By Susan Goldin-Miller

It’s hard to believe that almost a month has gone by since the Fifth Annual Montserrat Challenge took place November 9 and 10. It’s hard to believe that it took place at all, considering the volcanic situation that has existed here since the summer of ‘95.

For those of you who have not heard of Montserrat, let alone the volcano that has colored living here for the past 17 months, short geography and history lessons are in order. Montserrat is a 39.5 square mile island in the middle of the Caribbean between Antigua and Guadeloupe. On July 18, 1995, a long-sleeping volcano woke up and began changing the face of our island and our trails. The Fourth Annual Montserrat Challenge took place in November 1995 under the threat of ash falls and pyroclastic flows. No one could have guessed that a year later when the fifth Challenge was due the volcano would be even more active -- changing and growing every day.

From a promoter’s point of view, using the volcano as a marketing tool was -- and still is -- a challenge in itself. Some bikers from other islands who were here for other races said, “No way!” Others said, “Who cares about the volcano, we just want to ride your course again! We love your trails and we’ll come and ride no matter what!”

We went ahead with race plans, despite everything that seemed to be against us. In defiance of the volcano’s unpredictability, we forged ahead with the race plans, receiving unshaken support from Mountain Bike magazine, American Airlines, LIAT, Cannondale, Windjammer Cruises, Terry Precision Bicycles for Women and Cable and Wireless. Riders still wanted to be here. Our trails are still beautiful; the people of Montserrat are warm and welcoming despite the hardships they are experiencing -- and the volcano is endlessly fascinating.

So the race was run. Riders came to Montserrat from Tortolla, St. Martin, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Guadeloupe and even one from the United States. With the few riders from Montserrat, the total number of riders came to 21. For an “international race” it was probably one of the smallest in mountain bike history -- but it sure was one of the hottest!

The Fifth Annual Montserrat Mountain Bike Challenge consisted of four separate events: Uphill and Downhill Challenges on Saturday and Cross Country and Dual Slalom Challenges on Sunday. Conditions were excellent because rain-packed ash made the trails smooth, fast and at times extremely technical. Riding on deep ash when it is loose and dry is like riding on the finest sand; it forces you to pedal hard. Riding on it when it is packed and damp is a blast!

Saturday morning dawned with rain falling, not continuous, but enough to slick the trails. The Uphill and Downhill Challenges, although short, were true challenges. Less than a half mile in length, the course was a small section of the 7.5 mile Cross Country trail. The more serious downhillers came prepared with full battle gear -- and put it to good use.

A rainburst in between the practice run and the first timed run of the Downhill (there were two timed runs) made that first run slippery and exciting. The intense sunlight dried parts of the course quickly and the Uphill Challenge (staged in between the two downhill runs) was ridden on pure adrenaline! Course conditions turned part of the Uphill into a hike-a-bike instead of a ride. The drier, less slick trail conditions made the second run of the Downhill extremely fast -- the winning time was 1 minute one second -- and at times extremely wild! One rider from Tortolla, determined to be a winner, crashed into a berm at the bottom of the course, potato-chipping his front wheel. As he jumped up from a beautiful tuck and roll, his only comment was, “If that wasn’t the fastest time, it sure was close!”

The winner of the Downhill was Laurant Normal from Guadeloupe, who gave his homeland’s mountain bike championships a miss to ride Montserrat’s course. The Uphill Challenge winner was Mark Maidwell from St. Maarten, shown here doing the hike-a-bike on the ash-covered trail.

Sunday morning dawned bright, beautiful -- and dry, creating perfect conditions for the Cross Country Challenge. The manicured course made the most technical course in the Caribbean absolutely beautiful. Competitors were still on an adrenaline high from the previous day’s races. Some of the riders were casual, just out to have a good time. Others were very serious about the competition, looking forward to taking home one of the two major prizes -- a brand-new Cannondale M900 (thanks to Scott Voss at Cannondale for that) and a Windjammer Barefoot Cruise for two (thanks to Gordon Phillips and Mike Vegis at Windjammer) and were psyching themselves up to win.

With the volcano quietly venting steam in the background, the riders lined up for the LeMans style mass start under the early morning sun.

With all classes of riders starting together, they quickly spread out over the course. The stronger riders were soon out of sight, over the first hill and into the woods. The end of the first lap indicated the winner of the Cross Country. Michael Archer, a veterinary professor at Ross University on St. Kitts and organizer of a triathlon there (he also competes in it). He finished the first 7.5 mile lap just 10 seconds behind Daniel Inniss from Tortolla. By the end of the second lap, Archer was 1.5 minutes ahead of Inniss. At the end of the third and final lap, he held a commanding eight-minute lead and finished the three laps with a time of 1 hour, 53 minutes, 49 seconds.

There must be something special about training in Caribbean heat, because one of the women to compete in the race came in 5th overall, and placed 7th in the Cross Country. Melanie Mowinski, a Peace Corps worker living on St. Kitts, also competes in the triathlon and her performance against a 95% male field was outstanding. Her only comment when everything was over was, “I didn’t care about the big prizes -- I just wanted one of those great trophies created out of a piece of Montserrat’s new volcanic rock and a hand-made miniature bike!”

In between the finish of the Cross Country and the start of the Dual Slalom, during the hottest time of the day people were able to lime about, enjoy some great local cuisine and compare notes about the morning’s race. Tim Keutzer, a novice racer from Boston commented, “I’ve only ridden in a couple of races so I don’t have much to compare this to, but it was the most fun I’ve ever had!” Some riders jumped on their bikes and took a five minute ride to the beach for a swim. Some just enjoyed liming around the old overseers’ house that is to become Island Bikes’ Hostel in the future, relaxing before the final event of the weekend.

Amid the party atmosphere of the lunch break, the Dual Slalom Elimination began when the day had cooled a bit. The Slalom course laid out on the hillside to the southeast of Island Bikes’ house is on a grade perfect for this event. The course was not only visually beautiful, but technically exciting as well. With 13 gates set up in a zigzag course down the hill, after the first timed run spectators could tell it was going to be a close competition. After almost two hours of eliminations, the last two riders, Laurant Normal (Guadeloupe) and Mark Maidwell (St. Maarten) finished the deciding run only a split second apart, Laurant being the winner.

After totaling up accumulated points given for their standings in each race, the overall winners were announced. Dr. Michael Archer of St. Kitts took home the Cannondale M900 for first place. Laurant Normal of Guadeloupe won the Windjammer Barefoot Cruise for second place. Mark Maidwell of St. Maarten took home a cash prize from Cable and Wireless (Montserrat) for third place. The rest of the overall winners were (4) Geoff Kennedy (Junior class) of Tortolla and (5) Melanie Mowinski of the US and St. Kitts.

As the organizer and promoter of this race, I would like to put in a few words of thanks. Thanks go to the volcano for staying quiet and letting the race go on without an eruption. Thanks to the intrepid riders who braved the dangers to come to this tiny piece of Paradise, even thought there was the threat of the volcano. And thanks to everyone out there, especially in Cyberworld, who helped me get the word out about the race. Special, very heartfelt thanks go to all the sponsors who donated the prizes.

Maybe by race time next year, the volcano will be finished doing its thing and more people will be willing to come and race on the newest earth on earth. We are not leaving Montserrat and the Sixth Montserrat Challenge will take place -- volcano or not. We are fortunate to be able to ride the beautiful trails and roads on Montserrat every day. Adventurous riders need not wait until next year to experience the thrills we get all the time -- and would love to share with as many bikers as possible.

Come Ride with Us -- race time next year (November 8-9, 1997) or anytime. The riding is always hot!

"The Bike Lady"
Susan Goldin-Miller
tel: 809.491.5552 fax: 809.491.8752
Island Bikes