Big Mountain Enduro in Ironton

By Susan Smith Kline

You may have noticed more than usual activity here in Arcadia Valley last weekend. It was a busy four days for the Big Mountain Enduro folks. The races were held this past weekend at the Shepherd Mountain Bike Park with Thursday and Friday being their practice days.
Things were set up at the Courthouse Square for the racers and there were many bands playing for everyone to enjoy.
I was at SMBP on Saturday and watched as over 200 riders made their way down Cannonball Trail during stage 3. It was a very exciting event to watch as the riders flew down the mountain showing off their skills and trying to get their best times. There were 9 stages and the times of each stage were totalled up with the best time creating a winner in each of the 11 class/categories.
I didn’t really understand how the races were set up, but thankfully there were many helpful people there that explained it all to me. I talked with people from North Carolina, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Utah and California. They were there supporting their significant others, their children and their friends. I found everyone to be very friendly and there was a comradery between them that extended to those they spoke with.
They mentioned their struggle to find a place to stay in the Valley as all the motels and “Airbnb’s” had been booked early. Many had to find lodging in Farmington. They all love our bike park and think we are very fortunate to have it.
BME’s North America’s Premier Enduro Series is a race series that started here in Ironton on May 14 and goes through September with races held in Big Sky, Montana, Durango, Colorado, Brian Head, Utah and Bend, Oregan. The series was established in 2012 and SMBP was added to their line-up in 2021.
The weather was fantastic for racing, though a thunderstorm did roll through at the time of the awards. If you are interested in the winners of each class and category you can view the results online at https://www.bigmountainenduro.com/results/