Mountain Bike Race at Key Pen Park

Posted
Staff Report
Bikers pass the starting line at 360 Trails. Ed Johnson, KP News On a sunny day in February, 256 mountain bike riders from all over Western Washington rode a combined 468 laps on a 6 1/2 mile track through 360 Trails for a combined 3,000 miles of riding in a single day. The Feb. 12 event start and finish lines were at Gateway Park on State Route 302 near Wauna.
“What's lost in the data are the countless hours of volunteer trail building, maintenance and event coordination,” said Mark Michel, Key Pen Parks board president. “Riders praised the trails as some of the best in Washington. Our volunteers and park staff deserve limitless recognition for an outstanding network of trails.” The sun was out for Sunday's event following two weeks of heavy rain, snow and wind. “It was amazing the weather and trails were perfect for the race,” Michel said. Great conditions did not mean it was an easy race. With over 600 feet of climbing on each lap, it was a tremendous test of fitness, Michel said. Category 1 riders completed three laps; category 2 rode two laps; category 3 did a single loop. Ride times per lap ranged from 30 minutes to over an hour. Sunday's event was the first in a series of seven mountain bike races at different venues around Puget Sound organized by BuDu Racing. The next mountain bike event at 360 Trails will be the April 2 Poker Pedal, but trails are open every day. For more information, go to http://www.keypenparks.com/360-trails.html.

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