Crankin at the Creek brings thousands to Elizabethtown

ELIZABETHTOWN — The first event of the 2024 high school mountain bike racing season is now in the books.

Thousands of people began filtering into town Thursday night with campers and tents – making a weekend of the opening race season.

Families came and biked together and the trails at Browns Creek Park were filled to capacity. Racing heats and events were planned for the three-day event and the theme was “Beach Bash.”

Each team had their own PitZone area and it became a great bonding experience.

Michael Lashley, one of the trip planning organizers for the North Carolina Interscholastic Cycling League was in town with his son, David from Carey, North Carolina. He had a lot of good observations about Elizabethtown and the racing in general.

“We love coming to Elizabethtown,” he said. “This town opens their arms to us like no other town does. Whereas other towns may be cordial and just maybe accommodate us, this place, the people in town and the volunteers really go out of their way to welcome us. It has become a family place for us. Last night we had a barbeque down by the Lock & Dam and there were 70 people in our group. This is such an incredible place to come and race.”

Lashley’s son, David, a senior at Carey High School said, “We camped here this weekend. I slept in a hammock. Although I kind of miss the old course from a few years back, this course is good.”

Lashley who slept outside in the warm Carolina air said that he doesn’t do much training other than participating in all sports, and commented that when he rides, he puts all of his effort into it.

“This is exciting because I haven’t done many races due to COVID,” he said. “It affected us by shutting down all the races. We still got to train and ride, so that was good. We just couldn’t do like, actual big events.

There were some exciting things this year including a new race course and an adventure ride opportunity on Saturday. Racers rode on trails they’d never used before. CapeFear SORBA maintained a great trail system and provided incredible support all weekend long. This event is sponsored by the North Carolina Interscholastic Cycling League.

The North Carolina Interscholastic Cycling League was organized in 2015 to provide a fun, safe and high quality mountain biking program for students in grades 6 to 12. With the cooperation of our partners and our sponsors, we provide a positive experience for ALL student-athletes, regardless of ability level, in accordance with NICA’s Five Core Principles:

• Fun: Inspiring friendship, joy, and adventure.
• Inclusivity: Everyone should be able to participate in our programs and feel welcomed, respected and supported.
• Equity: Committed to fair treatment, equal access, opportunity, and elimination of barriers to encourage participation for all.
• Respect: Consideration for all others, oneself, and the outdoors.
• Community: NICA unites diverse people, families and communities through cycling by creating fun and welcoming experiences.

The North Carolina League is committed to creating life-long cyclists who are conscientious, responsible and empowered. According to their website, they said that they believe in forming middle school and high school teams is the best way for students to learn to love riding.

Morton Jensen and his sixth-grade son, Oliver were staying at the Elizabethtown Inn Bed and Breakfast and were experiencing their first trip to Bladen County. Both the elder and younger Jensen had their bikes and train together in the Raleigh area where they hail from.

“The first day I got a chance to ride four laps,” Oliver said. “We had one little crash, but it was just dumb.”

The Jensens participate in over 20 races per year and they do mainly cycle-cross racing.

“It’s not a bad course here,” Oliver said. “It’s got some woods, but I think it needs a few more places for overtaking. I am racing in 20 ^th place out of 27, so I am not going to expect much. I am going to try to get into the top ten today. There’s no pressure in my spot.”

Oliver goes to Carolina Friends School near Durham, North Carolina, and the school does not have a mountain biking team, so he races with a club from the Raleigh area called the Carolina Crushers. His dad works in biotech business the Raleigh research triangle, but makes the time to ride with his son quite often. Oliver puts in sometimes 80 miles per week in addition to his homework and family time.

“It takes a lot of my time, but it’s amazing to be able to train and ride with my son,” Jensen said. “It is such a privilege to be out on the trails with Oliver. We have a lot of fun. And might I add, this community is amazing (speaking of Elizabethtown). There are hundreds of people so organized and mostly all volunteers. It’s a great community and we love it here.”

A collage of pictures has been posted on our Bladen Journal Facebook page… and the direct link to YouTube is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5QKysNzY9g