As a mountain biker, winter can sometimes get a little depressing. Memories of summer epics have long faded while the cold temperatures keep us (and our buddies) indoors more often than we’d like. Frankly I’m a little tired of my own excuses for not riding more in the winter so I decided to challenge myself to ride 29 trails in 29 days (on a 29er).
The plan is to kick things off on January 8, 2011 by riding the Snake Creek Gap Time Trial #1 in Dalton, GA. Although I’ve never ridden “the Snake,” I’ve been told by many riders who are much better than me that it’s a tough course so it should be a good wake-up call. Then, on day 29 (February 5) I’ll ride the same course again to see how my time has (hopefully) improved. For the first race I won’t do any extra training beyond what I would normally ride.
Since I’ll be riding the same trail on day 1 and day 29 (the Pinhoti Trail) I’ll need to ride two trails on one day during the challenge. In fact I plan on riding multiple trails some days to leave other days open to give myself a little scheduling flexibility. I’ve already mapped out a potential list of trails spread across 5 states in the southeast; about half the trails on my list are trails I’ve never ridden so I’m stoked for the adventure.
The 29 day challenge should also give me a good chance to put some of my gear to the test. In particular I’ll be reviewing the new SRAM X0 2×10 drivetrain to see how it holds up under wet, potentially icy conditions and nearly continuous wear and tear.
Throughout the challenge I’ll be sharing race reports, gear reviews, and trail descriptions along with training updates and more. We’ll also post up a schedule of some upcoming rides in case anyone wants to join me on the trail.
29 trails in 29 days – I can’t wait to get started!
