As we posted last week, the 2010 installment of the 24 Hours of Big Bear has been canceled. A lot of people were looking forward to that race. If you’re one of them, and already have your calendar clear that weekend for racing and/or riding your bicycle in West Virginia, we have a few possible options for you.

I must say now that none of these events are completely confirmed yet. While Dirt Rag will do its best to keep you informed here, we encourage you to use the links associated with each event to confirm before you make your drive to Wild and Wonderful West Virginia that weekend.

Big Bear “Pow Wow”
As mentioned in our original posting, Granny Gear Productions (promoters of the 24 Hours of Big Bear) are working on revamping the event for next year. Part of that planning/healing process is inviting everyone down to Big Bear the same weekend the race was supposed to happen, and have everyone ride the trails, hang out and participate in an optional, informal “pow-wow” about the future of the event. They also plan on having a potluck dinner, camping and the famous 24 Minutes kids race. The event will be free, but there might be a small fee for camping. Keep an eye on the Granny Gear web site for more info as it comes available.

The same sort of event is planned for the 24 Hours of 9-Mile (also a Granny Gear event) as an alternative to that race, which was also canceled. Again, check the Granny Gear web site.

Big Bear 4×24
Big Bear’s general manager, Mark Schooley is planning a unique kind of race at Big Bear Lake Family Camplands on Saturday, June 12th. The format of this particular race is that all racers will compete on a 24-mile loop of lovely technical singletrack. Solo racers are required to do four laps, while duos and teams won’t have to do all four laps. Schooley elaborates: “All other classes will compete in a relay style race for a total of 4 laps. Expert classes would be duo teams in age brackets and would ride 2 laps each.  Sport classes would be 4 person teams in age brackets and would ride 1 lap each. Essentially solos ride 100 miles, experts ride 50 miles and sports ride 25 miles.” More information is on its way, and readers are urged to visit the Big Bear Lake Family Camplands web site often for more info.

24 Hours of Creek to Peak
We only have a couple details on this event as of right now. We know it’ll be held in Eleanor West Virginia and it’s on the same weekend. We’re told to watch the iPlayOutside web site for more info, or to contact Larry Perkins.

There you have it. Plan on attending any of these events? Or do you have more info on them? If so, leave a comment below to let us know.

News broke yesterday that THE pioneering 24-hour mountain bike race, the 24 Hours of Big Bear, is canceled for 2010.

Granny Gear Productions, based in Davis, West Virginia, points to an un-friendly economic climate as a major factor in the decision to cancel the race this year. Laird Knight, founder and head of Granny Gear Productions, also stresses that the event is not finished for good. Knight plans to simply “reset” the event by taking some time to assess things and see how it can be improved for the future: “By taking a breather, I can set up a good marketing program to grow the event for 2011.”

Granny Gear Productions’ 24 Hours of 9-Mile, scheduled for July 31 and August 1, 2010 in 9-Mile Forest, Wisconsin, has also been canceled. However, Knight wants everyone to be sure the cancellation of Big Bear and 9-Mile will now allow him and his staff to devote even more energy to the 24 Hours of Moab, set for October 9th and 10th. The 24-Hour National Mountain Bike Championships were originally going to run along side of the 24 Hours of Big Bear. As a result, the Championships will now run concurrently with the 24 Hours of Moab.

The 24 Hours of Big Bear was to be held over the weekend of June 13th and 14th. Since the race is canceled, Knight is tentatively planning on inviting anyone who’s interested to the site of the race for a weekend of riding the trails and course, and to participate in a very grassroots and informal feedback session about the race. Check the Granny Gear web site for more info in the coming weeks for that.

The 24 Hours of Big Bear began life in 1992 as the 24 Hours of Canaan, the original 24 hour mountain bike race in the United States. The event remained in the Canaan Valley, albeit in a couple different venues, until 2000 when it moved to Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort in Snowshoe, WV. In 2005, the event moved to Big Bear Lake Camplands near Hazelton, WV.

Along with Granny Gear staff, Knight grew his 24-hour mountain bike racing empire to include events all over the country: Georgia (24 Hrs of Conyers), Vermont (24 Hrs of Killington), Utah (24 Hours of Moab), California (24 Hours of Temecula, 24 Hours of Tahoe, 24 Hours of Donner Pass) and Missouri (24 Hrs of Landahl), among others.

Here’s a gallery of photos from the 2008 24 Hours of Big Bear.

Dirt Rag and these events grew up together, and we have a lot of memories from the races over the years. Leave a comment below to share yours.

The 8th annual U.S. Open of Mountain Biking returns to Diablo Freeride Park in Vernon, NJ on May 27th through 30th, 2010. With a rich cash and prize payout valued at nearly $60,000, the event attracts big names from around the world.

The event’s PRO/AM format gives amateur athletes the unique opportunity to compete against the world’s elite gravity racers—providing the ultimate proving ground for racers looking to measure themselves against world-class standards.

The Kenda Downhill race will be capped at 450 total competitors, with 150 qualifying spots allocated to the Pro Men’s category and 300 dedicated to the Men’s Amateur categories. The Kenda Giant Slalom event will be capped at 125 competitors, with 125 spots reserved for Men’s Amateur categories. The Women’s fields are uncapped.

Due to the popularity of the U.S. Open of Mountain Biking, pre-registration is highly recommended. For more information and to register visit www.usopen-mtb.com.

As the calendar flips to March, the action in the Dirt Rag online event schedule is heating up. One can only hope that spring-like temperatures are not far behind.

We invite you to join us as the Dirt Rag / Bicycle Times 2010 World Tour rolls into the Seattle Bike Expo on March 13-14th. Or scan the list and find an event near you and roll your own tour.

If you’re a promoter and you’re wondering why your event is not on this list, it’s probably because you did not send the information to our Vice President in Charge of Event Listings. If that’s the case, then click here to email the V.P. with the details on your upcoming events, so we can list them in the future.

USA Cycling has announced the dates and venues for the 2010 USA Cycling Professional Mountain Bike Gravity Tour (ProGRT). In its second year, the ProGRT series consists of five races in four different states across the United States.

The 2010 series will also feature an Amateur GRT which, like the Pro GRT, will give Expert-level Category 1 racers the opportunity to compete against each other for an overall series crown.

Each of the five stops will offer series ranking points to top finishers, resulting in overall individual titles for professional men and women. The racers with the most points throughout the five-race series will be recognized as the best gravity athletes competing on U.S. soil.

The leader of the Pro GRT overall rankings as of July 14, 2010 will be an automatic selection to the United States World Championship team. In addition, the Plattekill and Northstar-at-Tahoe rounds of the Pro GRT will be junior downhill qualification races for the World Championships.

2010 USA Cycling Pro Mountain Bike Gravity Tour (Pro GRT)

• April 24-25: Northwest Cup – Port Angeles, WA
• May 22-23: Plattekill Gravity Open – Roxbury Bike Park, NY
• June 26-27: Northstar-at-Tahoe – Truckee, CA
• July 31-Aug. 1: Trestle Bike Park (Crankworx Colorado) – Winterpark, CO
• Sept. 11-12: Whiteface 5^th Annual 5K Downhill – Lake Placid, NY

For more information on the series, roll on over to USA Cycling’s ProGRT webpage.

The USA Cycling MTB Marathon Nationals will once again be held at the Firecracker 50, on the Fourth of July in Breckenridge, CO. National championship classes will have a two-week exclusive online registration period available from Wednesday, February 17th through 12:01 a.m. MST on Wednesday, March 3rd.

The field will again be limited to 750 race plates. Start spots sold out before pre-registration ended last year, and riders that want to compete for a Stars-and-Stripes jersey would be wise to take advantage of the exclusive registration period. Click here to register early and secure your start spot.

On March 3rd, online registration will open to non-championship competitors as well. At that time, a printable registration form and waiver will be posted online for those wishing to mail in their entry.

A total of 14 national titles will be on the line in Breckenridge, including men’s and women’s singlespeed national titles which are new for 2010. For more information,  visit the event website. Good luck and good racing!