Two Mountain Bike Races Coming to Historic Gold Mining Town in Northern California
Weaverville, CA – This fall Weaverville, California, a town with over 150 years of gold mining history, will once again be the place to find gold. But this time it won’t be grizzled miners panning for nuggets, it will be mountain bike racers looking to earn gold medals in the WEMBO (World Endurance Mountain Bike Organization) World Solo 24 Hour Mountain Bike Championships on October 3 and 4 as they race on historic trails built during the gold rush era.
Realizing that not all mountain bike racers want to race for a full day and a night the organizing committee has wisely decided to also produce the 8 Hours of Weaverville and the 4 Hours of Weaverville the weekend before on the same 12-mile course that will be used for the World Championships. The course is fun and challenging but not too technical for weekend warriors hoping to earn their own gold medals. Since the early days of Northern California mountain bike racing, these historic trails have hosted epic races such as the famed LaGrange Classic and the 12 Hours of Weaverville, events whose legendary status led to WEMBO’s choice of Weaverville for the World Championships.
The 8 Hours of Weaverville and the 4 Hours of Weaverville both start at 9:00 am with the 4-hour finishing at 1:00 pm and 8-hour continuing until 5:00 pm. The format is simple; how many laps can a rider or relay team complete in 4 hours or 8 hours? The 4-hour is open to solo racers or teams of 2 riders, while the 8-hour is open to solo or teams of 2 riders, 3 riders or 4 riders. There are categories for all abilities and age groups and there’s even a CASH purse for the pro men and women in both the 4-hour and 8-hour races.
It is expected that a number of the racers that will be racing in the World Championships the following week will use the 4-hour race as a test-session. What better way to have a front row seat to seeing some of the elite racers in action than to be on the same course with them? You’ll never get to have a round of golf with Tiger Woods, or shoot a game of pick-up with LeBron James, but you CAN race on the 24 Hour World Championship course at the same time as some of the world’s best mountain bike racers.
Scott Morris, a local trail activist and mountain bike enthusiast who has been involved in the development of the Weaver Basin Trail System for decades, reflects the local enthusiasm, “It is so great to have the world coming to Weaverville and mountain bikers from around the region to try the World Championship Course the week prior. This trail system is the result of years of hard work by many committed local volunteers. Our community couldn’t be more excited!”
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