Indiana Mountain Bike Festival comes to area this weekend

Biking enthusiasts will come together Saturday and Sunday for the second annual Southern Indiana Mountain Bike Festival. The event will be held at Valley Branch Retreat in Nashville, Ind. Over 1,000 people are expected to attend the event over the two-day period. Attendees will be able to test the 2004 models of mountain bikes from a variety of vendors, including Gary Fisher Bikes and Trek Bikes. \nLast year only 250 people attended the event due to no advertising and poor weather. \n"It was great to see that people still came out, even though the weather was terrible," said Lance Bartels, a part-time employee of Valley Branch Retreat and son of the owner, Gary Bartels. \nThis year, with a better weather forecast and a different advertising approach, Brian Bauer, festival creator and owner of TPI Sports, which manages the event, said there will be a much better turnout. \n"Last year there was virtually no advertising," Bauer said. "This year I put out 2,000 paper fliers across the Midwest and have 30 commercials running on 92.3 WTTS. Hopefully, it makes a great deal of difference in the number of people who attend." \nParticipants of the bike expo can expect a wide variety of events. During the new bike demos, participants will be able to ride a 12 to 15 minute trail to test drive the bikes and expert riders will be available to give instructions on how to ride different, challenging trails during expert lead rides. Not only will there be chances for participants to hop on a bike, a women's and junior's bike clinic will also be offered. Participants will also be able to test drive the new mountain board, which looks like a skate board with oversized tires.\n"There will be a lot going on," said Lance Bartels. "People will be able to do a wide variety of things over the course of the weekend." \nGary Bartels, owner of Valley Branch Retreat, said the weekend may be focused on mountain bikes, but there is much more for people to enjoy. \n"This is a beautiful time in Bloomington," Bartels said. "The autumn leaves are gorgeous. It is a good time to be outdoors and appreciate what nature has to offer."\nMany of the attendees are expected to camp over the weekend. \n"Our facility is booked, and we couldn't be happier," said Bartels of the coming weekend. It is not necessary to camp in order to attend the Mountain Bike Festival. \nOn Saturday night, Valley Branch will also offer two different bands scheduled to begin at 7p.m. The Crown Hill Diggers and About the Fire will be playing classic rock for attendees to enjoy. \n"It really has come together nicely," Bauer said of the event. "There had been talk of a bike festival for a while; it just took someone to make it happen." \nBoth Bauer and Bartels said they are hoping the event takes flight and becomes something that people look forward to annually. \n"It is a great opportunity for people to come together and enjoy the autumn leaves and talk to others with a similar interest in mountain biking," Bartels said. \n-- Contact staff writer Monica Dix at mcdix@indiana.edu