Ali Fuchs grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where she was lucky enough to have a friend who regularly visited Crested Butte with family- and Ali got to tag along. Those early trips gave Ali an early appreciation of Crested Butte, and after college and a few years chasing a career in California, she came home to Crested Butte. Ali spent the next few years learning how to mountain bike while working in typical ski town jobs, like painting houses and working in restaurant kitchens. As the years passed, she dreamed of opening her own bike shop and eventually did- Big Al’s Bicycle Heaven, now located at 207 Elk Avenue in downtown Crested Butte.
In the early days, Ali would barely be open during the winters, but today she stays open thanks to fat bikes. Fat bikes have caught on in the past few years, and today many visitors come to Crested Butte and spend a day trying them for the first time on a ski vacation- or they come here specifically to fat bike, which was the case for many visitors during last week’s annual Fat Bike World Championships. In this episode, Ali and I spoke at length about what it’s like to fat bike, what kind of gear and clothing to use, whether or not your water bottle freezes, and where fat biking is allowed these days.
If you’ve always wondered why her shop is called “Big Al’s”, you’ll have to wait until the end of the episode, however.
I hope you enjoy this episode of the Crested Butte is Home podcast.
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