That's FAT...S

I realized the other day that I am a terrible person. I have traveled the country, ridden dozens of places, and written about every single one. But I haven't written about the places here at home! And the first experience at FATS seems like a perfect excuse for me to give a shorty write up! So what's FATS? It's an IMBA epic ride. It's been featured in multiple articles and magazines. It was the host site of the IMBA World Mountain Bike Summit. And it's 37 miles of fast, flows XC trails. The Forks Area Trail System is a Sorba built place  just outside of Augusta, SC and only an hour drive from me. So the other day I decided to overpack my new bag (hint hint next review), and head down to put in some miles.

I went down with my new Fuel. I know, my 29er would probably be a better bike there, but I want to keep putting miles on the new girl! I ended up riding all but one trail, and once I factored in connection trails and the gravel road ride to get to the second group of trails, I ended up right around 40 miles worth of riding! The riding here certainly is not difficult. Even the most technical areas seemed a mere hiccup to the Fuel. But where it lacks in technicality it makes up for in speed and flow. You have to pedal to go fast, but that's expected in this fairly flat area. But when you do push the pedals, the flow is super fun. The few real descents are Mach 2 speeds with no brakes all the way down, and even the climbs scream by quickly. Deep Step was certainly my favorite trail, with the most "terrain" at the south trailhead. Brown Wave was fantastic as well, acting basically as a 5 mile pump track through the woods!

Overall, my first ride at FATS was well worth the trip. I am absolutely positive I'll go back! Really anyone in the area should look into making a trip. It's fun, fast, and smooth for miles and miles.