2012 Month of Mud Schedule Announced

The 2012 Month of Mud Schedule announced:

• September 23rd Moraine XC
• October 7th Brady's Run XC
• October 14th North Park CX
• October 21st Ohiopyle Super D

Check for updates on the Month of Mud Website and Face Book page.

Rider Up! - Moraine Race Recap

To all the guys that I passed on the rocks, no apologies, if you can't ride the section of trail then move aside and get to the back of the line. This is a race, it's not a group ride. Still plenty of good spirited riders out there, for all of you guys; thanks for stepping aside. I know I'll see you on the climb and I'll be plenty obliged to let you by me.

I really appreciated the course reroute this year. Instead of ramming us into the single track a couple of hundred yards into the race we started with two fire road climbs. This spread things out much nicer this year. Still traffic jams in the rock gardens and technicals are to be expected.

Moraine State Park, Month of Mud 2008 Race Recap

I pushed hard at the start but still quite a few riders got out in front of me. Spent the first lap making my way through the pack in the rock gardens. The pace of the pack through the technicals for me was slow, but the upshot was it gave me a chance to recoup. The break was welcome, I had pushed really hard on the climbs at the start; hard enough to make myself nauseous. By the time we hit the power line I had managed to loose most of the pack and Josh (3rd place sport) was the only rider in sight. I got past him before the downhill and from there I just took off. Josh's comment: 'I knew when you passed me you were gone, there was no way I was catching you'. Well I was pretty sure I was going to see him again eventually but not as soon as I did. The trail was free and clear, I knew I had left the pack behind and was catching up with the leaders. Half way down I could hear the sound of bikes clanking a head of me and I was gaining but half way down the hill I road over a a stick laying across the trail found it's way into my spokes and derailleur parts. This little event tore my cable housing apart. I knew the damage was bad when I felt my bike drop into it's biggest gear. I finished the downhill and hobbled through the rocks and stopped after the spectator section to assess the damage. Cable housing was shredded; the race was a wash. I could have tried to turn her into a single speed but frustrated I just called it a day.

No luck fixing the cable

Bushwacker posted some photos and a nice series recap on the PORC boards.

Results posted on West Liberty Cycles the official home for Month of Mud 2008

Bring on the rocks! - Moraine M.O.M. Approaches

Moraine State Park Month of Mud #4 is approaching fast and I'm getting anxious. I love the rocks; so this is easily my favorite venue in the series. A few of us road out at Moraine after the Grove City race. I forgot just how much I love the place. Can't believe Matt and Jason road it on their cross bikes and still managed to leave there with their bikes still intact! We went out and road last years course but I'm not sure what the race course is going to look like this year. I know they laid down some new trial and I don't know if any of that is going to be incorporated into this years course. Last year I the course ran 2 laps and I believe went ten miles but don't under estimate it. This may be the toughest ten you've ever ridden. Here's a couple of Moraine videos I found on YouTube:

Month of Mud 2008 Map

Month of Mud 2008 Venue Locations

[Click Here for Interactive Map and Directions]



View Larger Map

Moraine Month of Mud #5

Last Sunday was the fifth and final race of the 2007 Month of Mud series. I made it out to all five (let me congratulate myself... ). For me it's been a short but fantastic season. I didn't start riding until end of June.

Moraine was an awesome course. Several long gradual climbs a few steep sections and then there were the rocks. Rocks, rocks, rocks and rocks, tons of creeping and pushing your wheels between rocks and boulders. There were too many to power through, after bouncing around for a bit you tired and had to slow down and pick your way through. It required strength, balance and lots of bike handling. It was like a trials course in the middle of a cross country race. A lot were getting off and pushing but walking my bike makes me so damn tired; I put it in the granny gear and worked my way through as best I could; stalling occasionally, but I felt everything there was very ridable you just had to relax, concentrate and take your time. I didn't find getting off and pushing was saving me any time or energy. This strategy apparently paid off. I did far better in the standings in this race than any others in the series.

So I road most of the rock gardens on the first lap but tired and not in top shape, I was forced to walk a few sections on the second . My favorite were the big rocks close to the finish, it's what I called the billy goat section. You had to scramble up and over one giant rock after another.

By the second lap for many of the riders fatigue set in and the silence of the forest was interrupted with shrieks and screams as tired riders lost balance and smashed down onto rocks. I've never experience anything like this in a race but the pain smashing against the rocks compelled people to vocalize. For the back of the pack riders it was like a war zone, riders going down everywhere, but they were the real troopers; they might not have had the endurance and the agility but they were out there in the rocks giving it everything they had going up against that trail.

Moraine was challenging but a great course to ride. For the squeamish, I would have to say go out and test yourself. This course will test you and you will be glad you did it.

So the racing season is over for me but not the riding. I bought a 15watt Nite Rider halogen to counter the short days and lack of day light. I have no plans of reverting back to my chair sitting, mouse pushing, keyboard tapping days.

One word about single speeders who rode this course. [Expletive] WOW! I wouldn't believe it possible to ride that trail but the rider with the best time was riding on one speed! He beat the top expert time. Can I shake your hand! Your are a !@##$# machine! Holy ---- !!!!! You can not be human! You are a freak of nature and a natural @$%@## wOndeR!!!! Damn!