|
Pedro's Festival 2007 may be history, but if you missed it - or
were there and want to relive it - check out
this video on YouTube.
7.02.07
Pedro Rides Again
Pedro's Festival, the biggest non-competitive mountain biking
event in North America, kicks off July 13.
A rider catches air at Pedro's
Festival.
When the
first Pedro’s Festival was held in 1995, it easily could have
been the last. That weekend, Hurricane Opal swept through the
region, bringing with it torrential rains, powerful winds, and
spelling likely disaster for all outdoor events.
But organizers went through with the festival anyway. And, in
Woodstock-fashion, attendees embraced the foul weather, got
drenched and created a Mud Bog race.
“If you ask someone who was there about it, they don’t remember
having it rain,” says Terry Fina, the festival’s event director.
“They only remember the good times.”
Today, the annual festival in the hills of western Massachusetts
has morphed into the biggest non-competitive mountain biking
event in North America. And riders are still getting caked with
dirt in the Mud Bog race, which has become an event staple.
Organizers expect upwards of 2,000 people for the 3-day
festival, which begins at 8 a.m. on Friday, July 13 and runs
through 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 15. Attendees can buy single-day
tickets for $40, or buy a full three-day pass for $75 before
July 12. (The day of the festival, full passes go up to $80.)
Riders who stay all weekend can camp overnight.
This year, the festival is in Hancock, Massachusetts. And anyone
who has been to it in past years will tell you the event is
seriously laidback. It’s a place where novices can ride with
pros, and riders with no dough can demo $6,000 bikes. This year,
a sick line-up of professional riders will be on-hand giving
clinics and leading rides. Among them will be Trek pro-rider Sue
Haywood, who has won national championships on both the short
track and Super D, not to mention the 24-Hours of Adrenalin solo
world championship; Alison Dunlop, who is the 2002 World Cup
Champion and 2004 U.S. National Cross-Country and Short Track
Champion; and freerider pioneer Jeff Lenosky, among others.
Organizers have geared the festival to riders of all ages and
abilities. “It’s a very family-oriented event,” says Fina.
There’ll be rides for beginners who have never been on
singletrack, epic 50-mile slogs for experts, and everything in
between. Riders can also take advantage of clinics and demos of
all kinds, and enjoy other touches such as live music and a beer
garden.
For more information about Pedro’s Festival, check out
www.pedrosfest.com.
Besides a rundown of events, the site also features loads of
photos and movies from previous years.
-D.M.
Two riders test their skills on
the climbing wall. |
