Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 18, 1993 TAG: 9304180118
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
AGONY, ECSTASY IN HOLYLAND
PEOPLE WILL RACE anything almost anywhere. From cockroaches at carnivals to balloons around the world. So, why not bicycles in Holyland?\It was a rough day - and a rough initiation - for Lewis Whitt.
In his first-ever mountain bicycle race Saturday, Whitt didn't make it through lap one before being bounced from his bike by a rut in the off-road trail and nearly run over by a fellow rider.
"It's bad out there," he said.
It was bad on his bike, too, taking out his front brake and most of his gears. And to think, Whitt rode on the shortened, novice course, which didn't include Death Drop, Kamikaze Drop and the Rocks of Agony.
Those were left for the expert riders to tackle when the Thunder in Holyland fat-tire bicycle festival concludes today in Bedford County. "They can have them," Whitt said.
Holyland U.S.A. is a religious center and nature preserve located on Virginia 740 about five miles southwest of Bedford. Today's racing will decide Virginia's state mountain bike champion.
About 200 riders are expected to compete.
Saturday was reserved for beginners and to give today's racers a chance to familiarize themselves with the treacherous five-mile course. The trail climbs several small mountain ridges, crosses a stream, wades through a marsh and has enough hairpin turns to cause whiplash.
Whitt, 25, and his riding partner, Scott Jurey, 23, learned just how unforgiving the grueling course was as they hurtled down a hill toward Corpse Curve and encountered THE RUT.
The winning rider in the novice division, Erik Sonderquist, had noted THE RUT on an earlier practice lap and wasn't surprised when told it took out two of his competitors.
"I saw that coming," Sonderquist said.
Whitt managed to finish the race, but it was no easy task. Reduced to just three of his 18 gears, and with only one brake, he had difficulty managing the hills and eventually was lapped by Sonderquist.
"My whole body cramped up," Whitt said.
Jurey fared even worse. When Whitt wiped out, he took Jurey, who was following close behind, with him. Jurey landed on Whitt's bicycle and hurt his back. He dropped out of the race after two laps.
"I'm very, very sore and in pain," he said.
But Jurey and Whitt, both of Richmond, weren't discouraged by their hard luck. "It happens," Jurey said. They both vowed to try mountain bike racing again.
Sonderquist, 25, of Newport News, went one further. He also vowed to race again, but unlike Jurey and Whitt, he said he was ready to take on the expert courses.
"I like falling."
Meanwhile, race director Jim Swayze was pleased that the race trail was being touted as an imposing force. "It's going to be `American Gladiators' in the woods," Swayze said with glee.
But why Holyland?
Swayze explained that once when he was out training with some fellow riders, they rode into Holyland and came across Holyland's owner, Bob Johnson. They got to talking and Johnson suggested that they use his land for a race.
It wasn't divine intervention or anything like that. Nor was Swayze and company trying to compete with the cockroach and balloon races of the world.
"Basically, we were invited," he said.