I write this as my newborn son Milo and wife nap on the maternity wing of the Elliott Hospital. The rare moment of quiet allows me to reflect on the fact that our new son had the foresight and graciousness to arrive 9 days late on May 2nd to allow his dad to finish the legendary Team Granite MTB April Challenge. That ninth day allowed the cherry on top: the kick-off Wednesduro at Highland Mountain Bike Park. Clearly this kid likes bikes.
This April was my fifth straight year of completing an outdoor bike ride everyday in April for 30 minutes minimum. No other rules apply, simply ride your damn bike. Sounds easy right? Well, tight schedules, work, family, weather, travel, laziness…pick your poison. Ask the graveyard of non-finishers over the years.
The AC as we’ve come to call it, has humble beginnings. In 2015, a now defunct mountain bike website posted the challenge for its readers. I sent the link to my small network of “bike” friends. Like, really small…3 people in total to be exact. A few bike seasons earlier we had named our crew Team Granite MTB. I really can’t give a good reason why other than it made us feel more legit and naming your crew is like rule #3 on how to be an endur-bro. The challenge gave our team purpose. What legitimate team doesn’t have a training regiment? And what’s a more simple training regiment than a one step plan of “ride your bike”. Looking back, I would call that first AC more of a pissing match between myself and my good friend Ryan. Who was more hardcore? Who was into this “biking” thing more? Who would road bike in a snowstorm to not miss a day? Who could get more ride time in while avoiding divorce court?
Bucket bike test ride 
Dr. Good Times. Lincoln Woods, RI 
Have bike. Will travel. 
No matter what 
Send er 
Jonny Tellem
Fast forward to 2019 and there are 25+ riders participating in the AC and far more who consider themselves part of the Team Granite MTB extended family. A small group by any standards really but meaningful to us. Friends, family members, local bike shop employees (and their spouses) and even relative strangers have joined in the challenge and fly the TG flag on their chests as they shred. Nothing gets in the way of these guys. Some highlights from 2019 AC crew:
- A 1:30am ride before a dawn flight to the Dominican Republic, to which the local police came to investigate why someone was circling the block at that time.
- Continuing to ride through a stage 3 ankle sprain for “active recovery”. No matter what.
- A week-long road trip to NC and TN for some epic early season dry dirt and tagging 7 states along the way for a ride.
- 34 miles completed with an 22 month old along for the ride on a Macride Seat.
- Using rides to do litter pickup for the local neighborhood.
- Logging 40+ hours with a 2.5 year old, 18 month old and a 9 month pregnant wife at home and somehow living to tell the story. Planning and compromise.
We’ve now added team sponsorships, a flagship weekly enduro training night at Highland Mountain Bike Park, TG MTB branded everything, and a pretty serious enduro race series presence. But in the end, Team Granite MTB is simply a group of like minded people who happen to share the passion of mountain biking. It’s become a lifestyle, created life long friendships and brought families together. It’s not about podium finishes (although we get plenty of those too). It’s about riding your damn bike with a big smile on your face with great friends. Nothing more, nothing less. And the April Challenge is the annual kickoff for TG MTB. Onto warmer weather, drier dirt, bigger climbs, faster descents, race weekends and full-on adventure rides with the best crew around.
