Fat, Skinny Tire Fest Riders Wow Onlookers In Winona
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WINONA LAKE - Soaring back flips. Speeding road races. Epic battles between mountain bikes and tree trunks. Live music. Corporate road rash. A Midwest movie premiere and, of course, enough kettle corn and sushi rolls to feed the masses.
According to Robbie Gast, of the Village at Winona's Trailhouse, it's all in a weekend's work for the third annual Fat and Skinny Tire Festival which was held this weekend in Winona Lake.
"We (had) a great turnout for the weekend," Gast said. "Our goal was to show people that a biking lifestyle is a fun and healthy way to live, plus there's so much you can do with a bike."
And with near perfect weather throughout the three-day event, an estimated 2,500 gathered to watch the numerous races, shows and safety presentations the festival offered.
The events included mountain bike races throughout the Winona Lake bike trails, a road race outlining the town's island and the annual orthopedic cup event, which pinned numerous volunteers from local companies against each other in a low-speed, high-energy relay race.
While many professionals from around the Midwest competed in the major road race, local participants competed in the smaller road races and the mountain trail circuits. In the trail races, local competitors did surprisingly well, according to Rob Gast.
Locals Mark Workman, Curt Kruckenberg, Mike Cook, Chad Salla and John Ryan all took podium-placing finishes in their events.
Though they might have finished in the tops of their class, not everyone fared as well as they expected in the wooded trail system.
"I got hit by a tree back there," Ryan, Warsaw, said. "And I'm pretty sure it hit me, because I was minding my own business, and that tree came out of nowhere."
Though many shared bumps and bruises similar to Ryan, no major injuries occurred during the trail races.
The same could be said for the Orthopedic Cup. Although many racers found the pavement unforgiving during bike exchanges and sharp turns, everyone appeared to enjoy themselves during the event.
"That race was a way to say thank you to all of the sponsors that helped make the weekend happen," Gast said during an interview before the weekend. "Although there are some major bragging rights for the winners, the idea of the race is for people to have a good time and have a little friendly competition among people they know."
This year's winner, Zimmer, easily rode their way to victory, eliminating Biomet's chances of winning the event every year of the festival. Zimmer's team consisted of Roger Nagel, Kimber Chang, Ottie Pendleton and Jeff Morley. Coming in second was the YMCA, followed by Symmetry Medical in third.
"The win consisted of a lot of kettle corn," Chang said while munching from a bag from one of the festival's food vendors. "That and some early morning laps in the gym."
In the main event, the Men's Road Crit, bikers raced along Esplanade Drive on Winona's island for more than an hour, averaging speeds as high as 32 mph.
After multiple lead changes, a few flat tires and a wreck which sent many racers into the pavement and security barriers, Reid Mumford, of the Illinois-based Athletes by Design Cycling Club, came in first.
Also showcased during the weekend was a BMX stunt show, an hour-long performance by bikers, some of which had previously performed in X-games and Gravity Game competitions.
An audience held its breath as bikers performed high-flying tricks off a jump ramp while other offered tricks on the ground, driving bikes with their feet and performing handstands while balancing on one wheel.
"It's always fun pulling off the big tricks and getting the crowd into it," BMX rider Joey "Whitesnake" Marks said. "And it was a really laid back show for us. I pulled out some tricks I usually don't do, because it was just a more comfortable crowd than what we get sometimes."
In between races and shows, attendants could shop around the many vendors' tents set up around the Trailhouse, listen to live music inside a beer tent, watch the premiere of a biking film or take any number of the Trailhouse's demo bikes out on a test drive. [[In-content Ad]]
WINONA LAKE - Soaring back flips. Speeding road races. Epic battles between mountain bikes and tree trunks. Live music. Corporate road rash. A Midwest movie premiere and, of course, enough kettle corn and sushi rolls to feed the masses.
According to Robbie Gast, of the Village at Winona's Trailhouse, it's all in a weekend's work for the third annual Fat and Skinny Tire Festival which was held this weekend in Winona Lake.
"We (had) a great turnout for the weekend," Gast said. "Our goal was to show people that a biking lifestyle is a fun and healthy way to live, plus there's so much you can do with a bike."
And with near perfect weather throughout the three-day event, an estimated 2,500 gathered to watch the numerous races, shows and safety presentations the festival offered.
The events included mountain bike races throughout the Winona Lake bike trails, a road race outlining the town's island and the annual orthopedic cup event, which pinned numerous volunteers from local companies against each other in a low-speed, high-energy relay race.
While many professionals from around the Midwest competed in the major road race, local participants competed in the smaller road races and the mountain trail circuits. In the trail races, local competitors did surprisingly well, according to Rob Gast.
Locals Mark Workman, Curt Kruckenberg, Mike Cook, Chad Salla and John Ryan all took podium-placing finishes in their events.
Though they might have finished in the tops of their class, not everyone fared as well as they expected in the wooded trail system.
"I got hit by a tree back there," Ryan, Warsaw, said. "And I'm pretty sure it hit me, because I was minding my own business, and that tree came out of nowhere."
Though many shared bumps and bruises similar to Ryan, no major injuries occurred during the trail races.
The same could be said for the Orthopedic Cup. Although many racers found the pavement unforgiving during bike exchanges and sharp turns, everyone appeared to enjoy themselves during the event.
"That race was a way to say thank you to all of the sponsors that helped make the weekend happen," Gast said during an interview before the weekend. "Although there are some major bragging rights for the winners, the idea of the race is for people to have a good time and have a little friendly competition among people they know."
This year's winner, Zimmer, easily rode their way to victory, eliminating Biomet's chances of winning the event every year of the festival. Zimmer's team consisted of Roger Nagel, Kimber Chang, Ottie Pendleton and Jeff Morley. Coming in second was the YMCA, followed by Symmetry Medical in third.
"The win consisted of a lot of kettle corn," Chang said while munching from a bag from one of the festival's food vendors. "That and some early morning laps in the gym."
In the main event, the Men's Road Crit, bikers raced along Esplanade Drive on Winona's island for more than an hour, averaging speeds as high as 32 mph.
After multiple lead changes, a few flat tires and a wreck which sent many racers into the pavement and security barriers, Reid Mumford, of the Illinois-based Athletes by Design Cycling Club, came in first.
Also showcased during the weekend was a BMX stunt show, an hour-long performance by bikers, some of which had previously performed in X-games and Gravity Game competitions.
An audience held its breath as bikers performed high-flying tricks off a jump ramp while other offered tricks on the ground, driving bikes with their feet and performing handstands while balancing on one wheel.
"It's always fun pulling off the big tricks and getting the crowd into it," BMX rider Joey "Whitesnake" Marks said. "And it was a really laid back show for us. I pulled out some tricks I usually don't do, because it was just a more comfortable crowd than what we get sometimes."
In between races and shows, attendants could shop around the many vendors' tents set up around the Trailhouse, listen to live music inside a beer tent, watch the premiere of a biking film or take any number of the Trailhouse's demo bikes out on a test drive. [[In-content Ad]]