#1. Tuscarora Off-Road Weekend: March 23-24
This was my gem of the spring. I dumped a bunch of time and money into it (a bunch being relative), hoping to grow it and build something for the future. The success of that was questionable (with a 33% decrease in attendance from last year), but the vibe over the course of the weekend was so positive and amazing. A bunch of really great people came out to attend, and we made some great new friends. The events were a Race Prep Camp JB was supposed to run, a Super-D, Fundraiser Ride for Team CF, and an XC Marathon. (More on "XC Marathon" later) Friday we had the Super-D course all set up and did a few runs on it to test it out.....covered in snotty, slick snow several inches deep. It's not too often there is a Super D race, much less often are you racing one in the snow! What a spectacle it was on Saturday morning. The shuttle was slipping around trying to get to the top of the mountain, but what people didn't see was how sketchy it was driving that empty trailer down the icy shuttle road! Rising downhill star Cameron Nyguist showed us how it was done, winning handily in the snow. While we were trying to stay upright, it seemed like he was playing in it. We transitioned into the Fundraiser ride for Team CF (the CF Foundation specifically, not the Team per se) , a super low key lap around the endurance course (which did not have snow on it). Pflugger and Churtle lead us around the course, giving out tips and being super personable. We spent a lot of time playing on and tweaking some lines on the new piece of single track that we had been building to reroute a water-logged mud hole that used to be the trail. We had some quality help the weekend before, and put about 50 hours into that piece of trail. That section claimed many a tire, and a few derailleurs. It's an investment in the area: it was sharp and harsh this year, but with a year of traffic on it, that will be a great trail to ride in the forest and the race. That brings us to the XC Marathon on Sunday. What a great caliber field! I'm going to rattle off some names....stop me if I call out anybody you recognize from the NUE series: Jeremiah Bishop. Rob Spreng. Brandon Draugelis. Gerry Pflug. Cheryl Sornson. Sue Haywood. Some of the biggest names in the region for endurance racing. There were a lot of flats over the course of the day. Not only at the new trail, but all over the course. Rocky is an adjective influenced, yet again, by perspective. This was a less rocky course than Michaux. It was cold and fairly wet, though much drier than last year. It was snowing on me all week trying to set up the course, so I'm just glad the whole thing wasn't covered in snow. The general feedback I heard was that it was damn hard, but super challenging and, yes, fun.
Super D Men's Winner: Cameron Nyguist
Super D Women's Winner: Sue Haywood
XC Marathon Men's Winner: Rob Spreng
XC Marathon Women's Winner: Sue Haywood
XC Marathon Master's Winner: David Funk
XC Marathon SS Winner: Gerry Pflug
Super D Pics | Super D Results
XC Marathon Pics | XC Marathon Results
#2 Michaux MTB School: March 29-31
This one was way more relaxed. I was very excited for this, and it turned out to be the best camp we've ever had. Thursday night we convened at Cheryl's house for a lovely dinner and some strategizing. Friday morning was our instructor's ride, covering a great 5 and a half hour loop with the best technical terrain in Northern Michaux. We ended on the "classroom" trails for Satrudays lessons. Upon returning to the camp, we set Adam Craig loose on building the skills obstacles with a pile of supplies, some tools, and a few helpers. And build he did. What a great skills course! Campers started arriving, and that evening we had an Welcome speech and played some ice-breaking activities, including the foot-down death match. (you had to be there to understand this one) Saturday was exciting. This was the first time I've used these instructors, (Adam Craig, Harlan Price, Matt Miller, Sue Haywood, and Cheryl Sornson) and I was absolutely floored with the quality of instruction they brought to the camp. Thank you guys! The campers were all really great people and eager to learn. What a combination. With some foundational instruction on the skills course, everyone started to head out onto the trails for some real life instruction. The remote lunch at the top of the mountain was a last minute decision, and I'm really glad I did it. It was a really fun social part of the day. We ended the day with a really good Salmon dinner and some Q and A with the instructors. The next day was a relaxed morning with a little bit of rain in the forecast. We didn't let that get us down. We split up into a handful of ability based groups, and went out for some really fun rides (some long, some short). I think thats a great way to wrap up the weekend, so that we can all get the ride we want, and we can all apply the new skills we learned on Saturday.
Read up on Adam Newman's article for Dirt Rag (he does a much better job than I do): http://www.dirtragmag.com/webrag/riders-hone-skills-michaux-mountain-bike-school
Michaux MTB School Pics
#3. Michaux Off Road Weekend: April 13-14
The Off Road Weekend format is something I'm trying to get to catch on. Sue did a good job summarizing what I was trying to do in one sentence on a facebook post: "I love a two bike weekend." I think it started to catch on in a small way. There were more people doing both races in Michaux than in Tuscarora. (some of them repeats from Tuscarora) I like the idea of the "old days" when a racer went to a Norba National and raced everything. You were a bike racer, not a specialist. I don't think I'll start putting on a true downhill, dual slalom, or short track race with these, but this is my way of encouraging and supporting those that want a more diverse weekend. Sue is right, two bike weekends are a lot of fun. Michaux was the same set up as Tuscarora (Super D, Fundraiser, and XC Marathon), but with a time swap on the Super-D due to feedback from last time. Our fundraiser was initially for the Whiskey Springs Devo Team, but they decided it would be better to support local Brian Fults in his continuing battle with cancer. Brian came out to meet us in the morning, and it seemed like an emotional start to the day. The afternoon start to the Super D kept things much more relaxed. Matty Miller took the win, on one of his favorite downhills in the forest. Kudo's Matt! I shredded my derailleur and hanger on my race run.....so disappointing. I also really like that trail, and wanted a good run. Next time. Saturday night had some serious socializing going on. It was wet enough to have a fire, and we all gathered round'. What a good time with friends in the woods! As we started up the generator to get coffee going, everyone was woken up harshly in the morning to the sound system that was left on (at a pretty loud setting) Saturday afternoon. A few got to see me sprint across the parking lot to turn it off! The XC Marathon course was very rocky and very steep. I was told later that day by a racer, that the races in Michaux in the 90's were like that. That made my day. (I was in pre-school back then, when those guys were shredding it up) Robbie Spreng and Brandon D battled it out pretty good during the four hours. The women's battle was also a good one, with a little mystery game being played out by Cheryl Sornson and Vicki Barclay.
Super D Men'sWinner: Matty Miller
Super D Women's Winner: Callie Horwath
XC Marathon Men's Winner: Rob Spreng
XC Marathon Women's Winner: Cheryl Sornson
XC Marthon Master's Winner: Jesse Kelly
XC Marathon SS Winner: J-Pok
Super D Pics | Super D Results
XC Marathon Pics | XC Marathon Results
This past week saw more trailwork in a few locations, some GPS tracks being set, and recon for future projects. Keep an eye out for the release of some races planned for later in the year. I'm working hard on getting them ready! It was all capped off with some good ole XC racing in Greenbrier yesterday. I also shot the beginner, sport, and endurance races. You can find those pics here: http://fastforwardracing.smugmug.com/MountainBikeRaces/2013-Greenbrier-Challenge/29034754_qtS6d6
Later this week, we'll announce our Super Spring clearnance sale on all kinds of old stock, parts, and clothing on ebay. All auctions will start at $.99 and we'll see where the bidding takes us!
