Steve Smith has competed in plenty of off-road mountain bicycle races - about 60 in the past three years.

"I got started four years ago when I noticed they were having a mountain bike race at Alameda Park," the 29-year-old Butler resident said.

"I always liked riding a bike when I was a kid and I was looking for something to get me out and away from the TV."

He found it.

Smith finished ninth out of 30 riders in the beginners division that day. Eight months later, he began competing in the sport division and moved up to the expert division last year.

He competed on a team in a 24-hour mountain bike race last year and helped the squad finish second.

"But that was in the sport class," Smith said. "I dropped down from the expert division and didn't know you're not supposed to do that. It created quite a disturbance."

This year, Smith wanted to redeem himself. So he entered the Seven Springs Champions Challenge - a 24-hour endurance race - as a solo rider Labor Day weekend.

Smith wound up riding 168 miles and won the race, sleeping for only minutes from the noon Saturday start to the noon Sunday finish.

He never finished higher than fourth as a solo competitor in any previous race.

"I just braced myself for it," Smith said. "You were allowed to pull off the course and sleep for a while, but if you did, you had no chance of winning. Whoever completes the most loops wins the race.

"My longest practice outing in a day leading up to the race was five hours. I rode 101 miles that day."

More than 300 mountain bikers were involved in the race, but most were involved with four-person relay teams. Smith was one of 10 participants competing solo.

The off-road course was 12 miles long. Smith completed 14 loops, the equivalent of 168 miles. The winning relay team completed 21 loops.

"I tried to pace myself, eating power bars and drinking sports drinks while I rode," he said. "My longest break was 10 minutes, when I ate a chicken sandwich.

"I got sick on the course at about 2 a.m. I thought I'd have to quit, but instead I slowed down for a while, pushed myself and began feeling better."

Smith completed his first loop in an hour and 15 minutes, then completed the last three loops in two hours each.

He said he was riding neck and neck with another solo competitor until about 4 a.m.

"That's when I got past him for the last time," he said. "The guy didn't finish the race. I don't know what happened to him."

The course was rocky and included two hills. No portion of the course was paved and it didn't have lights. Bikers had to wear lights on their riding apparel and have lights on their bikes.

Smith rides his bike four times a week for two to three hours each day. He said "pure adrenaline" got him through the Seven Springs race.

"I hope to try two or three 24-hour races next year," he said. "There's one in Snowshoe (W.Va.) in June and I'll definitely be back at Seven Springs again."

His first race after his Alameda Park debut was at Vulture's Knob in Wooster, Ohio.

"You go to a race, meet people, learn about other races and just keep going," Smith said. "There's a 16-race series in West Virginia I'm part of.

"Mountain bike racing is fun and it's competitive. I've never had any kind of sports background, but I'm into this."