HoliMont Dual Slalom
HoliMont Dual Slalom
Fat tire racing comes to HoliMont this weekend
Fat tire biking was all the rage this winter, seeing its most popular season in WNY. People want to get up and get outside more than ever; and can you blame them? After being cooped up for almost two years, zipping through winter wonderlands on a bike sure sounds exhilarating. Fat tire bikes are designed to be ridden in the snow and through rough winter terrain. The sport is still newer to the world of extreme sports; over the last ten years it has gained lots of traction with winter ultras and bike festivals becoming more and more popular, especially out west.
But look no further, the sport makes its debut this Saturday, April 9th at HoliMont as they will host a Dual Slalom. “It will be head-to-head in format with snowboard race gates and banked turns on snow,” Travis Widger of HoliMont told me. The race will be a citizen event with amateur competitors, “all are welcome!” Each rider will be given a chance to run each of the two courses, and the best combined time will win their heat. There will be a bracket style elimination based on seating from qualification runs.
Loud Performance bike and repair shop will provide various prizes ranging from gift certificates to free bike tunes and other products. Two HoliMont Bike Park Season Passes will go to the overall winners of the event curtesy of HoliMont. “This is an extremely exciting event for us. We are passionate about cycling, whether it be summer or winter,” Colton Mulkins of Loud Performance conveyed. They hope to show with this event that they are here to help build upon the cycling community in Ellicottville. “We have been working closely with Travis and Chris [Perks] at HoliMont to build a fun and challenging course. We have taken our bike knowledge and their ski and snow sculpting knowledge and have come up with an awesome layout.”
The best place to catch the action will be at the bottom of Grasshopper slope. The event can be accessed by walking from the main parking lot between the Race Center and the maintenance buildings, or from the small parking lot at the base of Meadow Chairlift.
Loud Performance, a full service bike and snowboard shop located in Bemus Point, NY will be there with their tents promoting the inaugural event. They also have a second location right in the village here. You can find Loud Underground below Ellicottville Coffee Co. “We specialize in mountain biking, winter fat biking, and have close to 10 miles worth of singletrack trails right behind our shop in Bemus where we host evening rides, as well as kids group rides throughout the summer,” said Mulkins. “We are focused on building a community around the love for the outdoors.” At Loud Underground here in Ellicottville, they offer bike and snowboard sales and services, gear and accessories, and bike rentals. “Our goal here is to service the needs of those looking for a fast and efficient service to get you back out and adventuring as quickly as possible.”
For Saturday’s event, you can sign up day-of at the HoliCenter or online at holimont.com. There are two entry fee rates for the Over the Bars Dual Slalom: HoliMont Members will pay $25, and Non-Members will pay $55. This cost covers event registration and utilization of Grasshopper slope’s new conveyor lift.
HoliMont will be hosting more summer events and has plans to expand their bike park. “Schedule to be announced later this spring,” said Widger. “The bike park crew has already started cleaning and prepping trails for the riding season and will be working on new features and additions this summer.” The Bike Park Season Passes are on sale now at HoliMont.com. The projected season dates are May 28th-Oct. 9th, Saturdays and Sundays 10:00am-4:30pm, adding in Fridays noon-7:00pm starting June 17th.
Winter Fat Biking has grown substantially in the past five years. Loud has worked with local mountain bike organization, WNYMBA (Western New York Mountain Bike Association), to help develop an extensive network of groomed Fat Bike trails for the area. “We have ten groomers scattered throughout Western New York, two of which are in Ellicottville, that are dedicated to grooming single track for Fat Biking,” said Mulkins.
This weekend’s event aims to draw more attention to winter cycling and should be exciting to watch! Get geared up for the 2022 bike season and come support the competitors this Saturday!