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Chattanooga wins Outside magazine's Best Town titleChattanooga Times Free Press and GetOut magazine were among the sponsors of the event Friday night.
Dave Campbell rode up to a little girl on his bike and popped a wheelie. His front wheel hung just inches from her face. But instead of being scared, she smiled and stuck her hand out, spinning his front wheel.
"All right!" he chuckled into his microphone, as the audience cheered.
Campbell and Nigel Kohring, part of the acrobatic bike show On the Edge, were one of several attractions for festival-goers Friday night at Miller Plaza in downtown Chattanooga. Some of the other attractions included food trucks, live music and the Miller Park fountain being turned into a play area for kids.
The celebration was in honor of Chattanooga winning the Best Town Ever competition by Outside Magazine earlier this summer.
Chattanooga beat out 63 other cities in a tournament-style online bracket. It marked the second time the city won the contest, the first time any city has won the award more than once.
Campbell and Kohring wooed people by jumping on and off 3-foot-tall balance beams on their bikes' back tire. Each rider capped the end of the performance by hopping onto their 8-foot-tall trailer. Campbell said he wishes they would visit Chattanooga more. The pair, both from Atlanta, spoke highly of the city.
"The people here aren't averse to people riding bicycles," Kohring said. "In other cities, like Atlanta, you could not do this. They're not as friendly toward cyclists."
The festival crowd, which started out slow and grew later in the evening, had to brave cooler weather and scattered rain showers for the festival.
Campbell and Kohring weren't the only people who thought Chattanooga was deserving of the award.
Daniel Leake, one of the attendees, is originally from Colorado. While the mountains are bigger out West, he still prefers the outdoor scene of Chattanooga.
"There was never the community feeling. There wasn't stuff like this," he said, motioning toward the throngs of people walking around M.L. King Boulevard. "I think because it's so big (Colorado), that it's really hard to find pockets of people, like groups of bikers that ride together."
Derek Haas has lived in Chattanooga on and off for five years. He also said Chattanooga is his favorite outdoor town.
"It's not a huge town," he said. "It's geared toward the outdoors in a way that most others aren't. It's surrounded by things really geared toward the adventurous type person. Opposed to most towns where it's a big city, but not a lot else outside."
Contact staff writer Evan Hoopfer at ehoopfer@timesfreepress.com or @EvanHoopfer on Twitter or 423-757-6731.