Organizers of the second annual Fat Tire Festival, the Rapid City mountain biking event, have added new events such as the Fat Tire Film Festival, a Super D downhill race down M Hill and a two-day Mickelson Trail Ride.

This year's Fat Tire Festival runs from Friday to Monday, May 23-26.

Last year's beginning festival attracted about 300 riders and volunteers. Bikers came from Maryland, Arizona, Oklahoma, California, Washington, Colorado, Minnesota, Iowa and Wyoming to participate, according to Jerry Cole, one of the organizers.

This year, organizers hope to double that number, Cole said.

The 2008 festival will include rides, races, raffles, demonstrations, social gatherings and a barbecue.

The film festival, on May 24, will screen a selection of short films from filmmakers throughout the world and award top honors in the list categories.

It will feature a showing of "Seasons," a new movie from a group of mountain bikers known as The Collective. In addition, a number of mountain-biking short films will be screened.

The reason for adding the low-impact, noncompetitive Mickelson Trial ride, Cole, said, is to offer a variety of bicycling experience for various skill levels. "Last year, a good percentage of the riders were beginners and intermediates," he said. "We're trying to offer a variety of off-road riding."

Those are the folks who would like to watch but not ride in the more competitive events such as the Cowboy Hills Sprint Climb - a 527-foot vertical rise in .86 of a mile - the Super D downhill or the Rage on the Rim cross-country race.

In addition, organizers have scheduled a number of Black Hills backcountry single-track tours ranging from six miles to 25 miles. Members of the Black Hills Mountain Biking Association will serve as guides on the tours.

For more information about the Fat Tire Festival, go to www.bhfattirefestival.com