EC OUTDOOR NATIONAL
Clarkia, Idaho, is home to about 100 people, but that number is about to grow up to tenfold this weekend with motocross races in town.
Hundreds of motorcycle riders are set to pack the Fossil Bowl at Clarkia this weekend for two full days of motocross racing at the third annual EC Outdoor National event.
From young children on 50cc dirt bikes to seasoned professionals gunning for coveted Northwest Toyota Cup Series points, riders from all over the Pacific Northwest are expected to be at the outdoor Fossil Bowl motocross track, which is about 50 miles northwest of Moscow.
"It's really a pretty drive up here," said event promoter Eric Christiansen. "It's kind of a win-win if you have nothing to do (this weekend). The weather is supposed to be really good, so that helps too."
Races will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and should go into the evening each day, Christiansen said. Admission is $10 for a wristband.
There are 22 classes that will race twice each day, for a total of 88 races.
For riders and fans returning to the event, there's a twist in the track this season. Instead of going down a big hill, known as "Devil's Drop," Christiansen is having riders go up it.
"We changed the track up a little bit," he said. "So everybody is pretty excited about that. It's like a mini hill climb."
This weekend marks the third edition of the EC Outdoor National. Christiansen started the event in 2016 after asking if he could lease the track from owner Kenneth Kienbaum.
Despite a constant downpour and poor conditions, nearly 200 riders showed up for the event.
"There was a 90-percent chance of rain all week and we got 110 percent water (during the event) and we still had almost 200 riders," Christiansen said. "At that point we knew if the weather was good we were going to have a really good race."
He was right.
The next year, 388 riders came out and the total number of people at the event was around 600 to 1,000 on the weekend.
Christiansen is hoping for more of the same this year.
The only caveat? Cell coverage is nearly nonexistent at the track.
"There have been kids wandering around who have never been here before holding up their cellphones everywhere," Christiansen said. "At the same time I think it's almost a good thing that they get disconnected from the phone for a weekend.
"It's really neat. It's a really cool (track) and it's surrounded by trees and mountains."
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Stephan Wiebe can be reached at swiebe@dnews.com and 208-883-4629.
