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.

Month of Mud #4 North Park Time Trail

North Park will be a short race. A one lap time trial and the course should run a little under 6 miles. The trails are more open than Bavington and this will certainly bring up the pace. I'm expect the winning time to be below 30 minutes compared to 42 minutes at Bavington. Where the top Bavington rider averaged 11.5 mph I'd guess the top pace at North Park to be more around 13.

Quick Brady's Recap and Grove City Forecast

Another Month of Mud record, biggest turn out ever for a Brady's Run race. Rain never came, and the course is bone dry. The prologue lap has the stragglers choking in dust. Celebrity appearance made by the Pflugenstein. Jerry wins the overall race with a narrow 20 second lead over single speeder Evan Perrone and earning top place points in the master's class.
Here's a couple of Brady blog posts:
The Bushwacka Report
Plug does a quick recap of his performance at the bottom of this post.
Fat Cyclist Rider G. Somerhalder's report

Up next the Grove City cross race. This is generally a fairly dry course, but a week of precipitation and 'a few showers' in this weekend's forecast and we may actually get some mud in our Month of Mud. Cross Race season, it's all about the mud.

Month of Mud #2: Raccoon Township Cyclo-Cross

Great course at Raccoon Township Community Park. A week full of rainy days and morning precipitation prepped the course perfectly for the race. This is what cyclo-cross and the month of mud is all about.

Sharp turns and mud gave those with bike handling skills a distinct advantage and very few riders managed to navigate the race without at least one good slide out. Each lap wore the grass down in the tight turns and what had been previously navigable at speed the lap before was now slick mud. The sharp turns lured riders in and muddier and slicker than the previous lap it sent them skidding across the lawn.

Certainly the race reseeding fee will be put to good use.

Click here for an excellent race report and photo on Knobby Meats blog.

An hour of riding just didn't seem like enough for one day especially for my riding buddy who flatted out without even laying down a single lap.

We headed over to Bavington for a somewhat casual 11 mile loop of single track. The casual pace was perfect because the one hour cycl0-cross hammer fest had put much more of a hurting on me than I had realized. This loop was recorded by his Garmin 605 GPS/Cyclometer. This thing is fantastic.

Month of Mud 2009

About this time of year people begin asking about the Month of Mud race series. Don't fret, the Month of Mud has been going strong for over 20 years and there will be a 2009 Month of Mud series. The schedule usually doesn't come out till a few weeks before the series but MOM has a new web site and there is a little hint of what's to come. Schedule still seems tentative but the first race, The Bavington Time Trails, is set for Sept 20th, 2009.

**** UPDATE ****

Tentative Month of Mud 2009 Race Schedule

9/20 Bavington (MTB)
9/27 Raccoon Township Park(CX)
10/4 Grove City (CX)
10/11 Brady’s Run (MTB)
10/25 Moraine (MTB)


A little bit about the series:

These races are short, fast and intense. They feature trail systems local to the Pittsburgh region and usually include at least one cyclo-cross race. There are no bike restrictions in the cyclocross races so you can use your Mountain Bike and many people do.

Month of Mud Posts and Resources

• 2008 Bavington Race Course
• 2008 Bavington Race Recap
• Map of 2008 Race Venues
• All Month of Mud Related Posts

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:

Grove City Results Posted

Grove City Month of Mud Race #3

This years course layout was very similar to last years, it was missing a turn somewhere that I just can't figure out. Last year there was a 180 that hooked you up a little bank, you needed to be the right gear or you would be left in a lurch.

Not a cross bike owner but this year I came a little better prepared. Put a set of Continental Speed King Cyclocross tires on my 29er. A full suspension mountain bike with a set of little skinnies looked absolutely ridiculous but it got the job done. Looked like my poor HiFi got neutered. Still very effective, it's like I cut my 29er loose and set it free can't believe how much faster these roll on the hard stuff and they corner in the grass like you are on rails, even better than a mountain bike tire but hit some loose dirt or gravel and you are going down.

Still no substitute for a cross bike. Mountain Bikes are are built to handle well on the trail but they are just not aerodynamic. When you are riding with your chest up catching the wind like a kite it's going to slow you down. Even in the grass I'd still be pushing 15mph, at that point air resistance really starts to matter.


Results:
[Grove City's Results posted on West Liberty Cycles]


Here's Arron's race report and some nice photo's to boot:

[Aaron's Race Report and Race Photos]

Month of Mud #2 Brady's Run

Results for Brady's run are are posted! [Click Here]

Wow! What a change up from last year! I love Brady's run and last year's race was good, but the people from B.A.B.E just keep pouring it on. The B.A.B.E. volunteers (Beaver Area Bicycle Enthusiasts) added several miles of trails making this year's race a single twelve mile loop. Last year's course served as the finishing miles.

There's so much I like about Brady's, fast winding single track, technical roots and logs and big steady climbs, these make for a classic race and the new trails just added it on.

The race started up the road and across the street from last years start line; adjacent to the playground. The course shot out over the lawn and through the creek. From there we headed up a long steady double track climb that finished up on the road. This did a lot to widen the field and when entered back into the woods, riders were spread out nicely. A race is so much better when your not all jammed up in the woods. From there we were lead through miles of windy single track and up several climbs. Wow so much new trail has been laid out here. The race went twelve miles with the average sport class rider finishing between 1:20 - 1:35.

I just want to extend a big thanks to B.A.B.E and all the volunteers from me and the racers. So much work was put in to getting the trails back in shape after the storm. Much appreciated!

Bavington Results Are Posted

Results:
http://www.westlibertycycles.com/mom/results.htm

Bush Wacker's Photos and Race Report:
http://www.porcmtbclub.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2207

Bavington Time Trails 2008

Bushwacker brings us a nice race recap and some great race photos on his post on the PORC message boards. [Click Here]

Bavington was the first race in this years month of mud series. The time trails started a little after 10:00 and from there everything went off like clock work. Beautiful day and dry trails made for a fantastic race.

This race was grueling. Eight miles sounds like a walk in the park as far as mountain bike races go but this race was a sprint from start to finish with not a moments rest. I don't think my heart rate dropped below 90% for anymore than a minute the entire time. My lungs hurt, I don't thing my lungs have ever hurt after a race before.

One of my race buds didn't fair as well. During our pre-race warm up, going into a sharp turn he washed out on a log crossing and drove his elbow into his side ending up up with a cracked or rib and tweaked front derailleur. Give him credit he came in with a respectable time, bruised rib and mechanical issues aside.

Last Years Bavington Race Course

I don't know if the race course will be any different at Bavington this year but this was the course for the time trials for Month of Mud last year. The course is on fast tight windy single track. I recommend walking the one extremely steep section where the section that was new for last year end. You'll only loose a few seconds and it's not worth the fall. The course runs about 8 miles and for the average racer take about an hour to complete it.

2008 Month of Mud Info now Online

Month of Mud race info is being hosted at West Liberty Cycles website:

http://www.westlibertycycles.com/mom/schedule.htm

Month of Mud 2008 Map

Month of Mud 2008 Venue Locations

[Click Here for Interactive Map and Directions]



View Larger Map

Month of Mud 2008 Schedule

Got this info thanks to Don Powers . This was from Gary Bywaters today.






Here is the 2008 MOM schedule :

• Sunday Sept 21 - Bavington State Game Lands (ATB time trial)
• Sunday Sept 28 - Bradys Run Park (ATB)
• Sunday Oct 5 - Grove City Park (Jungle 'Cross)
• Sunday Oct 12 - Moraine State Park (ATB)
  

See you there!

Gary Bywaters
MOM Founder

Month of Mud is a series of Mountain Bike and Cyclocross races that take place in Southwestern Pennsylvania showcasing some great riding destinations in the regions surrounding Pittsburgh. Month of Mud races are generally shorter than traditional cross country races, most races averaging around 8 - 10 miles.

Month of Mud 2008

Word has it the 2008 Month of Mud schedule is due out soon. The rumor is this year will be a shortened schedule, 7 Springs and Mammoth are not on the list, but Moraine is definitely part of the itinerary and the series will probably begin the last week of September. Know any other rumors or premonitions please comment.

Month of Mud is a series of Mountain Bike and Cyclocross races that take place in Southwestern Pennsylvania showcasing some great riding destinations in the regions surrounding Pittsburgh.

Racing: What It's All About

The Big Bear Lake Classic XC Race, in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia is coming up in less than two weeks, and I'm looking forward to it. I heard the trails down there are great. Got my new bike, been training all winter and hoping to finish better than I did at the end of last season but none the less I'm giving it a go.

Now I never thought I'd ever finish last in a mountain bike race. This was years ago but my first race ever I kicked ass. I entered the first timers category in the Buffalo Creek Race in Colorado. Placed 5th out of 100 beating the crap out of a ton of sand baggers; this only a few weeks after my first time on a a mountain bike. I followed this up with a my very successful race season 'one of the top novice class riders in the area.' Ha ha ha, my big mountain bike claim to fame, woo hoo, local rookie of the year with two 5ths, a 2nd at Seven Springs, a first at the Raccoon Township race, and a myriad of DNF break downs.

So several years of dormancy and spending most of my work and leisure time behind this keyboard, I'm in such sorry shape. Me poor aching body too weak to support me bones. A race schedule was exactly what I needed to keep me riding and get my awful pitiful self back into some kind of shapeliness.

So only ten weeks after my feet clicked back into peddels I was at the starting line of the first month of mud series race in Mammoth, PA. I'm obviously at a cyclo-cross with race with a mountain bike, here with the wrong equipment but why not, what the hell, a lot of other month of mudders out here with their mountain bikes.

Now my retro Raleigh John Tomac had been pretty good to me all summer but this would be the exact hour, the exact minute that my middle chain ring teeth decided they didn't have enough metal to hold against the chain torque. Repeatedly they let go of the chain and leaving my knees to slam into the stem. Ow, ouch, ... ow! Quit the race?!?! Really now, I had a perfectly good granny gear and a big ring. It was clumsy trying to switch between them, and the course went up and down constantly, and the derailer just didn't want to kick all the way over leaving me climb in too big of a gear or just stall out, but I gave it hell anyway. Now I've never been in last place or anywhere near it, and now not for a minute was it my bikes fault. My bike had nothing to do with the sorry sappy rider in sorry sappy shape sitting on top of it. I own up to my sport class last place and I gracefully accept it.

It was just good to be back in the saddle, pushing myself as hard as I could go. I love the adrenaline; I love the rush; I love training for races. I've always ridden to race. Every ride pushing myself physically, pushing my skills, searching my limits and crashing a lot. It's my incentive to go out and give it hell every single ride that I do.

Shift ahead four weeks later and I am riding the legendary rock gardens at Moraine State Park in the last Month of Mud race. Doing better but I'm still among the back of the pack. I have total respect for every rider that gets out there and gives it a go. I see these guys back there and I know they are not the most technical riders to grace this trail and the course is brutal; but they are there giving it hell anyway, smashing down on rocks, slugging it out all the way, not giving in. These people earn my respect, every one of them.

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!

Brady's Run, Month of Mud #4

Month of Mud lived up to it's name, a misty morning followed by a light rain less than an hour before the start put a nice slick coating on the trail making roots and log crossing like ice. This was a fantastic race; Brady's run had all the elements of a classic mountain bike course. A big long climb, some double track to spread out the riders, tight winding single track, plenty of log crossings, sections of fast booking it single track, mud, roots, rocks and a screaming downhill to top it all off. The course went two loops and ran around 8 - 10 miles.

Month of Mud #3 Grove City Community Park

Month of Mud #3, Grove City Community Park was 100% cross-bike territory. The race was a combination of park road black top, park lawn routes designated with plastic ribbon, and a short section of jeep trail double track. The race was fast paced and no one was letting up. It featured one major climb that was certainly middle ring territory if you put forth some effort; but I witnessed many tired sport class riders pushing or climbing in their granny. The race featured at least one run up near the start, this was after the course left the black top. There were also a couple of barriers in the lawn section. This race also included a short feature lap at the start of the race around the park's asphalt that allowed the field to spread apart before the course entered into the more confined run up section. The feature lap was greatly appreciated. This is something a few mountain bike races I know could stand to include to spread out the racers before the entire field piled into a tight single track jam up.