1st Annual Beach Cruiser Race

9/3/2011
Hurricane Irene postponed our original date but a week later after the hurricane passed we had phenomenal weather on Bald Head Island, NC. Racers gathered on Labor Day weekend 2011 at beach access #38 on the shoals. The tide was all the way out and sand was hard packed and primed for our first annual Beach Cruiser Race. Over forty people gathered at the race venue; kids, dads, moms, brothers, sisters, and little ones that were not old enough to ride a bike yet. We had our Slackline setup on the beach and families were testing their balance skills.

A nice evening breeze kept the temperature just right as the race director got on the megaphone and went over all the rules and course. The adults had a four mile route and the kid’s had a one mile peddle. We had a wide variety of bikes show up, from rust buckets to mountain bikes. One of the most important rules was if you had a multi-geared bike you had to pick one gear and stick with it.

The siren went off and the mens’ division went first, followed by the women, then kids. The sand was soft enough in some spots that the tire marks quickly disappeared and other’s tracks could be seen all the way down the beach. Families cheered as racers peddled across the finish line, some leaped off their bikes and quickly cooled off with a swim in the ocean, while others got a celebratory hug or high five and iced cold refreshing beverage. Cold cuts and homemade baklava was served up from the River Pilot. The awards ceremony sent almost everyone home with awesome prizes from a brand new 2012 Verse bicycle from Electra to hats, towels, bicycle tune-ups, and paddleboard rentals from Coastal Urge. All participants also left with an event tee and goodies bag from Coastal Urge.

All proceeds went to benefit SUP Cleanup, a non-profit “Standing Up for a Clean Ocean” learn more here: www.SUPCleanup.com. Thank you to all that participated and came out to support this unique race, don’t miss next year’s race and stay tuned for updates at www.coastalurge.com.

-Jeoffrey Nathan

Race Results

Mens 40+
1st Greg Hinn (11:45)
2nd John Moll (12:49)
3rd Michael Reed (16:13)
4th Luke Gruber (19:33)

Mens 16-39
1st Ben Roberts (12:07)
2nd Lucas Reed (19:39)

Female 40+

1st Christine Reed (15:29)
2nd Patricia Suggs (16:30)

Female 16-39
1st Olivia Lintharong (12:56)
2nd Lauren Reed (15:50)
3rd Katie Barbee (16:23)
4th Bailey Castillo (19:47)

Kids Boys
1st Peyton Alexander (2:07)
2nd Levi Montgomery (2:12)

Female Kids
1st Kaitlyn Reed (3:30)
2nd Sarahbele Selig (3:31)