April 2021 News

4-27-2021 Fox Raceface XC Trail at Michelin Raceway Open Every Saturday Morning in May! Join some of the Georgia Cycling teams on the Fox XC Trails and raise money for the teams. The trail will be open 8 am – 1 pm every Saturday in May. The minimum donation is $5/rider with a $10/rider suggested donation. Students-Athletes & Coaches registered in the Georgia Cycling HUB for the 2021 season may ride for free. Full course will be opened 8:00AM until 1:00PM Performance + Turbine + Factory Trails = 7.5 Miles You must check in and sign waivers. Visit PrimaTappa.com to print early.
Helmet required. Ride within your ability. All riders must stay on the trail. (No exploring) Course must be ridden counter clockwise. Do not enter the track facility or you will be prosecuted. Ride within your ability. No riders will be allowed to enter the course after 1:00 pm. Please follow all course marshal instructions.

4-20-2021 Blankets Creek 3 and 6 Hour Race – Coming June 19th – NEW COURSE FOR 2021! From Mountain Goat Adventures Make plans to join us for the Blankets Creek 3 and 6 Hour Race presented by Free-Flite Bicycles on June 19th. Register early as we are still at reduced capacity for our events and we expect this race to fill up. Solo, 2 and 3 person team categories are available in the 6 Hour Race. The 3 Hour Option has a TON of categories for those who wish to ride 3 hours solo, as well as a one and two lap option for junior riders.

We are switching things up for 2021 with a new slightly different course configuration and direction. For 2021, we will be riding CLOCKWISE on both Dwelling and VMT. For the opening lap riders will head straight down Hamilton’s Hop to space out before hitting the Dwelling Trail. Riders will enter Dwelling to the left and ride clockwise up to the bench at the top of the Flow Trails, following the advanced line up to the top. Riders will descend the Rock and Roll Flow Trail down to the bottom and continue riding Dwelling clockwise, using intermediate lines on the remainder of the Dwelling Trail. Riders exit Dwelling to Hamilton’s Hop, cross the bridge and turn left onto Mosquito Flats. The course follows Mosquito Flats to the Mosquito Bite/Van Michael Trail, entering in the CLOCKWISE direction over the wooden boardwalks. Riders will complete the Van Michael Trail clockwise, but will skip Kevorkian Pass and the 420 climb. Once done with VMT, riders will take a left onto Mosquito Flats and ride back towards the parking lot. Riders will take a left on Hamiltons Hop, then left again to an access trail that goes around the metal building and around the paved portion of the parking lot. Teammate exchanges can take place anywhere along the parking lot loop. For subsequent laps, riders will take a left onto Creekside Mosquito Flats on their way to Dwelling. Total distance (with the loop around the parking lot) is approximately 8.3 miles with roughly 780′ of elevation gain per lap. This course configuration offers longer climbs but also longer descent sections and some fun jumps and flow on Dwelling and VMT. The clockwise direction will also allow for Friday pre-riding in the race direction. Compared to last year’s course, it is about 4/10ths of a mile longer with about 50′ more elevation gain, so expect lap times to be about two minutes slower than in 2020. NO MASS START FOR 2021 – STARTS WILL BE STAGGERED BY CATEGORY – We will post start waves/times the week before the event.

4-17-2021 States Covered by Southeastern Cycling Hey all! It’s been a while since I reminded everyone which states I cover for the racing calendar and posting events in the News Section. Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. Why? They are closest to Georgia, which is where I live. This is also why you see news centered around the metro Atlanta and surrounding areas. I’d LOVE to be able to add Mississippi & Virginia & Florida & Louisiana, & so on. The reality is that I work a full time corporate day job, and Southeastern Cycling is what I do at 10:00 at night AFTER my own bike ride for the day, fixing dinner for those in the household (yeah, or takeout), house chores, regular life things like going to the grocery store or Home Depot or whereever, and yes, watching my favorite tv shows. SE Cycling is not my full time job. I wish it could be!

Parking at Turner’s Corners If you are parking at Turner’s Corners store to ride the Gaps, park in the BACK parking lot! Do no park in paved lot, which is for their customers–not cyclists (obviously unless you are stopping there after a ride for some provisions). If you park in the paved lot, there is nowhere for their customers to park. Please support this locally owned business and park in the BACK lot they have provided for cyclists.

4-12-2021 Haw Creek Work Party From RAMBO Haw Creek Park Work Party Saturday, April 17 9 am-1pm We are going to have a work party at Haw Creek Park Saturday 4/17 from 9 to 1pm. Please meet at the pavilion. Haw Creek Park is on Echols Rd in Cumming Ga right behind the Toyota dealership. We are going to work on general trail needs, drainage, armoring. Please wear the proper shoes and clothing for trail work. The county will supply the needed tools. Thanks for your help in advance. Joe Baker RAMBO Forsyth County Trail Director.

4-9-2021 Big Creek Freeride Work Party From RAMBO Big Creek Freeride Area Work Party, Sat. & Sunday April 24-25 at 9 am.,10200 Wooten Rd, Roswell, GA 30076. We’re refurbishing the upper sections of Extra Credit and Honor Roll, and we’ll need hands to shape and pack throughout the weekend. Join us for lunch, please bring water and closed-toe shoes.

4-8-2021 GA 400 Century is On! Press Release We are cleared for the final year of the GA400 Century. There is still lots of work to do, but we are on a path to ride June 27. Yes this will be the final year of a great ride. GDOT will no longer be able to give us permission after this year to use GA400 due to construction. So tell all your friends that this is the year to do it! Visit http://ga400century.com for all the latest info.

4-7-2021 Toona Work Party From SORBA West Georgia Allatoona Creek Park Work Party Saturday, April 17, 2021 9:00 am, Join us for our monthly work party. Bring water and work gloves. We’ll supply tools and lunch.

4-5-2021 Silver Comet Prescribed Burn There is a prescribed burn on the Silver Comet around miles 28-29. Several riders have reported riding into thick smoke on Monday, April 5. Signs have been posted along the trail according to a few people on Facebook. You may want to avoid this area for a few days if you are sensitive to smoke or have health issues.

Woodland Brook Update The Cobb DOT expects Woodland Brook to reopen the afternoon of 4/6.

4-4-2021  Woodland Brook Closed Woodland Brook Drive Closed Woodland Brook is a favorite road of cyclists in Vinings (Cobb County, GA). It will be closed for repairs for the foreseeable future from damage from recent rains.

4-2-2021 Alabama Cycling Classic Press Release The Alabama Cycling Classic returns to Calhoun County in its traditional weekend format of national bicycle races for amateur and professional athletes on July 3-4th. The City of Anniston will be the showcase for high-velocity, two wheeled bicycles. The Alabama Cycling Classic event begins on Saturday with the Sunny King Criterium held in conjunction with the popular Main Street Anniston’s Noble Street Festival. Sunday’s race features the newly created Piedmont Criterium, which will be held in downtown Piedmont, Ala. This marks the 19th year for the Sunny King Criterium, which attracts top regional and national talent from across the country as part of the USA Cycling’s Professional Road Tour (PRT). The Sunny King Criterium is the fifth national criterium event on the Professional Road Tour calendar for 2021. The downtown Anniston, Sunny King Criterium offers 20 categorized events for men and women, from junior, masters elite and domestic professional races. The historic downtown four-turn course will begin and end on E. 11th Street near Noble Street in downtown Anniston. Sunday’s Piedmont Criterium will host eight races. This schedule also offers races for amateur, master, junior and elite level racers. This new one-kilometer course is located in the northern region of Calhoun County, racing in and around downtown Piedmont. This marks the 8th year for the Alabama Cycling Classic’s day two event to be held in the City of Piedmont with a renewed excitement for hosting a downtown criterium. The total prize purse for the Alabama Cycling Classic weekend will exceed $27,000, with equal payouts for the professional men’s and women’s races on Saturday.

The Noble Street Festival returns with food, music and family activities adjacent to the criterium course on Saturday. There will be free activities for children and live music for the entire family along the 900 and 1000 blocks of Noble Street. Festival hours are 11a.m. – 7 p.m. Returning this year is the Fat Tire Criterium, the YMCA Kids Bicycle Races and Mad Dash 1K running event (ages 12 and under). Applications for festival vendors are accepted online until June 18th. Admission to the festival and bicycle races is free for all spectators. Online registration is currently open until June 30th for racers, with fees ranging from $10 for juniors to $50 for elite riders. Proceeds from the Sunny King Criterium racer registration fees are donated to the American Cancer Society, a local Relay for Life chapter in Calhoun County. Since 2002, more than $120,000 has been raised for cancer research and patient support. Pre-registration for the YMCA Kids Bicycle Race and Mad Dash 1K is accepted via the Noble Street Festival website until June 25th, with fees ranging from $6 per event or $10 for both. Late entries for the Kids Races are also available onsite the day of the event.

4-1-2021 Outback Bikes is Moving From the shop: Southeastern Cycling Advertiser Outback is moving. They will be closed April 4-7. The new address is 484 Moreland Ave Ne, Atlanta Ga 30307, Same hood, different digs…..L5P for 36 years!

3-31-2021 Calendars Updated I’ve spent the last few nights updating May and June races and looking a bit beyond that on all of the calendars. Some things I’ve noticed. There is NO road racing in the Carolinas after April outside of the MAC racing series, the Triad critic series, and 1-2 independent races. Nothing. Georgia RR is going pretty strong thanks to TopView Sports. Alabama has a few races, but I can’t really find anything past May. There will be a lot of crits in the Southeast in August with Speed Week and a few others postponed from the spring happening. Road racing has really taken a hit the last few years and is at about the lowest amount of races I’ve ever seen. Mountain biking and gravel racing, OTOH, is out of control in an amazing way! There are so many events! You can race off road almost any weekend from late. Feb. to early Dec. That includes cyclocross. Look for the Georgia and NC CX Series to be back this year after taking a break win 2020 because of COVID. Just a few observations. Share your views on the SE Cycling Facebook page!

3-30-2021 Wolfpen Gap Closed A .5 mile section of State Route 80 near Vogel State Park is closed through early next week for emergency repair. If you plan to do Three Gap, this is the road that starts the climb to Wolf Pen.

3-27-2021 MoW Charity Ride Press Release The 15th annual Wheels for Meals Charity Ride is scheduled for Saturday, April 24, 2021 at Trailblazer Park in Travelers Rest, South Carolina. Wheels for Meals offers four scenic and challenging routes, a post-ride celebration, fundraising incentive gear and more! You can find out additional details by visiting www.WheelsforMeals.com All event proceeds benefit the mission of Meals on Wheels of Greenville (SC), which provides nutritious meals, personal interaction and independence to the homebound in Greenville County. (South Carolina)

3-23-2021 Bailey MTB Park Closed Pink Bike is reporting that the Bailey Mountain Bike Park has closed. This was posted by the former owners of the park. As of March 20, the Park is Officially Closed As many of you may know, owning and running Bailey Mountain Bike Park has been very demanding for our small team of two. As difficult as it is… we want to let you know we have sold the mountain property. As a result of the sale, Bailey Mountain Bike Park is officially and permanently closed. Riders: please know, your support of us and of the park, your kindness, and your grace has made our experience worthwhile. Your support, whether in our first year or as recent as last weekend, is deeply appreciated and will never be forgotten! You have helped us to create an amazing chapter in each of our lives and facilitated the start of some amazing ride opportunities in the Southeast.