ADVENTURE SPORTS: Cyclocross coming to Olympic Peninsula

Peninsula Adventure Sports sets calendar for year’s events

Peninsula Adventure Sports has established its 2021 race calendar for multiple returning and new events running from late March to November, including new cyclocross events at the Extreme Sports Park.

Peninsula Adventure Sports’ events will begin with the Pacific Northwest Extreme Cyclocross Challenge on March 27. PAS is working with Cyclocross Crusade and the Washington State Bicycle Association and with the Extreme Sports Park west of Port Angeles to put together this challenge event introducing the sport to the area.

In Cyclocross, participants ride their bikes over obstacle courses, sometimes dismounting their bikes and carrying them over extreme barriers.

Signups for this first event began in mid-February. People can sign up at tinyurl.com/u24asb9j. It is a challenge event to showcase the new venue.

The Olympic Adventure Trail Run, a 12K and half-marathon race in the hills and forests above Lake Crescent, will be held April 17. There will be changes to the normal format of this race, and race organizers advise to keep checking their website (peninsulaadventuresports.com) and social media for updates that will be made soon.

The Frosty Moss Relays have been moved to May 15 for a variety of reasons. In addition to giving more time for participants to get COVID-19 vaccinations, there were also course issues that prevented the event from taking place in February.

A landslide on the Spruce Railroad Trail caused by heavy rains is blocking a stretch of the Frosty Moss race course, and the repair date is unknown at this time.

In addition, East Beach Road is closed until May, and that is a key road needed for relay teams to move along the race course.

The Frosty Moss Relay is a long-distance team relay event, with an 80-mile race from the Sol Duc Valley to Blyn and a 30-mile Mini Moss Relay from Ediz Hook to Blyn.

The first Gravel Unravel gravel bike race, the “Hoh-ly Roller” will be held May 1 in the Hoh River Valley area. This is the first of a three-race series. The second race, the “Sol Grinder” in the Sol Duc area, will be held June 5, and the “Bon Jon Pedal Bender” in the Quilcene area will be held June 26.

The Great Olympic Adventure Trail run, a half-marathon, marathon and 50K race in the hills above Lake Crescent, will be held Sept. 11.

The Big Hurt and Little Hurt races, which combine several disciplines of mountain biking, road cycling, kayaking and running, will be held in and around the Port Angeles area Sept. 25-26. The Big Hurt is Sept. 25 and the Little Hurt, using the Lincoln Park BMX Track, rowing machines and Lincoln Park trails, is set for Sept. 26. The Little Hurt is for youth 8 to 14.

The season will conclude with proposed Extreme Cyclocross in at the Extreme Sports Park on Oct. 3 and Nov. 28.

Full details for Little Hurt and the fall cyclocross races are not released yet, but save the dates and check back in the spring for all the information.

If people would like to sponsor or volunteer for any of the races, email organizers at contact@peninsulaadventuresports.com.

Because of COVID-19 and changing guidelines and restrictions, race details may be changed, even at the last minute, according to Peninsula Adventure Sports representatives. Because of the pandemic, the races will proceed at this time with some precautions, such as wave starts and spectators not being allowed.

Signups for all these races can be found at peninsulaadventuresports.com.

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