Fat Tire Bike Week 2009

NEW for 2009: 40-mile Cross Country Race and Live Music
June 24-28, 2009

CRESTED BUTTE, CO – Since the 1970s, when locals started retrofitting old Schwinn paperboy bikes with multiple gears, Crested Butte has helped write the history of mountain biking and is home to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. This June 24-28, Crested Butte will host the world’s oldest mountain bike festival, the 29th Annual Fat Tire Bike Week.

“Fat Tire Bike Week is the granddaddy of them all,” said Scott Still, the Events Manager at the Crested Butte / Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce, “and the 2009 Fat Tire will have a larger Bike Expo and some great new events like the Project Rwanda Benefit Concert and the First Annual Fat Tire 40 mountain bike race.”

FTBW has a tradition of live musical performances, Still said. “We thought it would be great to transform one of the music events into a benefit concert to aid Project Rwanda, which is an organization that is helping to improve the lives of the Rwandan people through the use of bicycles. Plus, Project Rwanda is also increasing the awareness of the bicycle as an economical and eco friendly tool in this country and others all over the world.”

The new Fat Tire 40 mountain bike race will be a hit as well, explained Still. “This one will sell out fast – the field will be limited to 100 riders bringing everything they’ve got to 40 miles of classic Crested Butte singletrack.”

The benefit concert is free, but donations will be collected throughout the venue and all proceeds will go to Project Rwanda. The Fat Tire 40 costs $40 and includes a post race party. To view a complete Fat Tire Bike Week schedule or register for the race, got to
Fat Tire Bike Week