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Fat Tire Festival Rolls Into Peekskill

Hundreds of mountain biking enthusiasts converged on Blue Mountain Reservation Sunday for the annual Fat Tire Festival, sponsored by the Westchester Mountain Biking Association (WMBA).

By 11 a.m. more than 400 riders had already arrived for a day on the trails with fellow their mountain bikers.

"The weather is holding up and we have a huge turnout" said WMBA executive Chris Murray.

"The parks guys said the parking lots are full." 

Bikers took part in organized rides through the preservation, as well as informative seminars, trick riding competitions and raffles.

Several area bike vendors were on hand to show off their products and many allowed test rides. Many cyclists got advice on bike maintainance and repairs.

The event also featured food vendors and several sponsors, such as REI Sports and Subaru automobiles, who brough several models to the event.

WMBA executive Tim O'Connell said the event, now in it's 16th year, attracts bikers from all over.

"Blue Mountain is one of the premier riding locations in the northeast, so it works out well for us that we have a great park here with great trails," O'Connell said, noting the event catered to riders of all experience levels. 

"We have a ride board up with beginner, intermediate and advanced rides going out hourly throughout the day," O'Connel said.

Despite a down economy, O'Connell said the sport continues to grow rapidly. 

"This is a young sport, it's only been around for 25 years, so in the eight years I've been running it it's grown tremendously," O'Connell said. "We see more and more kids coming out all the time. In fact we keep running out of the small shirts."

 

 

 

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