Jack Crouch took first in the "Terror" time trial ride on Sunday. (Nathan Hartle photo)

By NATHAN HARTLE
DavidsonNews.net

Nasty weather Friday and early Saturday forced racers to battle rain and mud at last weekend’s National MTB Oktoberfest at Davidson’s Fisher Farm Park. But conditions improved as Saturday went on, making for exciting competition, organizers said.

One of the closest races of the weekend came in the open men’s solo division of the 8 hour endurance race on Saturday, where winner Jeremiah Bishop and second place finisher Harlan Price finished just 12 seconds apart. Mr. Bishop also won Friday night’s short-track race. Results are at www.buttar.com.

Sponsored by Cowbell Challenge Inc., the Oktoberfest weekend included daily races over Fisher Farm’s trails Friday through Sunday. The event, which drew about 50 racers, also raised money for Davidson’s Ada Jenkins Center and for the organization World Bicycle Relief.

Cowbell Challenge co-founder Connie Giordano said Saturday after the weather cleared that the weekend was going very well. “The sun is out. … The crowd is drying out. It’s a good, exciting race.” She said the weather had not disrupted the event, though the slick conditions had produced one injury.

Map shows the 8-hour endurance course at Fisher Farm. (SOURCE: National MTB Oktoberfest)

The event’s longest race, the Oktoberfest 8 Hour Endurance Race, took place across more than eight miles of the park’s trails, four miles of which were created specifically for this event. The winding course offered technical challenges for riders, but was also fun to ride, Ms. Giordano said. Fisher Farm Park “is a great venue for this.”

Riders echoed her feelings. George Organ, one part of a two-man team racing in the Mens’ Duo division, said the race was going well despite the muddy conditions early on. He explained that “It was a bit slick for the first two laps,” but had begun to dry as the weather cleared.

SECOND LOCAL EVENT THIS YEAR

The Oktoberfest is the second biking event held by Cowbell Challenge at Fisher Farm this year. The first, the 7th annual Cowbell Challenge race, was held in June. Ms. Giordano said that holding a race at Fisher Farm was “such a wonderful experience [that] we came back.” She added that Davidson’s Department of Parks & Recreation was “wonderful to work with,” and that Cowbell Challenge hopes to hold more races in Davidson.

The Cowbell Challenge began as a small local event to raise money for cancer research. Ms. Giordano became passionate about this cause after losing two people close to her to cancer within a short time. Over time, the race grew in size and began to support other causes.

Ms. Giordano says the organization prefers to support local charities, where the donations made by Cowbell Challenge can have the greatest impact. She adds that, though fundraising efforts for the Oktoberfest were slowed by the current “financial turmoil,” the organization still plans to make its donations.