Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
An estimated 650 people rode from the Trailhouse in Winona Lake to downtown Warsaw Friday for the Community Critical Mass Ride to help kickstart the Fat & Skinny Tire Festival weekend.
There are 340 people who are volunteering for the 21st annual bicycle weekend.
Kosciusko County Velo President Mike Cusick said they have record registration for the road races all weekend, and pre-registration has been greater this year than the total registration in previous years. He attributed that at least in part to the Fat & Skinny Tire Festival kicking off the new Midwest Cup Road Series.
“They’re the largest fields riding that we’ve had,” he stated shortly before the Zimmer Biomet Downtown Road Criterium began in downtown Warsaw.
Before the Community Critical Mass Ride, Cusick told the crowd about 15 committee members help bring the Fat & Skinny together.
“We couldn’t do it without the volunteers, without the committee and the partners that we have and the lead sponsors, as well,” he said.
KCV is focused on advocacy, education, events like the festival and the Winona Lake Trails, but especially the Winona Lake Bike Park, he stated.
“You may notice that we actually have started breaking ground on the bike park. So we’re going to be moving, I think, a significant amount of dirt starting Monday, and then the bike park build for this next phase is starting in June or July. So we’re hoping to have the first few segments, certainly done by this time next year, if not a little bit earlier,” Cusick said, but that can only be done with some additional fundraising because they have a little ways to go to bring the entire vision to reality. “But once we do that, we’re going to have a world-class bike park so we’re looking forward to that.”
He paid tribute to Joy Beeson and Kerry Rose, both who passed away in December.
“At first glance, they’re very different people. But they had that one commonality that binds all of us together, and that’s cycling,” Cusick said, in part.
Warsaw Mayor Jeff Grose said, “When I was elected three years ago, I told people I wanted to see our community continue to be a place - and I was going to support it - where we have neighbors serving neighbors while cultivating community. Only 340 volunteers serving and helping out. And then I think cultivating community, Warsaw, Winona Lake, the surrounding area, Kosciusko County, this is what it’s all about. I hope you enjoy this event and the entire weekend.”
Winona Lake Town Manager Adam Lohn said, “Really appreciate everybody coming out. This is kind of a kickoff to our summer season in the town, so appreciate all the support and everyone being out here.”
He thanked all the volunteers, and the sponsors as well.
“I’m looking forward to an awesome weekend of cycling,” Lohn stated.
K21 Health Foundation has been the title sponsor of the Fat & Skinny Tire Festival for many years. K21 has provided a $375,000 matching grant for the next phase of the fundraising for the Winona Lake Bike Park.
Rich Haddad, K21 CEO, said, “Every dollar matters and every dollar counts, so if you just want to make a small donation to the Bike Park. The vision for this Bike Park is going to be one of the most amazing places for people to come from all over the Midwest. It’s not just Kosciusko County, not just northern Indiana or Indiana, this is going to be an amazing amenity that just raises what KCV Cycling has led for a couple of decades now - which is to bring us into one of the most active and enthusiastic bike communities in all of Indiana.”
He said the Fat & Skinny Tire Festival doesn’t happen without a communitywide effort.
“I shouldn’t play favorites, but this is our favorite weekend of the year. I just want to wish you all safety, a great time and enjoy the weekend together,” Haddad concluded.
Mark Skibowski, president of the Kosciusko County Convention, Recreation and Visitors Commission (KCCRVC), one of the main sponsors of the festival, explained the KCCRVC administers the hotel tax, providing grants to nonprofits like KCV.
“We’ve supported this event for lots of years ... We want to say thank-you to you guys for coming out and supporting. Buy local,” Skibowski said.
Cusick also encouraged people to visit the local businesses over the weekend while taking in the Fat & Skinny Tire Festival.
The Community Critical Mass Ride then took off for downtown Warsaw where the Third Friday events were already underway.
Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce Events Coordinator Nora Christiansen said, “We are lucky enough to work with KCV and put on this amazing event. They handle all the bikes. They say words I don’t even know, and then the Chamber and downtown Warsaw puts on everything with the festival. So we handle all that side.”
The “fun things” that took place at Third Friday downtown Warsaw included the Wonder Wheels BMX Stunt Show on Center Street, food trucks, games, kids crafts and vendors, with the Fat & Skinny road races beginning at 7:30 p.m.
“We love that this starts our whole summer off,” she said.
Friday’s Third Friday was the first for the year. Christiansen said in June, the Third Friday will be the Summer Kick-Party downtown Warsaw. Fun activities for kids are being finalized, there will be the food trucks, the market and a community picnic area. America’s 250th birthday also will be celebrated at the June 19 event.
July’s Third Friday will be moved back to July 10 because the Kosciusko County Fair is a little later this year, she said. “That will be our ‘Downtown Hoe-Down,’ so we’re going to have a tractor show and we’re going to have a tie-in, hopefully, with the fair and everything that they’ll be doing, along with our normal Third Friday activities.”
Justin Kirk, from Carmel, races with the Texas Roadhouse team.
“We’re a team out of the Midwest. We’ve been around for 25 years,” he said.
This is his 10th or 11th year for participating in the Fat & Skinny Tire Festival.
“It’s one of our favorite races. We come up every year, come for three days. We get an Airbnb right in Winona Lake and it’s a great weekend for us,” Kirk stated.
He thinks it’s one of the better races in the Midwest.
“Just the atmosphere and the community participation is really a highlight, and just how well that the community supports the event really just makes it a great race,” Kirk said.
The Texas Roadhouse team raced Friday night in the criterium, as well as in Sunday’s. On Saturday, they planned to race in the road race in the 40+ Masters Category.
Kirk said the team races 30 to 40 times a year, all over the country. Next week, they’ll be in New Jersey and Pennsylvania; then in Washington, D.C.; Tulsa, Okla.; Wisconsin, St. Louis, Chicago and “all over.”
Nicole Schickel, with Oliver Winery Cycling based out of Bloomington, Ind., said they’re an extension of a former team, but still at its core the same team that’s participated in the Fat & Skinny for over 10 years.
“We love the community. We love the multi-day racing, love how all the crowds come out and cheer us on downtown. You can’t really beat the community, but just that competitive spirit of all the other riders, too,” Schickel stated.
The team has 11 racers competing this weekend, and all are female.
“We’re a strictly female team, and we have anywhere from beginner races, who are very young; or beginner races who are in their 40s; and we have elite experienced racers that are racing in the pro fields; and we also have Masters racers who are categorized as over 40 years old. So someone in every single field this weekend,” she stated.
For more about the festival, visit the website at fatandskinnytirefest.com
