Aid Station #3 at the SM100...A volunteer fiesta!

We at the Shenandoah Bicycle Company and our good friends from The Sole Source have been hosting a little fiesta each labor weekend at the bottom of the Dowell's Draft Trail.  This gathering of volunteers is part of the Shenandoah 100 Mountain Bike Race, a 100 mile adventure of fire roads, pavement and some of the finest single track the area has to offer.

To watch this aid station come together and help 600 rides get refueled for the next 55 miles is like watching a smooth, well oiled machine in motion. This year we added some music to greet the riders, not that they needed an excuse to smile after descending the single track of Dowell's Draft. A few riders flew by our support staff with no need of assistance, others came through aid station #3 and took advantage of our full service offerings.....Need water..we will fill your bottles..Need food, open your mouth, here it comes.  Bike not working to it's best, no problem our mechanics are there to get you in and out faster then a NASCAR pit stop.

There are too many volunteers to thank but look at the photo above and you will recognize many of the great folks who devoted their day to help others accomplish a ride of a lifetime.

See you next year for another fiesta...come join the fun, on the bike or as part of the pit stop crew!

A big thank you to Chris and all the other folks who make the SM100 happen each year!

-Thomas

If you are going to try Mountain Bike Racing

Shenandoah Bicycle Company had a phenomenal time over Labor Day weekend at the Shenandoah Mountain 100 put on by Shenandoah Mountain Touring and based out of Stokesville VA. While Tim, Thomas, Sam, and David (along with a number of awesome SBC customers) held down the fort at aid station #3 (Bottom of Dowells Draft), Collin, Matt and Kyle raced the event. 

Matt Hassman, after moving to the Valley a little over a year ago decided (with some peer pressure from the rest of the shop employees) to enter into his first mountain bike event ever. Not only was the Shenandoah Mountain 100 Matt's first off-road cycling event experience, it was also the first time he had ridden any of the trails on the course. Matt has spent most of the past year exploring all the roads of the valley but after the SM100 he is super jazzed to checkout the amazing trails the region has to offer. He was also murmuring something about a new 650b full suspension bicycle in his future...

Aren't we lucky to have such amazing mountain biking and road biking all in the same place? A big congratulations is also in order for the multitude of SBC customers who finished the SM100 this year. Especially those who finished the event for their first time ever. 

Matt Hassman at the finish line all smiles.