Road riding, dirt jumping, and Swamp Rabbit “Freak Bike” costumes for cyclists of all ages and styles

The Upstate bicycling season kicks off this month with three days of road cycling, mountain biking, and fun events for the whole family. The second annual Greenville Health System Swamp Rabbit “Cyclebration” offers the opportunity to meet fellow cyclists and community members, see new and different events, and support the efforts of Greenville County Recreation District in beautifying our Upstate. Proceeds from the weekend’s festivities benefit development of county parks and cycling trails. All events will start and finish in Gateway Park, the off-road bike skills park completed just last year in downtown Travelers Rest.

While most cycling events focus on either road or off-road cycling, Cyclebration is unique in that it includes road rides, mountain biking, cyclocross, a youth race, and family-friendly fun rides. Gateway Park’s compact layout makes for easy spectating, and proximity to the amenities of Travelers Rest allows for an easy lunch or dinner nearby. Entrance to the park is free for spectators; participation costs $15 per off-road event, or a “Gateway MTB Weekend Pass” registers a participant in all of the weekend’s off-road events for $30 (register here). Registration for road events is $20-40 depending on distance (register here).

3/28/14 • Events begin Friday evening with a costumed parade-style “Freak Bike” ride from Travelers Rest toward Greenville and back; riders of all ages and bikes of all kinds are welcome (start 6:00pm at Sunrift Adventures).

3/29/14 • Saturday’s busy docket starts with 70- and 40-mile road rides through Greenville County, hosted and supported by Greenville’s largest road cycling club, the Greenville Spinners (start times 8:00am and 9:00am, respectively). A family-friendly 10-mile ride along the GHS Swamp Rabbit Trail starts at 10:00am. Back in Gateway Park, the Upstate chapter of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association (Upstate SORBA) will host a youth-only mountain bike race (11:30am). The afternoon will see Gateway Park’s latest cyclocross race, a wild and often muddy event on road bikes adapted for off-road obstacles (4:00pm). Saturday’s events conclude with a casual, family-friendly bonfire and bicycle drag races at Sunrift Adventures (7:00pm).

3/30/14 • Sunday will cap the weekend with Upstate SORBA’s “Skills de Quatro,” a four-part bicycle skills challenge that includes short-track cross country riding, timed laps of Gateway Park’s dirt jumps and pump track, and a timed mountain bike trials course (10:00am). Awards will be announced at the end of the day.

Cycling has been booming in the Upstate. Outdoor Magazine recently ranked the Blue Ridge, including Greenville and Travelers Rest, as the #2 cycling destination in the world (#1 being the entire country of Scotland)! Over 400,000 trail users visit the GHS Swamp Rabbit Trail each year, bringing economic prosperity to areas along the Trail, especially Travelers Rest. Cyclebration is a great chance for all Upstate residents to spectate, participate, and celebrate the growth of bicycling in Greenville County and the Upstate.

For off-road event registration, visit go-greenevents.com/event/id/1794 and upstatesorba.com/.
For road ride registration, visit book-events.com/cyclebration/ and www.greenvillespinners.org/.

Photo by Josh Bagwell, Upstate SORBA

Upstate SORBA (US) and Greenville County Recreation District (GCRD) have put in another terrific work day at Gateway Park in Travelers Rest. A huge crew of awesome volunteers moved some serious dirt, and beefed up Gateway’s berms. Thank you, volunteers!

But wait, there’s more: as a follow-up to last month’s too-cold work day, US and GCRD are leading another work day at Pleasant Ridge County Park on February 15. And are you ready for the really fun part? If you dig it, you get to ride it! Bring your shovel and bring your bike, kiddies, because sections of the trail are expected to be ride-ready by the end of the day’s labor.

Gateway’s pump track will be the focus of another work day in March, so keep your eyes peeled.

Thanks to all the volunteers in the area who make biking safe and fun for all of us, both on and off road!

Looking for something to see & do this weekend? If you’re in the Upstate, you’re in luck, because you’re surrounded by cycling events!

To the south, you’ll find the “3 Hours of Mt. Tabor” race in Dallas, Georgia.

Check their website for more information.

To our north, Icycle hosts a weekend of mountain biking festivities at Fontana Village Resort.

Check the Icycle website for more information.

And the final piece of good news: 0% chance of precipitation all weekend long!

Pleasant Ridge County Park. Photo courtesy Upstate SORBA.

Looking for some pro-bike stuff to do next weekend? You can spend a day in the woods, meet other cyclists, AND be part of the new & improved mountain bike trail system at Pleasant Ridge; Upstate SORBA (Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association) is leading the charge next Saturday, January 18. Pleasant Ridge is on Highways 11 & 25, only 15 minutes from Travelers Rest. Check Upstate SORBA’s Facebook page for more information and let them know if you plan on attending!

The new year has begun, and with it 365 days of potential. Do you have big plans for this year? Build bikes into your new year plan for improving health & mental well-being, enhancing your social life, sharing adventures with your partner or spouse, and spending more time outside. This month will see the growth of UpstateCycleLink’s business directory, club listings, and advocacy directory. If there’s a local business, club, or group you want to see here give us a shout at info@upstatecyclelink.com — and have a happy beginning to 2014!

Kona mountain bikes on Upstate singletrack at Croft State Park

It was only a matter of time, and evidently not very much of it; UpstateCycleLink got together with Facebook and had a baby!

Find it here: www.facebook.com/upstatecyclelink.

As with so many aspects of this site, it’s brand new, a mere infant of a page, but hey — now it exists! There’ll be infinitely more to come; until then, best wishes for the holiday season!

Just in time for the launch of Upstate Cycle Link — and just in time for holiday shopping — the Southeast’s popular Singletracks.com highlights this post on five big advantages to buying from your Local Bike Shop, or LBS.

Singletracks.com is mountain-bike focused, but the points they make apply to all kinds of cycling: when you shop at a LBS you help your local economy; you get to “try before you buy;” you can find mechanical service and product support; and you get that incomparable human connection that draws so many of us to the cycling community in the first place. The author’s last point is the best one, and is my favorite quote from the article:

“Without a doubt the best reason to spend your money locally is because the LBS gives back to your riding scene. When was the last time an online shop hosted a charity ride or a race in your town? Do they put on any regular rides during the week? What about your local advocacy group, has any online store donated money to them? Have you ever done trail work alongside an online store employee?”

This holiday season, thank you for supporting your community by buying local!