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Rhythm and Ride

The Sun Valley Rhythm and Ride Festival, which stretched June 23-27, was a hodgepodge of events all tied together by a title that offered little explanation. From bicycle drag racing in Hailey to yoga by the Sun Valley duck pond and music in the field off of Sun Valley Road, the festival had more pieces than most people could keep track of.   

Despite the somewhat chaotic structure, those who showed up said they loved what they were participating in.

Will Caldwell, co-chairmen of the festival said he was approached by the Ketchum Events Planning Committee and asked to create a two-day music festival for summer.

"We recognize that the economy here has been in a down swing, and we feel festivals will help bring in more people,” Caldwell said.

While planning, Caldwell decided the festival needed an outdoor component and chose to focus on showcasing the area’s riding trails. After asking Greg Martin, director of the Wood River Bike Coalition, to get involved, the festival began its metamorphosis from two days of concerts into a five-day affair combining old riding events that used to exist independently with some new ones.

From left to right: Instructor Pilar Tumulo helps Carla Henrie deepen her downward dog stretch during an outdoor yoga practice by the Sun Valley duck pond Saturday, June 26. The practice was part of the Sun Valley Rhythm and Ride Festival.

The Pimps of Joytime play to the crowd in the Sun Valley Festival Meadow before the headlining band SambaDa Saturday, June 26. The bands kept both the adults and children in the crowd on their feet the entire show.

Sage Holter rides around the set course during the first Idaho Pump Track State Championship at the Ketchum Pump Track.  Holter won $30 for finishing in first place for the nine and under girls bracket.

 

“We chose bikes because a lot of people live here for that reason,” Martin said. “I came for the skiing but stayed for the riding.”

The festival suffered the mild glitches one might expect for a first time run. Some of the event times published in the newspaper were wrong, causing attendees to arrive early or late. Scott, a sport company, backed out of a bike demo because of concern about recent bike thefts in town, and during an outdoor yoga practice in Sun Valley, the sprinklers turned on, leaving both the people and their mats wet before being shut off.

Attendance for some events was low, but overall, the biking community supported the festival and came out to show it.

Although the distance between events made it impossible for any one person to attend everything, the festival succeeded in offering something nearby to residents and visitors of Ketchum, Hailey and Sun Valley. Caldwell said it is the first festival to encompass all three areas.

“It is a good thing to tie both ends of the Valley together,” Caldwell said. “We’re all in the resort economy together and should work and play together.”  

The wide variety of events failed to have a unified feel aside from the same list of people to thank being recited at each; but at each individual event, the feeling of community was strong and people were enjoying themselves enough that it did not seem to matter whether they understood the single event was part of a larger series that had some goal other than crossing the finish line.

The festival is scheduled to happen again next year, and after a somewhat scattered yet satisfactory first run, Caldwell said he hopes it will begin to establish the Valley as a biking destination.

 “We only have one road, but we have hundreds of trails,” Martin said, encouraging people who have never explored them to give it a try.

 

 Photography by Hailey Tucker