WINONA LAKE - Despite some inclement weather, the 5th Annual Fat and Skinny Tire Fest drew more than 4,500 spectators over the weekend.
Hundreds turned out to Mad Anthony's Friday night for a BMX demo before dark clouds rolled in and forced a postponement.
Saturday's weather turned cold and rainy in the early afternoon, forcing the cancelation of a BMX demo.DINO series mountain bike races took place in spite of the weather, as did road races. Cyclists were forced to deal with chilly temperatures and strong winds as they raced.
In complete contrast Sunday, the fest's biggest day in terms of races and fan attendance, was a picturesque spring day. Clear skies, little wind and near 80-degree temperatures greeted cyclists competing in a series of road races around "The Island" in Winona Lake.
In the final race of the day, the Criterium Cat 1/2/3, which featured pro cyclists from around the Midwest, saw Indianapolis' Harry Clark of the Calistoga Racing Team win the race.
On the women's side, Louisville, Ky.'s Tracy Tolson of Texas Roadhouse Cycling took the win.
Both Clark and Tolson were effusive about the Fat and Skinny Tire Fest and the local support.
"It's a great venue, great scenery," said Tolson. "This event is a lot of fun and a lot of people come out for it."
Clark echoed Tolson's sentiment.
"You know the community is going to come out for it," said Clark. "It's a great place to come to, and being up north, you get to meet different people."
Clark also enjoyed a certain characteristic of Northern Indiana.
"And it's flat, which is nice," joked Clark.
"This is an incredible venue," said Sunday's racing emcee, Rachel Fagerberg. "It's one of the best venues I've ever seen for a bike event and the community support is extremely noticeable."
There was something for everyone over the weekend as kids crowded the Village At Winona with bikes and skateboards, while also getting to see BMX riders do tricks.
"I just like to see the people doing the tricks," said Blake Durecki.
Kids also got to race around the island as well.
Ethan Geist won the ages 4-6-year-old race; Michael Lyle won the 7-9-year-old age group; while Dylan Campbell won the 10-12-year-old race.
Zimmer won the Ortho Cup Race. The Ortho Cup Race is an event with local teams racing around the island on cruiser bikes.
Event coordinators Greg Demopoulos, Robbie Gast and Alan Alderfer were all pleased with the attendance and participation over the weekend.
"We've seen increased entry for all the events this year," said Gast.
"We're really pleased with the turnout," said Demopoulos, who along with coordinating the event was there as his wife Maria welcomed a daughter, Eva Grace, into the world at 5 a.m. Saturday before heading back to the bike fest at 8 a.m.
Alderfer, whose company Alderfer, Bergen and Co. sponsors the local cycling team, echoed Demopoulos' and Gast's sentiments.
"This was a great weekend for the event," said Alderfer.
Due to lack of space, the full results from the 5th Annual Fat and Skinny Tire Fest will run in Tuesday's sport section of the Times-Union.
