Fat tire bikes were created to coast over northern snowfields, but an event in Wrightsville Beach Saturday, March 14 proved the four-inch-wide tires take just as easily to sand.
Thirty competitors astride fat bikes gathered under the inflatable arch erected by race sponsor Red Bull to mark the starting line of the first U.S. Open Beach Fat Bike Championships. Race director Shawn Spencer whistled to send the first wave of bikers, the expert division, racing down the course.
Expert competitors Ben Brown, Taylor Milleson, Ed Kulbis and Michael Vandenheuvel peddled through the soft sand, pacing themselves through the first of 24 laps around the 1-mile loop. Red tape marked the course, which started at the Blockade Runner Beach Resort and stretched a half-mile south, weaving through the soft and hard sand.
In addition to navigating the natural incline of the beach strand, competitors had to contend with obstacles in their paths. They flew over speed bumps created from wooden logs and peddled up and down piles of sand sculpted into ramps.
Brown, member of a mountain bike team based out of Greensboro, grabbed an early lead and never relinquished it, winning with a final time of 1:33:53.
Brown’s teammate, Bill Sessoms, completed 18 laps in 1:12:56 to win the sport division. Despite his success, Sessoms said he had never entered a bike race on the beach before.
“It’s awesome, it’s very similar to cycle cross racing which has really taken off across the country,” he said. “But it’s in a beautiful place, so I thought it was phenomenal, I think it’s going to grow to be really big.”
The short course was designed to prevent the competitors from getting overly spread out, Spencer said, making the race more exciting for both spectators and participants. Onlookers gathered around the perimeter of the course, shaking cowbells and cheering as the racers biked past.
“You get to see the riders as you go around, which is fun,” Sessoms said, “so there’s a lot more interaction.”
Even the 8-mile beginner course was challenging, said Robin Dale, who traveled from Myrtle Beach to race alongside his 11-year old son Tanner Dale.
He and son are mountain bikers, but they discovered fat bikes a few years ago and now they ride them down the beach strand on weekends. Racing on them, he said, was much tougher on the lungs and legs.
“That was hard, it was really hard,” he said after the race. “When you stop it takes you forever to get started again.”
Despite the course’s difficulty, he said if the event returns next year he will be back to give it another try.
“I’ve just got a lot of work to do between now and next year,” he said.
Results
Expert-24 laps
First place: Ben Brown of Wilmington, NC, final time of 1:33:53
Second place: Taylor Milleson of Wilmington, NC, final time of 1:43:36
Third place: Ed Kulbis of Jacksonville, NC, final time of 1:55:23
Sport – 18 laps
First place: William Sessoms of Wilmington, NC, final time of 1:12:56
Second place: Jason Laxton of Boone, NC, final time of 1:13:26
Third place: Patrick Mulligan of Wrightsville Beach, NC, final time of 1:21:03
Beginner – 8 laps
First place: Jonathan Ward of Wilmington, NC, final time of 43:44
Second place: Chad McCain of Jacksonville, NC, final time of 44:17
Third place: Jonathan DuBell of Wilmington, NC, final time of 45:08
Youth Champion
Tanner Dale of Myrtle Beach, SC, final time of 1:31:43 (8-mile)
Unicycle Division Champion
James Turner of Wilmington, NC, final time of 1:46:29 (16-mile)
