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Big Fat Bike Festival

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A low pressure weekend in Homer, Alaska

The Homer Cycling Club presents the Big Fat Bike Festival: a three-day event in late February 2012 including beach and trail riding (on fat bikes of course!) with a whole host of fun, non-biking events scheduled. Homer, Alaska has some of the best fat biking terrain in the world, so come join us as we celebrate the bikes that allow us to ride beaches and wilderness areas year-round. If you don't have your own fat bike, a limited rental supply is available. Be our "friend" on Facebook and please e-mail us with your questions at bigfatbikefestival@gmail.com

Big Fat Schedule of Events

2012 Festival Dates are Friday, Feb 24th - Sunday, Feb 26th

Friday Feb 24th:
5:00 - 7:00 PM - Big Fat Bike Art Show reception at the Nomad Yurt Village
6:00 PM - Meet and greet bonfire at Bishop's Beach with demos, beach obstacle course, fire and revelry

Saturday Feb 25th:
*Tides don't wait, so neither will our shuttle!!! Be prepared to be ON TIME and to MOVE!*
6:00 - 7:30 AM - Eat breakfast! (on your own)
7:30 - 8:00 AM - Check-in, load bikes and announcements at the Homer Elks Lodge
8:00 - 8:15 AM - Board buses
8:30 AM - Buses leave for Anchor Point and Diamond Gulch
9:30 AM - Begin the days' rides back to Homer on the beach. The Anchor Point to Homer ride is approx. 16 miles long while the Diamond Gulch to Homer ride is approx. 7 miles long.
Noon - 5:00 PM - Demos, time trials, fat tire unicycle, hot drinks, snacks, games, and obstacle course at Bishop's Beach. Anchor Point and Diamond Gulch beach rides end here.
6:00 PM - Reception and evening events at the Homer Elks Lodge
6:30 PM - Pasta dinner and beverages
7:00 PM - Raffle, live auction, People's Choice Awards
8:00 PM - Live Music (Goat Rodeo from Anchorage, AK) and Entertainment

Sunday 26th:
Trail Ride (Self-shuttle to rides on local trails). Locations TBA - conditions will determine where we ride!
Farewell meal and adult beverages at Alice's Champagne Palace

**Homer Cycling Club will be providing transportation for the Saturday ride. This is a one way ride, so you don't have to worry about retrieving your vehicle after the ride. This will give you more time to enjoy the other events.

***The Big Fat Bike Art Show at the Nomad Yurt Village is ongoing all weekend. Stop in when you have free time! It's in the neighborhood.

REGISTRATION INFO

Follow the Homer Cycling Club link below to register now!

All proceeds of the Big Fat Bike Festival benefit the Homer Cycling Club, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for cyclist rights on the local and state level, hosting bicycle and pedestrian safety and education events, and working with citizens to promote community and activity through cycling. Your support is greatly appreciated!

HOMER CYCLING CLUB WEBSITE: Link to the Homer Cycling Club website where you can register for the Big Fat Bike Festival through PayPal.

Call for Art Submissions

Details are down below.

Big Fat Art Show

Information about art submission

Big Fat Bike Festival encourages any and all to make an art submission.
The theme of the art show is Celebration of the Bicycle with an emphasis on fat bikes.
All art will be judged in a peoples choice format and we will have many awesome prizes.

Submissions can be but are not limited to:
Drawing
Painting
Sculpture
Photography
Video (yes video, we have small screens.) We ask that you keep the running time to less than 5 minutes
Mixed media
etc...

Submissions should be sent to us no later than February 17th
Send submissions (show ready) to:

Big Fat Bike Festival C/O Bjorn Olson
Po Box 237
Homer AK, 99603

Big Fat Bike Festival and the Homer Cycling Club accepts NO responsibility for lost, stolen or damaged art, but with that said we will treat your submissions with the utmost respect and do everything in our power to let no harm fall onto them.

If you plan on making a submission but will be unable to join the event please make arrangements for us to get your art back to you.
Also, if you wish to put a price tag on your art we ask that you donate 15% of sale price to Homer Cycling Club.

Winter Riding

Local area Fat Bike videos

Here are a few short videos of what to expect from Homer Fat Biking.

In the Press

Fat Bike article in the Alaska Dispatch: Article about the growing popularity of fat bikes.
Beach bike article.: Article about beach biking and associated ethics.
Fat-Bike.com: Fat-bike.com put the Big Fat Bike Festival on their homepage! They are also sending some swag. Awesome!

Business Support

links to relevant businesses

Here you will find a host of businesses that support Big Fat Bike Festival i.e. bike rental services, Homer lodging, equipment services, and some of our favorite Homer area businesses.

Seward Adventure Company: Seward Adventure Company is a fat bike guide service based out of Seward. They have a fleet of fat bikes to rent over the weekend in Homer. First come first serve.
The Driftwood Inn: The Driftwood Inn is offering 10% off of lodging for festival attendees. Stay in the historic inn or bring your RV and stay in the park. The Driftwood Inn is right in the middle of all of the festival events. You'll be walking distance to the beach, pub, grub, bakery, meadery, etc. Mention the Big Fat Bike Festival when making your reservation!
Cycle Logical: Homers #1 bike full service bike shop.
Free Spirit bike jerseys: Locally designed cycling jerseys guaranteed to catch the eye! Husband and Wife team, Alaskan artist/athlete Kathy Sarns and Cyclist Pat Irwin started their business with a bike shop/art gallery. With Pat's encouragement Kathy designed their first ALASKA GOLD RUSH cycling jersey, using Kathy's own original Gold Rush License plate design (that she created and which won the 1998 Best Plate in the United States Award) ! Yes, Kathy is the artist that designed the © Alaska Gold Rush License Plate.
Arctic Cycles: Arctic Cycles is a full service one stop fat bike rental service in Anchorage.
Ring of Fire Meadery: A Viking town needs it's Viking drink.
Nomad Yurts and the Yurt Village: Nomad Yurt Village will be hosting events for Big Fat Bike Festival.
Two Sisters Bakery: If you only buy one thing in Homer it should be a baked good from Two Sisters. " I wish I had two more hands so I could give this place four thumbs up". A quote I over heard myself say after a meal at Two Sisters. Rooms are available to rent. Breakfast and lunch served daily. Dinner served Wed - Sat 6-9pm.
Cook Inlet Keeper: Protecting Alaska's Cook Inlet watershed and the life it sustains since 1995.
Bunnell Gallery: To nurture and present innovative art of exceptional quality in all media for diverse audiences.
Alaska Ferry Adventures: These guys will help you navigate the Alaska State Ferry system and get you here to enjoy the beauty and community that is Homer.
Mauras Cafe: Delicatessen in Old Towne Homer
Old Inlet Bookshop and Mermaid Cafe: Good books, good food!
Fat Olives Restaurant: food prepared with a passion, and served with pride
Homer Jeans: Outfitting adventurers for over 25 years!
Fritz Creek General Store: You must stop everytime you head 'out east.' Located 8 miles out of town and on your way to rural trails and wilderness terrain, they sell everything from pizza and coffee to gas and booze. You can even check your mail. What a deal we say.
Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies: Celebrating 30 years of outdoor education and connecting YOU to nature in Alaska!
Fat-Bike.com: A resource for fat bike fans! Check out their events calendar for all events fat bike.

Guestbook Comments

Please feel free to leave comments but your best bet for direct communication with us is e-mail at bigfatbikefestival@gmail.com

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floorpumps Feb 22, 2012 @ 8:18 am | delete

great lens, thanks for sharing. floor pumps

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MJsConsignments Feb 15, 2012 @ 1:19 pm | delete

Sounds like great fun! When is it in 2013? I'm a bit too late to schedule it in for this year but my sister in law lives in Alaska and I plan to visit next year.

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hayleybird412 Jan 4, 2012 @ 8:39 pm | delete

We rode the beach yesterday from Diamond Gulch to Homer. What a beautiful ride! Bluffs and frozen waterfalls towered above and we had crisp views of volcanoes across the ocean. The sun was out and the beach was mostly frozen, but still rideable. Hope the conditions are as good as they were yesterday for the festival!! Fingers crossed.