Cyclists take final turns on historic Fat Tire Race

By Sgt. Jason Edwards, Marshall Center Public AffairsSeptember 10, 2014

And they're off!
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Delicate balance
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GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany -- It was a bittersweet 88 minutes and 7 seconds for Richard Potterton as he bounced over rocks and roots, zipped between trees and slugged through mud for more than 15 miles on his way to the finish line of the 29th Fat Tire Spectacular Mountain Bike Race, Sept. 6.

"I like the course. It's challenging without feeling like I'm going to wrap my bike around a tree," said Potterton, the assistant registrar at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies here.

Potterton has competed in the race five times and was "not going to miss this one."

This was the last Fat Tire Spectacular Mountain Bike Race -- first and oldest in Germany -- to be held at Kean's Lodge, which, after being part of the Garmisch military community for more than 60 years, closed its doors Sept. 8.

The lodge will be turned over to German officials by the end of September, marking the last of three facilities in Garmisch-Partenkirchen to close as part of the European Infrastructure Consolidation. Alpental Golf Course closed in November 2013, and General Abrams Hotel and Dispensary closed in May.

Leigh Plowman, recreation director at Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, has been to all 29 races, either as an organizer or as a racer.

"A lot of the local Garmisch guys who are well-ranked in the world participated in this race," said Plowman.

"Regina Stiefl, a World Cup downhill racer, and her husband have raced. In fact, her husband raced in the first one in 1984," said Plowman, who added that the lodge was the backdrop to foster many American and German events and friendships.

For the past 22 years, the Fat Tire Spectacular Mountain Bike Race has been the finale for the Installation Management Command's U.S. Forces Europe Mountain Bike Championship Series.

In its final run, the race also served as the finale for Kean's Lodge, along with people reminiscing as a slideshow flickered memories in the background.

Memories like the German-American Friendship Shoot, camps by Child, Youth and School Services, and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America, training opportunities by U.S. and European military units, and events for Warrior Adventure Quest and Wounded Warrior Project, flashed across the screen.

"The Fat Tire Spectacular has provided a fun and competitive environment for racers of all ages and experience levels," said Jessica Roberson, manager of the U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria-Garmisch Outdoor Recreation.

As in past years, the race included a children's race, youth race, main event and awards ceremony.

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