The volcano blowing away on the edge of Montserrat and a long string of hurricanes did little to cool the passionate mix of gears and jungle, mudflows and downhillers.

In fact, the odd forces of nature provided an exciting new backdrop for the Fourth Annual Montserrat Mountain Bike Challenge and the new Fat Tire Festival November 8-15.

In fact, this has grown in a few short years into a bona fide international event, with riders from Canada, the United States, England, St. Martin, Guadeloupe, St. Kitts, and of course the local wheel pounders. A field of 35 riders competed in four events.

The first event in the weekend of racing was the uphill challenge. Initially, organizers planned to run the race from Old Road Bay Jetty up into the hills above Hope. This had to be changed due to heavy erosion from torrential rains. The alternate course was up St. George's hill, beginning at the bottom of Weekes Road and ending under the cannons at the top of the hill. The course, although it was paved and not dirt, was grueling.

Starting at an elevation of 180 feet, the course climbs above 1,000 feet in just over a mile. This year, the grind to the top was won by Joey Klein from Boulder, Colorado. I managed to finish a very close second, followed by John Knibb from England.

The second event of the Challenge was the downhill. This also had to be run on an alternate course due to rain damage. This was a very fast, exciting, and potentially dangerous event for all participants. Starting at the top of Garibaldi Hill at an elevation of 850 feet, the course drops like a rock to 200 feet. Riders started every minute, covering the 650 feet of vertical in some sizzling times.

The course was packed with tight, technical switchbacks, across deep ruts, slippery wet grass, the occasional goat hazard, and, of course, the ever-present cusha bush thorns. The winner of the event, Olivier Cleriq of St. Martin, made the drop in 1:11. He was followed very closely by a pair of St. Kitts riders, Michael Archer in second place and Marcus Suppo in third-place.

The big event was the Cross-Country Challenge on Sunday, November 12. For the third year, the cross-country was on Garibaldi Hill. The course was brutal. The start/finish line was at the bottom of the driveway at Island Bikes on Foxes Bay Road. It began with a prologue up the driveway, around the back of the building, back downhill toward the driveway again and back up the hill into the woods. This prologue allows spectators to see a little of what the racers contend with once they are out of sight of the start along the seven-mile course wrapping around the hill. Pro and expert-class riders rode three laps of the course. The sport, junior, and women classes rode two laps. Novices rode one lap.

In the pro/expert class, the winner was yours truly, followed by Marcus Suppo from St. Kitts in second place, and Joey Klein of Boulder in third. In the sport or senior class, IIubert Roch from Guadeloupe won first-place, followed by Maricel Ricardy of St. Martin in second, and James Greenaway from Montserrat in third. The veteran/masters winners were Michael Archer from St. Kitts in first, David Charrass from St. Martin in second, and Jon Westmoreland of St. Kitts in third. The junior class was won by Olivier Eyrille from Guadeloupe. And the women's class was won by Kathy Gordon of Boulder, Colorado.

After the cross-country, the dual slalom downhill elimination was held on the hill below the Island Bikes headquarters. The dual slalom is a visually exciting, potentially dangerous event that tested the riders' skill, determination, and nerve. The course is marked with two sets of flags set up down the hill in a nasty zig-zag course. The first part of the race, a timing run, is done by single riders to determine their skill level and approximate running times. The riders are then paired according to their times. Each pair then rides two heats to determine the fastest rider. Through elimination races, the two fastest riders emerge for the big showdown.

As mentioned earlier, the dual slalom can be a potentially dangerous event and for the very first time in the three years that this race has been staged on Montserrat, a young rider from St. Martin suffered a broken ankle. At the very end of the dual slalom two junior riders had tied in both of their heats and had to run a third heat to determine the winner. It was in the third heat that the accident occurred. Georges Farrel from St. Martin was quickly taken to Glendon Hospital, where he was stabilized and then transported by charter to Guadeloupe. Happily, his ankle was successfully set and he will be able to ride again soon.

Franklin Henry is a professional mountain biker living in Boulder, Colorado