By Libby Cluett
Mineral Wells Index
GRAFORD —
Despite a thorough drenching, bicycle racers turned out for this weekend’s Mineral Wells Stage Race and many raved about the course and community support.
The stage race seems to have firmly sealed Palo Pinto County on the bicycling map as having the third Texas bike race to offer rolling enclosures, which gave them police protection and use of the whole road. Every bike racer this reporter spoke to voiced appreciation for the enclosures and for the community coming together to offer this type of race.
Although many thought about not coming because of the rain, after they raced, cyclists echoed comments like: “I can’t say enough good things” about the race and community support, “I’m glad I came,” “The rain wasn’t a problem,” “It wasn’t slick,” “The roads were smooth,” “The volunteers were awesome,” “It was nice to have two lanes of road to ride in,” and “I’m planning on coming back.”
Logan Hutchings, who finished first in Saturday’s initial stage for the Professional-1 / 2 category (the highest level for the MWSR) called the course “quite good” despite the rain and some wind.
Hutchings, a native of New Zealand, recently moved to Texas where he races for the Hotel San Jose team.
“This is my first rolling enclosure in Texas, which is so much better,” he said. “It makes it a lot easier and safer for riders.”
The rains came hard and heavy at times Saturday. As of 3 p.m. Saturday, Mineral Wells Municipal Airport recorded 3.85 inches of rain since midnight. Palo Pinto County was under a flood advisory and street and low-water crossing flooding was reported throughout the county.
The MWSR’s rolling enclosure allowed Hutchings and his competitors to use the width of the road, while being protected – front and rear – by law enforcement. Approaching cars pulled off to the shoulder, while cars behind stayed in back of the racing packs.
Before moving to the states, the Kiwi racer competed in Europe, where cycling is the second biggest sport.
“We normally ride in a rolling enclosure,” Hutchings said of European racing, adding that often “they shut the roads down” for bike races. In his first few Texas races, Hutchings didn’t have a rolling enclosure and had to race inside the yellow center line of the road. He said he didn’t understand that he couldn’t use the entire lane like in Europe.
Support came from state, county and city law enforcement and for many, this was their first experience escorting a rolling enclosure.
Mineral Wells Police Department Cpl. Gary Chips, who followed behind one rolling enclosure, said things “went pretty good” and he said he only encountered one issue with a driver wanting to pass other cars that had pulled over for the bike pack.
Veteran racer Chris Carlson, of Plano, has also raced in Europe and around the world, including World Cup wins. Also a Pro-1 / 2 racer, riding for Richardson Bike Mart’s team, Carlson said, “The roads were beautiful and the support from the Mineral Wells and Palo Pinto County community was great.”
“We don’t usually get the kind of police support for rolling enclosures for a race of this size. It gives racers lots of protection in front and behind,” he said. “It also means [racers are] getting great support from Palo Pinto County.”
Carlson, who, like most racers, stayed overnight in Mineral Wells said it was a bit difficult to face the race conditions Saturday morning.
“It’s always a little bit tough when you get up in the morning – last night, too – and look out your window and it’s raining,” he said.
But Carlson said the rain didn’t really hurt the course and came down hard enough to wash off the oil and debris. He said the rolling enclosure enabled racers to use the whole road and curves.
“For Texas, this is as good as it gets,” he said. “These roads were pretty smooth – one was as smooth as a track.”
Carlson, 47, said he stopped racing internationally in 1998, but said this type of race is where racers get their start. In fact, he said he now focuses on the juniors where his 14-year-old son races. He was also at the MWSR.
“Everyone who rode in the Tour de France started out in this type of race,” said Carlson.
Race organizer Andy Hollinger said he checked with the hotels and between 150 to 200 racers cancelled their reservations, mostly because of the rain. However, they ended up with 270 hard-core racers.
Local racer Iris Stagner said the MWSR racers are a very appreciative group and she was impressed at the number of racers who came out, even with the rain.
“It’s amazing to see the racers out here and the local support,” she said. “The Possum Kingdom Lions Club has been cooking breakfast all morning.”
Stagner said that rain-soaked racers would come in after riding to eat a hot meal and warm up.
She credits the City of Mineral Wells, the Department of Public Safety, the Mineral Wells Area Chamber of Commerce, the Graford Volunteer Fire Department and everyone in the community for making the race happen.
“I’m really proud of Mineral Wells and Palo Pinto,” she said, adding that she was amazed by her local riding buddy, Neil Reddick, who spent at least 12 hours Friday piling trash and debris on a trailer, sweeping the route and, beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, checking and clearing rocks from the route again.
“This is an incredible race,” said Hollinger. “It’s a great course – challenging but not too arduous. The quality of competition are the right guys – they want to race in an aggressive manner and want to be here.”
The MWSR is one of the richest races around as well, with a purse of $10,000, according to Hollinger. He remarked on the “good vibes” from the race that he thinks will bring more out to Palo Pinto County to race in the future.
He said police and citizens showed up on time and worked hard. “The Chamber of Commerce was here [at Graford High School] at 5 a.m. with the rest of us.”
“The cooperation between the state, city and county is a testament to the close working conditions,” he added. “Policemen have been saying nothing but good things.”
“Despite the weather it’s been a good race,” Hollinger said.
Staff writer Libby Cluett can be reached at (940) 325-4465, ext. 3422, or lcluett@mineralwellsindex.com.
