THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 30, 1996 TAG: 9607310670
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAT DOOLEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 153 lines
NEVER MIND that Hampton Roads has no mountains.
Mountain bikes are everywhere.
From families tooling around at the Oceanfront, to enthusiasts pumping off-road through parks and woods, to competitors in search of an adrenaline thrill, bicyclists in Hampton Roads are riding a trend.
Mountain bikes represent 90 percent of bicycle sales nationwide, according to the United States Cycling Federation, the national governing body for competitive cycling.
Today, the sport gets an additional boost: For the first time, mountain biking is an Olympic event.
About 40 cyclists will participate in each of two cross-country races, a morning event for men and an afternoon competition for women, said Richard Rhinehart, manager of member programs for the National Off-Road Bicycle Association in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The rugged 6.6-mile loop at International Horse Park in Conyers, Ga., includes rocky, rugged terrain and tree-lined tracks barely wide enough for one cyclist.
The U.S. cyclists are David ``Tinker'' Juarez,, 35, of Downey, Calif.; Don Myrah, 30, of Saratoga, Calif.; Juli Furtado, 29, of Durango, Colo.; and Susan DeMattei, 33, of Gunnison, Colo.
Mountain biking was given the Olympic go-ahead in 1993, a nod to the sport's popularity among recreational and competitive riders, Rhinehart said.
That year, 25 million people in the United States rode mountain bikes, up from 200,000 in 1983, the association reports.
Enter any bicycle shop, and you'll likely see rows of fat-tired, upright bikes with straight handlebars, 18 to 24 gears and price-tags of $200 to more than $2,000. Those skinny-tired, dropped-handlebar road bikes so hot in the 1970s and early '80s often are relegated to a corner.
``If you're out to buy a bike, you sort of end up buying a mountain bike,'' Rhinehart said.
Americans bought 8 million of them in 1993, the association reports.
Like many American trends, mountain biking got its start in California.
In the late 1970s, former road cyclist Gary Fisher and a few rebel friends careened down mountains in Marin County on ``big, heavy, newsboy type bikes from the '40s and '50s,'' Rhinehart said. They later fitted the bikes with gears and brakes; in 1979, Fisher began to manufacture what he coined ``mountain bikes.''
Today, his company is a part of Trek Bicycle Corp., but every bike manufacturer now turns out fat-tired bikes, from basic models to those with front and rear suspension.
Most shoppers are looking for a mountain bike when they come in the door, said Steve Gregerson, service manager at Conte's Bicycle & Fitness Equipment in Norfolk.
People like the bikes, Gregerson said, because sitting upright is more comfortable. Soft, cushy tires absorb shock and provide durability and better handling.
Most buyers, however, keep to the pavement.
About two-thirds of people who purchase mountain bikes never take them off-road, reports the International Mountain Bicycling Association in Boulder, Colo. About 10 million cyclists ride off-road about a half-dozen times a year.
Mountain bikes are not as aerodynamic as road bikes, so they aren't as fast on pavement. But they are lightweight - about 25 pounds - and versatile enough for pleasure-riding around town or plowing through sand, mud and clay, over roots and up and down hills.
``They're appropriate in any area,'' said Eric L. Koehn, owner of North End Cyclery Ltd. in Virginia Beach.
Local shops often refer to mountain biking as ``all-terrain'' or ``off-road'' cycling - terms more appropriate to Hampton Roads.
The sport is more popular in California and Colorado, said Rhinehart, but it has grown on the East Coast in the last five years.
``There's been an awakening in the East,'' Rhinehart said.
Here, paths are more narrow, twisted and rugged, enthusiasts say.
A growing list of competitive events has attracted a range of riders, from beginners to serious riders, who travel to weekend races in North Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland and beyond.
The off-road association sponsors about 1,000 races annually from coast to coast, as well as some 500 clubs. Smaller groups have sprung up around bicycle shops, such as North End Cyclery, Conte's and Colley Bike West in Suffolk. Clubs and shops sometimes sponsor races, or provide information about them.
Daniel Comber, a cycling enthusiast from Newport News, started his own racing events.
In 1995, Comber kicked-off the Eastern Virginia Mountain Bike Series, Tuesday evening races from April through August, for cyclists from beginner to advanced.
This year, the local series and another in Richmond on Thursdays attract about 50 cyclists each.
Race sites, on public and private land, include York River State Park, Nike-Carrollton Park near Smithfield and Slade's Park in Surry.
Comber, a 33-year-old former road cyclist, also organizes weekend races, a few road races and is president of the newly formed Mountain Bike Virginia, which helps create and maintain mountain-bike paths.
``I'm seeing fewer people racing road bikes and more on mountain bikes,'' he said.
Most participants are men in their 20s and 30s, though the races also attract teens, a few older folks and a handful of women.
Beneline Peters, 20, of Newport News, has cycled off-road since her grandmother gave her a mountain bike as a high-school graduation present three years ago. She's gone through three bikes since then, upgrading her gear and her performance.
A petite blonde, Peters ran track and cross-country in middle and high schools. She pedals 10 to 20 miles daily, a routine she works around classes at Thomas Nelson Community College. At local and regional races, she is one of few women in her category.
``I like the exercise,'' she said. ``It keeps me in shape. And I get to meet a lot of nice people.''
The sport attracts ``a pretty congenial crowd,'' Comber said.
Chris Deatherage, 25, an Air Force senior airman from Hampton, and Rob Tripp, 27, a drafting student at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, met at a recent series race.
``Mountain biking is it,'' said Deatherage, a former road cyclist. ``It's more challenging.''
``It's kind of like a release,'' added Tripp. ``You don't have to think about anything else.''
Unlike road cyclists, mountain bikers race without a crew. If a tire goes flat, they fix it. If the bike breaks, they carry it.
In televised events, ``you'll actually see the rider pick up the bike and run with it,'' said the cycling association's Rhinehart.
At the Olympics, cameras will be posted throughout the course, to let viewers in on the action.
The exposure is expected to fuel mountain biking even further, Rhinehart said.
``We feel we will see just an explosion.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
VICKI CRONIS/The Virginian-Pilot
ABOVE: Wes Blow crosses a bridge during a race at Nike-Carrollton
Park near Smithfield. BELOW: Wesley Petrin, center, starts the race
in the middle of the park.
Photo
VICKI CRONIS/The Virginian-Pilot
A racer makes his way out of the woods at the Nike-Carrollton Park
course near Smithfield. He was racing in the Eastern Virginia
Mountain Bike Series, an event designed to promote local biking.
Graphic
FOR MORE INFORMATION
The Eastern Virginia Mountain Bike Series maintains a hot line of
scheduled events. Call (804) 826-1110. Also call the hot line for
information about Mountain Bike Virginia, which helps create and
maintain mountain-bike paths.
Several local bicycle shops sponsor clubs and/or events. Check
the Yellow Pages, under Bicycles-Dealers.
The National Off-Road Bicycle Association, an affiliate of USA
Cycling, provides information on NORBA-sanctioned races nationwide,
as well as club membership and information about mountain biking.
Call (719) 578-4717.
Some ski resorts offer cross-country of downhill mountain biking
in the off-season. Among them are Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West
Virginia (304-572-1000), and Massanutten Resort near Harrisonburg,
Va., (540-289-9441). by CNB