2011 Superior Bike Fest Cancelled

For the last nine years, the annual Superior Bike Fest has been a much anticipated event in Marquette every June.

But this year, organizers have decided that the race cannot and will not take place.

About 500 bike enthusiasts from across the Midwest traditionally participate in the weekend of racing festivities.

The race date is six weeks away, and event coordinator Jim Grundstrom says at least 200 racers are normally registered by now.

As of last night, there were only 58 signed up for this year’s event.

The Superior Bike Fest takes in almost $50,000 each year but costs around $40,000.

Grundstrom says with a shortage of riders like this one, going forward could create debt, rather than profit, so it was best to call off the race now and avoid a large potential loss.

The cancellation goes beyond affecting the riders and the organizers.

It’s a big economic loss for the region.

Pat Black from the Marquette Country Convention and Visitors Bureau says this will probably mean a loss of close to $2 million this year in added economic activity.

She says they were planning on working with hoteliers in Munising to send overflow customers for the race weekend to Alger County, so the decision will have a ripple effect there as well.

Organizers have no word yet on the fate of the event for next year.

They do plan to talk to racers from the past to find out why they chose to not take part this year.