The Save Darfur Mountain Bike Race proceeded despite rainy conditions on Saturday morning. The event drew competitors and spectators from throughout the Southeast, raising $380 for the Save Darfur Coalition.
Participants paid a $10 entry fee, although some additional donations were offered by spectators. Taylor Hartley, Lance Lewis and the ETSU Bike Team organized the event. Juliane Armstrong and the ETSU chapter of STAND also helped host a bake sale Thursday and Friday, to help raise additional funds. The bake sale brought in $140.
Estimates range between 200,000 and 400,000 total killed since the conflict began in the Darfur region of western Sudan in February 2003. Millions more have been displaced from their homes. UNICEF reports claim that 80 children under the age of 5 die daily from malnutrition in Darfur.
“The main goal is to raise money and awareness,” said Hartley. The fundraiser started as an honors student assignment, “Impacting the World” project. Hartley did a great deal of publicity in the surrounding area and online.
“I found out about this from a Web-posting,” said Michael Mann of Emory & Henry University, who entered the downhill competition.
Registration began early, but the rain adversely affected turnout. Only two people showed up for the early morning cross country race, and one decided not to compete. Lone participant Brad Reed, ETSU alumni class of 2003, completed 6.87 miles in 56:09 to finish the event. The prize was a CamelBak hydration bag, which was donated by Mahoney’s.
Weather conditions caused an overhaul of the schedule, with the downhill race being moved ahead five hours in an effort to give the slalom track more time to dry. The slalom has the most potential danger of any of the events under normal circumstances, and risks increase exponentially on a wet track.
As it stopped raining, arrivals increased. The downhill race featured 20 competitors, 12 in the beginners category and eight in the expert category. There was also a separate women’s category, although it featured only one competitor. Another female racer decided against entering the competition after taking a rough fall on a practice run.
With the air thick with the smell of wet leaves, more than 20 spectators and a happy black collie named Steve-O gathered around the finish line, as racers practiced the twists and turns of the three-fourth a mile track for over an hour.
“This is one of the better college tracks in the country,” said one onlooker, Jessica Webber, of Fairfield, Ala.
When competition began, every 30 seconds racers were sent down from the top, and given two chances to score best time. The muddy conditions contributed to a few accidents, but no major injuries occurred during competition.
To maintain the safety, the slalom event was canceled, as the track still appeared treacherous.
Ethan Quehl, 17, of Loganville, Ga., received the $30 prize for winning top expert time with 1:37.
“I heard about this race a few weeks ago at a Clemson race,” said Quehl.
Quehl added that he is sponsered by KHS, Kenda and Thompson, all of which provided products used in the bike race.
A group traveling from Boone, N.C., dominated the other categories. Drew Dickinson, 21, and Sean Royall, 22, both from Appalachian State University, tied with a time of 2:00 to win the novice category. With 2:54, the top women’s time went to Maggie Jo Sime, 20, also from Appalachian State University. They were each presented with a “Save Darfur” T-shirt, and were given a set of bike tires.
“It was lots of fun,” said Sime. “The ETSU biking people were really nice.”
After the prizes were distributed, the winners talked with Thomas Wilkinson, president of the ETSU bike team, and made plans to meet for biking over the summer.

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