Henry Clay 30K

Story by Kirk Morrison
------------------------------
Rich Allen & I headed down to Coopers Rock State Park (outside Morgantown, WV) to race in the 25th edition of the Henry Clay 30K mountain bike race. Last year’s Henry Clay 30K was my first WVMBA race and I was struck by the beauty of this park as well as the fun (and challenging) trails. After spending this summer trying to develop some mountain bike skills, I was excited to head back down for this year’s 25th anniversary race.

The weather was good with dry trail conditions, partly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 80’s. The course changed from last year so that (instead of riding one big loop) we rode an 8 mile loop with 2 laps for Sport and 3 laps for Expert. Sunday’s course was rocky but fast with almost no muddy sections. Thankfully, Richy and I both rode with no major mechanical issues.

At the end of the day Richy finished in 3rd place in a very competitive Sport Grand Masters (55+) group. Richy’s finishing time was only 65 seconds behind the 1st place winner of his class and 17 seconds behind the 2nd place finisher !

I ended up finishing in 4th place in the Sport Masters (45+) group.

Gunnar and Betsy Shogren organized this race (along with many great volunteers) and did an excellent job. The course was in super shape with clear arrow markings and plenty of cheering spectators. After race festivities includes pizza, soda’s and even Nutty Bars ! This remains as one of my favorite Mtb races …. Highly recommended !

http://www.iplayoutside.com/Events/?eid=2012/08/13911r.html

Thanks,

Kirk