Squiggy’s Gnome Roam on tap at Starkey Park

The SWAMP Mountain Bike Club is resurrecting a classic event with Squiggy’s Gnome Roam, which is set to take place Nov. 9 – 13 at Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park.

The main event is a six-hour, semi-serious endurance relay race, where teams of three will take turns riding a 10-mile course and collecting tokens along the way. The teams with the most tokens at the end of the day will take podium spots, and any ties will be decided by an arm-wrestling contest.

In addition to the endurance challenge, there will be camping, various distance runs, a night ride, nature walk/ride, live music and food. There is also a raffle to win an Atomik Carbon Wheelset.

The event is modeled after Squiggy’s Classic, which was a similar endurance race held on the Squiggy Trail at Flatwoods Wilderness Park about 10 years ago, according to Pat Sanchez, executive director of the SWAMP Mountain Bike Club.

“We wanted to showcase Starkey Park, another park that is perfect for an endurance challenge,” Sanchez said.

Atomik Carbon is donating a pair of Carbon Wheels built with Berd Spokes and I9 or Profile
Racing hubs. Wheels can be gravel, MTB or road. To enter the raffle to with the Atomic Carbon Wheelset, visit: https://www.swampmtbclub.com/squiggy/squiggy-per-chance-drawings. The raffle will be held on Sunday.

The registration deadline for the endurance race is Oct. 15. Registration is $65 for each team member. To register for any of the events, or for more information on Squiggy’s Gnome Roam, check out www.swampmtbclub.com/squiggy

Full Squiggy’s Gnome Roam schedule:

• Thursday, November 9-13, 2023,
  • wilderness camping experience.
• Friday, November 10, 2023,
  • Famous Starkey Night Ride (For campers only)
  • Sunset Run 5k or 10k
• Saturday, November 11, 2023,
  • 2- hour Nature Tour walk or ride                           
  • 6-hour Semi-serious relay endurance challenge
  • Morning Run 5k or 10k
  • Gnome Zone Romp
• Sunday November 12, 2023,
  • Fun time guided ride
  • Atomik Wheelset drawing

Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park is located at: 10500 Wilderness Park Blvd, New Port Richey, FL 34655