24 compete in bike race
By SHANNON CLAYTON, Special to The NewsNEW MATAMORAS - Though the sky was dark and the ground was wet, 24 mountain bikers turned out for the inaugural Wayne Ultra race through the Wayne National Forest Saturday.
The race included the main 42-mile course and a shorter 25-mile "Almost Ultra" track. The route went over roads, up steep hills and across creek beds.
"This is more of an endurance event," said organizer and Marietta resident Drew Smithberger, 38.
The mountain bikers braved the threat of severe weather to compete in Saturday's inaugural Wayne Ultra bike race, part of the West Virginia-Virginia Ultra Series.
Although turnout was not quite what Smithberger was hoping for, the plan is to make the race an annual event.
Though the weather looked threatening, bikers still started the race enthusiastically, cheering as they crossed the starting line at the Leith Run Campground.
"It's up to the individual" to decide whether to continue if a hard rain started, Smithberger said.
Two checkpoints were set up with water and high-protein foods for competitors wishing to regain some energy during the course of the race.
West Virginian Andy Wiedrich won the men's open competition, completing the 42-mile course in three hours, 23 minutes and 21 seconds. In the single-speed competition, in which competitors' bikes have a single gear, Johnathan Martin of Morgantown claimed first place.
In the master class, featuring riders age 45 and older, Mike Boyes of Huntington had the fastest time. Verona, Pa., resident Holly Forsyth was the only woman to enter the competition, finishing the course in about six hours and 15 minutes.
Jason Leaman of Copley posted the fastest time on the 25-mile course, at two hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds.
