COLUMBUS — The Nitro National Pro Hillclimb makes its return to Columbus this Friday and Saturday. Preparations on the hill, though, have been ongoing for weeks.
“One thing — Carson Holden, Holden Excavating, thank you sir. Without that cat we would not be doing this. He's a saving grace," Octane Addictions owner Tyler Johnson said. "Two Tuesdays ago, four and a half inches of rain right here in 13 minutes, 14 minutes. The river down there that's 3-feet wide was 150-feet wide. It ran over bridges, over roads, took out everything, so we've been picking up wood. We have a lot of firewood this year. Don't bring firewood, we've got plenty to burn."
There is inclement weather in this weekend’s forecast, but fear not, Johnson has a contingency plan in place should the hill get a little sloppy, where the riding will go on into Sunday if needed.
“A good buddy of mine in Billings that's a pretty big business man said, 'Hey, Tyler. The Hillclimb is just an added bonus to the party you throw on,'" Jonnson said. "Everybody's out there to have a good time. People hang out in their campers. We've had mud wrestling before. Sunday is supposed to be gorgeous. Wind blowing a little bit, 75 and sunny, it'll dry out out here really quickly."
The Nitro National Hillclimb will bring in people from all over the country – Johnson noted a handful will hail from the east coast. But there’s one rider who has traveled overseas.
“We got a call from a guy from France yesterday. He said he's out visiting Yellowstone National Park and wants to come check it out. That's cool to hear. Social media is doing its job, right?"
Columbus will be rocking this weekend, with fireworks and under the lights riding scheduled for Saturday night.
