Take your average bike, and then make the tires really wide. Add in a few feet of snow, and you have, more or less, fatbiking.

The sport, which involves cycling on uneven terrain, including through snow in the winter, has taken on a new life for a dedicated group of volunteers in Sioux Lookout, Ont.

John Sprague moved to the northwestern Ontario community a couple of years ago, and embraced the sport. So much so, that he is now the president of the Cedar Bay Trails Co.

Sprague and a couple of good friends formed the group to create fatbike trails, as bikers were using a loop used by the local cross-country ski club.

Sprague said the two sports don't mesh well with each other. The skiers need tracks and grooming, while the bikers need packed snow. That led to the creation of new trails.

"Right now it's a labour of love," he said. "We just like to ride our bikes and this is what makes us tick, being out here in the bush."

The group, the Cedar Bay Trail Co., has cut a summer trail for mountain biking, but the real work still lays ahead, in the creation of a winter trail. So far, five kilometres have been hacked and packed through the bush.

"So we hike it and flag it and then after that's done we come out with the saws. And after we have all the trees down and move all the slash and all that, we get the picks out, shovels and smash up the dirt."

"Get really dirty, get the winch out and pull at the stumps."

Fatbiking trail in Sioux Lookout, Ont. surrounded by beautiful nature. (Jeff Walters / CBC) Sprague said the work will be worthwhile. He refers to the Cedar Bay area as a, "work of art by mother nature", pointing out the new trail will run along some ridges not previously explored.

"In the winter it's spectacular. We do a lot of our riding at nighttime. So, we've got the lights on the bikes, and it's super quiet and cold and the lights just reflect off the snow and it's all glittery and shiny."

"It's something else, it's amazing. The speed, everything seems so fast compared to the summertime because the trail's so smooth, it isn't hard, and you just whip down here and fly. Once your tire goes off the path, the packed part of the trail, you're over the bars and into the snow, and you're laughing, it's a riot. It's so much fun."