The life of mountain biking legend Kelly ‘McGazza’ McGarry’s being celebrated by hundreds of his mates, and those he’s inspired, this weekend.
McGazzaFest, run by the Kelly McGarry Foundation and Queenstown Mountain Bike Club, has this year been included in the revamped Queenstown Bike Festival, which has been running over the past week.
One of the event’s organisers, Emmerson Wilken, says the idea behind the three-day McGazzaFest is to live the way the legend himself would have, in his favourite riding spots.
McGarry , a pro freeride mountain biker and X-Games athlete, died from heart arrhythmia, aged 33, while riding the Fernhill Loop Trail on February 1, 2016.
McGazzaFest starts at 6pm tonight with the ‘mega train’ — a mass-start group ride down tracks in Queenstown Bike Park, where McGarry
used to overtake as many riders as he could.
On Saturday, there’s a chainless race at the Wynyard Bike Park, a junior airbag session, and the McGazza Jam, and, on Sunday there’s a memorial ride on the Fernhill Loop Trail, before the bike fest wraps up at the Gorge Road Jump Park.
For the full schedule, see queenstownbikefestival.co.nz
