BUCKHANNON – The Upshur County Trails has received over 50 registrations for its first official mountain bike race, organized by the West Virginia Mountain Bike Association.
The race is called the Upshur County Uprising and will take place June 30 at Upshur County Trails, the network of dirt-track trails that loop around Buckhannon-Upshur High School and the Upshur County Recreational Park.
The race will begin at noon, but members of the trail community and the organizers of the race will be at the site at 9 a.m.
Upshur County Trails member Julia Kastner said the group has landed several sponsors for the race, including Joey’s Bike Shop in Elkins, Try This West Virginia, the Upshur County Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Upshur County Parks and Recreation Department.
“Joey (of Joey’s Bike Shop) and his family are big supporters of our trails, and they’re doing a lot for the race,” Kastner said. “Joey tells us we’re going to have the best prize table in the whole race series.”
“Try This West Virginia has also supported us over the years with some mini-grants, and they are funding some healthy snacks and bike light kits for the kids who participate in the kids’ race,” she added.
The volunteer group also worked with the Upshur County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to compile an emergency plan to ensure the safest race possible.
“We’re really looking pretty good on registration numbers already, and I know we’re going to have a lot more these last couple of days, so we’re feeling good about attendance,” Kastner said. “We have folks already registered who are coming from Maryland and Pennsylvania, so we’re feeling good about the pull from all over this state and a couple of neighboring states.”
The race will also include closing traffic across B-U Drive off Route 20 when the race crosses that road.
“We want to let park users know on that day that you may need to leave a little extra time to get in and out of the park, and please be patient with us,” Kastner said. “We’re going to keep traffic moving as best we can, but there will be a hold-up as our race actually crosses that road, so thank you for your patience to the public.”
The race will include three different brackets for the main event, but there will also be a children’s race for participants 10 and under.
“The kids’ races will start at about 11 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., and those are free to any kid with a bicycle, and they’re all going to get a prize – that’s always a neat part of it,” Kastner said. “There’s regular-category racing for pretty young kids who are already mountain biking as well, but these kids’ races are for anybody who can ride a short loop in the grass and get cheered for.”
All participants on bikes are required to wear helmets for all events.
“We have over 50 registrations today, and typically, half of the registrations happen in the final two days, so we’re looking awfully good on registrations, and we’re excited about having a pretty serious event,” Kastner said. “Our online registrations are open until Friday night at about 6 p.m., but we do have registration on-site Sunday morning as well, so if they miss the pre-registration deadline on Friday evening, they can show up, but the day of registration only goes until 11 a.m.
Registration for races that begin at noon opens at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.
The link to pre-register for the race can be found here: https://www.bikereg.com/upshur-county-uprising#Register.
“We also want to encourage anybody from the community to come spectate, even if they don’t want to race, it’s a real party,” Kastner said. “We’re really excited to have our out-of-town visitors, but we would also love to have folks from here see the trails and the race.”
