Mountaineer Monster Grand Depart - Day 1 Recap
More than 60 riders rolled out of Chestnut Ridge Park this morning at dawn. The temperatures were cold, with frequent switching between climbing and descending that made temperature management difficult, but made for gorgeous views and a cloud inversion.
All three routes led to Screech Owl Brewing, where the 110 broke off from the two longer routes. The fast riders passed through before the kitchen opened, but the midpack was able to time things out and grab delicious grub and beer. At the back of the 110 pack, several cyclists opted to camp at the brewery’s trail magic campsite, where they enjoyed food, beer, and the World Series on TV late into the evening.
On the 110-mile route, we welcomed our first riders back to camp before sunset, quickly filling both the men’s and women’s podiums. Riders continued rolling in after dark, with a group of three women closing out the evening’s finishes just after 1:30am. So far, there are 19 finishers, all from the 110 route.
Recap continued in the comments!
Maggie Livelsberger (@large_marge03 ) wins the 110 Women’s Race at the inaugural Mountaineer Monster Grand Depart! Maggie rolled into Chestnut Ridge Park at 5:49pm, establishing the Women’s FKT on the 110, with a time of 10h 19m.
In addition to winning the Women’s race, Maggie finished 4th Overall, and was the first to complete the route on a singlespeed bike!
Maggie had a great ride with “perfect riding weather”. Her front brake was rubbing for most of the race, making her singlespeed finish even more impressive. Congratulations, Maggie!
Photos by @dennypry@prycreativeco
The early miles of the race were characterized by a punchy, chunky climb, rolling farmland, and detours for the first few Scavenger Hunt stops. The route follows a public road straight through a family farm, but the normally aggressive guard dog was kind to our passing cyclists.
Halloween decorations pop up periodically, adding fun, local color to the route that will turn into nightmares once the sun sets.
The lead riders of all three distances threw it down right out the gate, creating massive gaps between their chasers and the midpack. We expect to see the first few finishers of the Mountaineer Monster 110 before the sun goes down, with many more riders aiming to finish the route in a single push.
Photos by @dennypry@prycreativeco
And the riders are off! Just before sunrise, Race Director @dplandis gave some final words of wisdom before sending our racers off to find fall foliage, chunky roads, and hunt for cryptids.
There are three distances for riders to choose from - 110, 275, and 465 miles. There is an optional Cryptid Scavenger Hunt, with more than 35 locations each with a story related to Cryptids, local history, or folklore.
Keep your eyes peeled for our media coverage over the next 5 days of the Grand Depart, and make sure to watch their dots on @followmychallengeusa , linked in our bio.
Photos by @dennypry@prycreativeco
Humans of the Mountaineer Monster - Part 2
Riders gathered tonight at Chestnut Ridge Park to check in and share a pre-race meal, thoughts on the course, and make tweaks to their plans.
The race kicks off at 7:30am tomorrow! Watch their dots on @followmychallengeusa , linked in our bio.
Photos by @dennypry@prycreativeco
Humans of the Mountaineer Monster - Part 1
Riders gathered tonight at Chestnut Ridge Park to check in and share a pre-race meal, thoughts on the course, and make tweaks to their plans.
The race kicks off at 7:30am tomorrow! Watch their dots on @followmychallengeusa , linked in our bio.
Photos by @dennypry@prycreativeco
The year is 2045. All towns are now Dollar Generals. My mini doc about Dollar Generals just dropped. It’s called Dollar Desert a quick dive into how these stores are popping up everywhere and what that means for small towns like mine.
I’ve been having a blast making short stuff like this. What should I dig into next? What’s happening in your town that nobody’s talking about? #sony #cinematography #fooddesert #videoproduction #fx3 #composition
Said we were dropping it Wednesday… guess we lied 🤷🏻♂️
Round 2 of Allegheny Gnar in President, PA over 4th of July weekend was unreal.
Huge thanks to everyone who puts in the work to make this series happen.
Already hyped for next year, hope to see y’all out there! 🔥🎥🏁 #fx3 #sonycameras #mtb #downhillmountainbiking #racing #sonycine
Course Preview for July 4-6 in President, PA! This will be a big weekend with the Allegheny Gnar Finals, @usacycling PA Downhill State Championship & Pro Shootout sponsored by @am_gear_ with guaranteed $2500+ in cash awards all going down on Sunday. All Pro & Amateur categories will race this course, a preview for Saturdays Beginner Fun Race will be up soon for that race. Get the camping gear ready or reserve the AirBnB and register now at BikeReg or on AlleghenyGnar.com 🇺🇸 See you there!
Still buzzing from this weekend at Allegheny Gnar if you missed it just know the trails were prime the vibes were high and the crashes were worth it grassroots racing doesn’t get better than this huge love to everyone behind the scenes that made it all happen already counting down to the next round! Tag the homies if you see them. #alleghenygnar #mtblife #grassrootsracing #ridetherustbelt #senditseason #eastcoastfreeride #supportlocaltrails #mtbracing #getgnar #trailvibes #dirtchurch #gnarlyweekend #mtbcommunity #dontmissout
