Padden Mountain Pedal, Big Air Contest - Bellingham WA

The Padden Mountain Pedal a cornerstone of mountain bike racing in the Pacific NW will anchor the newly created Bellingham based mountain bike festival, WHIMP Fest held on June 26th & 27th, 2004. The Festival is aptly named for the Whatcom Independent Mountain Pedalers a.k.a the WHIMPs who have been the driving force in making the mountain biking in Bellingham and Whatcom County what it is today. The full story of the WHIMPs can be viewed at www.whimpsmtb.com but suffice to say that the 1500 hours of volunteer trail work hours per year for over a decade is just part of what they do.The Padden race has been known far and wide as one of the finest events in the Pacific Northwest. This is partly why Padden is THE granddaddy of all Pacific NW mtb events, celebrating its 12th consecutive year. A great course that has seen numerous upgrades over the years just continues to get better. It features the unique moto style shoulder to shoulder start, fast rails to trails climb to kick off the heart rate and technical single track descents and sharp climbs on the backside of the loop. The Expert loop is 3.4 miles long but packs 800 feet of climbing per lap meaning the pros climb over 3,000 feet. Technical high speed descents follow the hard climb leaving very little time for rest.

Key to a good result at Padden is a fast start. Participants line up shoulder to shoulder and shoot for a 10 yard wide whole shot before they hit a rails to trails gravel climb. The climb separates the field quickly but if you are a technical descender you can make up time on the pure climbers. The Experts complete 6 laps while the Sport class does 4 and winning times for both classes are approximately 2 hours. The loop is technical and interesting. By the time you have the lines dialed the race is close to over and your lungs and legs are begging it to be. The shorter loop course makes for a very large spectator turnout and just when you want to kick it back a notch the yelling and encouragement from the crowd won't let you.

The Belly Big Air Contest will celebrate it's fourth year and is a crowd & rider judged 6 run format. With a huge kicker gap jump and thumpin' beats it always gets the 150 + person crowd rolling. The WHIMPs and the Bellingham Parks Department are hard at work on a Dirt Jump Track and will have it completed in time to host the competition there. .

New this year to the Padden Event will the Freeride Challenge. The course will consist of Freeride style stunts and obstacles. Participants will proceed through the sections on a timed basis with dabs resulting in an assessed time penalty. The lowest time is the winner. The course will have different difficulty levels for each ability class.

FREE group rides will be lead by WHIMPs members on Saturday June 26th. Rides will accommodate all ability levels. From Greenway tour to the 6 hour epic.

For more information visit www.whimpsmtb.com

RACE FEES:

Senior Pro/Expert $30.00
Vet/Jr Expert $25.00
Ages 16 and Under $15.00
Speed Trials $15.00
Big Air $15.00