Three days of mountain biking, live music and craft beer are sure to attract riders from near and far for the Tahoe Fat Tire Festival from Sept. 13 to 15 at Squaw Valley. After a nearly 10-year hiatus, the festival returned to Tahoe last year with the help and inspiration of the Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association (TAMBA) and event co-founder Greg Forsyth. Following a successful return last year, the event has evolved to include a wider variety of events for all levels of riders and non-riders.
“We adjusted our plans based on what happened last year and what wasn’t well attended,” said Kevin Joell, TAMBA president. “We dropped some races and increased spectator events. We’re trying to create something for people who want to watch and hang out.”
In addition to race-centric events, this year’s festival will include back-to-back kids’ races, a BMX aerial show, bike limbo and a bunny hop competition. Additionally, recreational riders can win prizes during the Tour de Squaw Poker ride at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Bike clinics
The festival kicks off at 9 a.m. on Sept. 13 with the Queen of the Mountain Downhill Clinic by Shine Riders Co. with coaches from the Shine Gravity Race Team and local pro riders from Squaw Valley. All abilities are welcome to join these woman-specific clinic focused on increasing confidence and control in jumps, drops and other downhill techniques. The clinic will include six hours of coaching and guided runs on the festival course. This clinic costs $150 and includes entrance to the festival, course inspections, raffle tickets and schwag. A portion of the money goes to support the Shine Gravity Race Team, a nonprofit organization focused on inspiring female gravity mountain bike athletes.
On Saturday, pro rider Clint Claassen will host two clinics for beginning and intermediate riders looking to improve their skills. The clinics are free to festival attendees, but space is limited and open on a first-come, first-served basis.
In addition to the clinics, two group rides will take place during the festival. The Tahoe Sierra Century road ride will take place at 7 a.m. on Saturday and features 30-, 60- and 100-mile routes with challenging hill climbs and scenic views of the area. Lunch and dinner are provided with the entry fee and proceeds benefit North Tahoe school youth music programs.
For those who would rather ride dirt trails, Tahoe Mountain Guides will lead a 20-mile ride on the Tahoe Rim Trail from Brockway Summit to Squaw Valley. A $10 shuttle service will be provided at 9:30 a.m. at the TMG booth at the festival. The ride is open to the first 10 people to sign up.
Racing
The competitive highlight of the weekend will kick off on Sept. 14 with the Sierra Cup cross country finals at 9:30 a.m. The course is a 6-mile lap with 1,000-feet of elevation gain that begins on a service road before cutting onto a single-track trail that traverses the mountain and a downhill section taking riders back to the base area. The distance varies depending on category. Following the race, there will be a slew of kids’ races for riders 12 and younger, including Strider race categories.
The major event of the weekend is the USA Cycling Nor-Cal state Championships on Sept. 15. USA Cycling riders will be eligible to qualify for USAC championships, but the race is open to non-licensed riders, as well. The 2.7-mile course explores some of the most technical single-track trails found at Squaw Valley and covers nearly 2,000 vertical feet of downhill riding. The course will be open for practice daily throughout the festival. A $1,000 cash prize is on the line for the fastest times.
Take a break from biking
After a long day of bike events, take a break and enjoy a cold beer in the New Belgium beer garden open daily serving a variety of beers from its brewery in Fort Collins, Colo. Additionally, live music will be on deck each day from bands including Jelly Bread and Decoy.
Friday evening features a film festival on the Tram Promenade featuring the new Anthill Films video “Not Bad” and Coastal Crew’s “Arrival.” The film festival is free and open to all. A raffle will be held for those who purchased festival passes or entered races.
On Sunday morning, Shine Rider Co. founder Lindsey Beth Currier will host an outdoor yoga session to kick off the last day of festivities.
Festival passes
Spectators are welcome to watch and races and check out the activities in the Village at Squaw. Festival passes are needed to participate in the rides.
The Sierra Cup Cross Country race is $40 or $30 for women and junior racers. The Nor-Cal Downhill Championships is $40 and includes a tram ticket for Sunday. Kids’ Races on Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. are free with categories for Striders, ages 7 and younger and ages 8 to 12 years, with prizes for all participants.
Festival passes are $40 at the event or $30 for ages 21 and younger. Passes include a one-day tram ticket, two beer tickets, raffle ticket, festival T-shirt, pint glass and cowbell. The Poker Ride on Sunday and the guided ride on Saturday are an additional $10 each. A Sunday-only pass for the Poker Ride, beer tickets, raffle and cowbell are $25 at the event.
The Queen of the Mountain clinic is not included in the pass and is $150 for adults and $100 for ages 12 to 16.
How to help
The Tahoe Fat Tire Festival is a volunteer-driven event with all proceeds going to benefit the efforts of TAMBA and local bike trail maintenance.
“We’re trying to market Tahoe to mountain bikers as a world-class destination; it’s one of the driving forces behind the festival,” Joell said. “We’re trying to make this TAMBA’s signature fundraising event to raise awareness about what TAMBA does and raise some money to fund the trail work.”
Currently, TAMBA is hoping to hire a professional trail builder to help improve the existing Corral Trail in South Lake Tahoe. Plans have been approved by the U.S. Forest Service to work on the trail and TAMBA is close to reaching its fundraising goals. The group hopes to raise enough money by the end of the season so that construction may begin in spring of 2014. TAMBA also hosts two trail days per month where volunteers dedicate time to work on local trails that are in need of repair.
For more information about the festival, to register or to volunteer, visit tahoefattirefestival.org.
