Festival peddles a communal message

The Rotorua Bike Festival begins in less than a week.

With less than a week to go, the forecast is fine and the Rotorua Bike Festival is ready to roll with 10 days of events that celebrate all things on two wheels.

The festival opens on Friday with two free events.

Sport Bay of Plenty's invitation to Go by Bike to school, work or play is in the morning, and there is a unique opportunity to ride the Rotorua Airport in the evening.

This will be followed by the, spectacular Flying Kilo straight-line time trial for licensed riders, which will be live-streamed on the festival website, thanks to local companies, Fever Pitch Visuals and bluedog media.

More than 600 entries are expected for Bike the Lake on the second Sunday of the festival. It is a chance to circumnavigate Lake Rotorua.

The 2W Gravity Enduro is almost sold out. It will preview the first round of the Enduro World Series in March and will feature current world champion Tracy Moseley from the UK.

"That's the great thing about our festival, it's all about community and participation ... it's really inclusive," said David Crowley, from the Rotorua Bike Festival Charitable Trust.

"You can rub shoulders with world class superstars."

The National Mountain Bike Championships are in the first weekend of the festival. These events will serve as a dress rehearsal for Crankworx.

Mr Crowley said for the Singlespeed World Championships in late 2010, "there were 1000 entries, including over 400 international riders from 29 countries and an estimated economic benefit of more than 2 million dollars."

All Festival events are free to watch or gold coin entry. -For more information visit www.rotoruabikefestival.com