Riders negotiated Palmer Park's tricky single track in a race in 2010. Photo by Rob Lucas

Mountain bike racers who dig the long haul are in for a treat on Sept. 18 in Palmer Park.

Longtime race organizer Andy Bohlmann has scheduled the new "Sand Creek Sports Championships," a 50-mile race on some of the Pikes Peak Region's sweetest singletrack trails.

"I have the permits, I have a title sponsor, and I already have about 20 riders who say they want in," Bohlmann said. "I couldn't be happier."

Bohlmann added the race when he was forced to cancel the Colorado Senior Road Championships because of security concerns at the Air Force Academy.

Sand Creek Sports website

"I needed another race," he said. "We had some great success this year with the Ascent Cycling Series and it made sense to add a mountain bike race."

He couldn't release the name of the title sponsor, but said that information will be available this week.

The Ascent Cycling Series opener has been held at Palmer Park in each of the last two years with area riders giving the events two thumbs up. The 50-mile course will include much of the same track used in a race earlier this year.

"The riders loved it, so I really wanted to go back there," he said.

Bohlmann plans to make a day of it with a pig roast after the race.

Entry fees and start times will be released soon, he said. Riders will not need a racing license to participate. There may be a race cap of 100 or 125 riders.