GnomeFest Ocho

GnomeFest-kinda like the Chequamegon on crack? No, that's not quite right, there still is a race...kinda (the Dirt Cat) and celebs (Gomez, Cale, Joe, Marty, Mark......) and a h*ll of a lot of bikes and I'd have to say even more fun.  Granted...non-conventional fun, whatever that means.  I know a lot of cars pull into the Levis Mound parking lot and wonder what the heck is going on.  Tents, bikes, dogs, kids all running around (tents?) in a communal mountain bike heaven. 
This is the fourth installment held at Levis Mound and I'm so happy GF has come our way and landed here.  It has been great exposure of our trail to many people who have never been here.  For the most part, I think riders have enjoyed what we've done in making a great trail system and being as good a host as we can be.  For myself, it was the first time all year I felt like a mountain bike rider again.  I wasn't really a photographer this weekend, just had a camera around, although I did tell someone I was from "Dirt Ride" magazine seeing as I had my big camera slung around my neck.
What follows are a few images of GF Ocho that I like and will remember of this years' installment.

Friday Night Derby Warm-up

The derby is a random bike race where the point is to be the last rider....errrr, riding.  The circle of circling riders gets smaller as one after another is knocked out or dabs.  A derby around a raging bon-fire is a bit more interesting and for the riders, more motivating!

Derby Spectators

The Fire Rider

The Knight? of the Dwarf Cycle

The "Dwarf Cycle figure 8 race of Death" is an interesting competition to be sure.  Costumes are a bonus and sometimes crowd participation is a bit much.  It's single elimination and involves trying to ride those tiny kids bikes around a figure 8 race course...more or less.  Who ever or whatever is across the finish line in one piece wins the round.

Dwarf Cycle Battle

It's all about the Bike

Mayor Bethany

The Fatbikes and Friends

Gary and Bethany are two of the instigators of this whole Gnomefest madness and who brainstormed up the idea is anyones guess.  I'm sure beer was involved.  I'm happy to have befriended them and it's awesome to be around their enthusiasm of bikes and bikers.