Growing by two days over last year's resounding success, the annual gathering of fixed gear bike enthusiasts spent Wednesday through Sunday riding, telling stories, swapping parts, building bikes and generally having a blast.
The 3rd International Fixed Gear Symposium drew 120 people ranging in age from 17-70, providing an diverse mix united by a common passion: low-tech bikes and their creation, modification and use. Coming from around the state and nation, attendees weighed in from Chicago, California, Ohio, Kentucky, Colorado, Maine and Iowa — all drawn to a unique happening offering something for everyone.
"We provide an interesting opportunity for people from everywhere to gather and discuss a common interest,” said Dennis Bean-Larson, founder of the Fixed Gear Symposium. "The people here go from a bona fide rock 'n' roll star to a hand surgeon to bike shop mechanics, college students and college dean.”
The different ages, educational levels or professions mattered little at the campground and meeting spot across the road behind Building 50, where tents large and small dotted the shaded lawn and bikes sprouted like mushrooms.
"It's like a party here, it's cool,” said Becca Stoloff of Ann Arbor, attending her first symposium.
Carl Nicolelli of Boulder, Colo., drove in for the event with his adult son, Sam. Both fans of fixed-gear bikes — he brought one to Traverse City and his son brought two — Nicolelli is drawn to the simplicity of the genre.
"There's not much there,” he said of the stripped-down bikes, usually spliced together with great ingenuity. "Like a lot of the people here, everybody scrounges stuff and puts it together, I got my frame for Christmas from Craig's List and the wheels were another gift.”
Under one towering tree in a space dubbed the bike field hospital, Scott McCollum of Champaign-Urbana, Ill., did what he does every day: tinker with bikes. With tools spread out in the grass Saturday afternoon, McCollum worked for a while on his 1937 track bike whose pedigree had a 1936 Olympic champion speed skater as the first owner. McCollum, the third owner, bought it in 2000 or so from an 84-year-old man who used to train on the bike.
McCollum was determined to prepare the ancient bike for the Bicycle Concours — a bike "beauty contest” — that night.
"There are some incredible bikes here,” said Fred Davidson, also of Champaign-Urbana, looking on. "Some interesting color combinations that you wouldn't necessarily think would work together but on a bike they do.”
"But it doesn't really matter what you ride as long as you ride,” he added.
In addition to the beauty contest, the Fixed Gear Symposium also hosted multiple rides, including ones on the VASA mountain bike trail, an in-town group ride, an alley ride, one on Old Mission Peninsula and a long ride in Leelanau County. Other features of the symposium included a hill climb, a trackstand contest at Friday Night Live, a mechanic's race, a skid contest and bike polo.
For more information about the Fixed Gear Symposium or the bikes in general, see the Web site at www.fixedgeargallery.com.