WINONA LAKE - Three hundred forty-five volunteers committed to working at least two hours each over the three-day 19th Fat & Skinny Tire Festival this past weekend.
Two received the Robbie Gast Ride On Award Saturday night for their commitment to cycling and the festival, while a third received the Dick Katte Award from Rob Gast Sr.
Greg Demopoulos, Kosciusko County Velo (KCV) co-founder and festival co-director, began the awards presentation by noting it was 12 years ago since the bike weekend had such great weather all three days.

    Megan Carr (L) and Nick Chapman (R) hold up their Robbie Gast Ride On Award mugs Saturday night after being recognized for their volunteer efforts. Also pictured are Wren Chapman (front), Nick’s daughter; Maria and Greg Demopoulos (in back), event organizers. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

“Oddly enough, it’s a good segue to what we’re about to do. That was the year after (festival co-founder) Robbie (Gast Jr.) passed away and we had perfect weather,” Greg said. “So I think he’s looking down on us now and said, ‘It’s about time. You can have good weather.’”
He then invited Rob Gast Sr. up to the stage “because unfortunately last year we lost a great cycling friend, a buddy of ours, Dick Katte. So Rob’s got a special award in Dick’s memory.”
Rob said he’s been in the bike business for 50 years and it treated him well. “I’ve been just swept in this beautiful world of biking and I’m a very lucky man in that regard, I really am,” he said.
Saturday night, he continued, was an opportunity for him to honor one of the best friends he’s ever had. “Fifty years of friendship with Dick Katte at my side. We lost him last year,” he said.
Rob said Katte was just about first at everything in bicycling. “The man was proof of game. He dominated the rides out of Tarkio (Road). He could compete with anybody, 17 years older than any of us. He, Katte, was our senior astronaut,” Rob stated.
Katte rode shotgun with Rob and his buddies, trekking the trails from Canada, Michigan to Florida - skiing and riding bicycles.
Rob said his son, Robbie, loved Dick Katte and Katte wanted a son rider, a sidekick like Robbie was to Rob.
“Then one day a 19-year-old outlaw kid put Katte at his best. Katte named him Thighmaster. Now, Katte had his sidekick. This award goes to Chad Kuhn,” Rob said in presenting Kuhn with the Katte Award.
In presenting the Robbie Gast Ride On Awards, Greg said, “Much like Chad, Robbie was our co-founder, along with myself and Alan Alderfer. And Robbie was the hub. His nickname was The Mayor. He brought so many different people together, allowed this really to get started and it’s crazy to think that we are in year 19.”

    Chad Kuhn receives the Dick Katte Award Saturday night during the Fat & Skinny Bike Festival volunteer awards. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

He noted that it’s actually been longer than 19 years because the first festival was in 2004. KCV was started in 2003.
“We packed out Trailhouse ... with 200-plus people in that bike shop, and we were like, ‘Wow, we might be on to something,’” Greg recalled, and that’s how the bike festival was born.
Then in 2011, Robbie died.
“But one of the things that Robbie was all about - one, besides this, a great party, was community. And one of the things he would talk about is all this stuff that we’re trying to do does not happen because of one person or two people or three people. It’s, we’ve got to have people who are more often than not givers rather than takers,” Greg said. “So one of the things that I want to point out regardless of what happens tonight and we highlight one or two volunteers of the year, this year’s festival - there’s 345 red shirts being worn with ‘staff’ on the back of them - 345 people that have given at least two hours, if not more, many of them, all weekend long, to put this festival on.”
He said he was talking to people from all over the United States Friday night that were just marveling at “what our small town has been able to do.” He encouraged people not to take the festival for granted and that it does not happen by itself.
With the Robbie Gast Ride On Award, Greg said they wanted to highlight people who are givers and not takers.
After all the past award recipients lined up along the stage, Greg’s wife Maria Demopoulos said after Robbie passed, they didn’t feel like a scholarship in his name was a way to honor him. After some discussion, she suggested they give out a volunteer award to someone who shows dedication to the club, to the trails, to the bike festival and someone who is passionate about cycling and passionate about the community and bringing everyone together.
“It’s exactly what Robbie would want,” Maria said. Every year, they pull together donations from some of Robbie’s favorite places to give to the volunteer(s) of the year. The award recipient(s) also get a special mug. “Because Robbie would want us to be celebrating him with a mug full of beer.”

    Nick Chapman (center, left) and Megan Carr (center, right) received the 2024 Robbie Gast Ride On Award on Saturday for their volunteerism and commitment to bicycling and the Fat & Skinny Tire Festival. Chad Kuhn (second from left) received the Dick Katte Award. They are pictured with past volunteer award recipients, festival organizers and members of the Gast family. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

Nancy Gast, Robbie’s mother, said Robbie was all about combining the best of everything - riding and racing, friends, family and having fun.
“He and the group believed that a bike festival would be a great way to bring together all of the good things - riding and racing, friends, family and having fun. He and the club were not afraid to work hard, collaborate and be willing to help wherever it was needed to make Fat & Skinny something everyone would enjoy,” she said.
She talked about how Robbie was the friend who was there when someone needed him.
Ella Gast, Robbie’s daughter, helped give out the gifts to the award recipients.
Greg said the festival doesn’t happen without all the volunteers and sponsors past, present and future.
In presenting the first volunteer award to Megan Carr, Greg said she’s newer to bicycling, has stepped in wherever it’s needed and makes the board’s job easier. She has a passion for cycling, the trails and the festival.
“And by the way, if you want maps drawn in immense detail to help you plan something, this is the girl to talk to,” Greg said. “We spent 18 years with our brains and chicken scratch to try to figure out how we set up a course. And in 30 minutes, she’s got a CAD drawing of where every piece of barricade goes, where the lights go. She’s also leading our education charge moving forward, and so thank you, Megan, very much.”
In presenting the second volunteer award, Greg said it was going to be really hard for him to give out.
“I’ve always hoped and dreamt that I could do this for this person. This person has stepped up a ton in the last few years, and I’ve had the privilege of riding along with Robbie and this other winner on a hell of a lot of amazing adventures. This person has jumped in to help with Fat & Skinny, jumped in on the board and has taken a huge leadership role with the trails, and I’m so excited to give this award to my best friend, Nick Chapman,” Greg stated.