The Blackwater 100 schedule had the ATV ’ s running on Saturday , and the bikes on Sunday . This would provide us ample opportunity to get a lay of the land , and to observe how the multi-wheelers handled the terrain and course obstacles . We wandered on down there then , Saturday morning , and watched as a whole big-ol ’ bunch of threewheelers , four-wheelers , and even some fat-tired motorcycles lined up to take the green flag . Fat tired bikes ? Yeah , I don ’ t know how many years they were included , but at least when we first started going to Blackwater , BW Yamahas and Honda Fat Cats were run in with the ATCs and ATVs .
Along about midday then , the ATVs were waved off , two by two , gassed it down a block or so of Main Street , then turned off the pavement and were funneled down into the Blackwater River . There , a good thousand or so spectators were gathered to watch , and a few of the more ambitious of them had damned up the river so that it was nice and deep , and afforded as much entertainment as possible . And the ATVs did not disappoint . They hit that river like a calvary charge , and for every four or so riders which found success in crossing , there was at least one which drowned out and / or began floating away . The onlookers were more than willing to become involved too , as many immediately waded in to assist floundering ATVs and their riders .
We watched all this with a mix of amusement and trepidation , as within twenty-four hours the same scenario would be repeated for us motorcycle competitors . But it was fun to observe regardless , and we soon moved on to watch the fourwheelers at another vantage point – the soon-to-be infamous Route 93 River Crossing .
If there is any one feature for which The Blackwater 100 is remembered , it ’ s the Route 93 River Crossing . What was the big deal ? In all actuality , nothing really . Maybe twenty yards wide , eighteen to twenty-four inches deep , low bank on the entry side , about twelve-foot high bank on the exit side – which in itself was not even that steep . Yes , but mix in hundreds of riders , a slippery clay surface on that exit bank , and thousands – make that thousands of beer-fueled spectators , hungry for excitement , and the Route 93 crossing became absolute insanity .
First off , the spectators , of course , dammed up the downward side of the river – to assure the water would be as deep as possible . They also carried in big rocks from the surrounding area , then tossed them into the water right where riders would be crossing , plus took
VOL . 6 ISSUE 2 - FEBRUARY 2021 // PAGE 121