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| Mountain Bike Club starts season |
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| Written by Alisa Hart -Argonaut | ||||||
| Tuesday, 28 March 2006 | ||||||
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The University of Idaho Mountain Bike Club opened its season this
weekend with the Devil’s Slide race at Hell’s Gate State Park in
Lewiston. Despite the pouring rain, volunteers spent much of Saturday
setting up the six-mile course and several competitors showed up for a
pre-race ride. The race took place Sunday, and more than 50 bikers came from areas such as Moscow, Coeur d’Alene, Spokane, Olympia, Missoula and Bozeman to compete. “The race went really well. Sunday was sunny, the trail dried up and conditions were perfect,” club officer Jeremy Pinto said. “Because this race filled a gap in which races would usually be held elsewhere, everyone was happy to see something going on.” Several UI students placed well in the race. Maike Holthuijzen and Heather Wetherbee, who are not members of the club, placed in the top three in the women’s beginner division. Holthuijzen placed first with a time of 0:42:39 and Wetherbee came in third. Rhonda Pinto finished first in women’s expert with a time of 1:55:38, and Jeremy Pinto finished first in men’s expert with a time of 1:31:21. Two UI professors, Matt Morra and Bob Stephens, also competed and finished high, with a first place finish by Morra in the men’s sport 30+ category. “Although it’s just a small, local event, people get really excited for it,” Pinto said. “It was Joe Wagenbrenner’s first race and he pulled it off really well. It was a success.” Wagenbrenner, the race director, teamed up with the Moscow Area Mountain Bike Association and sponsor Twin Rivers Cyclists to put on the race. Many volunteers, including some from the UI team, also had a part in making the race a success. Sunday’s race was the first of potentially 10 races in three series for the club this season. The team hopes to travel to several races at Boise, Brundage, the Tamarack Resort and northern Washington. The Mountain Bike Club has been around for several years and is always looking for new participants. Historically, team membership has fluctuated from six to 20 racers per season, with a core of five to eight riders who compete in the races. Most of the races take place during the summer, but several occur when classes are still in session. Each race is divided into four categories: beginner, sport, expert and pro. Each of those categories is further divided by gender and age. A beginner race will generally consist of one lap and an additional lap is required as the category level increases. The length of each race varies. The trail course and terrain also vary with each race. Some races have huge elevation changes, which provides a much more challenging ride. “One of the races last year was held at Brundage, and there was a 1,000-feet gain for every mile,” club officer Nick Fuller said. “That’s pretty strenuous, especially since you were already up at six or seven thousand feet.” To prepare for the races, club members stay in good shape and ride whenever possible. Over the winter, the club has been practicing in Lewiston, but club members plan to take group rides once a week when Moscow Mountain thaws. Paradise Creek Bicycles is one of the team’s major sponsors and assists the club by giving discounts and helping to maintain the members’ bikes. The club also coordinates with the local group, MAMBA. “We work hand-in-hand with MAMBA and try to get a couple of trail days in the summer to help maintain the trails and do work on them,” Fuller said. The club’s next race, Barking Spider, is April 8 near Nampa. Fuller said the team is always recruiting and hopes more racers will join. The next meeting is 8 p.m. Thursday in the Idaho Commons Panorama Room, and anyone who is interested is welcome to attend.  Add as favorites (131) | Views: 2331
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