Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Wheels on Fire 100 bicycle event in Tucumcari has been canceled for a second straight year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Facebook page for the event, scheduled for Sept. 25, announced the cancellation Wednesday.
“With the current restrictions to events, a mask mandate for outdoor activities, and no guarantee that mandate will be lifted in the fall, we will once again be unable to hold the Wheels on Fire 100 here in New Mexico,” the social media post stated.
The state’s latest public health order recently allowed people to exercise outdoors without a mask, but only while alone or with members of the same household.
The health order states vaccinated people also can go maskless when attending small, outdoor gatherings no larger than the county’s mass-gatherings limit or 20 people, whichever is less.
It stated that refunds would be issued to those who registered for the race. It encouraged cyclists to instead register for the Texas Tumbleweed 100 in Dumas, Texas, scheduled for Sept. 11.
Phone messages and an email left for Wheels on Fire 100 organizer Brandon Goldston requesting additional details were unreturned.
Wheels on Fire 100 joined a list of other Tucumcari events — including Tucumcari Rawhide Days, New Mexico Music Showcase, Fired Up and Rockin’ Route 66 — that were canceled for a second consecutive year because of the pandemic’s restrictions.
Wheels on Fire 100 winds its way on a 100-mile circular course through San Jon, Grady, Ragland and back to Tucumcari, and it also offers shorter rides for less ambitious cyclists.
The 2019 event drew a total of 117 cyclists. Jon Kulas of Santa Rosa that year rode the 100 miles in a record time of 4 hours, 2 minutes, 49 seconds, breaking the old mark by 25 minutes. Kulas averaged nearly 25 mph.