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By MICHELLE LOVE | Staff Writer

PELHAM – Oak Mountain State Park is set to host the 28th annual Bump N Grind bike race the weekend of June 3. The race is set to take place from Friday, June 3 starting at 7 a.m. through Sunday, June 5 ending at 5 p.m.

The Bump n Grind race is the longest running mountain bike race in the Southeast and one of the oldest consecutive mountain bike races in the nation. The event draws racers from across Alabama and the southeast region, and it usually has between 300 and 500 individual racers — all typically accompanied by family, friends, pets and significant others. Riders of all ages go deep into the woods, ride rugged hand-built trails, and race against the top competition at their levels.

The event serves as a fundraiser for the Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers (BUMP), which is a nonprofit dedicated to build, maintain and preserve the various mountain bike trails throughout Birmingham and surrounding areas.

This year, BUMP is bringing back the spectator friendly and action-packed Short Track MTB event, which will test riders’ limits around a less than 1-mile course. Racers will cycle multiple laps around Race Central at the South Trailhead of OMSP, which is where all the action will be centralized for the weekend.

The following are races bikers will be able to participate in:

• Short Track: 25 minutes of full-throttle short-track racing on a high-speed spectator-friendly course close to the Race Central.
• Super D: An enduro-length timed downhill run, top to bottom, through Blood Rock.
• Air D: A shuttled and timed downhill run on our signature Flow-DH trail, Lightning.
• Cross Country: A 21-mile trek with big climbs, big descents, hand-cut single-track, a pristine new section of trail and a longer, faster, bigger descent off the top of the mountain.
• Kids Races: The Hammies will be hosting kid-specific races at the South Trailhead.

Racers completing the Short Track and Cross-Country will be scored and awarded for results in an Omnium category, recognizing the best all-around racers of the weekend in each category. Racers are not required to complete the Super D to be scored in the Omnium, but points will count towards the Omnium results.

For more information on BUMP, visit Bump.org. To register for the Bump N Grind race, visit Bikereg.com and search for “Bump N Grind race weekend”.