For me, a mountain bike ride down an old railroad bed like the Catskill Scenic Trail is fun enough, but I know there are riders who crave a greater challenge. For around 200 of them, the New York State Mountain Bike Series of cross-country mountain biking events is just the ticket.

The series evolved from the “Masters of the Mountain” competition in 2002, according to Mike Henry, a principal organizer. “The first race was held on the property of the Catskill Mountain Foundation (map) in Hunter,” says Henry. “It was a three-race state series back then, (in Hunter and Windham) and determined who the New York State Champion was. The best regional riders would attend.” There were about 150 riders that first year, most from New York and New Jersey, and one from Belgium, “though I don’t think he came specifically for the race,” says Henry.

“I started out as a course designer, and was asked to build a course for the first race. The second year the promoter didn’t want to do it and I took over,” he says.

A few years later, battling Lyme disease, Henry sat out the 2007 season. A new group of promoters united to re-launch the series with him in 2008.

Six different promoters and course designers have each put their own stamp on this year’s events. Each race is as different from the next as the site at which it’s hosted. “We pool our resources to make it less expensive to run,” says Henry. “There’s insurance, posters, mailings, medals, Web site hosting, registration, t-shirts and prize money. Pros and top expert riders who show up, if they win they like to get paid,” he says. “We pay out over $5,000 for the series.”

2009 would have featured seven races, but the June date at Hunter Mountain was canceled, leaving six. This year’s series began with the Williams Lake Classic on June 14 in Rosendale.

“Mountain biking has been going on [at Williams Lake] since the late 80s,” says Henry. “I got Tim Quilty into my series as the announcer. He’s been around the area so long he knows the area, the racers and the sport. He’s the voice of the series, announcing every race this year including his own event in Liberty (the Walnut Mountain Classic on August 23).

“A groomed (cross-country mountain bike) course can come about in a variety of ways,” says Henry. “At Riedlbauer’s (Resort in Round Top) there are 20 to 30 acres of hiking trails that have been there for perhaps 100 years. I connect them in such a way that you have a nice flowing five-mile course. There’s the waterfall trail, a very steep goat path called the Grand Canyon, a section called The Quarry in a an old hand-dug quarry…. They’re usually constructed in such a way that it’s not going to be really grueling. It’s well groomed. We’ve trimmed back the branches, laid flat stones over muddy patches and built small bridges if necessary—we have two of these bridges at Riedlbauer’s that serve as ramps off cliffs or over unrideable sections like a patch of swamp.”

Riedlbauer’s, home to the series finale on October 18, also features several vernal pools that after heavy rains can be filled up to four feet deep then be bone-dry within four days, according to Henry. “One year it was too late to re-route the course and the water rose three feet after a hurricane,” he says. “They rode through it.”

The 2009 Series
August 2 is the Plattekill Mountain Challenge in Roxbury. It’s a tough race with a little more uphill than others in the series, according to Henry. “Some years [Plattekill] has a course that starts at the bottom, goes up and winds back down. Other years you’ve had to take the lift up to race the top.”

August 23 is the Walnut Mountain Classic in Liberty. “Tim Quilty is probably the promoter with the most racing experience,” says Henry. “That’s pretty nice because as Quilty puts it, this race features his signature hand-crafted single-track. His courses are generally a little longer and a little tougher. He has the use of Walnut Mountain Park and rides the whole thing up and down.”

September 6 is the Taconic 909 Challenge in Pleasant Valley, about a mile east of the Taconic Parkway. “It’s a multiple use recreation area with lots of little climbs, boulders, a bunch of ridgelines, logging roads and single-track wide enough for one bike,” according to Henry.

September 20 is the Woodstock All Terrain Challenge at Wilson State Park in Mount Tremper. “It’s very challenging, with a section called the bump and grind,” says Henry. “There’s a pine forest on one side of the creek and the other side is very rocky and rooty. You cross a wide creek, a good 25-feet wide, with no bridges. You have to get off your bike and run some very short steep climbs that are impossible to ride—sometimes they call them run-ups.”

There will also be a hill-climb event at Riedlbauer’s Round Top Rally on October 18. “Racers try to climb this hill while German drinking music plays in the background. The winner earns a weekend at Riedlbauer’s. We call it the Zugspitze, named for the highest mountain in Germany,” says Henry, adding that “(w)e may have a bicycle-polo event there as well this year.”

The Riedlbauer’s series finale, says Henry, offers a festival-like atmosphere. “There’s a large wooden pavilion … big outdoor grills, and an outside bar with German beers on tap,” says Henry, adding, “That pavilion is what I call trackside. Spectators can sit there eating and drinking and catch all the action.”

Henry also posts a map with GPS coordinates so spectators can visit interesting spots along the Riedlbauer’s course and watch as mountain bikers pass by.

The event also features races for kids, including a little kids’ race—more of an exhibition race, according to Henry. “Some still have training wheels on their bikes,” he says. “Then there’s seven to 10 years old, and a junior category for riders up to 18 years old.”

Registration for all series events can be taken care of in advance of the race online at www.bikereg.org for $26 each. On site registration is $35.

Cross-Country Riding
Cross-country riders are divided into four main groups, according to Henry. Professionals do it for a living. These are the folks with product endorsements and a bit of a public profile. Category One riders, formerly called “Expert” riders are very serious with money and time invested in the sport, according to Henry. “They do earn money if they ‘podium,’ place first, second or third,” he says. Category One riders are very serious about the sport but generally also have day jobs. Category Two riders, formerly called “Sport” riders, have the skills to race but don’t race often, according to Henry, who places himself in this group. “You’ve got to train and I don’t train—not this year anyway.” Category Three riders were formerly called “Beginner” riders. “It comes down to fitness,” says Henry, adding, “They can complete the course but they’re not going to do it quickly and they’re not going to do multiple laps.”

“A lot of people can get intimidated but if you’ve got the basic skills there’s no reason to be. It’s a nice group,” he says. “Road racing is a little tougher. It’s a different mindset. There’s also downhill mountain biking; dropping off ledges going up ski lifts. There’s a big difference.”

Catskill Cycling Goes International
Henry was on hand at Windham Mountain in June when representatives from Union Cycliste Internationale visited in connection with the 2010 UCI MTB World Cup Finals, which will be held there next August. The event will mark the return of the event to the United States after five years in other countries.

He says past mountain bike events in Windham received such positive reviews from participants that the international community caught wind of the town. “As we were talking the World Cup representative said ‘we need to cut this in half, we need 15 minute laps.’ It’s got to be exciting for television. They want sections of the course to have names,” says Henry. “It’s a sport that’s a lot more popular in Europe than it is here, even though … modern mountain biking was invented here.” Henry and friends are clearly working to change that.

For More Information
Series news, site-specific details, race results and sponsor information for the New York State Mountain Bike Series is posted at www.nysmtbseries.com.