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By RICK & MARY Burkey |
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20βͺAPRIL 2023βͺshop . cmausa . org |
Rick and Mary Burkey are the West Virginia State Coordinator and they have a total heart for the Gospel and the ministry of CMA . Their leadership continues to bless the members and bikers alike . Laura and I count them as our family , friends , and co-servants to Jesus Christ . |
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Peter and Laura
Peter and Laura Helgerson
oversee the Northeast
Region as National Evangelist .
SNOWSHOE MX Snowshoe Grand
THE National Cross Country Race is an event like no other . It starts early in the week with the Yamaha University , where Yamaha β s pro riders and crew host a riding camp for young racers . Then Friday brings a golf tournament fundraiser to kick off the weekend of racing . Saturday includes three races for ATVs ( youth race , amateur , and Pro / AM ) and ends with an E-Bike race . Then Sunday , the fun begins again with the same three race groups for dirt bikes .
That may sound like any other motocross event ; however , one thing makes this race unique ; it starts on asphalt . Racers line up in rows across Snowshoe Drive ( a state highway ) and complete a rolling start in 5 to 10-second intervals . After racing 100 yards downhill , racers make a 90- degree turn into a short uphill with a true β s β curve before they jump into the dirt on the other side of the hill . At this point , they are on the course . And what a course it is !
The course is over miles of rugged , wooded terrain in the beautiful West Virginia mountains , complete with all the wildlife that comes with it . It has been deemed the most challenging race in the circuit ; for some riders , the Snowshoe race is the only one they will do all year . This unique race start is a way for the GNCC circuit to pay tribute to the original race that was the beginning of GNCC ; the Blackwater 100 , β America β s Toughest Race .β
In 1975 , a West Virginia preacher wanted to hold a grand prix-style motorcycle race through his small town and surrounding towns to boost a struggling economy . He approached Dave Coombs , who thought the mountains of West Virginia were remarkable enough to draw the crowd . Due to the success of that race , Mr . Coombs went on to promote the first-ever AMA National Hare Scramble .
These two events evolved into the GNCC Race circuit that it is today . A race circuit that CMA members are involved with all across the USA . Isn β t it interesting that both CMA and what would become GNCC were born from ideas God gave to a couple of preachers ? Maybe that is why the relationship between GNCC and CMA volunteers is so strong .
CMA has been volunteering at the Snowshoe Race in West Virginia since 2009 . That first year there were four members from West Virginia and ten from North Carolina . The North Carolina members had been volunteering at multiple GNCC races , and the promoter asked them to come to Snowshoe and reach out to members in West Virginia . In 2010 ,