Last year, to fill a void in Seattle’s bike racing calendar, former pro Russell Stevenson launched the NW MTB Series.
Dubbed the “Wednesday Night World Championships,” the series is held from mid-April to mid-September on a mostly single-track course at North Sea Tac Park:
The “world championship” reference pokes fun at the fact that although riders at other weekly competitions (and even group rides) are just out for bragging rights (or if they are lucky, Girl Scout cookies), everyone acts as though World Championship stripes are on the line.
The basic route is a ~3 mile lap that zigs and zags and hairpins around the park. The local park authorities have been excited to see the NW MTB Series catch on. Russell and a crew of volunteers have put in a lot of labor to develop and maintain the course. What Russell is doing at North Sea Tac Park seems similar to what Dave Douglas has done with the Thursday Seward Park Series in terms of literally cleaning up the park and creating spaces that are viable for “legit” purposes.
I had been meaning to pay a visit since last year, but only got around to it last Wednesday, May 27. I was a tad concerned about the commute time, but from the Central District it only took me 25 minutes at rush hour. Russell mentioned he thought that it would be a tough commute from the North or East.
There are currently two self-seeded races: B (“sport”) and C (“beginner”) races start at 6 pm and run for about 45 minutes, and the A (“expert”) race starts at 7pm and runs for about an hour.
In contrast to the grimaces I’m used to seeing and photographing at roadie events, racers at the NW MTB Series actually look like they are having fun, even when they are pushing hard. It was nice to see all those smiling faces! And that positive vibe was everywhere–a welcoming start/finish area where everyone cheered on the competitors as they went through each lap, and a fun swag giveaway at the start of each event.
After the 6 pm race I debriefed with Chris Gossard (Fischer Plumbing). In addition to just plain having fun, he likes to get on the mountain bike to practice his bike handling skills, which in turn helps his road bike handling skills.
I saw at least one mom riding with her pre-teen son in the 6 pm race. Could that even happen in a road race? There was another pre-teen boy who stopped in the start/finish area after the first lap to get a fresh bottle from his mom who had been given strict orders about what to do when during the race. Mom was absolutely elated that her son was so engaged in the event.
Flickr Gallery of the May 27 6PM race
There were slightly fewer smiles during the 7 pm race, but the fun factor was still obvious:
Flickr Gallery of the May 27 7PM race
The NW MTB Series continues through September 16th 2015.
