Greenbrier Challenge 2012

This past weekend I had the privilege to ride in the 9th annual Greenbrier Challenge put on by the Potomac Velo Club. This race really is a challenge. This course is only a 5 mile loop but there is close to 700ft of elevation gain in the first mile and a half of the race loop. There are some awesome sections to this course as well, rock gardens, roots, climbs, downhills, and even some open sprinting to the finish line. The venue is also amazing. The Greenbrier State Park has a beautiful lake as well as a beach and wonderful camp sites. The course starts and finishes right on the lake.

My main goals for this race were to beat my times from last year and do a little better in my category then I did last year as well. I am proud to say that I accomplished both of those goals. Last year I did a 44 minute lap then a 50 minute lap. I entered in the same category as last year, Cat3 19-29, which had more entries this year then last. Our group went off at 10 am and I have to say I was not ready!

When that whistle blew I tried not to over do it right off due to the climbs right out of the gate but excitement got the better of me and on the second climb I got overheated. I was pushing up this climb and watched more then half of my field catch up and pass me. I was really discouraged with myself. When I looked down at my Garmin Edge 200 on my first lap I noticed that I was coming in right at 40 minutes and hit my nice lap feature on the device and hammered for the second lap. I felt like I was doing everything better on the second lap besides climbing. I made better time on the few climbs that I always make but the monster climb a mile one kicked my butt. I ended my second lap at 44 minutes which awarded me the 12 spot out of 18.

All in all it was a great race at a great mountain biking trail in Maryland. I was also able to leave there knowing that I accomplished what I set out to do... (I feel like I could have done better, but the will be next year for that!) 

Just a side note, my buddy Brian Patton raced this race as well and I am proud to report that he is the Maryland State Champion for the Cat 1 Pro men 30-34. He raced an awesome race and won in the end even with mechanical issues! Awesome man, when you go pro remember me, I would love to wrench on your bikes, or even wash them for you at your races...haha!



*Sorry there aren't more pictures, I was all by myself for this race, none of my buddies made it out for this one!

New Garmin Edge 200-(initial review)

I recently left my roadie on my rack overnight and it happened to be a night with a heavy dew. Needless to say my cycling computer was no longer working. I was looking at a replacement computer and stumbled on Garmin's new product the Edge 200. I was surprised at the price for a cycling computer that was also a GPS unit. The Garmin retails for 149.99. This price was fairly good considering the cost of most cycling computers that are not GPS capable. The Garmin Edge 200 was a breeze to get started with, just charge, mount, and ride. There are many features on this unit such as auto pause, saved routes, split times, lap times, and others. I have only used this on one ride so far and love it. From what I can tell the battery lasts a long time too. It was also very easy to load my activity onto the Garmin Connect site as well as other ride tracking sites such as Strava. I will write a final review of the product after a few more uses. I want to take it off the beaten path and see how she does in the woods!As always EP/BC was the place for these awesome products plus the knowledge to keep your bike going...