“Remember, it’s a $5 bike race.”
Mark Beeson, who just concluded his 10th and final season organizing the Soldotna Cycle Series at Tsalteshi Trails, would always remind racers.
The implication was clear. This race was cheap to enter. It meant little in the big scheme of things, so don’t take any risks that could injure yourself or others.
Over time, though, the $5 bike race has become so much more than a $5 bike race, sparking a community that has transformed mountain biking at Tsalteshi in less than 15 years.
“They have, at times, been very competitive for certain groups of people, but they’ve also always been very social and open and welcoming,” Beeson said. “Being involved in creating a space and perpetuating a space that’s welcoming for everybody, of all levels, is important to me.”
Beeson, the co-owner of Beemuns Variety and its bike loft in Soldotna, graduated from Cook Inlet Academy in 2007 and went off to college, returning in 2014.
By that time, Tsalteshi was already transforming for bikers.
Singletrack on the lower trails would be ready to go by 2014. In September 2012, a “PsychoCross” race at Tsalteshi was the first mountain bike event in quite some time and drew 10 riders.
Mike Crawford, then on the Tsalteshi Trails Association board, started organizing a flurry of events over the next few years, including mountain bike racing that went by Salmon Cycle Series and then Tsalteshi Cycle Series.
He talked Beeson into doing the Chainwreck Cyclocross Series in the fall of 2015, then got Beeson to take over the mountain bike series in 2016. Beeson renamed it the Soldotna Cycle Series.
Jamie Nelson rode that first PsychoCross race and still rides the races to this day.
“In 2012, it was really the people who were tuned into cycling that were showing up,” he said. “It was almost like there was an underground code.
“Mark, with his Beemuns and Tsalteshi platforms, he’s done a great job of getting the word out there. That’s attracted a ton of people that aren’t huge bikers, that just want to be out here and have fun.”
Will Morrow, who also rode that first PsychoCross race and still races, said the environment is what keeps him coming back.
“The core part of it has been pretty constant, which is camaraderie,” he said. “There’s certainly a group of competitive people, but there’s also a group of us that are just here to enjoy the trails and have fun.
“I spend more time talking to people after the race than I do on the race half the time.”
In addition to organizing the races, Beeson also joined the trails association board in 2016 and served for five and a half years, eventually becoming president.
That time saw a massive expansion of singletrack trails, with Tsalteshi and the Slikok Multi-Use Trails now combining for 15 kilometers of singletrack.
Along the way, mountain biking picked up more enthusiasts. Morgan Aldridge purchased a mountain bike in 2017 for a duathlon at Tsalteshi Trails.
Searching for other things to do with that bike, she started riding the Soldotna Cycle Series and has regularly been the top women’s rider ever since.
“Yes, people work hard, and yes, some are faster than others,” Aldridge said. “But it’s getting people out there and getting them together and doing something together.”
Aldridge said the momentum created by the Soldotna Cycle Series led to the creation of the Tsalteshi Sprockets youth bike program in 2018.
Also that year, Beeson went from a one-lap to a two-lap format, offering races of 6 or 12 kilometers to make the event more welcoming.
It worked. For the first race of 2019, over 100 riders showed up, if the youth ramble before the actual race is included. The series was averaging over 60 riders a week.
“People were really excited about it,” Beeson said. “Having a lot of people turn out is obviously both good for the trails and sort of validating you’re doing something good.
“So I’m very proud of that.”
By that point, Beeson was doing races each week from the end of June to early October. He said it amounted to 16 races and 120 to 160 hours of volunteer time.
Beeson said he’s had plenty of help from volunteers, especially in his early years of organizing. The most consistent volunteer has been Beeson’s wife, Morgan Davie.
Aldridge, Morrow and Nelson said Beeson put care into each race.
Aldridge said the courses were always fun to ride with a lot of variety.
Morrow said mosquitoes didn’t stop Beeson from carefully setting out flags to mark the course. Morrow also liked the way Beeson would gradually throw in challenges to increase the skill of the biker.
Nelson said Beeson was always good about paying attention to weather, wildlife sightings and potential traffic pinch points to make sure the course was safe.
During the pandemic in 2020, Nelson said Beeson kept the series going in a virtual format.
When the races resumed, numbers were way down and that killed the cyclocross series in 2023. Still, 34 riders showed up for the last cycle series race of this season Aug. 14.
The big question is what happens to this community now that Beeson is stepping down.
Pat King, chair of the trails association, said the organization is working to continue the bike races, but so far no concrete plans are in place.
“It definitely exists, the fear that someone won’t do it and it’ll wither away and die,” Beeson said. “I think there’s also something to recognizing I’ve put a lot of hours into it over 10 years.
“I’m definitely a little burned out, enthusiasm is down, and it needs a fresh face, some new enthusiasm.”
Morrow said Beeson has done it so long, he’s probably doing four people’s jobs by now, but Morrow wants the races to continue.
After all, they’re worth more than $5.
“That’s quality of life,” he said. “That’s why people live here. So continuing events like that, I think the trails lose a lot if that goes away.”
Soldotna Cycle
Series Race 6
at Tsalteshi Trails
Thursday, Aug. 14
Five laps — 1. Brian Beeson, 29 minutes, 5 seconds; 2. Colten Tuia, 29:49; 3. Dillon Jensen, 30:03; 4. Tom Kobylarz, 30:11; 5. Morgan Aldridge, 30:14; 6. Noah Mery, 30:29; 7. Nels Dahl, 31:35; 8. Kevin Lauver, 33:08; 9. Jonah Rigueiro, 33:28; 10. Dominic Rigueiro, 33:28; 11. Shane Lopez, 33:49; 12. Jordan Chilson, 34:15; 13. Jamie Nelson, 34:40; 14. CO Rudstrom, 35:06; 15. Tom Seggerman, 35:09. Four laps — 16. Jeff Helminiak, 29:21; 17. Milo Martin, 29:42; 18. Tor Dahl, 30:34; 19. Brayden Tuia, 31:14; 20. Josiah Rigueiro, 31:20; 21. Carl Kincaid, 33:25; 22. Leona Haddock, 36:19; 23. Kelly Sederholm, 38:31. Three laps — 24. Josh Toral, 30:14; 25. Nathan Nelson, 30:49; 26. Hunter Morrison, 31:06; 27. Raina Raidmae, 31:12; 28. Edmund Keck, 32:50; 29. Reagan Beeson, 37:13; 30. Baranoff Halverson, 38:54; 31. Mindy Halverson, 40:08; 32. Hudson Wilcox, 40:56; 33. Drake Wilcox, 40:57.
E-bike — Five laps — Justin Martin, 29:55.
The Gauntlet
at Tsalteshi Trails
Sunday, Aug. 24
1. Morgan Aldridge, 4 laps, 4 pages, 2:56:38; 2. Tom Kobylarz, 4 laps, 3 pages, 2:57:45; 3. Tor Dahl, 4 laps, 2 pages, 2:56:48; 4. Tony Eskelin, 4 laps, 2 pages, 2:57:45; 5. Shane Lopez, 3 laps, 7 pages, 2:46:46; 6. Nels Dahl, 3 laps, 2 pages, 2:56:28; 7. Will Morrow, 3 laps, 2:57:20; 8. Tom Seggerman, 3 laps, 2:58:15; 9. Cassie Collins, 2 laps, 4 pages, 2:13:30; 10. James Butler, 2 laps, 3 pages, 2:54:55; 11. Jamie Nelson, 2 laps, 2:59:16; 12. Baranoff Halverson, 1 lap, 3 pages, 2:37:55; 13. Mindy Halverson, 1 lap, 3 pages, 2:37:55; 14. Nathan Nelson, 1 lap, 1 page, 1:45:00; 15. Megan McDonough, 1 lap, 2:20:30; 16. Max Pillsbury, 1 lap, 2:20:30; 17. Niko J, 1 lap, 2:20:30; 18. Sam J, 1 lap, 2:20:30; 19. Jon Iannaccone, 1 lap, 2:28:50; 20. Raina Raidmae, 3 pages, 2:22:45; 21. Leona Haddock, 3 pages, 2:22:45.
