Adirondack Sports March 2024

BICYCLING
MARCH 2024 9
◀ BILLY’S FATHER, KEN GREY,
STARTING THE 2023 TEAM BILLY
RIDE IN SARATOGA SPRINGS.
◀ VICTORIA LEDERER
AND AMY FARRELL HEAD
UP MCKIE HOLLOW ROAD
DURING THE GREAT
NORTH, 2021. DAVE KRAUS
Saddle Up!
Spring Events and Races
By Dave Kraus
With the annual Adirondack
Sports Summer Expo just
around the corner March
16-17 at the Saratoga Springs City Center,
you know that spring is just around the
corner. So, if you’re a cyclist it’s time to
markup that smart phone, computer, or
vintage planner or paper calendar with
all the great cycling events that are ready
for your participation across upstate New
York. Fortunately, at Adirondack Sports,
we may be a few cranks ahead so we can
supply you with this chronological list of
exactly where the action is happening as
the weather warms up!
March 8-June 22: Saratoga Brevet
Series – Organized by Adirondack Ultra
Cycling Bike Shop in Schuylerville, and
administered by John Ceceri, the Saratoga
Brevet Series is run under the auspices of
le Audax Club Parisien and Randonneurs
USA. The schedule includes 100K Populaire
(celebrating International Women’s Day)
on March 8, 200K Brevet on March 24,
300K Brevet on April 28, 400K Brevet on
May 11, and 600K Brevet on June 22. Go
online for more info about their brevets,
Adirondack Ultra Challenge, and Montreal
Double Double – all provide an opportunity
to complete a century (or longer) every
month. Visit: adkultracycling.com.
Sunday, April 7: Saratoga Shredders
Bike Swap – Join the Shredders for their
biggest fundraiser of the year, the third
annual Bike Swap at Saratoga Spa State
Park. From 11am-1pm, you can swap or
buy bikes, tools, apparel, bike racks and
more, they need more bike donations to
be able to pull off this event. Visit: saratogashredders.com.
Saturday, April 13: Toad Strangler
Gravel Grinder – This third annual edition
of the only ride we know named for
an intense thunderstorm has something
for everyone riding out of Crellin Park in
Chatham. There’s a super fun and challenging
40-mile route with 3,208 feet of
vertical for adults that’s great for a new or
experienced gravel rider looking to build
fitness. Plus, a 10-mile casual and family-friendly
route to experience the joy of
gravel riding, and a fun Flow Riders on-site
kids course and post-ride kids race. Entry
fee includes a food truck meal, a beer from
Chatham Brewery, and Toad Strangler
swag. When it’s over, get that Columbia
County mud hosed off your steed by NICA
kids and coaches at their bike wash station;
all donations support this Capital
Region youth cycling program. The event
helps raise funds for Capital Bicycle Racing
Club’s junior development team, and it has
already established a tradition of selling
out, so register soon. Visit: bikereg.com.
Saturdays, April 20 and 27: CBRC
Trooper David Brinkerhoff Memorial
Race Series – This popular early season
race series, conducted by Capital Region
Bicycle Racing Club, is held in Coxsackie,
just 30 minutes south of Albany. It’s dedicated
to NYS Trooper David Brinkerhoff
who was killed in the line of duty in 2007.
There are four separate race fields: men,
women, juniors (free), and a beginner’s
field for first-timers. Whether you’re a
cyclist or triathlete, these races are ideal
to gauge your fitness. Visit: bikereg.com.
May 1-31: ADK Unite – This is a virtual
ride, run, walk or hike – just get out
and move – event, organized by Bike
Adirondacks, that raises money for
Adirondack community food pantries.
▶ ANDERSON GIRARD
HAS FUN IN THE
KIDS RACE AT 2023
TOAD STRANGLER IN
CHATHAM. DAVE KRAUS
Register as an individual or a team of five,
and enter your miles to a live online leader
board, and be eligible for prizes. Since
2020 ADK Unite has raised $27,000. Visit:
bikeadirondacks.com.
May 2 & 4: Tri-City BMX Open House
– There will be free BMX track practices
with new riders welcome, plus new parent
clinics, mock racing, and member signups
in Schenectady on Thursday evening and
Saturday midday. In season, Tri-City BMX
has practice on Tuesday nights and racing
on Friday nights. Tri-City BMX is ranked
first in NYS (out of nine tracks), fifth in
the East Coast, and 21st nationally. Visit:
tri-citybmx.org.
Saturday, May 4: The Great North
Battenkill Valley – Based in Cambridge,
from the founders of Tour of the Battenkill,
The Great North offers three gravel distances
of 70, 50 and 20 miles, plus a
25-mile paved course – for all levels of
riders, all in the heart of the Battenkill
Valley. Event director Dieter Drake has
put together an event with lots of sweet
gravel, hills, and beautiful views through
Washington County, and into Vermont for
the two longer rides. For the competitive,
there will be a new king/queen of the gravel
climbs GPS-timed challenge. The rides
are fully supported and include a pint glass
with free first beer, event shirt (register by
4/25), food truck lunch, apple pie and live
music. The after-party at Argyle Brewing’s
Cambridge’s old train station depot is very
relaxed and social. Visit: bikereg.com.
Sunday, May 5: Tour de Force Charity
Bike Ride & Run – The ninth annual Tour
de Force combines running races and bike
rides of 25 and 50 miles highlighting the
beautiful roads near Lake Champlain in
scenic Clinton County, starting at Point
Au Roche State Park in Plattsburgh. This
year’s event will honor and raise funds
for the family of NYS Trooper Joshua
Gushlaw, 31, who died in an off-duty
snowmobile accident in February 2022.
Trooper Gushlaw joined the police in
March 2016 and was assigned to Troop
B in Plattsburgh. If interested in the runs,
there are 13.1M, 10K, 5K and 1M distances
available. Visit: runsignup.com.
Saturday, May 18: Mohawk Hudson
Cycling Club’s Spring Kickoff Ride –
MHCC invites you to join their annual
kickoff ride starting/finishing at Indian
Ladder Farms Cidery & Brewery, just outside
of Voorheesville. The details are being
finalized but will be similar to last year’s
20-mile casual/flat and 34-mile sport/
hilly rides, and riders are encouraged to
stay for lunch and a beverage at the Farm.
Established in 1969, MHCC is one of the
oldest and largest recreational cycling
clubs in the Northeast and works to promote
cycling for everyone, averaging over
300 social and fitness club rides every season
– and new riders are always welcome!
Also, keep in mind that The Great North
is offering a 20% registration discount for
See BICYCLING 11 ▶