people cross the Elm Park Bridge, I build this crossing. This year, it’s in the shape of a fat bike laying on its side, as if it’s riding down the river. It’s a fun thing that I kind of got carried away with. It’s huge.”
For measuring and outlining the bike frame and the wheels accurately, he used ice screws and his old ice-climbing ropes, which he used as a measuring tape and a ruler. For the finishing touches, he used a Christmas present from his wife – a DJI Mavic Pro drone – so he could curate the image from bird’s-eye view. After a bit of work with the shovel, he pulled the final trick out of his sleeve.
“I made a few corrections and then broke out the snowblower and snowblowed the whole thing out. It took me about three and half days – it was a lot of work,” Tom shared. We appreciate both the meticulous execution (check the light beams shinning from the headlight) and the neighbourly intentions.
