The Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race pits riders and bikes in its two-person team format against some of the biggest mountains in the eastern U.S., against the iffy weather of spring at elevation, against the sheer numbers (miles, climbing, time bonuses, etc.) and against themselves. Formerly, and perhaps more accurately, dubbed the Pisgah Death March, this epic celebrated its 8th year in 2010. This is the story of how two intrepid riders from Virginia set out to conquer the odds in this monster race brewed and served up just outside of Asheville, NC – home to a special type of masochistic mountain bike madness.

Story and photos by Randy King

The unofficial Big Mountain Riding team – my teammate Randy Lewis (R.L.) and I – arrived at the 2010 Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race (PMBAR) at 7:20 a.m. in an off and on light rain. It was my fifth PMBAR, and R.L.’s first. It was also his first epic event. Our goals were simple and prioritized: 1. Finish. 2. Finish safely. 3. Finish before dark. 4. Finish strong. 5. Finish close to the middle of the pack.

Gathering in the dawn's early light, pre-race for the 2010 PMBAR

As the gray daylight gradually grew, we went through mandatory gear check and got our number tags.  Then we took down the bikes and geared up. We headed across the road to Davidson River Campground, since Pisgah Productions had sprung for only one porta-john this year (perhaps in the spirit of the general recession?). The 7:50 a.m. pre-race meeting was more calm than in the years of the passport format. [In 2009 the organizers switched to handing out a pre-marked Pisgah Ranger District map. Previously, teams had to supply their own maps and were handed a paper passport with postage stamp sized pictures of the terrain around each check point. They then had to mark off all off-limits roads on their maps pre-race.]  Our team started slowly – in our reading of the map and in getting going. When the race starts at 8 a.m., everybody has to ride the same first stretch of trail – the big climb up Black Mountain to Pressley Gap. So, many just take off and check their map at the Gap. Or, if they’re locals, they know how to get to the checkpoints, and just need to ascertain where they are, not figure out how to get there. We got going at about 8:15-8:20. We rode up the 1400-foot elevation gain Black Mountain climb, catching a few racers, including the first teams having issues (mechanical and physical).

Start to Squirrel Gap Check Point (Getting our flow on)

It's hustle and flow wherever you can in the epic PMBAR

We climbed to more than two miles to Hickory Knob and descended to Pressley Gap.  R.L. rode in a minute later, carrying my water bottle. Not good to lose that on the first downhill. I secured it with a bungee cord. Looking over the map, I decided to go for the fire road to Buckhorn Gap versus climbing across Black Mountain on single track. We put it in the big chain ring and raced down Maxwell Cove road to the next junction. I still wasn’t sure which check point to go to first or exactly how to get there, but we headed for Buckhorn Gap and passed some more people on the forest service road climb to the gap. One guy wanted to pace line with us. I didn’t know what that meant. Then he said we were going a little fast for them. Their team was one of the ones we started to leap frog with for the rest of the day (the cast of characters in our little drama). At Buckhorn Gap, we encountered a big bunch of teams eating and sorting out where to go next.

We snacked, including some “real” food – I had half a turkey and Swiss sandwich.  I picked a route and we took off down the hill on Buckhorn Gap Trail – a trail that started out as doubletrack and narrowed to single as we descended. We hit a junction where I planned on going left on South Mills River trail, to connect with gravel fire road again. However, I pulled out the map to check and saw several teams go right on South Mills River trail. Someone said that this was the way to go, and they were local, so we changed directions. Turned out to be one of the highlights of the ride – nice, flowing singletrack for several miles followed by a technical but rideable climb up to the junction with Squirrel Gap trail. Along the way we enjoyed the flow with two other teams in front of us. However,the pace highlighted one of the weak points of single speed bikes in big mountain riding events. The lead team were two single speeders. On this descending, flowing trail, we could have been using the big chain ring to make up speed. However, the SS’ers were stuck in coasting mode. As we crossed a creek, we got in front of them for a tech climbing section. They too remained recurring cast members.

Another team (Luis Calderon / Karlos Rodriguez) that we leap-frogged all day was with us on that flowing train as well. The one rider had his iPod connected to speakers strapped on his handlebars. As we rolled up on them, he was jamming to Ludicris and trying to get a sing-along going. “Come on, everybody,” he yelled. “Sing it: ‘Roll Out. Roll Out. Roll Out.’” Team “Speaker Box” was quite vocal, and throughout the ride we were entertained by their alternating complaints and braggadocio.

Mid-creek mishaps entertained racers at the Squirrel Gap CP

Our chosen first checkpoint (CP) sat at the junction of Squirrel Gap Trail and Cantrell Creek Trail, beside the rocky crossing of Cantrell Creek. The creek ran in two channels at the crossing, with wet rocks lining both sides and a central rock shoal wetted by passing tires. I rode into it and held together for the crossing and the climb up wet rocks to where 10 teams or so were at the unmanned CP. [Yay for me ] Many other riders were not as fortunate (including my teammate), and the CP’s entertainment consisted mostly of hearing the slide of tires on wet rocks and watching riders or bike pushers go down on the wet stones.

"The Bugs," a Singlespeed team that rocked all day long

Having attained our first CP at about 11 a.m. (approx. 3-hours into the event), we filtered water in Cantrell Creek, losing 10-minutes or so filling our CamelBaks and bottles. I do believe that going forward, I will bring only iodine pills and not a filter. A filter takes up a lot of room in the packs, weighs much more than pills and sucks up too much time. One of the reasons we kept seeing the same people all day is because of the time we spent filtering water.

“The Bugs” caught up with us at the CP. These were the two single speeders who had lead our little train on the flowing descent. Shanna Powell and Laura Goetz were dressed as a bumble bee and a red bug, complete with leotards, tutus and tights and helmet-mounted antennae. They were cheerful and repeatedly caught up with us any time we stopped for more than a few minutes to eat, filter or change a flat throughout the day.

Squirrel Gap Check Point to Bradley Creek Check Point (An uneventful crossing)

Leaving the CP, we worked our way uphill along the flanks of Laurel and Poundingstone mountains. We caught up to another of our “friends” at the crest of the mountain. This was co-ed team whose leader – the guy – kept leaving his teammate far behind on every climb. He would wait for her – sometimes for 20-minutes or so – only at the top of the climbs or right before the CP. She was cheerful throughout the day, riding alone. However they clearly violated the spirit of the event (and the rules, which say that teammates must remain within shouting distance of each other).

Chilling with the famous and popular Bradley Creek Check Point host, Mark

As we turned our wheels downhill on Poundingstone Mountain, we dropped down along Laurel Creek to Bradley Creek and our next CP. Laurel Creek trail provided some entertaining switchbacks, water bars and proved aptly named. In some sections, riding crop-like Laurel branches choked the trail and thwapped our knuckles, arms and faces as we tried to see the trail through their shiny, thick leaves. We had to follow the orange blazes here, because offshoot trails ran in all directions along the creek. At the bottom we crossed Bradley Creek’s wide and rocky flow and made our way up into a field to our second CP. This was our deepest fording, and very mild by Pisgah standards. In years past I have crossed creeks going on three-feet deep. Here, the water didn’t exceed 18-inches. One could probably have rode across.

We checked into our second CP around 12:30 p.m. At the Bradley Creek  CP we met up with our amigos again, and took pictures with the unsuspecting CP host, whom I had declared a ‘popular guy’. He was quite surprised when The Bugs wanted a photo with him. One of the riders, Mr. Leave-Her-Behind, related a story from Pisgah Productions other race, the Pisgah 36 (basically two consecutive days of PMBAR distances and elevation gain spiced with random challenges and time cut-offs – formerly and more accurately called The Most Horrible Thing Ever). He said teams had to shotgun three Pabst Blue Ribbon beers at Bradley Creek CP for the Pisgah 36.

Bradley Creek Check Point to Spencer Gap Trail Check Point (Hammer Time)

A moment to celebrate - attaining our first CP

Leaving Bradley Creek, we started up a prolonged fire road climb to Yellow Gap and Forest Service Road (FSR) 1206. “Hey, are you locking out your suspension on these climbs?” R.L. asked. I was not. How many different adjustments on my Fox suspension? Every climb from then on, I locked out the fork and the shock. It really conserved my energy. We climbed from 2450 feet to 3200 feet elevation in about 3 miles or so. Once again we shed teams on the climb like a dog after a hard winter, catching the last of five or so teams as we approached the gate at Yellow Gap. On FSR 1206, we faced a high speed gravel road descent and our first road open to vehicular traffic. We dropped down the sweeping switchbacks, riding at each one’s personal limits for risk tolerance. One tire slide out would peel off flesh in massive road rash. FSR 1206 took us right through our campground, North Mills River Recreation Area. We filled water at the campground, glad for the time-saving faucets. Going out of the campground, we faced a paved and gravel road climb up Wash Creek Road to the next CP.

This proved our strongest leg. We pushed tall gears on the climb wherever the road bed eased its grade, and we passed about ten teams on the climb to the CP at the junction of FSR 5000 and Spencer Gap Trail. I knew I was pushing a tall gear, but at one time I was surprised to look down and see I was in the big chain ring up front. All along the climb we met teams flying down the hill at high speeds. Starting out on the paved final section before the gate, we would hear the singing tires of the descenders before they hove into sight, and the air smelt of hot brakes. We attained the CP faster and easier than I thought we would. I almost missed it, as it was off to the side on a gated-off road, and almost hidden by trees. I looked up that side road to see if it had a lot of tire tracks, and saw the flicker of colored banners. The CP volunteer here had planned for a long day, and was close to the road so he could easily provide for his comforts. Cigar smoke drifted around the little open-sided tent, and a cooler held his cold beverages of choice. After checking in around 2:45 p.m., we only spent about five minutes or less at this CP.

Spencer Gap Check Point to Turkey Springs Gap Check Point (Moments of doubt and pain)

Between us and the next CP were two gravel road descents and two monster climbs. We put the bikes into the big chain rings and took off down the hill, riding into all of the teams we had passed. One poor chap was fighting off leg cramps within 200-yards of the Spencer Gap Trail CP. I took the descent slower than I thought I would, hanging with R.L. Still, I almost became the new hood ornament for a Ford F-250 climbing up Wash Creek Road. The driver voiced to me my sentiments toward him as we passed each other on the narrow gravel road. Wash Creek falls down the mountain right beside the road, and an occasional glance in that direction on the climb and descent revealed the creek to be very scenic and clear, with primitive campgrounds scattered along its banks. That’s one of the downsides to going to a great place like Pisgah National Forest for a competitive event versus a ride – you don’t have the time or the excess energy to enjoy the scenery or the extras. On the descent of Wash Creek Road I also saw a big fallen tree that had been modified for a long log ride some five feet off the ground. No time!

Looking at my watch and seeing how much of a gap we had opened on some of our leap-froggers (including the Pace Liners) with our strong climb, I began to dream aspirational fantasies like finishing by 6 p.m. – in time for the raffle drawing of the Industry 9 wheels, and a seemingly nice round number for a finishing time. I even floated the fantasy of going for all five CP’s. However, as we zoomed down the final stretch of Wash Creek Road – paved and closed to traffic – R.L. said he needed to stop in at the restroom in the campground. We both used the restroom there, refilled water at the spigots and ate. We lost about 20 minutes at North Mills River Campground on our second stop there. As R.L. wolfed down a peanut butter bagel at the water spigot, team Speaker Box rolled through and headed up FSR 1206. “Ain’t nobody that can descend gravel roads like I can,” hollered the following member of their team as they rolled past. “I’m the ____ at gravel downhills!”

Leaving the campground on FSR 1206, we faced one of the day’s biggest climbs, the daunting gravel road ascent back to Yellow Gap. Freshly fed, buoyed by our killer leg to Spencer Gap Trail, and feeling better after the bio break, we targeted a few of the teams that had just passed us at our campground stop. Unfortunately for them, team Speaker Box didn’t like gravel road climbs as much as descents. We caught them on the climb up FSR 1206, as well as another team. We were also passed by a team putting down a very motivated pace. From their speed and hunkered down look I had to ask if they were going for all five. “Yep.” they responded, and left me in the pale gray dust of the gravel road.

Attaining Yellow Gap, we snacked and watched as the two teams we had passed on the climb struggled up to the gap. The team dynamic really comes into play on big challenges. The two teams we passed were quite unevenly matched on the climb. The lead rider of the second team we caught was climbing strong, while his teammate was standing still when we passed him, taking a breather beside the gravel road. I have been in their shoes. The first two years that I  tackled the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race, my teammate Darren Wood was a much stronger climber than I. I remember struggling just to grind granny gear up the FSR 1206 climb to Yellow Gap. The stronger team member has to balance his own riding style with spending some of their extra energy on motivating their teammate and getting them to push their personal limits. Meanwhile, teams like the one that passed me on the climb on their way to all five CP’s operate like a well-oiled machine. Whether that’s because of individual drive, or because of familiarity with each other, I don’t know. However, they were only a bike distance or two apart on that climb, and moving well. While I have become a much stronger rider, and now lead the climbing for the team, I am still learning the team dynamic, and finding the right mix of drill sergeant, motivational speaker and friend.

Lingering only briefly at Yellow Gap, we pedaled off down the other side of the gap on FSR 1206. We had made the choice to go to the base of Pilot Rock via 1206, and hike-a-bike up to the next CP on Pilot Rock Trail, then turn around and descend that tech-rider’s dream. At Yellow Gap we could have turned right onto Laurel Mountain Trail, a ridge line singletrack trail leading up to Turkey Spring Gap. However, I had memories from a past PMBAR of an interminable trail that dropped and climbed over and over again and seemed to never end. My memories of Pilot Rock Trail were from descending it that same PMBAR. I remembered it as a mile or so of very technical, rocky trail. Better to bite the bullet and hike-a-bike for a little than to spend hours on singletrack, I thought. So did many others. This may have been a mistake.

PMBAR racers have to carry all their own tools and repair items

Once FSR 1206 started to climb again, R.L. had a flat in his front tire, and we stopped roadside to change it. Sure enough, our leap-frogging friends began to overtake us. Mr. Leave-Her-Behind had this cheerful observation about our situation: “It’s all good, you know. Get’s you to slow down and enjoy the ride.” He then spun off into whatever oblivion he slipped into as he left his teammate behind on another climb. We got the new tube in place and pumped up as team Speaker Box passed us.

Entering Pilot Rock Trail, things got bad quickly. We crossed a stream on foot and tackled the first climbing pitch. Mr. Leave-Her-Behind and I were able to out distance our teammates and team Speaker Box in short order as we granny-geared it through the mildly technical early part of the climb. I stopped for R.L. at the junction with the Pilot Rock Base Trail, and did not see Mr. LHB until the crest of the trail, some 40-minutes later. We continued to hike our bikes up through rock gardens and steep, rutted trail. Pilot Rock Trail turned out to be 2.5 miles of all climb, not the mile or so I had remembered. I had a flat on my front tire – very odd considering how little riding I was doing at the time. R.L. had the pump, so I pushed my bike to the crest, walking some rideable sections, so that I could get the tire off before R.L. came up.

A rare break to enjoy the views on Pilot Rock

Riders coming down frequently forced us hikers off the trail. One guy had a pep talk for us climbers. “We came over Laurel Mountain Trail. I just couldn’t face this horrible climb up Pilot Rock. It’s just such a morale crusher.” He thought it was about the same time-wise, coming over Laurel Mountain Trail. Thanks, buddy!

At the crest I got the bad news from Mr. Leave-Her-Behind. The CP was not at the crest. No, he told me cheerily. “It’s about a quarter mile downhill from here.” He must have waited for his teammate for more than 20-minutes, atop the ridge. R.L. and his teammate rode up and I pumped up the new tube while Team We Ride Apart descended to the CP. The insects were atrocious and aggressive atop the ridge, and I was bitten multiple times while I struggled with the tube change. Team Speaker Box’s lead rider came up while we finished inflating the tube.

“I was hoping a bear would come out of the woods and kill me,” he said of the Pilot Rock Trail climb. He had to wait for his teammate now. R.L. and I descended to our final CP, meeting our friends of team We Ride Apart coming back out. She was dreading the descent. “Yeah, it will be O.K.,” he drawled. “Once you get going, just let off the brakes and let it happen.” Uh, huh. Riders who don’t like descending are not known for “just letting off the brakes.”

We rode into the Turkey Springs Gap CP at about 5:30 p.m. with a storm building ominously off to the west – hence the insect frenzy.  “Where ya’ll going next?” asked the CP host.

“We’re headed home.” I said. I just wanted to get out of there and get back to base. The fun was over, and it was now a race against the dark. I was not looking forward to the descent of Pilot Rock Trail. Specifically one rock garden. I hoped I would have a safe dismount when I did run out of roll in the rocks.

Turkey Springs Gap Check Point to Finish Line (Get ‘r done)

Pilot Rock Trail is a tech rider's delight on the descent

It was time to finish the thing. We hiked our bikes back up to the ridge, and then pointed the front wheels downhill. Now it became clear why Pilot Rock Trail had seemed so short in my memory. Going down only took 20-minutes or so. We caught up with team We Ride Apart at the stream crossing at the bottom. However, we had to refill water, and we filtered right there at Bradley Creek. This meant that we lost more time. The Bugs came out of the woods and started off up the climb, as did team Speaker Box. Water filtered and 10-15 minutes lost, we started off on FSR 1206 again. I had debated about taking Buckhorn Gap Trail in, or riding further up FSR 1206 to 276 to Club Gap Trail. However, shortly after we got onto Buckhorn Gap Trail, I remembered it from a past PMBAR, and remembered how easy it was. Going for 276 would have been a bad mistake!

We raced against the darkness gathering under the trees. The final descent of Black Mountain Trail would be hairy in low light, and I did not want to stop and put on lights. I middle chain ringed much of the climb to Buckhorn Gap. Onto the gravel fire road, it was big ring time. We caught The Bugs on the climb. Going down the gravel, I reeled in team Speaker Box and another team, Paul Diemer / Gordon Jenks. I picked up the most mud of the entire race on that descent, plowing through a couple of wet spots in my haste. At the junction with Maxwell Cove I waited for R.L. and changed to clear lenses in my glasses. Team Speaker Box, who had been consulting their map in fear of missing the turn-off – a healthy fear – caught up, as did the other team we had passed. R.L. came alongside and we started our final climb of the PMBAR 2010. We reeled in team Speaker Box, now fallen silent and grim as they ground away at yet another gravel climb. Attaining Pressley Gap, we encountered a group of adventure racers or some such, who were gathered in the dusk and asking us about how long we’d be out there and how many more were behind us.

Filtering vs. iodine? Filtering takes a lot of time

Onto singletrack, we pushed our bikes up to Hickory Knob and caught up to another co-ed team and the guys I had passed on the previous gravel road descent. I waited at the top, eager for R.L. to catch up so we could light up that final downhill. I wanted to ask the co-ed team (LeAnne McCann / Jon Carmack) if they’d let us in front, but R.L. was still behind, and I couldn’t ask them to wait for him. Once he crested Hickory Knob we started down Black Mountain. I had a lot of energy and the pressing desire to get home, so I put on the afterburner.

I quickly caught up to the co-ed team, who were riding conservatively. I rode close behind them without crowding. However the guy, who was trailing, began to get nervous and skid a bit in corners. His partner yelled back, asking why he was skidding. “”Cause there is a guy right behind me,” he replied.

“We should let him buy if you’re riding beyond your control,” she hollered.”Ask him if he wants by.”

“You want by?”

“If that’s cool with you,” I said.

“He said ‘if that’s cool with you.’”

“Let him by.”

She was not happy, but they let me by. R.L., descending a minute or two behind me, caught up to them when the guy flatted. It proved to be a bit much for team morale. R.L. reported that they were yelling at each other up and down the hill when he rode past and delivered the bad news about her teammate’s flat.

I waited for R.L. at the last creek crossing, which offered three routes across. In the middle was a two log bridge with a hand rail on one side only and no deck. To the left was a steep U-out that needed some good momentum to ford. On the right someone had built a gap jump kicker. That one would require moxie, mi amigos. Things were tight in that area, and the trail came around a switchback shortly before the crossing. More power to the leapers who cleared that jump. R.L. swept the switchback and went for the U-out. What chutzpah!

Crossing the creek, we were on the victory lap. We dropped down the remaining singletrack to the junction with the doubletrack run out. We skated into the finish line at 7:52 p.m., two minutes after team We Ride Apart, who were snarled in a random gear check (the only members of our leap-frogging friends that we had not caught). We had made it before dark, and before the 12-hour mark. And we could only marvel and admire the Koerbers, who won the race by reaching all five CP’s and still finishing first, at 4:17 p.m. Within ten minutes of our finish the rain that had been building to the west all afternoon arrived, and we moved under the tents with our vegan burritos provided by Pisgah Productions. We wolfed down two, grabbed another two and headed for the car. Time to get out of those stinking clothes, and to celebrate our achievements that first day in May, 2010.

After the Finish Line

Teamwork required - The duo format of the PMBAR means team dynamics play a vital role

Team Big Mountain Riding had ridden approximately 65-miles, climbed more than 9,000-feet, and put in about 10-hours of ride time after subtracting for filtering water, bio breaks, map reading, etc. We met our goals of finishing, finishing safely, and finishing before dark. I felt I finished strong with plenty more remaining in the tank. R.L. had finished his first epic and finished it without having a moment of complete doubt and pain. He had not hit rock bottom; he had rode strong. We also met my goal of setting a personal best, both in time and in placement. We came in about 15-minutes earlier than I had ever done. And we placed 41st out of 75 starting teams.  20 teams were unable to finish the race. Despite the clear expectation-setting done by Eric and the Pisgah Productions crew – the race’s tag line is “Crushing Souls Since 2003″ – people continue to meet their match at the PMBAR. An epic event like this does have its share of mechanical and physical mishaps and meltdowns. All in all though, what a challenge. What an Adventure!

© 2010 Big Mountain Riding

Finishing team names before the rain wiped away all record!

4 ~ Ross Clark / Bruce Steinfurth / 5CP/ 9hr 48min.
5 ~ Dave Anderson / Charlie Roberts / 5CP / 9hr 57min.
6 ~ Chris Bennett / Derek Gentry / 5CP / 9hr 58min.
7 ~ Ryan Allen / Alex Ransom / 5CP / 10hr 11min
8 ~ David Cook / Yuri Eliashevsky / 5CP / 10hr 26min.
9 ~ Clay Faine / Toby Porter / 5CP / 10hr 34min.
10 ~ Brent Leister / Greg Leister / 5CP / 10hr 41min.
11 ~ Rich Dillen / Thad Hoffman / 5CP/ 11hr 14min.
12 ~ Brad Welch / Steve Bennet / 4CP / 8hr 26min.
13 ~ Rob Roberts / Michael Kanning / 5CP / 11hr 34min.
14 ~ Ryan Bell / Nathan Helms / 5CP / 12hr 6min.
15 ~ Eddie Odea / Namrita Odea / 4CP / 9hr 6min.
16 ~ Kip Clyburn / Paul Stahlschmidt / 5CP / 12hr 11 min
17 ~ Ed Moreadith / Rob Kranz / 4CP / 9hr 26min.
18 ~ Zack “H8″ Broussard / Dennis Kuntz / 4CP / 9hr 40min.
19 ~ Joe Pelton / Jonathan LeRoy / 4CP / 9hr 46min.
20 ~ Jim Stranix / David Parsons-Foresi / 4CP / 9hr 53min.
21 ~ JD Powers / Ben Swadley / 4CP / 10hr 1min.
22 ~ Bruce Dale / Innes Wright / 4CP / 10hr 6min.
23 ~ Kelly Bond / Chad Banner / 4CP / 10hr 7min.
24 ~ Kelly Klett / Jeff Dennison / 4CP / 10hr 9min.
25 ~ Eric Christian / Mike Rischitelli / 5CP / 13hr 23 min.
26 ~ Daniel Wren / Chris Young / 4CP / 10hr 40min.
27 ~ Ed Merritt / Brandon Merritt / 4CP / 10hr 48min.
28 ~ Richard Stem / Marshall Thompson / 4CP / 10hr 50min.
29 ~ Mike Brown / Ian Baldwin / 4CP / 10hr 50min.
30 ~ Luther Papenfus (solo unofficial) / 4CP / 10hr 54min
30 ~ Tom Hartenstein / Jeff Williams / 4CP / 11hr 2min.
31 ~ Patrick McMahon / Michael Bucking / 4CP / 11hr 4min.
32 ~ Ben Appleby / Bob Lambertson / 4CP / 11hr 6min.
33 ~ James Carlisle / James Johnson / 4CP / 11hr 10min.
34 ~ Cissy Fowler / Jennifer Rinderle / 4CP / 11hr 13min.
35 ~ Denise Sauerbrey / Rob Keener / 4CP / 11hr 15min.
36 ~ Richard Auerwick / Rob Gosline / 4CP / 11hr 18min.
37 ~ Camye Womble / Tim Bedard / 4CP / 11hr 26min.
38 ~ Mike Brown / Asa MArshall / 4CP / 11hr 28min.
39 ~ James Haskins / Jay Lundi / 4CP / 11hr 36min.
40 ~ Andy Etters / Mert Dunne / 4CP / 11hr 43min.
41 ~ Randy King / Randy Lewis / 4CP / 11hr 52min.
42 ~ LeAnne McCann / Jon Carmack / 4CP / 11hr 54min.
43 ~ Paul Diemer / Gordon Jenks / 4CP/ 11hr 55min.
44 ~ Luis Calderon / Karlos Rodriguez / 4CP / 12hr 2min.
45 ~ LG Porter / Erik Caldwell / 4CP / 12hr 17min.
46 ~ Shanna Powell / Laura Goetz / 4CP /12hr 22min.
47 ~ Curtis Burge / Robert Peerson / 4CP / 12hr 25min
48 ~ Cameron Frasier / Francis Corbin / 4CP / 12hr 27min.
49 ~ Rob Coulter / Rich Davis / 4CP / 12hr 34min.
50 ~ Emily Brock / Amanda Wisell / 4CP 12hr 57min.
51 ~ Beau Bethel / Clifton Schmitt / 4CP / 13hr 3 min.
52 ~ Anne Bringuier / Randal Tuttel / 4CP / 13hr 10min.
53 ~ Eric Bannan / Tim Julian / 4CP / 13hr 23min.
54 ~ Eric Gadlage / Bryon Horn / 4CP / 13hr 42min
55 ~ Samual Props / Chris Hansen / 4CP / 13hr 47 min.

This is what some folks call fun - Big Mountain Riding

Today my fingers betrayed my body, signing me up for the 2010 Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race.

This is a Big Mountain Riding classic, an event I’ve finished three times, and one that almost finished me at least twice. It is a two-person team event, so I’ve convinced a friend to join me in this mad endeavor. Well, after 10-hours of technical riding, friend may not be the most accurate description of our relationship.

Going forward I will highlight our preparations for this beast-mother of an epic, and will debrief it after the fact. To get started, here is the required gear list for the back country adventure:

Required Gear:

1. Helmet. (1 per racer)~~~Racers must wear helmets ANY TIME they are riding their bikes. Uphill, Downhill, Gravel Road or Pavement. Racers not wearing a helmet while riding will be DQ’d.
2. Rain Jacket (1 per racer)~~~ (Plastic Trash bag doesn’t count as a Jacket) Even if it’s 70 degrees and sunny, don’t mess around. I don’t expect anyone to spend the night in the woods… but if you do, you’ll want a jacket. I promise.
3. Water Filter or Iodine (1 per team) ~~~ For the sake of your stomach, and those that will be around you after the race, DO NOT DRINK DIRECTLY FROM RIVERS OR CREEKS.
4. Emergency blanket (1 per racer)~~~ See above
5. Timepiece (1 per team) Watch, cycling computer, telephone, any device with the correct time.
6. First Aid Kit w/ Gauze, Tape, Ace Bandage, etc. (1 per team)~~~ Be prepared for anything!
7. Whistle (1 per team)
8. Lighter (1 per team)~~~ see #2
9. Compass or GPS unit (1 per team)~~~ What good is a map without a compass?
10. Red ‘Blinkie’ rear light (1 per racer)~~~ Riders must burn a tail-light anytime they are on pavement or gravel roads, day or night.
11. Emergency Light Source (Flashlight, LED, etc.) (1 per racer)~~~ There is a good chance your team will be arriving at the start/finish after dark. Bring appropriate lighting to get off the trail.

Can’t you tell how much fun this is going to be just from scanning the list?

©2010 Big Mountain Riding

A simple, shocking fact is that, all too many times, one second makes all the difference. Sickeningly, we are usually never aware which second is that second until it’s too late. We say we’d love to go back and relive whole chunks of our lives, so that we could make different choices. Yet really, if we could relive less than a minute or two of key seconds, we could change so much.

Cold creek crossing on Candler's Mountain

This was brought home yet again for me on Saturday’s friendly at Liberty University’s Liberty Mountain Trail System. Mid-ride, we headed back to Five Points for a rendezvous with a friend.

Our amigo Ricardo, ever searching for the perfect bike, immediately asked if he could try out her 29-er Specialized hard tail. He jumped on her bike and took off up Rogues Gallery trail while the rest of us chatted about where we’d head next.

A minute may have passed, and then Richard began yelling from around the bend in the trail. We were bemused. However, his tone grew more strident, and Scott said “We’d better go find out.”

Just as I approached the log crossing and saw the bike lying twisted on the other side, Scott rode back and reported, “He says he broke his arm.”

As indeed he had. Broke it in such a way that he needed surgery to ensure it would reset properly.

——————————————————–

In the late ’90s a friend and I were visiting family in the hilly suburbs of Knoxville, TN. We borrowed two mountain bikes and as we rolled them out of the garage, I thought to warn my friend of the powerful grab of the V-brakes, but then I remembered that she had a bike with V’s. We started off down the hill and within seconds she was lying on the ground, bleeding from deep cuts to the face and hands from a too-hard brake pull.

———————————————————

The summer following my senior of high school my dad and I were putting a new roof on a lake house and our boss left us in the evening with the instructions that we didn’t need to finish off the job that day. Dad kept on pushing, though, because a storm was rolling in and he wanted to get to a certain point before the rain. Tired, teen-aged and harassed by the onslaught of pre-rain mosquitoes, I badgered him for his stubbornness. Finally the rain arrived, and we struck the scene. I scrambled off the roof, and had to grab at the eaves as the ladder slid a bit on the slick deck below. Eager to depart, and angry that we had tarried so long, I didn’t offer a warning of the precarious ladder, and moments later I heard the crash and yell of pain. Broken ribs and bruised lungs resulted.

———————————————————

In both of these cases mere seconds made the difference. However, two things can help us better the outcomes of these crucial seconds.

Sometimes – in a split second – we can do something to differ the outcome of a second. Once, reaching down to pick-up a log in the North Carolina woods, I had a flash of premonition, and pulled back my hand to use my foot instead to kick it over. Suddenly exposed to light, a copperhead uncoiled and slithered away.  Last summer, scrambling down the granite shore of a northern lake, I accidentally knocked loose a piano-sized boulder which my dad was sitting on. In the second that that big rock crunched over the little stones propping it up and slid into the lake like a refrigerator toppling into a pool, I reacted and helped him stay out of the lake and out from under the rock.

Seconds' difference

I won’t take credit for those decisions made in the explosive space where normalcy ignites into crisis. Nor will I profess to know the formula for always making the snap decision that avoids all pain and suffering. However, chance favors the prepared mind, to take Louis Pasteur out of context.

So, I think you can prepare yourself to make the right decision in a split second by arming yourself with knowledge and experience, and by praying for wisdom to act justly in crises.

First-aid training is available from your local Red Cross chapter for a low cost. Get it. Carrying a cellphone and knowing emergency contact numbers is important. Additionally, you should share the numbers of your ride partners with your significant other. Know the alternate access points/roads for emergency vehicles or an amateur rescue wagon to get to you. Throw some basic first-aid kit into your Camelbak if you have the room.

Ride responsibly to try and prevent yourself from becoming a statistic. Think before you act – think really fast if it’s all going bad in a matter of seconds! Once an accident occurs, channel your adrenaline and panic toward constructive outcomes. Nobody benefits from your panic.  Focus instead on getting the injured person out of the woods as quickly and safely as possible, and into professional care if needed. Remember your brain, and turn it on the problem at hand.

Wisdom will help you to do the right thing in the midst of chaos. “My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. ” -Proverbs 3:21-23. Seek wisdom from its source: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” -Proverbs 9:10. We don’t have it on our own.

© 2010 Big Mountain Riding

]]> http://www.bigmountainriding.com/a-seconds-difference/feed/ 1 http://www.bigmountainriding.com/piecing-together-an-epic/ http://www.bigmountainriding.com/piecing-together-an-epic/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:04:57 +0000 admin http://bigmountainriding.com/?p=875 Debriefing the Big Mountain Riding 30 ‘n 30 Challenge

"They's folks as ain't come back from them hills, sonny."- From ride 23 'n 23

I haven’t been on my bike in a week and a half. I’m taking some time off following December 30. That’s when I rode home in the light of the full moon, finishing off the 30 ‘n 30 Challenge. The next day we hosed off my brother-in-law’s bike and gave it the TLC it had long needed. The day after that I arrived back in Virginia, to freezing temps and snow on the shaded side of everything.

Happy cows come from California

The Big Mountain Riding 30 ‘n 30 Challenge threw down the gauntlet for 30 rides of at least 30-minutes in 30 days. Unfortunately, the challenge started on Nov. 30. I pedaled in the snow; I pedaled in freezing rain. I pedaled in the dark and against the wind. I pedaled on Christmas Eve and Christmas. I pedaled on opposite sides of the country, in six trail systems and two neighborhoods. By traveling to California to see family for Christmas, I dodged the biggest snow in 10-years at home. I rode with my 50-something friends, I rode with my 12-year old nephew; I rode a lot by myself. Animals encountered included deer, rabbits, turkeys, buzzards, hawks, owls, cows and coyotes. I rode pavement, sidewalks, gravel roads, drainage ditches, doubletrack, singletrack, cow trails and cross country. I broke a few regulations along the way, and alarmed a few cows. Damages incurred included a new fork for my bike Jack Rabbit Slim, brakes for my brother-in-law’s bike, poison oak and a head cold for me.

In the 30-days, I rode +/- 150 miles and put in a work week on the bike, logging 39-hours in close proximity to my trusty steeds. Among my California relatives I’m the guy who rides bikes, and this holiday season solidified that stereotype.

Moments I will remember include: catching a coyote on his way home from a night of naughtiness in Hayward, CA’s Garin Park, railing the teeter-totter at Danville, VA’s Anglers Ridge, taking my nephew on his first mountain bike ride, encountering a red-tail hawk on the hillside at Lynchburg’s Blackwater Creek, the eye-watering full-speed doubletrack descent into Garin Park from Bailey Ranch Road, soldiering through the ice rain at Candler’s Mountain at dusk, the final ride home with my moon shadow stretching behind me like the 30 ‘n 30 challenge.

"Some of dem trails down in der woods is's slick as snot." - From ride 17 'n 17

This challenge provided a hearty serving of both learning and self-awareness.

1. It takes time and willpower to ride every day. Sounds obvious, but as the daylight bleeds away around 5 p.m. in December, procrastinators will run out of time. And time aside, you’ve got to push yourself to go out and ride. Nike has it right. Just do it.

2. Bikes are beautiful. What an instrument for speed and harmony. It’s an extension of your body, but not part of you.  And on a sweeping curve of a narrow trail through the woods … what could provide more feeling of flow?

3. We’re trashing our planet – even if we aren’t killing it. Ironically – given that I was only able to access these hills for 30-minute sound bites because of all the roads and cars – I was saddened by all the garbage and scars we leave on this land. Roads reaching into every solitary place, litter lining even the smallest of foot paths. We are creatures of destruction.

4. Mountain bikers live on variety, so vary your rides. Riding every day means some duplication. However, most of us would quickly lose interest if we continually had to ride the same trail in the same conditions. Seasons change, leaves and trees fall, rain makes mud, sun makes dust. All this and so much more means that even the same trail differs on different days. I sought out various trail systems and different routes, yet I wish I would have ridden even more places, like VA’s Sherando Lake SP and CA’s Lake Chabot RP.

5. Take care of yourself and your stuff to extend the miles. One of the biggest lessons of the challenge was when we looked up the manual online and took apart the Manitou Axel fork on my brother-in-law’s bike. With a few hours of time and a $10 bottle of fork oil, we revived that fork and saved a couple hundred bucks. A little more frequent cleaning and more lubing can cut down on those costly repair bills. In the same way, stretching, eating right and cross training means more and more enjoyable miles. This was brought home on my first day in Garin Park after a year of eating better, more exercise and more time on the bike. I immediately noticed the increase in skill and power.

Now that the 30 ‘n 30 Challenge is complete, I am already thinking of the next challenge. Initially, I had thought of just letting the 30 ‘n 30 roll into the 365 ‘n 365. However, I chickened out and am looking for something different. Hmm. Ideas anyone?

"Must think it ain't hard enough as is, 'cause they done built a bunch of crap in the woods." From Ride 13 'n 13

© Big Mountain Riding

Ride 30 ‘n 30 – About as “all climb” as one can get. 1-hour 10-minute, 4.4 miles back through Garin Park from the Zeile Creek entrance to the Bailey Ranch exit and up the hill home. Riding into the woods at Zeile Creek at dusk went against my better sense. I was hoping any lurking mountain lion wouldn’t be a fan of the Subway club sandwich I had in my back pocket. Once I cleared the damp dark of the woods (without popping on the head light – though I did sing a bit out loud) the nostalgia hit early. I would miss this purpose of riding my bike every day. And I’d miss the odd beauty of Garin Park – we were to fly out East the following day. I stopped at the saddle where the jeep road heads uphill toward Bailey Ranch Drive. In the light of the full moon I ate the rest of the sandwich and let my eyes adjust enough to see my moon shadow. In the midst of a park with cows grazing and wild pigs rustling in the canyons as well as wild turkeys roosting in trees, I ate my club – roast beef, ham and turkey – sandwich and was not slaughtered or banished from what was now, in the dark, their domain. Then I got on my bike and made my way up that hill one last time. The moon stretched my faint shadow out behind me and ahead I saw the warm lights of home. Part of me wanted to turn around and ride all night in that other and colder ghostly light.

See the rest of the rides below …

Garin Park's bald hills

The Big Mountain Riding Thirty in Thirty challenge:

30 rides of at least 30-minutes in 30 days. Inspired by an interview with Mark Wier on the Fox Racing Riders web site, it started as a goal of riding seven consecutive days. And then, while tooling through the wet woods on day 3, I scoffed at how mundane that was and upped the ante. 30 days. And I knew already that those days included Christmas, coast-to-coast travel, and a few other minor obstacles – not to mention the weather. Things got rough quickly, with three rides in the cold rain within the first week of the challenge and snow flurries and iced-over puddles along the trails on some days. Ah, but other days were sunny and in the 50’s. And on one Tuesday night we rode for more than 20-minutes without lights, rolling in the luminescent glow of the full moon.  Another day I saw a red-tailed hawk take flight off of a behemoth fallen tree on a steep side hill. The challenge moved to California, and I encountered a coyote creeping back home in the early morning, and heard owls hooting at dusk

These are the moments that I sought with the 30 ‘n 30 challenge. Those “pocket miracles,” contained little moments of wonder and delight that only come to the work-a-day biker, spinning the cranks regardless of the weather. The 30 ‘n 30 plan had other benefits. In an epic race one rides rain or shine. See the 2009 Middle Mountain Momma XXC race. So riding regardless of the weather is good training. Additionally, I want to make a living (or something) writing and talking and riding bikes. As anybody who puts in miles by themselves in the woods knows, it’s a great place to think. New story ideas, union with the bike, increased skills.

However, is there such a thing as too much of a good thing? And would this be too much too late in the year? The play-by-play follows. You can read the post-challenge debrief here.

—————————————————————————————————————————–

1 ‘n 1: 45-minutes in the cold rain at Lynchburg’s Peaks View Park, solo, riding the perimeter. Weight after ride – 174 lbs.

2 ‘n 2: 2-hours in the moonlight at Lynchburg’s Liberty Mountain Trail System on Candler’s Mountain , group ride, Lower Dam to Five Points to DH trail to Paw-Paw to fire road to Powerline hill to fire road to Great Escape to Rogue’s Gallery to Horton’s Loop to Five Points to Upper Dam and out.

3 ‘n 3: 1-hour 10-minutes in the cold rain at Candler’s / Liberty Mountain, solo, U. Dam to Monorail to Peak-to-Peak to Five Points to fire road to Bobsled to climb DH trail to Five Points to L. Dam and out. Weight after ride 171 lbs.

4 ‘n 4: 1-hour 10-minutes solo in the sun and wind at Bedford County’s Falling Creek park. Parked at Turkey Hill, followed the race course out to White Rock Hill and the Slickrock trail. Did the Ridge Loop with Fat Albert and then Creekside, came out and rode back to Deer Trail, connected with Piney Ridge Trail and rode back on Turkey Hill trail. Weight after ride 171 lbs. Resting heart rate: 64.

5 ‘n 5: 1-hour 10-min. 6-mile solo in good, cool weather at Lynchburg’s Blackwater Creek Recreation Area. Took the Rail-to-Trail (R2T) to Creekside Trail and back to R2T to cut over to the Daura Rd trail. Did a short right loop on Sticks & Stones trail and back to R2T to the connector back to the Creekside Trail near the crest. Out on the “new” climb back to the R2T. Seen: Red hawk taking flight over creek valley, whitetail deer, one mad Kung Fu squirrel whose air walking chops would turn Jackie Chan green.

6 ‘n 5: 35-min., 3.25-mile solo at Candler’s / Liberty Mountain. 2,000′ of climbing. Started at Ridge Top Rd T.H. DH Trail to Bobsled to Paw Paw to Fire Rd almost to the top of Powerline hill to Bobsled Trail and back to T.H. Weight after ride 171 lbs. Resting heart rate: 64.

7 ‘n 6: 35-minutes solo neighborhood ride in the icy mix. Car struggles to start. Jack Rabbit Slim (the bike) is ready to roll. 3.6-miles, 500′ climbing. Mostly sprinting up the hill from the soccer field at the YMCA. Rode the drainage ditch on the way down – or attempted to. Thought I had it on the final run. 5-yards from the end, the front wheel stops like it’s planted. Back wheel comes up, I go forward, perch on the top tube, balancing one-wheeled, trying not to fixate on all the “so sharp! So hard!” rocks lurking all around. Bike falls back and I fall sideways, unable to unclip my right foot from the pedal. No rocks struck, though. Woo-hoo!

8 ‘n 7: 3.5-hours at Candler’s / Liberty Mountain. 9.9 miles, +/- 3,000′ climbing, group ride. Climbed Peak to Peak’s north face in the snow, coming up from Five Points. Lots of “just try it” moments and crashing on log rides, slippery descents, etc. Rode the dam again. A new bruise or two, a new raw spot on my shin.

9 ‘n 8: 30-minutes solo on Blackwater’s Sticks & Stones on a cold, sunny day. 2.03 miles.

10 ‘n 9: 50-minutes, 3.9-miles solo at Candler’s / Liberty Mountain in the 35° rain. Upper Dam to Five Points to Bobsled to climb up Downhill trail back to Five Pt’s. Lower Dam back out in the last wisps of light. Soaked from feet to thighs from tire spray.

11 ‘n 10: 1-hour, 4.2-miles solo at Candler’s / Liberty Mountain. 45° and sunny with water running everywhere from the rain. A Trail Too Far to Hydaway Rd, back up to the lower end of Blind Faith and then down to Lake Trail before cutting over mid-point to A Trail Too Far. ATF was a running stream in sections. Saw a whitetail running.

12 ‘n 11: 30-minutes solo at Peaks View Park. 40° and sunny with the trails drying out. TH 1 to TH 2 via Rollercoaster trail. Then the climb on Rockpile Trail. Back out to TH 1. Across the park to ride the drop down to the creek from the disc golf course. Almost savaged by a standard poodle who thought it was Kujo.

13 ‘n 13: 4-hour group ride at Danville, VA’s Angler’s Ridge, 15.5 miles of twists and turns and the occasional slick patch. 40° and partly sunny. We were plagued by mechanical issues – a flat tire, a broken chain, shifting issues, tweaked drive trains, etc. Still nobody got hurt, and that was good considering a few of the spills. Hit a teeter totter that was short and steep and pretty intimidating rolling in.

14 ‘n 14: 1-hour solo ride at Candler’s / Liberty Mountain. Sun had just broken out after a morning of icy rain. The trails on the front side U and L Dam and DH, were awash with running water. Cold day too, with temps in the high 30’s.

15 ‘n 15: The half-way point of the 30 ‘n 30 Challenge! 1-hour solo ride at Candler’s / Liberty Mountain. Gorgeous “warm” day, sunny with temps in the 50’s. U Dam to Luge Trail – Hike-a-bike up to Monogram Rd. Then, a grueling pedal up Peak-to-Peak to the top of the Monogram. Made it! Down the always-fun Psycle Pathe, all the way to the bottom. Connected to Alternate Flight Pattern up and out to Monogram Rd. Peak-to-Peak over the next ridge. Across the fire road and down Monorail. Lost it on the wet switch backs and bombed down through the woods to U Dam and out. Tomorrow’s supposed to be in the 60’s! Then the challenge shifts to Cali.

16 ‘n 16: 40-min solo ride at Candler’s / Liberty Mountain. Repeat of 15 ‘n 15. Without the trail repair stop.

17 ‘n 17: The initial California ride. A fun and relaxing solo foray into the woods at Hayward, CA’s Garin Regional Park. Mostly stuck to singletrack, and it was rewarding to see what a year of frequent riding has done for my skills in negotiating slick and twisty singletrack. Approximately 8-miles with +/- 1,400-feet of climbing.

18 ‘n 18: California cow trails. 2.5-hour solo with some free-form navigating from point to point. Missing the full sussy with the new Fox front-end on these hoof-trodden cow paths. Rode past a buzzard skeleton, what goes around …  Approximately 8.6-miles with +/- 1,200-feet of climbing.

19 ‘n 19: Some rough-shod fire roads and cattle-cut singletrack. 1.5-hour solo with some free-form navigating down the steep side of a bald hill. Really wish I had the full sussy here (whine, whine, whine) or a 29-er. Approximately 7.9-miles with +/- 1,000-feet of climbing.

20 ‘n 20: Quick out-and-back sally to Garin Park 45-minute solo morning ride. Saw a coyote slinking back from a night of coyote-ish debauchery and devilry.  4.6-miles with +/- 400-feet of climbing.

21 ‘n 21: 35-minutes solo ride, 4.8-miles, racing the sun back to home base. Garin Park in the cool dusk. +/- 600-feet of climbing.

22 ‘n 22: 35-minutes solo grind around the neighborhood in the cold, windy rain – in the dark. Punching the clock. Luckily, didn’t get nailed by a car in the fog.

23 ‘n 23: 1-hour solo exploration around the neighborhood and then dove into Garin Park to rustle up another coyote and find a calf skull on a cow trail. Beautiful sunny day, but windy. 5.8-miles.

24 ‘n 24 - Rode a new downhill route from Bailey Ranch entrance to Zeile Creek exit. 6-miles on Christmas eve. Then it was all uphill back home. What a hill climb. 700-feet vertical from the bottom back to the top.

25 ‘n 25 - 1-hour ride with my nephew Ajay. Downhill in Garin Park to Zeile Creek exit. Then the shuttle car picked him up and I rode back up to Bailey Ranch and out by myself. His first real mountain bike ride. Not sure he was a big fan.

26 ‘n 26 – 30-min solo morning commute to Garin Park. Hit the first rise and circuited the hill on cow track. 3.6 miles. Back in time to kick off the tourism for the day. A trip out to Point Reyes – a real wow-er. Got in even more exercise there with a mile run and a 300-step stair climb up from the light house.

27 ‘n 28 – 30-min. solo in the neighborhood. In the dark and rain. Getting back on the wagon.

28 ‘n 29 – 1-hour race against dusk in Garin Park. XC’d over to Newt Pond Trail and then up and out to the Bailey Ranch Rd. entrance. 5.9 miles. Just me, the owls and the cows.

29 ‘n 30 – A 30-min. DH bomb run of 4-miles through Garin Park and then climbing out Zeile Creek entrance to Dobbel Ave. and over to the Subway by the Cal State East Bay campus. Ate some energy there, watching the bike the entire time to make sure no one pedaled off with my brother-in-law’s ride.

© Big Mountain Riding

I’m out of town, visiting family near where mountain biking was born. In northern California I’m able to ride out the front door and be at the trail head  of a 5,000-acre park within 5-minutes. Once inside the park I can challenge myself on singletrack designed and maintained by cows, or man-made sidehill trails that dizzy the rider with the vertigo-inducing steep hillside dropping away below. Within an hour or two’s drive are some legendary trails, like Mount Tam and Santa Cruz.

Teetering on the totter at Danville, VA's Angler's Ridge trails

Before heading out to Cali, I wanted to get in an out-of-town ride with our weekly ride group. We headed south an hour, to Danville, VA, and hit the Angler’s Ridge Trails for a day of fun and flow. We are already talking about a trip up to the sharp-edged rock gardens of Sherando Lake State Park and a weekender to Pisgah National Forest in the spring.

Many people have to drive an hour to set their fat tires on good singletrack. However, I live within 12-minutes of a 60-mile trail system. So, why do we mountain bikers always seek out different places to ride? I think it’s a form of A.D.D.  We like trying different things – that’s why we ride on trails, with all their varying surfaces and terrain, instead conformed ribbons of pavement. So, getting off of home turf and trying something new feeds off of a basic need in mountain biking. The need for variety.

So, enjoy your local trails and get to know them well. After all, it’s your home turf. However, also take the time to get out and try something different. You won’t believe how it will improve your riding and inspire you to keep on riding.

© Big Mountain Riding

Let’s go riding way out west – Getting in some of the season’s last rides at Spokane’s Beacon Hill, Riverside Park and Mount Spokane trails

Story: Randy King

Photos: Randy King & Doug King

Some highlights of the Spokane riding scene, from IMBA:

• Four ski resorts offering mountain biking within an hour
• Mt. Spokane State Park (the largest state park in Washington), offers 90-miles of bike trails and embraces the downhill riding trend.
• Riverside State Park (the second largest state park in Washington), offers miles of beginner and intermediate trails.
• Camp Sekani City Park (Beacon Hill) has a network of intermediate and advanced cross-country, freeride and downhill trails.

Airing it out on Spokane's Beacon Hill

Everything’s bigger out west, you know. Well, that’s all good theoretically, except it’s a little too real as I nose the wheel of my all mountain bike onto a ladder bridge over a gap big enough to swallow me – bike and all. That’s when I remember how close I am to the birthplace of gut-check features – British Columbia – and how far away I am from my familiar Appalachian terra firma. Aw, shucks. Just roll it! Or not.

While visiting my brother, he and I fit in very different rides on three of Spokane’s trail systems: Free riding lite at Beacon Hill, cross country at Riverside, and shuttled downhilling at Mount Spokane.

This Beacon Hill feature proved sketchy on narrow tires - from fttrc.org

Beacon Hill Recreation Area spreads across several slopes on the ridgeline North of the Spokane River, and east of Market St. The area features a warren of trails for riders of all skill levels and persuasions. Trails range from sandy jeep roads to cross-country singletrack, to a downhill race course and features / drops that haul out your inner coward screaming into the daylight.

The Beacon Hill Recreation Area is a work of love fueled by volunteers from the Fat Tire Trail Riders Club and the Beacon Hill Trails project, with generous support from area agencies. Some of the trails meander over the hillside, creating many options (and grades) for descending or climbing. Others are clearly more hell-bent, roiling over rock outcroppings and taking the rider up in the air. Certain features soured my stomach: a narrow wooden creation stood out  in the sky like a dock left high and dry at low tide. It ended abruptly, with the drop zone 10 – 12-feet below not visible until your front tire got dangerously close to the steep entry ramp.

Attempting some narrow bridge work, Beacon Hill

Still, the park offers variety, as evidenced by the bikes and riders we encountered. Our All Mountain rigs fell somewhere in the middle. We saw a family out on their hard tail ATB bikes on the XC trails and a pick-up truck full of Oshkosh B’ Gosh clad, full-facers unloading dual-crowned coil-sprung gravity sleds, as well as all-mountain bikes.

We parked at the Boulder Beach trail head (see directions below) and worked our way uphill to one of the the high points along the ridge. Our vantage point allowed us to test out our karma and mojo on a few small jumps and a steep ramp with a blind entrance. Once we played around a bit, we worked our way East to the real crest of the ridge. On the way back down we stuck to single track, and found a few fun skills sections. Back at the bottom, we climbed up to the West and tested our courage on the wood work. As dusk fell under the trees, we called it a great day and packed it up to go find some milk shakes at the nearest Zip’s Drive-in, a local fast food franchise.

Riverside Park has miles of mellow singletrack - from fttrc.org

Riverside State Park stretches along the Spokane and Little Spokane Rivers northwest of Spokane. The park’s nearly 10,000-acres cling to the twists of the rivers. However, in places the park expands and narrow, sandy single track darts off into the pines. Riverside State Park features more than 75-miles of trails plus the famous Centennial Trail that runs 37-miles from Spokane to Idaho.

On a cold, dry afternoon, we set out for a cross-country ride from the trailhead at Carlson Rd., heading south toward the Bowl and Pitcher Area. The temp hovered near my “a little cold for riding” point. Bad omens piled up deeper than the pine needles that carpeted the worn single track. In sight of the parking lot, Dig rolled into an immovable object and went over the bars – on a climb. When he put himself back together, the brakes on his vintage metallic rust-colored Schwinn Homegrown were sticking. Standing around with the cool air picking at us through our bike clothes, we managed to figure out a fix. Onward, time to warm up!

Basalt formations in Deep Creek Canyon

The surface on Riverside’s trails varies between sand and Basalt. Basalt formations are weirdly barrow-like and trails cut along their sides present lots of exposure. The rock tends to break off into sharp-edged chunks designed to shred tires and bodies. Approaching Deep Creek canyon, we descended a dicey section with several switch backs scattered with rock fragments and edged by some significant exposure. I did a full flying dismount attempting one of these turns, launching over the bars with my feet tucked up underneath me and setting down the landing gear to avoid a head-over-heels tumble on that pointy rock. The tech-iest sections in the park feature climbs, descents and switchbacks littered with Basalt outcroppings or detritus. For eastern riders, sand can be challenging too. However, the sandy sections we encountered were mild – just very dusty for the following rider(s).

The prettiest sections of the ride are along the Spokane River, with its clear blue water and rapids. The Bowl and Pitcher Area is a great place to view the river, either close-up from the suspension bridge, or from on high. The slope behind the Pitcher offers some very tech trails among the Basalt.

After missing our first connection and pedaling furiously to catch our shuttle car, we stuck to the theme and recovered with Maggie Moo’s ice cream.

Expect sudden sweeping switchbacks on Mount Spokane - from IMBA

Mount Spokane State Park looms over the surrounding area, and its nearly 6,000-foot altitude gives its trails some great attitude. Standing atop its windblown summit (where on cool days one can see other states and another country), the cooler temperatures and the view of the steep drop-off to the East bluster and bark at the rider, making one feel under assault and unwanted here before even one pedal crank. However, once you drop off the backside of that summit and find yourself carving down eroded single track among widely-spaced trees in an old burn zone, the trepidation fades and the grin starts to spread across your face. It only grows wider farther down the mountain. Dialed-in now,  you pilot your rig in slicing, side-to-side arcs through narrow gaps in the cedars on trails with colloquial-yet-accurate names like Jedi Trees. This is a dream; a dream that will never end until the trail head miles and thousands of vertical feet away in a different plane of existence. Except if you miscalculate one of those gaps by even an inch. Dream trees these are not, young Paduan.

The ground drops away quickly from the summit of Mount Spokane

I don’t get a lot of enjoyment from sipping a drink, nor does my brother. We revel in “big” experiences. This is all building up to an excuse for why we only got one photo from our ride on Mount Spokane. We were too busy doing to take time to document it. Trails like this are experienced best as a whole, like a concept album. Rock on. (And take more pictures next time )

We parked one car at the top and dropped down trail 130, which drops down pretty steeply, dropping over roots and erosion-prevention devices. Approaching the first one of these erosion fences, I thought it was made of steel or hard rubber. Luckily, it is a flexible material, and doesn’t hamper the downward good times. I exorcised my demons on the top section, almost going off the ranch on one of the turns, and going slower than normal. Further down the hill, with all cylinders going, we rode trail 110 and made our way over to Smith Gap, where we found the aforementioned Jedi Trees trail. Along the way, Dig’s RaceFace seat post bolt sheared off, leaving him to stand for the rest of the descent. The final run-out along trail 115 was a carving, flowing thing through the trees and down to the road where our shuttle car waited.

We rode Mount Spokane on my last day in town, and my only regret was that because I had a flight to that evening, we couldn’t fit in another run. If you go, don’t be intimidated by the steep slopes atop Mount Spokane, just use The Force and flow. It’s a long, fun ride to the bottom. Make  sure to make time for ice cream.

© Big Mountain Riding
Planning your ride:

Beacon Hill Recreation Area maps are available for $8 from North Division Bike and Ski, Bicycle Butler, Bike Hub, Wheel Sport East and Mountain Gear, sales of the map are a fundraiser for the group that maintains these fun trails – fttrc.org Boulder Beach trail head: Park at the Boulder Beach pull out, on Upriver Drive, 1.25 miles w. of Argonne Road. Cross the road carefully and take your pick of the trails. For DH, head west and look for the fireroad that you can walk your bike up. For XC, head east and then look for trails heading to the left as you get close to the end of the property. Camp Sekani trail head - This entrance is on the N. side of Upriver Drive, just W. of Boulder Beach

Mount Spokane State Park – Trails on the official map are documented by numbers, and these maps are posted at some trail intersections. It behooves the downhill rider to select the right trail to avoid climbing back up even part of the hill. Ffrom Spokane: Drive north on Hwy. 2 to Hwy. 206. Follow Hwy. 206 for 15 miles to park entrance. Address: N. 26107 Mt. Spokane Park Dr., Mead, WA 99021

Riverside State Park - A map put together by the Backcountry Horsemen is available at Spokane’s REI or Northwest Maps for $5.95. Multiple trail heads including Carlson Rd., Mclellan Rd. 7 Mile Trailhead, Wilbur Rd near the Plese Flats Day Use Area, at the Bowl and Pitcher Trailhead and off of Government Way.

Big Mountain Riding elements: Big elevation changes, East Coast flow, extended rock gardens, mountain views

The views are great from the trails at Sherando Lake State Park

To make the most of the week of beautiful weather we’re having, I headed up to the Blue Ridge Mountains for a big mountain riding adventure ride at Sherando Lake State Park. The park is best-known for its scenic 25-acre lake and campground. However, it also features some very gonzo mountain bike trails. Peppered with rock gardens and featuring more natural flow than many East Coast trails, the area boasts some epic rides. The first time I visited the park it was a late-fall ride and before we were done, I had puked from the bone-rattling ride and cool air (the Gatorade breakfast hadn’t helped either) and one of our party broke a rib. That ride my style suffered from a trashed 100mm fork as well, which made the rock gardens a special torture. We also found one of the hugest climbs in our area, Mills Creek Trail, with 8 progressively tighter switchbacks on the way up a steep valley side.

On this day I planned on avoiding that particular climb, and having fun by cherry-picking a few of the more “fun” trails. After parking at White Rock Gap on the Blue Ridge Parkway several miles south of the turn-off for the park (somewhere in the middle of the ride area, vertically speaking) I started off by railing a quick 2.5 mile creek side descent to Sherando Lake. Fortunately I happened to see an approaching group of hikers well ahead of time, and I halted and let them pass. After pleasantries, it was back to the sheer joy of dropping a smooth single track where gravity carries the rider over the rocks and roots in a flow like the stream running next to the trail. I pumped over a few obstacles and put the puzzle pieces together for a successful crossing of the stone-filled stream bed as the trail flattened out.

In the park, I looked over a notice board description of the trails and chose the Blue Loop Trail as a way of getting back up to above my starting point. I saw I could make a loop of it using Torrey Ridge Trail and the Slacks Trail back to White Gap Trail. AVOID the Blue Loop Trail – or at least the 1-mile segment connecting the lake with Torrey Ridge Trail. It is short, steep and stepped. Loose gravel covers the first 1/4 mile or so, and then stone stairs and rock gardens take care of all but the last 1/4 mile or so, beyond Lookout Rock. Lookout rock is worth the view, though I’d recommend coming down from Torrey Ridge Trail to see it and not up from the campground.

The sandy beach of Sherando Lake below Lookout Rock

Having gained the ridge, it was a 3-mile roller coaster climb up to the Slacks Trail. However, this is the easy section of the Torrey Ridge Trail … The 2.5-mile run down the Slacks Trail is one of the joys of mountain biking. It flows well, and is more than 95% down hill. Two rock gardens spice things up, both rideable, I believe. Although I’m still smarting from going down in the second rock garden (later in the day, in the rain). This trail is so good that I climbed all the way back up to Bald Mountain to do it again, after lunch.

Following a lunch break at the car at White Rock Gap (forewarned is forearmed, I had a cooler full of treats), I pedaled up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Bald Mountain. Originally, I had planned on getting there via the White Rock Falls trail, right across the road from White Rock Gap, but it was marked for foot travel only. The Parkway was a better idea anyway, as traffic was light on a weekday and I could use the big ring for a great deal of the climb. At Bald Mountain, I turned in on the Fire Road, rode for less than a mile and turned right up to Bald Mountain. The Torrey Ridge Trail dropped off to the left near the end of the double-track. It started innocently enough, and I encountered another hiker and asked about the rest of the Torrey Ridge Trail, which descended all the way down the ridge beyond the lake. However, after leaving the hiker, less than 1/2 a mile into the trail, I hit the first rock garden. And this was followed by one of the most extensive rock gardens around. A long, downhill affair with several stages. I had encountered it before, and been thwarted. As I was this time. Too psychologically intimidating.

The bigger they are the harder they fall - that's the trail, folks!

After walking (on trembling chicken legs down through the rock garden, I pedaled it out to the Slacks Trail in the cool Appalachian rain and railed it all again, except for taking a could-have-been-a-lot-worse spill in the second rock garden. I put a foot down on the downhill side too near the edge of the trail, turned my ankle on a rock, and did a tumble in the rocks. Miraculously, I came away with only a banged knee and hip bone. No flowing blood or big bruises. That’s why all good rock gardeners wear protection, my friends. So they don’t end up gazing down horrified at their own bones protruding from their leg or arm. Rocks play for keeps.

Sherando Lake has a great mix of trails for those willing and able to climb for the reward. I’d recommend parking at White Rock Gap or at the Slacks Overlook, as they are in the middle vertically. However, if you have shuttle vehicles, you could park one at Bald Mountain and another down at the end of Torrey Ridge Trail, or at the park itself and get some fun downhill runs in. Big Levels trail also goes off of Bald Mountain, and is an old favorite.

Trails covered on this adventure ride: White Rock Gap Trail, Slacks Trail, Blue Loop Trail, Torrey Ridge Trail

Other big mountain riding favorites in the area: Big Levels Trail …

© Big Mountain Riding

Getting There:

Sherando Lake Recreational Area / State Park
96 Sherando Lake Road
Lyndhurst VA 22952

From Interstate 64: Take exist 96 off Interstate 64 just east of Stuarts Draft, Virginia. Go South on State Route 624. The road number changes to State Route 664 at Lyndhurst, Virginia, but there is no distinct turn. Continue South on State Route 664 approximately 8 miles to the entrance to the Sherando Lake Recreation Area on the right. The gate house is approximately 1/2 mile ahead. If the gatehouse is closed, continue through the recreation area to the group camping area at the end of the road.

From the south or southwest: Sherando Lake State Park is accesible from the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can get to the Parkway via Route 664 (Wintergreen Resort) or from I-81 N: Take exit 213 for US-11 toward US-340/Greenville, Follow signs for 340 and turn left on US-340, Turn right at Draft Ave/VA-608, Continue to follow VA-608 until it turns into VA-610, follow 610 to Torrey Road, turn right on Torrey Road, Park entrance is on the right in about 4 miles.

Mountain biking is FUN! Even in 90-degree heat ...

With summer’s heat, I head higher into the mountains to escape the swelter. The third Big Mountain Riding Adventure Ride found me far out in the hollers of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, at Cave Mountain Lake National Recreation Area for some sweet backcountry singletrack with the promise of a cool-off swim afterward. This ride is only 4-miles if done one way, but it features many big mountain elements that make it worthwhile.

Big Mountain Ride #1 – Whetstone Ridge Trail

Big Mountain Ride #2 – Pedlar Ranger District bushwhack

Get directions to Cave Mountain Lake Recreation Area. The Recreation Area is pretty far out there and I decided to add to the middle-of-nowhere feel by getting there via a gravel, one-lane road descending 10-miles  from the Blue Ridge Parkway. I use that road for a training ride to prepare for epic events. It turned out to be a bit too much as an access road. About 7-miles in, my bike jarred loose from the Rocky Mounts fork mount and came through the rear passenger side window of my car. That added a new element to the adventure, as I had to detour out to civilization, thus defeating the purpose of my “shortcut”.

We put the 'K' in Kwality

I drove out to the nearest “country store,” but they had no duct tape. Huh. Not much of a country store. Had to go into Glasgow, Virginia to find a decent role of duct tape. In the Dollar General store parking lot I braced the remainder of my window, adding some class to the already rather rent-a-wreck look.

Back in the hollers, I paid my $5 day-use fee and rolled into the park. I picnicked in a beautifully rustic group pavilion built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s. Those guys knew how to build to last, and with style.

I pushed off from lunch, pulled down the bike and scouted out the trailhead for what looked like the only good-sized trail in the park, a loop called the Wildcat Mountain Trail. The CCC guys must have had a few feline encounters, because the other trail I saw was labeled “Panther Knob Trail.”

The CCC built to last

A helpful park volunteer steered me to the path and wished me well on what I correctly predicted would be an arduous ride. I rode the loop from the west trailhead, which featured a deadfall within the first 100-yards (an omen of things to come).

If that's not enough, ride it both ways

However, I rode over it and over many of the obstacles and soft trail conditions during the during the first 1/3 of the ride up to a fire road. On the other side of the fire road the climb got serious. In the sweltering heat, I climbed up a soft trail bed with plenty of hoof prints from its primary traffic – deer. The trail featured steeply inclined sections ramping up to progressively tighter switchbacks. Also, the higher it went the narrower the trail grew. In my overheated brain, I hoped for a super sweet downhill to match, and hoped that I had not unwittingly come up the harder side of the trail.

After plenty of hike-a-biking and granny-gear climbing with my heart smashing into my ribs twice for every pedal turn, I rolled onto what seemed like a downward incline. After sucking down water fiercely from my CamelBack and then moderating my breathing, I rolled on and soon encountered the first blazes I had noticed so far – Orange. Additionally, I came across a helpful sign marking the half-way point. Not sure if it was supposed to offer hope or inspire one to turn back if they thought they had gone further than they had. No summit marker that I saw, just a half-way marker. Niftily, that marked the beginning of a rewarding downhill run on classic CCC singletrack like that found in other Virginia big mountain riding sweet spots like Douthat and Sherando Lake state parks.

"You're almost there!" Let the games begin

The downhill made up for the sweat-hog climb. I would definitely recommend riding Wildcat Mountain Trail in the same direction I did. Yes, I did have to push the bike, but in cooler weather I would have pushed the heart rate higher and ridden more of it. And, the downhill toward the eastern side of the campground features a rock garden and some obstacles that require gravity assistance. In fact, only one tight squeeze is a definite dismount on this descent.

The backcountry element crops up in dozens of deadfalls and at least one flooded ford of a creek. However, at the end one rides out into a well-maintained campground and then at the end of the road a cool swimming hole awaits. I rode back to my car, grabbed my trunks, hit the CCC-built bath house for a shower and caught a  quick dunk as the rain began to fall and thunder rumbled in the distance. Another great day of Virginia big mountain riding. Those looking for a longer, more challenging experience could ride this trail in both directions in one ride.

©bigmountainriding.com

Cool off after a hot ride

More info:

Name: Cave Mountain Lake

Fees: Day-use $5 per vehicle, Camping: $15-per site.

Administered by National Forest / Park/ State: Jefferson

Specific Agency: National Forest Service

Camping Season: Apr 1 to Oct 31 (As the season may vary from year-to-year and based on conditions please check before visiting)

Number and Type of Campsites: Available: 42 Gravel: 42 Back-ins(12 x 22)

Other Features and Amenities: Restrooms and Showers Public Phone Handicap Access Table at Site BBQ at Site Nature Trails

Internet and Wireless Access: no

Contact Information and Reservations:
Telephone: 540-291-2188
If no email is available additional information can be found at the National Forest Service Website

Additional Information:
Fishing, Boating, Swimming and Hiking: Cave Mtn Lake Swimming