WINONA LAKE — The Fat & Skinny Tire Fest wrapped up its 21st season of cycling events on Sunday with some impressive numbers.

They had more than 650 people kick off the festival on Friday with a massive ride from Winona Lake to Warsaw, hosted a new series of road races, and relied on 340 volunteers helping oversee 20 different events. 

On top of that, the festival has a relatively new home team of sorts with the emergence of Winona Racing.

Founders John Reidy and Tory Leonard run the team, and all of the 11 members are either from Kosciusko County or have close ties to the community. 

While there have been previous local racing teams, including Team Apex, Winona Racing established itself with a focus on recruiting local talent.

Standing outside of the team's headquarters on Administration Boulevard near the Village at Winona, where a full day of racing was underway Sunday, Leonard and Reidy said they want to build upon the cycling tradition established by the bike festival.

Winona Racing has support from KCV, the local cycling club responsible for Fat & Skinny.

“Obviously, with KCV, there's a lot of really strong cyclists in the community, but not all of them had an opportunity to get into racing,” Leonard said.

The racing season unofficially kicked off this weekend with the bike fest and will include other events in the Midwest.

Having a bike festival in your hometown has plenty of positives for the team.

In fact, Reidy, said there’s really no downside.

“I don't know any downsides. It's pretty fun, man," Reidy said. "It's fun racing around, and everyone knows your name and everyone knows who you are.”

Fellow team member, 26-year-old Chase Madsen, grew up in the area and enjoyed mountain biking before he headed to Indiana University and competed in the Little 500 bike race.

He said he could have joined other groups, but chose Winona Racing because of its approach.

“There's something really special about doing something more than the racing. And so this team is really grassroots. It's local. We are sponsored by local organizations, and so with that, we're incentivized to try and get local people into racing,” Madsen said.

To learn more about Winona Racing, check out their Instagram page. 

News Now Warsaw photos by Dan Spalding from Sunday's action:

[gallery columns="1" size="large" ids="131547,131541,131542,131543"]

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WINONA LAKE — Kosciusko County Velo (Better known as KCV), is shifting gears and moving into another fundraising goal after the organization paid off its mortgage for land that will be home to its future bike park.

The non-profit group announced on Tuesday night that it had paid off its mortgage and is starting a new round of fundraising for the future park along Piecerton Road on vacant land that is adjacent to the Winona Lake Mountain Bike Trail.

Amenities will feature a pump track, skills zone, bike playground, jump lines, and more.

Other aspects will include parking, a clubhouse with restrooms, and the opportunity for
expansion of the Heritage Trail Greenway to neighborhoods southeast of the park.

In 2021, KCV Cycling acquired 15 acres with the vision to build a comprehensive bike park for all ages that includes event space for Fat & Skinny Tire Fest and the Winona Lake Trail Fest.

Initial fundraising efforts have relied on personal donations, trail events, and grants from the Grace College Catalyst Corridor Initiative.

Other key supporters have included the Kosciusko County
Convention, Recreation and Visitors Commission (KCCRVC), and K21 Health Foundation.

KCV Cycling is now launching phase 2 and 3 with a combined goal of collecting $4.9 million.

A news release from the group said $1.7 million will be used for site preparation, gravel parking lot, bike playground, skills park, dual slalom, progressive jump lines and more. 

Another $1.5 million will involve construction of a paved pumptrack, clubhouse and additional amenities, beginning once Phase 2 is complete.

"We're excited to complete Phase 1 fundraising for the Winona Lake Bike Park,” said Mike Cusick, KCV Cycling President. “We've now paid off our mortgage and completed the initial design of the park. We are going to start building the bike park this fall while we continue to fundraise for the next two phases."

The upcoming fundraising already includes $1 million in grant money from the Grace College Catalyst Corridor Initiative, the news release said.

Site preparation will start this fall and construction will continue through 2026, the news release said.

"The Winona Lake Bike Park is a great addition to our community and region,” Rich Haddad, President & CEO, K21 Health Foundation. “It adds to the popular Winona Lake Bike Trails and connects to our greenways and neighborhoods. This not only provides additional healthy activities for our residents and will be a world-class place to introduce and develop the next generation of bike lovers."

KCV Cycling is currently seeking donations, grants, and sponsorships.

For more information on donating, visit kcvcycling.networkforgood.com or contact leaders at info@kcvcycling.org.

KCV is a volunteer-run, nonprofit focused on making Kosciusko County a great place to live, work, play and visit through bicycling. Going on its 22nd year, KCV hosts the popular Fat & Skinny Tire Festival, organizes additional events and riding opportunities for the public, educates elementary school students through the Tracey's Trailer Bike Education Program, and maintains the off-road trails in Winona Lake

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