Growing up, GT was always one of those brands that was desired by all the kids ripping up the neighborhood on BMX bikes, including me. My family never had the cash for a GT, so I never got to ride around on one, until now.

GT’s Marathon Carbon Expert ($3200) is my current test rig and has so far has lived up to all my childhood fantasies and adulthood suspension needs, especially this week, as I’m testing the bike at Mulberry Gap in northern Georgia. The carbon fiber, monocoque frame features GT’s iDrive full suspension design. The 100mm of Fox Float RP2 rear suspension travel is doing an excellent job, so far, of soaking up the rocky downhills and maintaining traction on the brutal miles of long, sustained climbs. Suspension bob has been pretty minute in any front chainring, so I am a happy rider.

RockShox’s Recon fork matches the travel for the front-end and features lockout, air compression and rebound. Mavic’s Crossride wheelset and a Shimano SLX drivetrain and brakes round out the major components. That’s the quick glimpse of the Marathon. Now it’s time to get out and ride again.

News broke early this morning that Phil Wood, the sealed-bearing hub and bottom bracket innovator who founded the company that bears his name, passed away at his farm in Iowa earlier this week. He was 84 years old.

Wood founded Phil Wood & Co. in 1971 to sell maintenance-free hubs. The company grew over the years and continued to create innovative cycling components like bottom brackets, pedals, tubing, disc brakes and a really cool professional-grade spoke cutting and threading machine, which you can see in action in this video clip.

Wood sold the company in 1991, and moved to Iowa in 1995 where he remained away from the glitz and glamour of the bicycle industry. Lavada, his wife of fifty years, preceded Wood in death in December of 2009.

Memorial arrangements are pending.

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.

Have you ever seen a SylvanSport GO trailer? They look exactly like the one pictured over there on the left (yes, that’s one trailer). Considered the “Swiss Army Knife” of trailers, the GO is truly a spectacle to be held.

Now imagine one of those things loaded with $14,000 worth of loot from the likes of Niner Bikes, SPOT, Burton, Jackson Kayaks, Yakima, Kelty, Ground Industries and WNC Outdoors. Now keep your eyes closed and imagine all of it being yours. That’s a lot of booty, with which you can have an awesomely adventurous time.

But day dreaming about it as you sit in your cubicle isn’t going to make you the owner of all that stuff. Instead, SylvanSport is making it interesting and challenging for you by making you enter the Cache Me… If You Can contest. SylvanSport has hidden this Transformer-like treasure chest of goodies somewhere in the world, and the person who finds it will claim it as their own.

Once you register for the contest, you’ll be privy to weekly video clues, which will contain geo-caching coordinates and a verbal clue pointing you in the direction of where the X marks the spot. You’re going to have to use your skills, creativity and sense of adventure…and likely some friends…if you want to win.

But that’s not all! In addition to the materialistic windfall this contest will bring to someone, SylvanSport will be throwing a lot of support to LiveStrong/The Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Remember: you can’t win if you don’t…enter.

Got a story about adventure? Let’s hear about it in the comments below!

Beer. Bikes. Big Wheels.

Three awesome things, aren’t they? Especially when they come together, as they will for this year’s installment of New Belgium Brewing’s Urban Assault Ride.

As in years past, the Urban Assault Ride series will roll through thirteen cities around the United States between April and September this year. If you don’t know, the Urban Assault Ride is part party, part competition, part effort to “promote sustainable bike-loving lifestyle” and all fun!

Participants will pair up to form teams setting out across the city on bicycles in a scavenger hunt-like competition…sort of like an alley cat, but more fun, with more cool prizes and with less attitude. There will be various checkpoints throughout the city, at which you’ll be required to complete some zany obstacle courses. The team that completes all of the checkpoints in the shortest amount of time wins.

But we’re all winners because as you finish the race, you’ll dismount your bike and stroll right into a “massive celebration of bikes and beer” with music, plenty of tasty suds from New Belgium Brewing and all of your friends having a good time.

If you attend the Austin, TX Urban Assault Ride, you’ll also get to trade stories and share drinks with some Dirt Rag & Bicycle Times staffers. That’s right. We’re the media sponsors this year, and the Austin event is one of our World Tour stops…you’ll be hearing more about that (and a cool contest) in the weeks to come.

For your planning purposes, here are all the dates for the New Belgium Brewing Urban Assault Ride Series (along with our humble plea to bring the series…and the beer…to the northeast sometime soon):

4.18.2010 – Tuscon, AZ
5.2.2010 – Berkeley, CA
5.16.2010 – Seattle, WA
5.23.2010 – Portland, OR
6.20.2010 – Charlotte, NC
6.27.2010 – Austin, TX
7.18.2010 – Ft Collins, CO
7.25.2010 – Denver, CO
8.8.2010 – Minneapolis, MN
8.15.2010 – St Louis, MO
8.23.2010 – Des Moines, IA
9.12.2010 – Chicago, IL
9.26.2010 – Madison, WI

(Thanks to Urban Assault Ride for the photo!)

Have you, or do you plan to, attend any of Urban Assault Ride events? If so, leave a comment below and tell us about it!

Philadelphia-area mountain bikers of all shapes, sizes, experiences and abilities will again have the opportunity to fraternize, ride, eat and buy stuff when the Fourth Annual Rally in the Valley goes down on April 17th in Wissahickon Park.

The Philadelphia Area Mountain Bike Association (PMBA) is putting on the event, which brings together riders, local shops and national sponsors. In addition to guided trail rides rides through Wissahickon Park, a swap meet, music and food, participants can also look forward to skills clinics, a kid’s course and door prizes. You’ll also have the opportunity to demo some new bikes on the best trails that Wissahickon Park has to offer. That’s what we call fun for the whole family.

It’s also worth mentioning that proceeds from the event go towards trail maintenance days in the Wiss and mountain bike skill clinics throughout the year.

Rally in the Valley may be the premier event for PMBA, but the group is also an active voice of advocacy in The Wiss, as well as other trails in, and around, the Philadelphia area. They have many other events through out the year such as trail maintenance days and donation drives for organizations like Neighborhood Bike Works—a local non-profit that uses bicycles to increase opportunities for urban youth. As I’ve mentioned before…be part of the solution and join PMBA…and maybe donate to Neighborhood Bike Works while you’re at it.

Practical Info:

• Wissahickon Valley in Fairmount Park
• April 17th 2010
• 8:00am to 2:00pm
• Register online www.phillymtb.org
• On-site Registration 7:00am to 10:00am
• Registration and parking at Northwestern Ave (near Chestnut Hill College)
• $25 (adults over 19); $10 (kids 8-18); Kids under 7 are free
• Helmets are mandatory for all participants

Planning to attend the Rally in the Valley? Leave a comment below to see who else is going.