July 14, 2019  Dirt Fest PA 2019 Show Page ABOUT THIS EPISODE Ben Welnak and Ben Hall (aka MTB Ben) sit down before the start of Dirt Rag Dirt Fest Pennsylvania and share what the experience is like so far and what to expect.  Next episode: Doug Dalton from SRAM.  ABOUT DIRT FEST Maurice and Elaine Tierney started Dirt Rag in 1989, creating a magazine that provided an inclusive forum where readers shared their stoke for the riding, culture, and lifestyle of mountain biking. After having a great time at the legendary Jim Thorpe Mountain Bike Weekend, the pair decided that Dirt Rag was in a position to translate the magazine’s in-print stoke to an in-person “gathering of the tribe.”  The first edition of Dirt Fest took place in 1991 at Camp Soles, a YMCA youth camp east of Pittsburgh. The original event was decidedly chill. There was no vendor expo bristling with the bleeding edge of bicycle technology. Demo rides amounted to swapping bikes with a newfound friend. There was a lake, a bonfire, and a bicycle polo field. Nighttime entertainment consisted of an attendee strumming a guitar at the group bonfire—a far cry from The Earthtones jamming for a circus tent full of partying mountain bikers.  Read more about Dirt Fest HERE.