An Off-Road Classic That’s Off-the-Wall

The Off-Road Classic, planned for Saturday at the private Boys Republic ranch in Chino Hills, is a bicycling event with a difference.

Consider the “bog hole blast,” described as a “downhill mountain bike sprint against the clock, with the final 50 feet of the course running through a foot-deep bog hole filled with mud.” Or the “clunker toss,” where the object is not how fast you can ride a bike, but how far you can throw it.

Those are just the slightly off-kilter appetizers for the main events: a 20-kilometer bicycle race and an off-road duathlon. There will also be a 5K off-road run and a 1-mile kids’ run.

Boys Republic is a 200-acre farm school for disadvantaged and troubled teens. The 148 residents raise cattle and feed-crops on the ranch and receive counseling, education and vocational training.

A board member suggested the idea of holding a bike or running event on the ranch, according to development director Jerry Marcotte. The event will be a positive event for residents of the ranch and will help generate publicity for the program, founded in 1907, Marcotte said.

Donny Wade of Esco, a race-organizing company, was brought on to design the Off-Road Classic. Being able to work with 200 acres of private land with varied terrain offered Wade his first chance to hold six events on one site in a single day.

The runs and bike rides are loop courses set on dirt roads, single-track trails and grass. The bike course will offer challenges, Wade said, but overall he classified it as an “early-season ride,” as in early in the racing season. “It has some good climbs, but it’s not the kind that rip your heart out,” Wade said.

Off-road duathlons follow the same run-bike-run format as most street duathlons. This one will feature a 3-K run, a 15-K bike ride and another 3-K run. Wade said some of the country’s top mountain bikers and triathletes are planning to attend and take part in both the mountain bike race and the duathlon. Among the 400 to 500 competitors expected: triathlete Scott Tinley and mountain bikers Johnny O’Mara and Tinker Juarez.

Despite the presence of such imposing competition, Wade said, the event will also serve as good introductions to racing for less-experienced riders. The course is less treacherous than those used in competitions at Big Bear and other mountain sites.

As for the bog hole blast, “I’ve been wanting to do something like that for years,” Wade said. “I’m just as crazy as everybody else.” The clunker toss and bog hole blast are open to participants registered for any of the primary events.