Cyclists hit the dusty trail in Ephrata

EPHRATA - Bike frames and helmets littered Lions Park Sunday.

The second day of the annual Beezley Burn brought 120 competitors from all over the Northwest to peddle through a mountain biking course in Ephrata.

Organizer Jake Maedke called the event a success.

"I'm pretty happy with it," Maedke said. "Any time I can break 100, that's good."

Maedke said the event began seven years ago as a one-day mountain biking race and was expanded a few years ago to the two-day format that includes both mountain biking and short track racing.

Beezley Burn offers a $2,000 pay-out for competitors in the pro class and the pay-out is awarded based upon the competitors' cumulative performance.

"We have some of the fastest guys in the Northwest at this event," Maedke said. "So, that's pretty unique."

Maedke said he began Beezley Burn as an extension of his cycling hobby.

The club he helps run, Vicious Cycle, began with a handful of people and now regularly has 10 to 20 cyclists riding during the club's weekly cycling nights.

There are road rides on Mondays and mountain rides on Wednesday, according to Maedke. Rides begin at 5:30 p.m. at 139 E St. S.W. in Ephrata.

"It's a good time to get familiar with trails and road rides," Maedke said. "It's a good hobby that kind of takes over your life. You feel better when you ride."

Maedke said people interested in taking up cycling or mountain bike racing were always welcome to join in on the weekly rides.

"We've got a pretty healthy cycling scene here in our little slice of paradise," Maedke said.

For other competitors at Beezley Burn, the weekend was an opportunity to get into the mountain biking season.

Beth Hausam, of Seattle, took first in the women's expert mountain biking race Sunday.

"I've been racing on and off for 16 years," Hausam said.

She began mountain bike racing because her dad participated in the sport when she was younger.

"My dad would come back and talk about how much fun he had," Hausam said.

Hausam convinced her dad to take her to a race and then took up the sport herself afterward.

"It's fun and I like being outside and riding with friends," Hausam said.

She commented that this year's race seemed more challenging than the last time she had competed in the Beezley Burn three years ago.

"I swear some of the parts that went down last time, we went up this time," Hausam said. "It was good, though. I managed to not get a flat tire."

Hausam said the eight-mile course offered a few areas where competitors could coast and rest their legs while making the course loop four times.

She said people interested in taking up mountain bike racing simply needed to show up at a competition and sign up for a beginner race.

"There are races all over the place from now until the end of September," Hausam said. "And everyone is really nice."

Competitor mom and fan Liz Wetzel, of Renton, said she had been supporting her son, Logan, in mountain bike racing since the 23-year-old was a teenager.

"There's a local race series on the west side that we go to and then we come to races on the east side, too," Wetzel said.

Wetzel said Maedke alerted Logan to the races and invited him to compete.

"(Jake Maedke) does a really good job with this event," Wetzel said.

Logan Wetzel, also of Renton, took third in the pro category on Sunday and said he developed a taste for competition as a cross-country and track athlete.

"It was a natural progression, I guess," Logan said.

He said the course's most challenging section was a climb up a ravine.

"I never felt very strong going up that part," Logan said. "I felt like I was holding on by the skin of my teeth."

Logan said mountain biking competitions allow for people to progress through the various racing categories as they become stronger and faster racers.

"Racing in the pro group means that I'm racing with similar competition," Logan said.

Results of the races were not available before the Columbia Basin Herald deadline.

For more information about the Vicious Cycle biking club, visit www.beezleyburn.com.