With the ring of a bell, Eddie Miller rode across the finish line Saturday morning to capture the cruisers division in the State Games of America mountain bike race on the Air Force Academy’s Falcon Trail.

A bicycle bell is a rare sight at such a race, but so are Miller and his steel blue cruiser bike. The 30-year-old Colorado Springs resident was decked out in his usual race ensemble of “regular clothes” — black trousers and a light blue and burgundy rugby-style, long-sleeve shirt.

The other 85 entrants in the 20 other divisions donned cycling shorts and jerseys and rode mountain bikes for the race, which doubled as the finale in the Sand Creek Series for area riders. They might have been more suited for the terrain, but no one looked like they were having as much fun as Miller.

“It’s fun for me to go out and do that stuff and have a good time,” said Miller, who rides 4.5 miles to and from work at Bicycle Village. “Sometimes people take racing too seriously. … So it’s nice to add a little bit more of a fun aspect to racing.”

Miller, who opted to compete in his first State Games “to really solidify my first place” in the Sand Creek Series — in which he’s the only participant in the cruisers category — also said he enjoys the challenges of racing on a single-speed cruiser.

“Yeah, the full-suspension mountain bike has its advantages,” he said, “but (the cruiser bike) makes it super fun — trying to negotiate some of these corners and whatnot and sliding around.”

There were a few muddy spots, but that didn’t bother Miller — “the bike’s got fenders so I’m pretty clean.”

However, Miller said he had a few problems on the course, which was 12.6 miles for most participants and 25.2 miles (two laps) for the advanced riders.

“I got a little tired toward the end,” he said. “So I walked up the last couple switchbacks on the final climb. But that’s all right, I’m on a cruiser bike.”

Twelve-year-old Tiani Reeves of Gothenburg, Neb., long jumped 15 feet, 9 inches during the State Games of America at Lewis-Palmer High School Aug. 1. Photo by Kirk Speer