Mark Griffin  

DOB:  11-06-1964;   Ht. 6-1”  Wt. 175lbs

Cat 2 on Road, Expert Mtn Bike

Strengths: Sprinting, shameless wheel sucking and crashing on the trails.

Wheels: Specialized Tarmac, Giant Iguana Mountain bike, Baby trailer, Acura Integra with 255,000 miles on it. (it still gets over 35 mpg!)

Accomplishments: 3-time Masters NC State Champion on the Road; 4 time Ace Speedway A-race series Champion; 3 time Dixie Classic A-race series Champion

Family:  Wife Debbie 36;  Kids; Josh 14, Autumn 12, Maddie Rae 2

Occupation: High School Teacher/Coach

Activities: tennis, basketball, swimming, traveling, reading, writing, living vicariously through my kids

I started racing in 1995 after winning 4 NC Super Cop Competitions and the World Toughest Cop Alive Competition.  I started doing triathlons as a way to stay in shape for the Super Cop Competitions.  The cycling part of the triathlons was my favorite part despite barely training on my bike. So I joined the team from Friendly Bike and won my first two cat 5 and Cat. 4 crits.  I came over to race for DeOro in 1996 because Paul Wood, Jeff Austin, Jeff Lackey and the Craters all raced for Cycles De Oro and I wanted to train with the best racers in Greensboro.  The other DeOro racers and I dominated local cycling for a while winning every A-race Dixie Classic and Ace Speedway series from 1996-2005.  Since 2005, we’ve not been nearly as dominant but I’ve found that being an underdog is even more fun. 

I left the Greensboro Police Department in 1997 and started coaching basketball and teaching Civics at Grimsley High.  Teaching is time consuming, but great for a cyclist in the summer time.

I pretty much fell into the newsletter editor position basically because no one else wanted to do it and I liked writing.  My wife Debbie helps me with the newsletter when we get time to put one out and she rides some too. But our new born baby kinda impedes our training. 

Now, I race mostly Masters races as well as the occasional mountain bike or cyclo cross race.  I try to race as many pro 1-2 races as my training allows. 

My goal for this year is a top 10 in the Pro 1-2 race at the Carolina Cup and to win as many races along the way as possible.