Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Riders plow through a deep puddle of muddy water at the start of the "Ring of Fire" loop during the Dragon's Back bike race on North Mountain in Craig County on Sunday morning. Recent rains softened up the trails and created a lot of puddles, and by the end of the race riders and bikes alike were caked with mud.

Caleb Walton, 19, walks his bike back to the starting line after breaking his chain while chasing the leader during the Dragon's Back bike race on Sunday morning. Although he was disappointed, Walton said, "It wasn't a total loss. It was the best bike ride of my life until the break. I got a lot of confidence out of the day." Walton rode near the front of the pack during the early stages of the race, an event that has been held annually since 1993.

Scores of mountain-bike racers from Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and other states flocked to the Jefferson National Forest on Sunday for the Just the Right Gear Dragon's Back Challenge, a race on one of the most unforgiving mountain-bike courses in Western Virginia. Thanks to Saturday night's soaking rain, most of the 133 male and female racers and their bikes were covered in mud by the ride's end.

The race, held each April since 1993, is the first in a series of three mountain-bike races that make up the Virginia State Championship. Sunday's race followed an 18-mile, figure-eight course up and down steeply switchbacked single-track trails on North Mountain in Craig County. The racers rode for 18 or 35 miles depending on the class they entered.

Among the entrants was professional mountain-bike racer Harlan Price of Philadelphia, who won the men's 18-mile course with a time of 2:01.

-- The Roanoke Times