By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
In a nod to the Tour de France, the Logandale Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints recently held its own long-distance bicycle stage race.
The event was targeted primarily at 16- and 17-year-old boys in an annual event called “Camp Helaman.” It consisted of about 20 miles of mountain bike racing up the Mormon Mesa, across it, and back which took place on Friday and Saturday last week.
Logandale Stake Young Men’s President Darren Leavitt, was one of the primary organizers of the event.
“The purpose of the camp is to help these boys learn that they can do challenging things and hard things, to increase their faith, and to strengthen them as they approach a pivotal time in their lives,” Leavitt said.
The boys and their leaders met Friday afternoon at the Logandale Stake Center on St. Joseph Street. Chad and Paul Leavitt set up a station and every bike was checked for road worthiness and safety and given a quick tune-up before leaving. Many leaders also brought bikes to ride along with the boys, but some made the “sacrifice” to drive support vehicles carrying food, camping, and first aid equipment.
The first stage of the ride included riding to the foot of the mesa near the ‘M’ and then lining up to ascend the steep hill.
The extremely challenging ride to the top of the mesa was run like a stage race, much as it would be in the Tour de France. Boys were given a starting time at the bottom and released in stages to make the climb. Each boy got his own finish time at the top.
Once everyone made the climb, the bikers set off across the mesa for a distance ride to their camping spot for the night.
At the camping spot, participants were fed and treated to an inspirational talk by former Moapa Valley resident Dr. Kyle Walker, currently a professor at BYU-I in Rexburg, ID. Walker has a son who had a brain tumor and brain cancer and the theme of his remarks centered around helping the boys gain the emotional and spiritual tools they need to overcome adversity and get through hard experiences in their lives.
After spending a night camping on the Mesa, the boys woke up to breakfast and another devotional. This was given by the full-time LDS missionaries serving in the area. The missionaries are not much older than the boys on the campout but they spoke about study habits and some of the skills the boys would have to learn if they, too, wanted to serve missions of their own someday. The boys were then given a chance to practice some of their newly found skills through role playing and personal study.
Then it was back on their bikes for the second day of riding. The races on Saturday included the Sprint race across the Mesa and other biking challenges. When they reached the edge of the Mesa, they enjoyed an uplifting talk from President Willie Frehner, whose own son is currently serving a mission.
President Frehner had written to his son and asked what words of wisdom he could share that would help the boys in their mission preparation. He passed along the counsel he received. He also shared a strong word of caution about safety going back down the steep hill from the Mesa into the valley. After brakes were checked, the descent began and everyone made the trip without incident.
After one more stop at the foot of the hill for words of wisdom from President Mendis Cooper, the boys rode back to the Stake Center for a final awards presentation.
It is a tradition of Camp Helaman that everyone who completes the camp be given a commemorative tie to celebrate their accomplishment. This year’s ties were blue and gold in honor and memory of Brent May, who recently passed away and was a teacher and coach at the high school and a friend to many of the boys participating.
There were several individual award winners for the ride. Individual award winners also received ties in various colors that represented their achievements. The winners of the first stage, the climb, were Will Dalley, Dennis Whitmore, and Brandon Conk. The winners of the second stage, the sprint, were Easton Dalley, Jacob Hauver, and Steve Holyoak. The overall winners were Easton Dalley, Will Dalley, and President Frehner, who was the only one to make the ride up to the mesa and back down again more than once.
Participant Bradley Payne said, “This is a great activity. The devotionals are my favorite part. Of course, riding on a bike is great, too, especially with other people because it is always better having shared experiences.”
Organizer Darren Leavitt said, “The camp went very well and we had a great time. We had between 30 and 40 youth that participated plus their leaders. Some had to come and go due to conflicts, but we were happy to take anyone whenever they could be there. It was a very challenging course, maybe more so for the adults than for the kids, but it was worth it. It was a great camp, a great experience, and a lot of fun.”
