Ride On! Two Laid-Back Bike Challenges

By Alex Kochon

Who says you have to race to have a good time? Two exploration-oriented cycling events are officially on the early schedule this year, the first being The Great North – an adventurous gravel grinder ride through southern Washington County on May 15, and the second being the Ride On! Weekend – a self-guided tour of four sweet mountain bike parks in Warren County on June 5-6.

Both will be socially distanced in nature with loose start times and no post-ride awards, yet both aim to help boost the local businesses. Where there’s good food and beer, bikers will follow.

On Saturday, May 15, The Great North will start/finish at Argyle Brewing Company in Cambridge. This self-timed “epic adventure-cycling challenge” in the Battenkill Valley has four options with start time windows for Full Gravel (75 miles, 8-9:30am), Mid Gravel (50 miles, 8-11am), Mini Gravel (25 miles, 10am-1pm), or “Me No Like Gravel” (25 miles, 10am-1pm). 

You’ll need either a gravel bike, road (with 28mm+ knobby tires), cyclocross or mountain bike, unless you pick the paved option. Perks include apple pie, custom pint glass with first fill free from the Argyle Brewing, $10 coupon to post-ride food trucks, entertainment, 10% discount at local restaurants, and on-course sag/mechanical support with aid stations.

The first annual event is non-competitive and self-timed, without official results or awards. After registering, participants can record their ride with the Ride with GPS app. Afterward, riders can upload their results to the app if they wish, or they can just ride for the fun of it without worrying about time. 

Course maps are posted on The Great North’s BikeReg page, but essentially, riders should expect the unexpected. “Like the Battenkill, these are roads that I just was riding,” said Dieter Drake, the event organizer and president of Anthem Sports Tours, which is hosting the event with Argyle Brewing. Partial proceeds support a new building for the Cambridge Volunteer Fire Department.

A former pro cyclist, Dieter lived in Cambridge for 14 years before moving to Colorado in 2016. He still owns/directs the Tour of the Catskills and directs the Tour of the Battenkill, which he founded in 2005. “I thought, ‘That road would be a fun part of a race,’ so The Great North is exactly that,” he continued. “These are just a little bit more rugged and outback-type roads in areas that wouldn’t normally be found on a normal bike route, but it’s just unique and more of an adventure-cycling type of experience versus a road riding or even a gravel-race kind of a thing. It’s just going to be different.” 

For more details and registration, visit: bikereg.com.

RIDE ON! WEEKEND

On Saturday-Sunday, June 5-6, the Ride On! Weekend will be held at Gurney Lane Mountain Bike Park, Brant Lake Bike Park, Garnet Hill Lodge and North Creek Ski Bowl. It’s a casual challenge to ride four Warren County mountain-bike parks in two days. Perks include lunch at The Hub in Brant Lake on Saturday and samples from participating North Creek restaurants on Sunday.

The Ride On! movement began in Warren County about two years ago when Dave Matthews, a SUNY Adirondack business professor and mountain bike enthusiast, decided to put in the time, effort, and necessary startup funds to create a free mountain bike trail guide to the region in 2019. He teamed up with Drew Cappabianca, owner of The Hub in Brant Lake and founder of Brant Lake Bike Park, to complete the guide and organize the first Ride On! Weekend in May 2019.

The weekend was intended to showcase the four main trail systems featured in the guide: Gurney Lane Mountain Bike Park in Queensbury, Brant Lake Bike Park in Brant Lake, Garnet Hill Lodge & Outdoor Center trails in North River, and North Creek Ski Bowl in North Creek. The premise is to challenge local and out-of-town mountain bikers to ride all four parks in a single weekend.

After a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Ride On! Weekend is returning for the first weekend in June to show off the latest developments at the same four trail systems. Presented by The Hub, Wilderness Property Management, and Adirondack Cycling Advocates, the event is non-competitive, untimed, and simply a reason for riders to kick-off the season in Warren County. 

“People are starting to think of this area as a destination for mountain biking,” Dave said. “They’re starting to come here to mountain bike, just like Slate Valley and the Kingdom Trails in Vermont. We’re now drawing people to visit for a weekend from as far away as New Jersey.”

Preregistration for the June 5-6 event is required for Saturday (Gurney & Brant Lake), Sunday (Garnet Hill & Ski Bowl), or for both days. Participants can check-in Saturday from 8-10am at Gurney Lane and will receive a ticket for lunch at The Hub that afternoon.

Drew explained, “This year’s event is designed to be socially distanced to avoid crowds.” Riders can enjoy the 150-acre Gurney Lane – which has new “Gurney Lane South” singletrack trails along the nearby Rush Pond Trail – in the morning, then head up to Brant Lake for more than six miles of intermediate and advanced singletrack before or after lunch.

Last year, at Brant Lake, a new mile of machine-built flow trail was added to make the climb easier, and existing trails were improved with machines as well. “Basically, the two sections where you kind of go straight up and it pegs your heart rate, we made both of those easier,” Drew said.

In an effort to encourage visitors to spend the weekend in Warren County, the town of Johnsburg and several local lodges are sponsoring the event. Riders can stay overnight in North Creek or Garnet Hill Lodge in North River on Saturday and wake up on Sunday to ride at Garnet Hill – where check-in will be from 8-10am, followed by the Ski Bowl. Sunday’s registrants will receive tickets for a “North Creek culinary tour,” with food samples or discounts at participating North Creek restaurants and businesses.

According to Drew, “Garnet Hill has about 10-plus kilometers of singletrack trails, another 10K of double-track cross-country ski trails, and they’ve improved their ‘old school’ trails so there’s something for everyone.”

Just a mile from the hamlet of North Creek, the Ski Bowl offers more than 20K of professionally built singletrack trails winding throughout Little Gore Mountain. A new seven-mile loop is in the works, which includes the Rabbit Pond Trail, a hiking and backcountry ski trail with the potential for mountain-bike singletrack. “The event will raise money to help complete that loop,” Dave said. All weekend proceeds will go to future trail building efforts in Warren County.

“We’re encouraging people to visit Brant Lake, Garnet Hill, and the Ski Bowl,” Dave explained. “Gurney Lane is pretty well-known. We’re trying to showcase the northern parks.” Bring the whole family as each destination offers hiking opportunities and more. On your way up or down the Northway, stop by the Adirondack Sports Expo at the Saratoga City Center to round out your weekend!

For more info about the Ride On! Weekend, lodging discounts, the North Creek culinary tour, and to download the Ride On! Mountain Bike Trail Guide, visit rideonny.com.

Alex Kochon (alexkochon@gmail.com) is the executive director of the Common Roots Foundation in South Glens Falls, a freelance writer and editor, and outdoor-loving mom of two who enjoys adventuring in the Adirondacks.