Racers ride hard and eat dirt
- posted: 16 Oct. 2007
- scrollsports@byui.edu
Twenty-five mountain bikers anxiously awaited the start of Saturday morning’s Mountain Bike Race.
“Ready, set, go!” said Andree Anne Lemire, a junior studying exercise and sports science and coordinator of Outdoor Events.
The bikers cheered excitedly as they started pedaling.
The race, held at Badger Creek, ran along a five-mile course. Beginning riders went around the course once, while advanced riders went around three times.
Most of the racers were not avid competitors; they just wanted to have a good exercise.
“I’d like to get into mountain bike riding, so that’s why I did this,” said Jordan Ford, a sophomore studying general education.
Some of them were experienced bikers, though.
Keith Larsen, a junior studying recreational leadership, rode his bike from Alaska to Florida last fall. He and a friend went across the nation asking for donations for a cure for cystic fibrosis. They raised about $6,000 for the cause.
Saturday’s race started out with everyone keeping pace with one another. Shortly after, two riders started to distance themselves from the pack. It didn’t take long for misfortune to occur.
Larsen flipped his bike and found that his chain was loose. While he was fixing his bike, Jared Hess, a sophomore studying construction management, passed him, but also met difficulties at the bottom of another hill, giving Larsen the chance to retake his lead.
The two remained conscious of each other throughout the remainder of the race. With each consecutive lap, the pressure mounted.
In the end, Larsen finished as champion of the advanced bike riders’ competition, followed closely by Jared and Tyson Scott, a freshman studying general education.
The winner of the beginners’ competition was Michael Wells, a freshman studying elementary education, followed by Ford.
The slogan of the event was “Ride hard or eat dirt.” The players lived up to that slogan in the rough competition shown throughout the race. But in the end, as Grant Cowie, a senior studying recreational leadership and the outdoor recreational director, said, “You just gotta ride hard or you’re gonna eat someone else’s dirt.” 
