Spring is doing that thing again where it teases dirt, dumps slush, and then dares you to call it “rideable.” This week’s issue has a pretty serious industry headline, real adventure, a few events worth circling, and at least one reminder that the bike world can still punch you right in the feels.

Racing this spring, packing for a shoulder-season trip, or just pretending your driveway is a trail? Hit reply and tell us what you’re riding.

Paragon Machine Works closing hits the handmade bike world hard
The tiny parts giant nobody wanted to lose

After 43 years, Paragon said it would cease major operations effective March 27, and the fallout is bigger than one company because builders all over the map rely on those precision bits. This is not just “industry news”! For fat-bike folks, this one matters because the framebuilding supply chain just got a lot less certain overnight.
https://www.paragonmachineworks.com/news/paragon_closing_down.html

Ned and Forest’s Alaska bike journey is now rolling for real
145 miles in to a 700 miles adventure

Ned Rozell and Forrest Wagner were out on the route and moving through Interior Alaska, with one recap describing the trip as a 145-mile opening segment through remote country as they work westward. The Garmin tracker link makes this one extra addictive if you enjoy watching dots crawl across very large, very cold maps. https://share.garmin.com/NedRozell
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/science/2026/03/27/just-add-water-living-at-its-finest-an-alaska-bike-journey-rolls-along/ https://nationaltoday.com/us/ak/fairbanks/news/2026/03/28/alaska-bike-journey-rolls-along/https://www.newsminer.com/forest-pushing/image_b5d5d77a-38b9-47f6-97d2-dced8e6f3947.html.

Canmore’s Spring Equinox Triathlon brought the weird little spring-snow energy we like
Run, fat bike, ski, repeat

The Canmore Nordic Centre event stitched together a 5 km run, 10 km fat-bike leg, and 15 km ski, which is a tidy way to remind everyone that “multi-sport” usually means “extra suffering.” Nice mix of locals and first-timers, which is how these spring crossover events stay fun instead of becoming pure lycra theater.
https://www.rmoutlook.com/local-sports/first-timers-locals-unite-for-canmores-spring-equinox-triathlon-12053335

Spring fat-bike ride in Bloomington
A local event, led by a naturalist, along the Minnesota River Bottoms Trail

Bloomington’s Naturalist Program is hosting a spring fat-bike ride on April 26, which is a nice sign that fat-bike outings are not yet fully packed away for the season. If your snow is fading, this is a great kind of low-stakes ride.
https://www.bloomingtonmn.gov/pr/events/naturalist-program-spring-fat-bike-ride-2026-04-26

Icy Challenge benefits Indigenous youth
A ride with a real purpose

The Toronto Police Service’s Icy Challenge story puts community benefit front and center, which is exactly where it should be. Members of the Toronto Police Service cycling team took part in the Bear Island Ice Road Challenge to raise money to introduce cycling to Indigenous youth.
https://www.tps.ca/media-centre/stories/icy-challenge-benefits-indigenous-youth/

You know the importance of sleep, but actually getting enough is easier said than done. One wellness brand decided to study the problem and whether CBD could help.

CBD users have long reported feeling calmer and sleeping better, whether taking the compound by itself or with related hemp-derived compounds like CBN and THC. But rumor isn’t research, so CBDistillery conducted two sleep studies: a 2021 study into CBD and CBN, and a 2023 study with technology app Releaf into CBD, CBN and THC.

Study participants who took CBD and CBN reported falling asleep easier and sleeping an hour longer per night, on average. Study participants who took THC as well as CBD and CBN reported improved quality of sleep and waking up more refreshed the next morning.

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Riding Into Spring: An Equinox Bivvy on the Mukluk
Trip report / bikepacking feature.

A spring equinox bivvy is exactly the sort of shoulder-season ride that keeps fat-bikes relevant even without snow. If you like slow miles, hidden camps, and stunning Welsh scenery, click this one.
https://fat-bike.com/2026/03/spring-equinox-bikepacking-bivvy-welsh-mountains/

The Fat-bike Lab Is Live – and You’re Invited
Community / call-to-action.

This is the place for trail reports, build talk, and the kind of questions that never make it into mainstream bike media. If you’ve got a setup, a problem, or a snowpack obsession, the Lab is basically your people.
https://fat-bike.com/2026/03/fat-bike-lab-community/

Happy Spring Thaw
April 18, Hugo, Minnesota

Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota lists a fat-biking event at Liberty Classic Academy, which feels like a solid way to shake off the indoor trainers.
https://www.bikemn.org/all-events/

A rider worth remembering: Dr. Liisa Mavis Jantunen
An obituary that hit the community side of the sport

BarrieToday’s obituary notes Liisa Jantunen passed away March 5 and remembered her as an avid mountain biker who rode her favorite fat bike through winter. Not every fat-bike story is about products or events; sometimes it is about the people who made the ride better. 
https://www.barrietoday.com/obituaries/jantunen-dr-liisa-mavis-12053888

Minnesota snowpack grumbling remains strong on Reddit
Trail conditions: emotional damage edition

A March thread in r/fatbike summed up the season frustration in Minnesota after warm temps and freezing rain wrecked conditions. Consider this your annual reminder that even the best fat bike is not a miracle cure for bad weather and bad luck.
https://www.reddit.com/r/fatbike/comments/1ric833/dismal_minnesota_snow/

Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next week with more snow, dirt, and oversized tires. What race, ride, or gear rabbit hole are you eyeing right now? Hit reply and tell us.

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