Groovy Cycleworks 330-988-0537: Ready set go, it's open house and race time...

I'd like to thank all that attended the open house. As always, it's always a pleasure to talk shop, eat some tasty grub, and meet new folks who share an interest in bikes. I enjoyed walking through the custom process with quite a few folks, sharing some of the more intimate details of the process that just cannot be conveyed over the blog or impersonally. While we were having a good time inside, the weather outside the door was looking gloomy for the second Groovy Series race later in the afternoon.

With two days of solid rain, I was not very optimistic about a good turn out for the race at Vultures knob. As we are fortunate to have riders come from quite a distance, poor weather often enables an afternoon of riding the couch as a more appealing option than riding the bike. Despite the dark clouds and intermittent rain, 84 bold participants came out to race the trails and have a dilly of a good time. Even better, 13 of those folks had never raced with us before, proving that all it takes to have a good time is a willing attitude, a bit of enthusiasm, and a good old dose of muddy fun. I was stoked.

We had a great field of competition in all the classes. Starting off with the kid's races, riders as young as 3 years old were out there showing the adults how it's done...well done kiddo's.

The adult race saw many folks battling through the effort of technical trails intensified with slick/muddy conditions. Despite the difficulties, many of the Expert times were only 1 minute off their dry condition results, proving that as the early season gives way to summer, so to comes the race conditioning. For the Groovy team, Jeff sat out this race due to a back injury sustained in the OMBC Wilds race last Sunday. Steve led the way for the Experts finishing 1st in a VERY competitive class. Carey showed that even in the mud, he can rail turns finishing fourth in conditions that he admits are not his strong suit. Kalten placed 1st in the under 18 Sport class in a softened field due to mechanicals that plagued a few good riders, taking them out of the race prematurely (Chris and Robert, keep charging, it'll come together next race I'm sure!).

Steve leading the field...

Dave close on his heels...

Kalten making the turn for home...

Last night also maked the debut of the Muddy Paws Bonus race, an opportunity for human and canine to work as a team in a time trial format and prove who is the fastest pair. In true Knob style, we had to mix it up a bit for fun; we had two "bone zones" where 100 dog biscuits and lots of distracting volunteers tempted the dogs from their owners wheels. Watching these dogs consume bone after bone while their owners pleaded for them to keep moving was priceless. Times were marked by the second of the team across the line and a 20 second time bonus was given if both rider and dog went over an elevated stunt together. As much as I hate to admit it, Steve and Flossy backed up all the smack talk and walked away with the trophy and the T-bone steaks. The event was a blast and will be back in the future, of that I'm sure.

Kevin and Lightning at the start...