
The annual ride known as the ‘Mega Train’ kicked off McGazza Fest— a multi-day mountain biking event held since 2016, in mountain biking pro Kelly ‘McGazza’ McGarry’s honour.
Kelly McGazza was a world-renowned rider who passed away after a cardiac arrest, aged 33, while riding Queenstown’s Fernhill Loop in 2016.
The Mega Train was the opening event of the weekend's festivities, which saw riders start at Skyline, ride down Hammies and Original tracks and finish off at Atlas Bar.
Organiser Emmerson Wilken said "McGazza Fest is all about trying to make the most out of a day, just like Kelly would".
The weekend's festivities include Saturday morning’s Chainless Race, followed by the Kids Airbag Jam, coaching kids on Airbag and Mulch jumps — ‘‘Kelly used to do a lot of coaching with the kids so it’s trying to do a similar thing to that’’.
Saturday’s late afternoon Dream Jam, at Wynyard Bike Park, is a spectacle limited to 100 riders who must be QMTBC members.
Then on Sunday morning a Memorial Ride will involve riders biking to the Kelly McGarry table at the top of the Fernhill loop track where he died.
‘‘The idea behind it is to finish the ride he started’’ Wilken says.
McGazza Fest will wrap up with the popular Gorge Rd Jam on Sunday afternoon.