Articles

Three Rivers Festival Tour History

August 2019 - by Kent Ellis

The year was 1971. Richard Nixon was president, the first microprocessor was created, the voting age was lowered to 18, Disney World opened in Florida, Apollo 14 launched for the 3^rd mission to the moon, the Pentagon Papers were published – and Three Rivers Velo Sport hosted the inaugural Three Rivers Festival Tour.

The first Three Rivers Festival had taken place two years prior (in 1969) – the same year that our own Three Rivers Velo Sport cycling club was founded. The early club members got together and decided to host an organized cycling tour in conjunction with the young Three Rivers Festival. I don’t have any records from the earliest years of the tour, but, I’m certain that the rides were terrific and well attended.

I’ve culled through the newsletter and Festival Tour registration archives to put together a brief history of the tour. The table below lists the start locations, route destinations and attendance where I could find the information.

From 1981 through 1989, the Festival tour started at a Ramada Inn that was located at the intersection of Highway 14 & I-69 (now Klopfenstein Inn). Can you imagine starting an organized ride today anywhere close to that area? The first few years, the routes traveled to Roanoke, Huntington, Andrews and Salamonie – probably very close to the routes followed from Homestead in later years. In the mid-late ‘80s, the routes went to the South Whitley/North Manchester area. Attendance in those years ranged from 413 to 760.

The years of 1986 through 1991 were the halcyon years for the Festival Tour with attendance figures ranging from 600 to 760. Greg Lemond was winning the Tour de France, Kevin Costner had starred in a cycling movie, “American Flyer”, in 1985. These events and, I assume, fewer organized tours helped to drive the registration – aside from the fact that the Festival tour was a premier cycling experience.

In 1990, the start location moved to Homestead High School and stayed there through 1997. The routes from Homestead traveled to Huntington, Largo & Wabash. From 1994 through 1996, the tour included a double metric century; the double metric was added in 1994 in commemoration of the club’s 25^th Anniversary. Attendance in those years ranged from 300 to 700, dropping into the lower numbers in 1993.

In 1998, the start location moved to the Allen County Fairgrounds and the routes travelled to Huntertown and Avilla. The tour remained at the Fairgrounds for only two years due to scheduling conflicts, moving to Carrol High School in 2000, following the same routes. In 2000 & 2001, the tour even included gravel ride routes and a road race. Attendance ranged from 300 – 425 in those years.

In 2002, the start moved to Hickory Center Elementary School, but kept essentially the same routes for a few years. At some time (I don’t have records to tell me when, but probably 2005), the routes were changed to the Churubusco loop ride that was used through 2018. Attendance through 2013 was fairly steady at 250 – 300 riders, but in 2014, bad weather led to a poor turnout and the attendance numbers never recovered, staying around 150 – 200 riders.

2019 marked Three Rivers Velo Sport’s 50^th anniversary, and a group of 3RVS members suggested revamping the Three Rivers Festival Tour as part of the celebration. A new start location was established at the Sweetwater Performance Pavilion, with routes traveling to Columbia City, Larwill and the Tri-Lakes region. Registration rebounded to 271, setting the stage for future increases in attendance as word about the terrific routes and ride venues spreads throughout the Northern Indiana cycling community.