The hills are alive—with the sound of mountain bikes

While the youngest members of the local athletic community have been receiving a lot of support from the leadership of the Northern Marianas Triathlon Federation, organizers recognizing a need to keep their members happy have decided to host an adult only mountain bike race to gear up for the “big one”.

The rugged course will stretch approximately 15-18 kilometers, and will feature a combination of some dirt roads, downhill technical, trails, climbing, jeep trail, and about 4-K worth of paved hills.

While local racers will surely line up to take on the challenge of the event, race director Sue Knecht expressed the need for local volunteers to pitch in to make for a safe and enjoyable race for everyone associated with it.

“Volunteers are desperately needed for traffic and safety, as the Department of Public Safety has been notified, but can’t guarantee a commitment to help. We need at least four people, so feel free to contact me to lend us a hand,” said Knecht.

Interested mountain bikers will meet at the parking lot next to the Governor’s Office on Capitol Hill on Saturday, Feb. 26. Registration starts at 6:30am and closes promptly at 7am. The go time for the event is at 7:15am, and organizers plan to get the race started on time. The cost to enter the race is $5 for members of the NMITF, and $10 for everyone else.

For more information about next weekend’s NMITF Mountain bike race, or to volunteer for the event, contact race director Sue Knecht via email at sueknecht1@yahoo.com.