Red Dirt Fest Encourages Anyone To Try Mountain Biking

Saturday’s instructions were as simple as grab your bike, prepare for some fun and hit the trails.

“We do a lot of work, volunteer maintenance and otherwise all year long and this is the one day where it is; get on your bike and have fun. There is no races, it’s just have some darn fun,” said Aaron Hautala, Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Volunteer President.

Red Dirt Fest was created to showcase the area’s unique trails by giving anyone the opportunity to give mountain biking a try.

“We cater to families; you will see moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas and the little tykes riding on the trials. We just have a blast introducing families and new riders,” said Ron Plinske, Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike PR Manager.

All age levels and skill levels were out on the red trails over the weekend enjoying a variety of routes led by educated volunteer guides.

“It’s not everything you see on TV with the big giant jumps and everything. Anybody can do it; we have trails for all levels,” Plinske said.

As part of Red Dirt Fest, bikers could choose between 10 different rides to go on.

“You laugh your butt off because they are so much fun, it’s like being a kid again. I am going to have my 63^rd birthday in a week and I feel like a kid when I am out on the trails. It’s really entertaining and fun,” said biker Lemoyne Corgard.

“What it’s all about is seeing people on bicycles and happy. If you look around here you don’t see too many people frowning and that’s what it is all about here at Cuyuna too. We want to revolutionize the whole community based on cyclenomics and make good things happen,” Hautala said.

In addition to the biking community in Ironton growing, so are the businesses contributing to the success of the Cuyuna Mountain bike trails.

“We have businesses moving to town to cater to the visitors, we have new bike cafes, we have Cuyuna Brewery opening and we have new restaurants opening. It’s really exciting to see the community really starting to see the excitement of new visitors,”

Excitement was in the air and red dirt on the bike tires resulting in yet another successful Red Dirt Fest.