24 Hours of Big Bear
Snowshoe, WVVisitPA.com MTB Team Brings Overall Win at 24 Hours of Big Bear Home to PA
June 17-19, 2005
Races to Podium in Hershey, PA, Race For Chocolate
Photo © Mike Kuhn
The fourteenth annual running of 24 Hours of Big Bear provided the VisitPA.com Mountain Bike Team a perfect opportunity to spread the word about recreational opportunities in the state of PA while aiming for the overall victory in the race that started the sport of mountain bike team relays.The team, consisting of Ray Adams (Harrisburg), Mike Kuhn (Allentown), Ryan Leech (Philadelphia) and Taylor McLain (Carlisle), started strongly with Ryan gaining a top-10 position after the LeMans style start and first lap was completed. With Ray and Mike posting the fastest and second fastest lap times, respectively, for the entire event on the team's first rotation of riders, Taylor left the transition tent with the lead, a position the team would not again relinquish. By the end of 24 continuous hours of racing VisitPA.com had pulled out a one-lap lead on the rest of the field and celebrated a hard earned victory.
Team captain Ray Adams noted, "This is a fantastic result for the team, VisitPA.com, and our sponsors HighSpeedCycling.com, Wicked Dreamz custom painting, and Cannondale. It's great; this is the first time this season we've had all our equipment and this event really gave us a chance to work as a team. With everything just now coming together we consider this our official start and there isn't a better way to announce our team and bolster our efforts to showcase PA's awesome riding spots than winning the overall at the 24 Hours of Big Bear, the grand-daddy of mountain bike team relays."
Twenty four hour mountain bike team relay races are one of the most demanding events in off road bicycle competition with competitors racing around the clock from noon to noon, straight through the night hours, with the team or individual completing the most laps taking home the top prize. Pitting racers against the elements, darkness, mounting fatigue, and one and another, teamwork, strategy, and focus are paramount to success in this event and the VisitPA.com mountain bike team is proud to bring this prestigious victory home to Pennsylvania.
VisitPA.com racers Wes Schempf (Reading) and Zach Blaser (Allentown) took part in the Mid-Atlantic Super Series event, Race For Chocolate, held in Hershey, PA while the rest of the team brought home the victory in WV. Both riders placed on the podium with Wes winning the elite singlespeed race and Zach finishing fifth in the men's elite group.
The VisitPA.com MTB Team is supported by the PA Department of Tourism, Cannondale, High Speed Cycling, and Wicked Dreamz and has as its objective to increase the awareness of the many recreational opportunities available in Pennsylvania, starting with the thousands of miles of exquisite mountain bike trails that crisscross the state. Visitors to the state and state residents looking for new things to do can find many valuable resources and information on roadtrips and recreation on www.visitPA.com.
The team races not only for VisitPA.com, but also to support the Blue Butterfly Fund, a charity that aids families whose children have cancer and the organizations that assist such families. The team contributes a portion of all winnings and a portion of the proceeds from High Speed Cycling promoted events, such as the MASS MTB Stage Race and Festival Weekend on July 8-10, to this wonderful organization. We invite you to find out more at www.bluebutterflyfund.org.
Race report courtesy of Mike Kuhn - Director, VisitPA.com MTB Team