This is my third and final post covering the first ever Southern Mountain Bike Summit.  In case you missed the first two posts, part one can be found here and part two can be found here.

The Take Away

I’ve been involved in MTB advocacy on the local level pretty much since I started riding a few years ago so I know that a lot of work goes on behind the scenes and that mountain biking is a lot more than just riding your bike in the woods.  But I didn’t realize just how much work happens, and how hard people have fought for access to land and trails.  It was really cool hearing the success stories from the people largely responsible for those successes.  All great trails take a lot of work, and a lot of time, to become reality.  Take the Coldwater Mountain project for example – people have been working on that for over a decade and not even a single foot of trail has been built yet!!

Some of the people responsible for the summit, from left to right: Karen Into (President, Pisgah Area SORBA), Liz McNamara (Vice President, Upstate SORBA), Tom Soret (IMBA Southeastern Regional Director), Robin Allen (SORBA Communications Director), and Walt Bready (SORBA Promotions Director)

Several presenters gave some really interesting statistics that local clubs can use as ammunition when fighting for access.  Here are a few examples:

• Over 50% of children in the US are obese
• There are 1.5 times more mountain bikers than golfers in the US
• 1 in 5 Americans over the age of 16 ride a mountain bike
• Mountain bikers have 30% more voting power than voters aged 65 and above
• For every $1 spent on trails, $4 is saved on medical expenses
• 55% of trail users exercise more than before they had access to trails
• More useful statistics can be found from the Outdoor Industry Foundation and the Rails and Trails Conservancy

If you’re not involved in advocacy on at least some level you should be!  Trails don’t build or maintain themselves you know.   Head over to the IMBA website to find out if there’s an IMBA club near you, or how to start one if there isn’t a club in your area.  And if you’re not already a member of either a local club or IMBA, what are you waiting for?  A basic membership with IMBA is only $30 - it’s the least you can do to give back to the sport you love so much.

Ride Report: Black Mountain

After the final session on Friday afternoon everyone headed over to Poppie’s Market and Cafe.  From there we rode 2.3 miles on a scenic greenway trail, and then split into three groups.  There was a 4-mile ride for the beginners, the intermediate ride was 4.3 miles, and the expert ride was 9.3 miles.  I did the expert ride, and we rode an old Pisgah classic: Black Mountain.  After we split off from the intermediate ride we regrouped at some horse stables before starting the big gravel road climb up Clawhammer Rd to get to the trail.  Todd Branham, owner of Blue Ridge Adventures, was our ride leader, and he told us “You’re about to do most of your climbing right here.  Once you get over this steep pitch the rest is easy.  This will gain about 1200 ft in 3 miles.”   He wasn’t kidding, we were about to go up, up, and away!

Lucky for me, a friend let me borrow his Yeti 575 for the weekend.  On this climb I was extremely thankful for gears!  Even with the lowest gear ratio I can set up on my singlespeed I’d have been walking that whole climb.  It was steep, and it never seemed to end.  I got dropped pretty quickly by all the locals and people used to doing those big climbs.  Thankfully, I wasn’t the slowest person – several others were way behind me.

After the first few miles of stupid-steep climbing the road leveled out some.  We kept going up for a few more miles but it was a much more mellow grade.  One of the redeeming values of the climb is the great view on the way up.  Once we got to the top of the road there was a little more climbing to do, but now on technical singletrack.  I walked it all.  I probably could have ridden it, but I was exhausted after more than an hour of climbing and once the people in front of me stalled and stopped, so did I.  After a minute or so of walking we were at the top – it’s all downhill from here!

Photo: Goo

The downhill was intense.  The top section was steep, with tons of roots, rocks, and water bars.  Drop after drop after drop.  I stopped after a few minutes and lowered the seat on the Yeti.  The rest of the downhill was a lot more fun without the seat in the way.  Part of the way down the trail changes from steep and technical to mellow and fast.  Big sight lines and huge 6 ft tall berms meant you could stay off the brakes and absolutely fly!  This is mountain biking at its finest.

At the bottom we regrouped and then rode back to Poppie’s on the greenway.  At Poppies there was something mountain bikers love, maybe even more than trails: good food!  I got a bison burger and downed it faster than I knew I even could.  It was the perfect way to end a great ride.

The End

This wraps up my coverage of the first ever Southern Mountain Bike Summit.  I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope it encourages you to get involved with your local club, and to attend events like this.  It’s pretty cool being in the same room as all the people responsible for the great riding spots in your part of the country, hearing how they made it happen, and how you can do the same in your town.

Big “Thank You!” and “Job Well Done!” to all the organizers and presenters.  Everything went off without a hitch, and all of the presentations were really well done.

Regrouping at the bottom of the downhill.  Everyone had a great time.

The Sea Otter Classic is returning to Monterey, California this weekend for its 21st year in a row and it looks to be bigger and badder than ever! I was able to attend last year courtesy of Airborne Bicycles, and this year I’m excited to return.

On the outside possibility that you haven’t heard of it, Sea Otter is simply one of the biggest (if not the biggest) bike fair/expo/race/events of the year covering all disciplines of riding. Last year there were almost 60,000 people present over the course of the weekend. While this event is technically cross-discipline, Sea Otter has a very distinct mountain bike bent to it.

The scope of this event is so huge that there is no way you could ever hope to experience it all in one day. In fact, even if you are there for all 4 days of the event, it is still physically impossible to take everything in!

Mayhem at Sea Otter: There are people and bikes everywhere!

Here’s a hypothetical dilemma: let’s say you show up and buy a one day pass to Sea Otter. Which  should you choose to do: watch or participate in one of the many races, tour the 400 booths at the fair and ogle the newest gear and pick up free samples and stickers, test ride brand-new mountain bikes that might not even be on the market yet, watch one of those crazy trials riders do a show, eat delicious food, play on one of the pump tracks, or go for a ride and explore the incredible singletrack of Fort Ord?

Personally, I recommend a large dose of all of the above. The problem is, there is no way you can do all that in one single day… and it would be tough to do even over the course of the entire event!

New for This Year

Ladies Day

On Sunday the 17th Sea Otter will feature a day set aside for events and rides geared specifically toward female riders. On tap for Sunday are “women-specific clinics, [a] demo ride, panel discussion, and product displays, plus a wine and chocolate reception.”

Side note: Now, I’d think most dedicated mountain biking ladies would appreciate this nod in their direction from a male-dominated sport, and I don’t think any guys would be opposed to it, either. Think about the possible benefits for the male gender as a whole: more female-specific events will probably lead to more female mountain bikers, which for all the singles out there is definitely a good thing! Well, the National Coalition of Men disagree, and have threatened the Classic with a lawsuit claiming that these events geared toward women were in fact discriminating against men. C’mon, really? Someone didn’t have enough coffee this morning…

Sea Otter Celebrates Bike Shops

Sea Otter is making an effort to promote local bike shops and dealers by allowing them free access to all 4 days of the event, as well as “dealers-only demo rides, along with dealer clinics, seminars, and daily receptions.”

New Events

Several new events have been added to the roster this year:

Handcycling has been added to Sea Otter’s athlete competitions, in the Road Circuit races.  Also up for 2011:  Speed and Style, which legendary freeriding course designer Jeff Lenosky calls “a combination of a head-to-head race and a freestyle jump contest.”  And Camp of Champions is bringing its Big Air Bag to Sea Otter!  With top pros as coaches, mountain bikers can learn on the Big Air Bag how to make those jumps like a pro.

Downhill Course

Construction is currently underway on a brand new course for the DH race. This update will hopefully silence many of the naysayers who have spoken out against the ease of the course in past years.

Photo taken from the Sea Otter Classic Facebook page.

Coverage

Many of the standard media outlets and some other large mountain bike websites will undoubtedly cover all of the happenings at Sea Otter this year in much greater detail than I ever could. Regardless, even though I may only be portraying a small slice of the entire event, I’m going to take a crack at it! Last year, I published a number of posts during my time at Sea Otter. I had just started blogging seriously a few months before, so this year I come to the game with much more experience, and a little bit more of a plan.

Obviously there is a small chance that this might not happen, but I am currently envisioning literally dozens of short blog posts this year. I plan on covering everything I possibly can including sweet gear, bike reviews, interesting vendors, unique activities, the trails, my experiences, everything Airborne, and possibly some racing action! I just hope I don’t get food poisoning again…

If you choose to follow my blog posts, you can be sure that you’ll get a unique perspective of all the goings on at Sea Otter! I’ll be publishing a recap post here on Singletracks in the aftermath of the event, but if you want a live stream of posts and tweets during the next week, be sure to stay tuned to my personal MTB blog: GregRidesTrails.com!

Your Turn

Are you attending Sea Otter 2011? Drop me a comment… we should meet up for a ride.

Can’t make it out this year? What sort of blog posts from the event are you most interested in seeing?

I was looking forward to the Blankets Creek Duathlon for months because I knew signing up for the race would force me to get out ride my bike more. I was only able to pre-ride parts of the course two days before the race and even though Blankets Creek is a local trail, the pre-ride was my first time riding the infamous Van Michael Trail. For those who aren’t familiar, the VMT goes up and down and up some more and is one of the most challenge trails at Blankets Creek. I was hoping for rewarding downhill but most of the descents were rocky or slowed down by switchbacks… or both.

On race day I had to push aside thoughts of wishing I had trained more and all the other shoulda/coulda/woulda’s that entered my mind. There were a lot of serious competitors among the 260+ racers, but the majority of mountain bikers I met were there to finish and have fun. All the chatting and meeting other racers, especially the women, before the race was a great way to calm my nerves.

Any remaining nervous energy got burned off during the initial trail run. The duathlon started with a 5-mile trail run on the Dwelling Loop, and being a runner and former marathoner, I definitely preferred running before biking. After the first mile and a half I realized my heart rate was way up after I nearly tripped on a root. I was passing folks on the singletrack and feeling the pressure of other runners behind me so I decided to settle in with a few other ladies that were going about the same pace I was. Soon after, over my left shoulder I heard, “C’mon, you’re not satisfied.” She was right – in the back of my mind I was saving my legs for the Van Michael Trail, but it takes more than 5 miles of running to wear me out. So I gladly let the woman by and stuck to her like glue the rest of the way.

The running pace was perfect, a little faster than I would have run if I were running alone. We even caught up to my new friend, Cathi, an experienced ultra-marathoner. At that moment I started thinking negative thoughts, “I need to slow down, I’m going way to fast, Cathi should be running circles around me!” But I decided to make my move. I felt a little guilty about trading places with Cathi but I wanted to run as if I was only there to run the 5 mile trail run; I’d worry about the biking part later. I was so glad to be reminded early on that racing is often more of a mental challenge than a physical one. I finished the run in 44:16 and was one of the first 5 women into the transition area.

I hurried through the transition, gulped down a Gu and a bottle of Accelerade, switched shoes, slapped on my helmet and hydration pack and bolted back onto the trail with my heart rate still approaching maximum velocity. I had 12 miles on the bike to look forward to so it helped to think about it in pieces. First up, ~4 miles on the Van Michael Trail.

It took a while to get into the groove of climbing and I became frustrated when riders in front would stop in the middle of the climbs, forcing me and others following to do the same. This happened a lot on the VMT and I suppose it’s partly my fault for following too closely.

At one point I tried to pass a group of bike-hikers on the left side when I found myself out of space and momentum. I tumbled about 15 feet down a cliff still clipped into my bike like a fly on flypaper. I picked up some scrapes on my shoulders and legs but the worst part of the fall was one of my calves cramped up. Fortunately a couple of nice gents fished me and my bike out of the brush. I think I was cursing out loud by now so I hope they didnt take offense – I really did appreciate the help!

I stretched my leg out and pushed my bike up the rest of the hill and for a few minutes thought, what a waste, I might as well take my sweet time riding now. I was sooooooo mad! Then I thought to use all that anger to my advantage, so I pedaled like a mad woman. I was having crazy thoughts now. I wanted to blast down that stretch with the ropes (pictured above), but fortunately there were some folks from the race crew there telling the riders to take it easy.

By the time I got onto the next section of trail, known as the Dwelling Loop, I was still mad. Dwelling looks a lot different on a bike than on foot. You don’t notice the little rocks as much so it’s actually a pretty fast ride, at least for the first mile. Everyone seemed to be spaced out better on Dwelling and whenever I found myself alone, I pedaled harder to catch the next rider and make up time. Before I knew it, I was back with some of the racers I had seen before my crash.

We turned onto South Loop and the pace slowed a bit. South Loop is not like any of the other Blankets Creek trails, and of course this is the section I left out of my pre-ride. There was a lot of narrow, twisty singletrack through pine trees. Not knowing what else was ahead, I just told myself there’s less than two miles left so it’s time to ride until I puke.

When I saw an opportunity to pass the female rider that I had been behind for the last several miles, I bolted past only to come around the corner to a slow granny gear climb. I fell again going up a short technical section because I was distracted by a rider sitting by the side of the trail. What was he doing there? Did he puke? Am I going to puke here? I was totally embarrassed as I was passed back just seconds after getting in front of the woman. I hung onto the woman as long as I could, wondering if I could out-sprint her when we made it back to the doubletrack.

Before I knew it I could hear the race crew and spectators through the pine trees and I knew we were coming out of South Loop. I was over-anxious and started frantically mashing the pedals and, doh! my handlebars clipped a tree. Down I went for a third time and in front of so many people!

I finished strong knowing I ran and rode my hardest. My final time was 2 hours 11 minutes, and I was shocked to win my age category (the woman I was chasing ended up being in a different age group) and I finish 5th overall in the women’s race!

It’s two days later and I’m still a little sore from the crash, but certain I’ll do another dirty duathlon. A big kudos to Lisa Randall and SORBA Woodstock for putting on an awesome event. See you at the Rope Mill Duathlon!

This is the second part of my coverage on the Southern Mountain Bike Summit that was held in Brevard, NC recently.  In case you missed it, find the first part here.  Okay, let’s get on with it.

Building Partnerships to Get Things Done

Day two started with a really good presentation by Sig Hutchinson, the president of TORC and owner of Sig Hutchinson Communications.  Sig knows how to get things done.  He is a mover and shaker in his community in Raleigh, NC where he is largely responsible for raising $140 million for open space preservation, parks, and an incredible greenway system that links several communities and parks together in Wake County.  The system currently has about 70 miles, and there’s another 40ish currently under construction.  Who wouldn’t want something like that in their town!?

Sig’s presentation focused on how to deal with people to build partnerships.  As volunteer groups, most MTB clubs are very willing to ask for things such as donations, land to build trails on, access to existing trails, etc.  But we don’t always think of ways to give back to the people that help make those things happen.  Sig talked a lot about how people are under appreciated.  So when we work with someone, we need to give them credit for what they do to help us.  Get the media involved, send out press releases, let people know about the good work that person did.  They’ll be a lot more willing to help you again later if you do.

People slowly filing into the room Saturday morning.  Half an hour later the room was packed out.

Working With the USDA Forest Service

This was another panel session where several people gave short presentations.  One thing I quickly learned is we actually have some good cycling advocates who work for the Forestry Service. One of the speakers, Jim Schmid is a Trails Manager for the Forestry Service who was a mountain biker before mountain biking even existed.  Back in the 70′s he didn’t own a car so he biked everywhere and he was the first person in his town to buy one of the 1982 Specialized Stumpjumpers (the first widely available mass-produced MTBs) and he’s even cycle toured around Europe.  He is a true bicycle fanatic – and it’s great to have people like him working on the inside with us.

The big take-away from this session was that the Forestry Service is a multi-management agency.  They have a lot to deal with, including: conservation, restoration, timber, fire management, recreation, and wildlife just to name a few.  So again, patience when working with them is important.  Things take time, and we need to realize that.  Even when they get behind a project 100%, it will not happen quickly.  And they do like working with volunteer groups such as mountain bike clubs; without us working with them there would be a whole lot less trails for us to enjoy.  The southern region of the Forestry Service has over 10,800 miles of trails!  Without volunteers to help maintain them that number would be much, much smaller because the Forestry Service simply doesn’t have the budget or manpower to do it themselves.

Creating Great Trails and Communities

This session focused on why we need trails in our communities.  Trails offer a lot of benefits to communities aside from being a place to have fun.  They’re cheaper than other recreational facilities, they preserve wildlife habitats, they can revitalize derelict property, and they can be an economic boom to communities that embrace them.  Trails also get people exercising and create healthy lifestyles.  One statistic given was that 55% of trail users exercise more than before they had access to trails.  In other words, trails get people off the couch and outside getting healthy.  This presentation also gave tips on how to turn your trails into a destination trail system – somewhere people will travel to from far and wide to ride.  The speakers offered tips on what the trails should offer, the types of lodging trail users will need, and even how to advertise and market your trails.

IMBA Club Care

The final session of the summit was another Trail Care Crew presentation – how to build a sustainable mountain bike club.  And once again, Steve and Morgan did a great job with this presentation.  They gave advice, learned from successful clubs around the country, on how to increase membership, organize meetings, and avoid volunteer burnout.  They also explained why clubs should put on events, and how different events work better to reach certain goals.  For example, hosting a skills clinic would not be a good fundraiser, but it would be good at building a riding community and growing club membership.

The Trail Care Crew spent some time with Upstate SORBA before the summit.  Photo: Upstate SORBA.

Up Next

That wraps up my coverage of the learning sessions.  As you’ve seen, there was a LOT of information thrown at us in those two days.  Find out if a regional summit is coming to a town near you, and if so, go check it out!  There is a ton of knowledge to gain at these summits and it will only benefit your local club and riding scene if some of your folks can attend.

In my third and final post on the Southern MTB Summit I’m going to present my big take-away, the overall impression I was left with at the end of the summit.  There will also be a ride report from Friday afternoon’s ride – these things aren’t all work you know!

This year IMBA is hosting half a dozen regional summits across the US and I got a chance to attend the the Southern Mountain Bike Summit in Brevard, NC this past weekend.  The conference was hosted by IMBA-SORBA and the Pisgah Area and Upstate SORBA chapters.  The summit brought industry leaders, professional trail builders, local club members, and land managers together for two days of seminars covering a wide range of advocacy topics.  Yours truly was there, and it was great!  All of the speakers were really good, and I learned a lot.  There was a ton of information thrown at us in those two days – I took over 11 pages of notes!  We got to do a little bit of riding as well on Friday afternoon, a classic Pisgah ride, but the planned Saturday and Sunday rides were rained out.

This was the first regional summit IMBA is holding in 2011; there will be five others this year in other parts of the country.  Going forward SORBA plans to host one of these summits every two years opposite the biennial IMBA World Summit.  If there’s a conference scheduled for your area I highly recommend you check it out – there’s a wealth of knowledge to gain and you’ll meet some very cool people and have a lot of fun.

I’ll be breaking down my coverage of the summit into three parts.  This is the first part, and it will cover the seminars on day one.  Part two will cover day two, and part three will be my take-away from the summit and a ride report from Friday afternoon’s ride.

Tom Soret, IMBA’s Southern Regional Director

Opening Remarks:  Krista Rettig

Krista is a great advocate for cycling and she’s very energetic and passionate about all types of cycling.  She’s a former mountain bike racer and longtime employee at Trek.  She is currently serving as the Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs for Trek so her talk focused on the importance of cycling in modern society (all forms, not just mountain biking) and how advocacy groups can approach local governments to get projects going.  She emphasized the use of statistics and hard data to convince people, specifically politicians and government employees, of the value of cycling infrastructure, be it a paved greenway or a gnarly singletrack trail.  She also gave advice for local clubs and talked about how Trek is doing their part.  Did you know that for every full suspension mountain bike Trek sells they will donate $10 to IMBA, and some of their dealers will match that?  Next time you’re shopping for a Trek, ask your local shop if they participate in that program, and if they don’t, try and get them to sign up!

Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew: Land Manager Training

The Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew is a free resource for IMBA clubs all over the country.  There are two crews that travel around the country 10 months out of the year teaching clubs and land managers how to build, maintain, and manage sustainable mountain bike trails.  The program was started in 1997 and has been, and continues to be, fully funded by Subaru, one of IMBA’s long time supporters.  Subaru covers ALL costs associated with the trail care crews – gas, food, lodging, salaries, everything.  None of your IMBA membership dollars go toward the Trail Care Crews – it’s a FREE program for IMBA.  Subaru also offers discounts on new cars for IMBA members as well.  That’s pretty cool for a car company to support mountain biking in such a huge way and for so long!

The crew that visited us was the husband and wife duo Steve and Morgan Lommele.  Their presentation was fantastic!  This particular talk was aimed at educating land managers about mountain biking: what we want in a trail, what we don’t want, and how we’ll help them maintain it.  The presentation covered the economic and social benefits of trails, sustainable trail building theory and practices, how to design for specific user groups (MTB, equestrian, hiking), and how to use positive control points and how to avoid negative control points.

Again, the Trail Care Crews are a FREE resource for your local IMBA affiliated club.  Ask them to come teach your group some things and they probably will!  Check out the Trail Care Crew website for more details.

Connecting With Agency Land Managers

This session had several short presentations made by land managers followed by a Q&A session.  The panel of land managers represented a wide range of agencies from all levels: federal (USFS), State (NC DNR), and County (Forsyth County, GA).  They gave us the inside scoop on what they, as managers, are looking for in a partnership with a volunteer club, and what we should expect from them.  They also explained some of the restrictions they have and why things take so long sometimes – usually due to laws they must follow or simply bad timing.  One of the big points we need to remember is that land managers are busy, they have a lot on their plates, and we need to be patient with them.

Success Stories

Three success stories were presented by the folks involved in making them happen.  These stories showed what great things can be accomplished when a MTB club partners with a land management agency and the two work together for a common goal.  The timelines for these stories also illustrate the importance of patience!

Itusi Trail System – Lake Norman State Park, NC

• Project began in 2001, initially using volunteers to hand build the trails
• There are now five loops, for a total of 17.5 miles of singletrack
• The park did not spend any money on the construction of the trail
• The trails are directional to avoid user conflict, hikers and bikers travel in opposite directions.  The direction is changed every year
• Maintained by the Tarheel Trailblazers

Santos – Ocala, FL

• Partnership between the Ocala Mountain Bike Association and the State of Florida Office of Greenways and Trails
• 84 miles of singletrack!!!
• Freeride park, skills park, 2 pumptracks, and 3 dirt jump lines
• Trails constructed alongside the 110 mile long Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway
• Uses old limestone quarries for technical terrain
• Designated as an IMBA Epic Ride and a Ride Center
• 5 trailheads provide easy access

Coldwater Mountain – Anniston, AL

• This project is 11 years in the making, and construction is FINALLY about to start.  Remember that patience thing I mentioned earlier?
• Partnership between the Northeast Alabama Bicycle Association and Forever Wild
• Will contain somewhere around 50-60 miles of purpose built mountain bike trails
• Stacked loop system will have a little something for everyone, including TWO gravity zones!
• The entire area will be MTB and hiking/running specific – no horses, hunting, or motorized use
• Trail construction should start this year

Photo courtesy IMBA.

Up Next

Day two included sessions on how to build partnerships, working with the USDA Forestry Service, how to create a great riding community, and how to grow your local MTB club. Stay tuned!

If I had a nickel for every dirt jump video I watched on YouTube… Honestly though, there’s really nothing like seeing the action in person. And if you live in Northern California you don’t want to miss the 2nd Annual Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival.  The event is being held on April 9th & 10th in Aptos Village, California, and there will be no shortage of jumps and tricks.  If you want to hit the trails yourself, you’ll have a chance to join a 40-mile endurance XC ride or do shuttle rides at Soquel Demonstration Forest, one of the best mountain bike trails in California according to our readers!

Singletracks is excited to support this event to benefit mountain biking in Santa Cruz and to help create a permanent bike park in Aptos. There will be singletracks stickers for participants and even an official singletracks jersey going to the highest bidder during the silent auction. Here’s an official run-down of the SCMBF events:

Fox Racing Shox 831 Jump Contest: This juried dirt jumping competition will showcase both world-class professional riders as well as top ranked local amateur riders. Pro class winner will pocket the Pro Purse and the Amateur class winner will ride off on a brand new 831 Fox Fork! The 831 Jump Contest is a fantastic opportunity to see aerial stunts.

Specialized & Scotts Valley Cycle Sport Short Track Race: The exciting short track race will feature open mens/womens and pro mens/womens classes. In true Santa Cruz fashion, this technical course will offer berms, rollers, and strategic obstacles that guarantee an exciting event.

Black Market Bicycles & Epicenter Cycles Pump Track Pandemonium: This unique format of racing will test each racer’s bike handling skills without a single pedal stroke required. All ability levels will enjoy the track as they pump their way through 12 perfectly apexed berms.

Trek Epic XC Challenge: challenging 40-mile endurance ride from Aptos Village to Soquel Demonstration State Forest and back will be led by local Santa Cruz County pro XC riders. The Epic XC Challenge is free, but spaces are limited on the ride, so participants are urged to sign up early.

Demo bikes available from Black Market, Specialized, Ibis, Trek, Yeti, Caletti Cycles and many others

Vendor expo area

Shuttle Rides to Soquel Demonstration Forest provided by Shuttle Smith Adventures

Pump track skills clinics

Bike handling skills clinics

Beer garden with Santa Cruz County’s most notable breweries

Fund raising events including raffle & silent auction

For race and ride registration, full schedule times, and event details please visit the SCMBF website: http://www.santacruzmountainbikefestival.com/

photo by dgaddis.

On Saturday I completed the third and final Snake Creek Gap Time Trial of 2011 in Dalton, GA and it was definitely a mountain bike race to remember. Regular readers will recall I rode the first time trial at the start of my 29 Trails in 29 Days challenge and the second race marked the finale of my journey in early February. A glutton for punishment, I drove to the mountains in the rain Saturday morning in hopes of claiming the 3×34 belt buckle reserved for those who complete the 34 mile course at all 3 time trial races.

I had been watching the weather forecast carefully Friday afternoon and had pretty much convinced myself I shouldn’t race – I might mess up my bike, the rain would be miserable, and besides, I didn’t want to contribute to damaging the trail. Despite my gift for making great excuses, mudhunny convinced me I would regret missing the race and she was right. Still, I kept asking myself what I was doing as the bus wound its way through the rain to the starting line.

With a steady drizzle falling, the race got off to a muddy start on the fire road leading down to the big stream crossing. This time I was actually looking forward to the water – at least it would clean some of the mud off my bike and drivetrain! I didn’t see anyone bothering to tip toe across this time – we all just gunned it for the other side.

I settled into the climb coming out of the stream crossing and at about the 3-mile mark the woman in front of me snapped her chain. I slowed to ask her if she had everything she needed and it turned out she didn’t have a chain tool. Crap. I stopped to lend her my tool and flagged down another rider I knew, Alan, who popped the chain off and got everything snapped back together quickly (I carry 10spd Powerlocks but this was a 9spd Shimano chain). According to my GPS we were stopped about 6-7 minutes which would become important later.

From this point the trail continued to climb and I found myself getting overheated in my Gore-Tex jacket with long sleeve jersey underneath. Having just stopped I wasn’t ready to strip layers so I sweated on until about the 7.5 mile mark which was probably a mistake hydration-wise. I removed my long sleeve jersey, ate a Gu, put my jacket back on, and hit next the short climb at low speed.

At this point – about a quarter of the way in with 24 miles to go – I was pretty much ready to quit. The 25% mark seems to be a mental barrier for me on most long rides so I knew I just had to power on. As we neared the halfway point and the first sag, I heard the riders around me saying they were thinking of throwing in the towel which made me even more pissed. At one road crossing a volunteer asked how many riders were behind me – how the F@^$ should I know? I growled “a bunch” as I rolled past him and across the road. In the back of my mind I started wondering though – was I at the back of the pack already?

After eating a Clif bar at the sag I was feeling better and the climb out of the parking lot, while excruciating, seemed a bit shorter than last time. Before I knew it I was heading downhill to the first of several creek crossings and for the first time in a while I was by myself – I saw no one in front or behind me. On the fire road climb up the other side I executed a slow motion pass around one rider and sat down at the final sag with a banana and a Snickers bar. Just 8 miles to go – but the most technical part of the course was ahead.

photo: wildernessadventurephotography.com

During the previous two Snake Creek races I came to the conclusion that my technical and descending skills are pretty below average since it seemed like I was always getting passed whenever the trail pointed down. The slippery, ridge-top rock gardens are mostly rideable for me on a good day but I found myself slowing down to pick lines on my hardtail while others allowed their momentum to carry them through. At this point the trail was enveloped in dense, gray fog (clouds actually) which made it tough to know exactly where I was in relation to the finish. My legs were on the verge of cramping so I was very deliberate about getting off the bike slowly and lowering my frame to the ground to dismount rather than swinging a leg over the saddle.

After miles of alternating between riding and walking, I recognized the final rock garden/step up just below the cell tower which effectively meant the end of the course. The 1.5 mile gravel/paved road descent to the finish never felt so sweet.

I crossed the finish line with an official time of 5 hours, 19 minutes which is 3 minutes slower than my first race BUT since I stopped to help with a mechanical at the 3-mile mark I was actually a few minutes ahead of my slowest pace. Still, that’s a good 40 minutes slower than the time I posted in TT #2 when I was fresh off my 29 Day challenge. It’s amazing how quickly my fitness returned to pre-29 Trail levels.

As one of 88 riders who completed the 34-mile Snake Creek Gap Time Trial all 3 times I earned the coveted belt buckle which I’m proudly wearing as I write this. The woman Alan and I helped at the beginning of the race went on to finish as just one of 5 women to earn a buckle this year. Respect the Snake.

This weekend I attended the 25th annual Toronto bike show and I gotta say the event is getting bigger and better each year. I had a chance to catch up with some friends from the industry and I was surprised at how things are coming together.

I spent some time chatting it up with Julien Papon from Vitess and learned they will be producing their first mountain bike soon. I actually spoke with Julien last year and he asked me for my thoughts on producing a high end mountain bike. How high end? Well, at the show they revealed their limited edition 007 road bike, which will be priced at about $30,000( it includes a 5 day VIP Tour de France tour). Yeah that’s not a typo. So needless to say I am wondering what the 29er bike they are set to reveal will look like. Only time will tell.

Intense, Opus, KHS, Shimano, and Trek were all there showing off the new rides for this year and there were booths set up for clubs and resorts as well. I even managed to pick up my season pass for Blue Mountain this year.

The photo above shows what Opus has in store for 2011 – mountain bikes for all disciplines. Starting at top left and going clockwise we have the Clutch, Crate, Nelson, and Stakh, all of which have been improved for 2011. The Stakh is completely new for this year and there’s also a new steel version of the Crate.

The show also had a ton of extras for everyone to enjoy. In addition to the familiar BMX jam competition, the show also featured a stadium-style mountain bike competition. The competition was basically a dual-slalom and freestyle stunt competition all on the same indoor course. Since it was a family show they even had a kids place where parents could test bikes with their kids.

Two of my favorite mountain bike destinations – Blue Mountain and Joyride 150 – were at the show as well and seemed to be doing good business. Both spots have something for everyone – challenging trails and features but also family-friendly stuff to do as well.

Although I didn’t need to buy anything this time, I did see a lot of people picking up bikes and tons of accessories including the GoPro HD, highly machined cranks, tires, and all kinds of jerseys. Other noteworthy items included handlebars, particularly the wider bars out there. I remember talking with trek7k at Interbike in September about the wide bar trend which now looks like it will be around for a while.

If you’re ever in Toronto during the first week of March, swing by the Toronto bike show. I’m sure you will find something you like!

photo: Bicycling Magazine / Brian Vernor

In case you missed it, the March issue of Bicycling Magazine featured a great story by Articles Editor Lou Mazzante about the epic Chupacabras 100km mountain bike race in Jarez, Mexico. A border town just south of El Paso, TX, Jarez saw an average of almost 9 murders per day in 2010 as rival drug cartels continue to duke it out with government officials and with each other. As if mountain biking weren’t dangerous enough on its own!

I got a chance to ask Lou about his experience racing Chupacabras and to find out more about the MTB trails and the scene in Juarez. If you haven’t read the article yet, I highly recommend reading it online (or in the March issue of Bicycling) then checking out our Q&A below.

How technical is the (Chupacabras) course itself? Where did you see other riders getting hung up? How much of the course was singletrack vs. gravel road vs. pavement?

photo: Bicycling Magazine / Brian Vernor

For the most part, it’s not too technical, which is why you see so many locals out there on department-store bikes. The course requires more stamina than skill. It is roughly really divided into two sections, and looks like a cherry-stem loop. The stem in this case is roughly the first 25 miles, which take place on the flat, smooth top of a the levy running through the edge of the Rio Grande in Juarez. The whole time, you’re within 100 yards of the U.S. Mexico Border. The course then has about a 25 mile loop in the mountains. About half of that is jeep road, the other half singletrack. There are some very technical climbs in the mountains but the long line of racers means most dismount and walk them. One especially horrible hike-a-bike is known as King Kong steps and is the site of many, many cramping riders. It’s not the terrain or trails that are demanding, it’s the speed at which most riders attack the flat early sections, and the overall length; 60 miles is a long way to race, whether the terrain is technical or not. Cramping is the most significant hazard, followed by flats, heat exhaustion and dehydration. Though I did see quite a few crashes, too.

What kind of research did you do before the race in terms of security, logistics, etc.? Would you recommend it to other Americans looking for a challenge?

I researched it the same way I would any story. I talked to people who raced it, to organizers, to shop owners in El Paso, which is right across the border. I read Charles Bowden’s latest book, Murder City, which is the best account of what’s happening in Juarez that I came across. There’s a librarian at the New Mexico State University who runs an online news group, the Frontera List, which tracks the daily murders Juarez and links to relevant news stories. I set up Google alerts and searched through the online archives of most major news outlets. Sadly, most outlets only recently began devoting significant resources to covering this war—and it is a war, every bit as deadly and significant as Afghanistan and Iraq. And most reports are very thin. Reporters in Juarez risk their lives if they dig too deep, so there are too few people doing real investigative journalism down there.

Initially, photographer Brian Vernor and I planned to stay in Juarez, but at the last minute changed our minds and stayed in El Paso. It’s only a 10 minute ride across the border and many racers stay there, even those from Mexico. Riding into Mexico with a group of racers also gave us a unique angle to the story. But the main reason we stayed in El Paso was because it is safer. It would be difficult for me to recommend that anyone compete in this race. Simply traveling to Juarez involves so much risk, and the situation is worsening. It’s a decision everyone has to make for themselves. That said, I felt safe during the race, and as far as I know, no one has ever been a victim of a crime while racing. For what it’s worth, I’d go back. The people involved with the race—from the organizers to the competitors to the fans and volunteers—are some of the most genuine, dedicated people I’ve ever met on a bike. It’s truly a special event, unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced.

Outside of the Chupacabras race and the original organizers, is there much of a local mountain biking scene? Is it growing?

There is, but it’s very much linked to the Chupacabras. The race introduces so many people to the sport that it can’t help but grow it. The organizers also sponsor a youth team of local riders and during the race, they host mini-races that attract several hundred kids. The entire state of Chihuahua, the state where Juarez is located, has a strong mountain bike culture. It’s home to the world-class riding around Creel and the entire Copper Canyon region and several mountain bike series run throughout the year. Most Chupacabras competitors come from Chihuaha. While many are locals who only ride a few times a year, plenty of others are members of club teams and serious racers. Of course, fewer people are riding now, because it’s just not safe. Many make the quick trip across the border to ride in El Paso, which has it’s own thriving scene.

Over time, do you think a big mountain bike event like Chupacabras can make a difference in a place like Juarez?

As much as I’d like to say yes, I think what is going on in Juarez, and the rest of Mexico, is so complicated, and rooted in the country’s history, economy, politics, and culture—not to mention it’s relationship with the U.S—that no single event can change it. I’m oversimplifying here, but we’re talking about a multi-national $50 billion drug trade, fought over by cartels that have operated and thrived with little government interference for decades, and an insatiable appetite for drugs just a few feet away in the U.S. It’s a socio-economic crisis that I wish a bike race could solve , but I don’t’ see it happening any time soon. What the Chupacabras does do is give hope to thousands of people who desperately need it. It gives them an escape, a brief respite, and a challenge that so many look forward to. The Chupacabras may not make a dent in the war for Juarez, but it does make a difference for the tens of thousands racers, volunteers, organizers and fans who come out every year to support this incredible event.

I plan on attending the first ever Southern Mountain Bike Summit will be held in Brevard, NC March 25-27.  The SMBS will bring riders, land managers, industry leaders, and politicians together to “teach, learn, meet, greet, ride, and grow the sport of mountain biking in the Southeast.”

The summit will have sessions about a wide range of topics, including some specifically for land managers.  The topics include:

-Leadership Training
-Working with the USDA Forest Service
-Creating Great Trails and Trail Communities
-National Mountain Bike Patrol Training
-Growing Healthy Chapters and Clubs
-Success Stories: Model Trail Systems in the South

There will also be a movie screening, silent auction, the SORBA Board of Directors meeting, and awards for volunteers.  And of course, there will be riding!  Friday the ride will leave from Poppies Gourmet Farmers Market, Saturday’s ride will be somewhere in Pisgah National Forest (home to some of the gnarliest singletrack in the country), and Sunday’s rides will be at DuPont State Forest (home to the most slickrock riding this side of Moab).  There will also be bike demos available for Sunday.

I’m stoked for the summit and will post a summary afterward.  It’ll be a good chance to learn some new things about advocacy, and it’ll be my first time riding Pisgah and DuPont.

Head over the Pisgah Area SORBA webpage for more details and registration information.  At only $65 for the whole weekend registration is very reasonable and one and two day passes are also available.  The price does go up if you register after March 10th, so sign up early!

The weather is warming up and the trails are drying out here in the southeast which can only mean one thing: mountain bike season is on the way! Here are a few mountain bike news items we’re digging this week.

2012 London Olympics MTB Course

photo courtesy news.bbc.co.uk.

We’ve written about the 2012 Olympic mountain bike course a couple times already but this week BBC News posted more details about the new trail. The overall loop is just 5K (about 3 miles) – much shorter than we imagined – which means the men will ride about 8 laps or so. That also means the race will be super spectator-friendly for up to 20,000 fans and tickets will cost between 20 and 45 pounds ($32 to $72).

The course itself appears to be mostly done and workers have covered the rocky course with a layer of sand to protect it from erosion before the games. Since there weren’t enough rocks on site, 1.1 billion pounds of rock (that’s right – with a B) was brought in to armor the trail and provide a more technical challenge. There’s about 230 vertical feet between the high and low points on the course, though there’s no word on the actual ascent per lap. Check out more pics here.

DH Race at Cape Verde Benefits Children

On February 14 the Urge Cabo Verde DH event wrapped up at Cape Verde off the west coast of Africa. Here’s how one press release describes the race:

The concept for the event is simple: take a handful of the world’s best mountain bike riders and drop them into an under-privileged part of the world for an event that is more about helping the local children than a finishline at the bottom of a mountain (or volcano in this case).

On the womens’ side, Tracey Moseley took top honors while Rocky Mountain sponsored rider Sabrina Jonnier of France took second. From what we’ve seen the trails and conditions were epic but don’t get your hopes up about racing next year: the race is invitation only. Find out more about the event and the charities it supports.

Honey Stinger/Trek Mountain Bike Team

The Honey Stinger/Trek mountain bike team announced its 2011 roster yesterday and offers an impressive list of who’s who in mountain biking. With 37 amateur and pro riders, including Jen Gersbach and 24 Hour national champs Max Taam, Sari Anderson, and Len Zanni, we’re bound to see the honey-combed jersey on the podium this season. The team will compete in several high profile Colorado mountain bike races including the Firecracker 50, Leadville 100, and the Breck Epic Stage Race.

With Lance Armstrong’s (second) retirement announcement yesterday, perhaps this means he’ll find some time to coach the Honey Stinger off-road team. After all, Armstrong is a part owner in Honey Stinger and is (was?) sponsored by Trek so he’s (David Puddy voice) gotta support the team!

Pro Photographer Hosts MTB Photography Course

Nationally acclaimed outdoor photographer Scott Markewitz is hosting a mountain bike photography course in Moab this spring and you’re invited! Western Spirit will take care of the logistics so all you need is your DSLR camera and a mountain bike! Oh, and the registration fee – $1,995 which includes four nights lodging and all meals and instruction. Contact Western Spirit at 800-845-2453 or biking@westernspirit.com to reserve your space and check out Scott’s MTB photo gallery here.

photo courtesy Race Across the Sky.

According to a recent article, Leadville 100 sponsor Lifetime Fitness has partnered with AEG to create a national series of qualifying races for Leadville. Since the Leadville 100 went to a lottery based entry system, some elite mountain bikers have been shut out from this (increasingly) popular event.

AEG owns and operates the Tour of California pro cycling race and this year they’ll help manage the 3-race “Leadville Qualifying Series.” By 2013 the series will expand to 8 races and will include events in CO, CA, TX, the midwest, southeast, and southwest (sorry northeast, seems like you’re outta luck). From the release it’s not clear what these qualifying events will look like, though we’re assuming they’ll all be ultra-endurance races of up to 100 miles. There’s already the National Ultra Endurance Race Series here in the US so we may see some races with dual designations.

At each race in the series, 100 entries to the Leadville 100 will be awarded – half to age/category winners and the other half to top overall finishers. This set-up is similar to how the entries to the Boston Marathon are awarded, though because the marathon is a standardized distance it’s completely time based (with different cut-offs based on gender/age). Unlike the Boston Marathon, regular riders can still race at Leadville – they’ll just need to get lucky with the lottery (which closes in just a few days – Jan. 31, 2011).

Of course the Boston Marathon is still just called the Boston Marathon, unlike the Leadville 100 which is now the “Lifetime Fitness Leadville 100.” It will be interesting to see where these corporate sponsors take the event in coming years…