Pittsburgh isn’t just about football (although this series is designed to have you home in time for the game- if you live locally).
I raced this series last fall on my 29er (and 36er for cyclocross) and the organizers kept saying: “5 riders make a class”. I keep looking for 4 more.
Seriously, if you’re looking to do some racing- this is a fabulous series. The longest of the courses is around 12 miles or so. Lots of ups, downs, roots, and singletrack. Moraine is the most technical of the races. It has LOTS of rocks in addition to all the normal fun. Oh yeah, if it rains around here there will be mud (on most of the courses).
I’ve raced this series for years on my bike before switching to my Muni last year. The organizers are great, the fellow participants are friendly, and the courses are well marked and a tremendous amount of fun. EVERYONE was a fan of Muni.
Quick breakdown for those who might be interested: Bavington is approx. a 7 mile mostly singletrack time trial. I don’t entirely know about Raccoon TWP Park (new this year) but it probably will consist of grassy fields, a bit of road, and some run ups (traditional cyclocross style). Grove City is mostly fields, park roads, and a bit of woods thrown in (once again- cyclocross is a blast!). Brady’s run is the longest of the courses (probably 12 miles or so) with a goodly amount of climbing (and descending), and a lot of fun in the woods. Moraine breaks bikes. It’s by far the hardest of the courses. It took me just over 2 hours last year to do the 2 laps.
I realize that this appeals to a very small subset of the population. You’ve got to be in quite good shape for Moraine or Brady’s for sure.
If you want to travel out for one or more of the races, give me a pm or an email (better) at dave(dot)bikes(at)yahoo(dot)com.
Can we get a class?
-dave
Surly Speed Goats (RTL team #39 for those who aren’t tired of hearing about such things)