The Freaks met up at the Ashborough Trail in Summerville today for some fun twisty singletrack riding. The Ashborough Trail is an excellent trail with great armouring in all the right spots. Fast with twists in the trail which really make you work to keep your speed. A definite challenge to your bike handling skills…

Great work guys!

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Here is an embedded snapshot of the GPS capture data for this trail:

View as a Large map in a new window

View MotionBased Web Data…

I have been wanting to ride more of the Palmetto Trail ever since I read about the “famous” Swamp Fox.  I have been itching to do a little micro-exploration and it seems Justin Fisher was on the same wavelength.  We had previously ridden the lower section from Hwy 17 to Buck Hall which is an endpoint to the Palmetto trail.  He has been really chomping at the bit to do this ride since we both read about Trek Bike Shop’s very own David Hall riding it a few months back.  It seems that was the catalyst.  A little back n forth texting and we were up early and on our way to do a little adventure riding…The trail is loopy, swoopy and bumpy in spots.  Lots of mud, lots of great bridge crossings, beautiful swamp scenery,  tricky log rides with some fun rooty singletrack, even some nice rock crossings thrown in…I was impressed and look forward to doing it again very soon!

• Distance covered: 29.5 miles.
• Time: 2:55:38s
• Avg Speed: 11mph
• Weather: Light Rain, hazy, 60-65degrees

We started from Quenby Creek and Rode all the way up to Canal recreation area….right under 30 miles end to end…but they are some tricky miles….but for the most part fun, fun , fun…

Photos available here: Palmetto Trail

Andy, John, Dan, Ken M, JD, and myself had a FATS trip planned for 27 Dec; as has happened a lot this year FATS closed due to wet weather.   We opted to go to Newberry and were not disappointed; the trail was a little hard to follow due to the leaves but was still rideable.  There were about 3 trees down which made us come off the bike.  In case you aren’t familiar with Lynches Woods it is a ~7 mile loop of tight hand cut single track with several creek crossing and some climbing.  The trail will challenge your technical skills to keep your speed up without hitting any trees and if you are gravitationally challenged like me you will get a workout climbing…Andy, John and JD didn’t get this same workout. :)  Ken and myself did 3 laps there; the others left after 2 laps and went to Harbison to finish out the day of riding.  So, the moral of the story is there are other road-trip worthy trail besides FATS.

Collin

How can I possibly start this article?  How many different ways can one be subjected to the most extreme elements mountain biking can offer?  Yeah, I think I will start this one off like this…

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   Somewhere out in Asheville, I believe Todd Branham and his merry little crew of masochists let out little snickers of joy as they traverse the intended race path thinking of all the pain, suffering and misery we subject ourselves to.  That’s my conspiracy theory.  In reality, Blue Ridge Adventures  once again steps up to the call for setting up the most intense epic mountain adventure races in the Pisgah mountain area.  Like moths to the flame, we drive out there to challenge ourselves against the forces of nature while following Todd’s roadmap over treacherous terrain, unrideable creek crossings, as well as hanging from vines on the edges of washed out trail.  I will tell you right now, I almost entertained the notion of quitting this time around.  Something about biting cold weather and brutal rocky descents make one weak all over….This is one of those races where legs and technical must meet properly.  Once you have those two factors down, you then have to turn your attention to factor in the elements.  It is biting cold when you leave and if done at the snail’s pace I encountered, biting cold upon arrival.  I learned so much from this race, much more than my ORAMM experience since I really focused on listening to my body scream out loud at me while partially ignoring it.

   The Swank 65 is the final epic race goal for the season that I had set for myself.  It is by far nothing like I had expected.  I arrived early Saturday morning to setup camp since it is included in the rider registration fees.  I arrive to find the camp area very much desolate and devoid of human life except for a few Blue Ridge Adv associates.  They inform me Cove Creek campground is also the Start/Finish for this fine event.  I accept the information, find my little spot in the woods, setup camp nice n quick, get some hot coals going for cooking, then proceed to wander about trying to find things to do without blowing myself out since I am supposed to be resting up for Sunday.  I try helping out with registration setup and find there is not much I can do there.  So, I strap on my biking shoes and go putter up Cove Creek trail on the blue section for a little bit.  This was an enlightening experience as I find it totally covered up with leaves and no sign of  roots or rocks hidden beneath.  I spin around after a few brisk light spin miles upward, and descend back towards camp at full speed.  The rush returns and I realize I am looking forward to riding some new terrain tomorrow.   A few more campers arrive and night soon falls as everyone hugs the edges of the fire, I realize I am truly having a great time camping, but know I must go to bed shortly.   10pm comes quickly and I retreat back to my frosty campsite and slide my way into my sleeping bag restless, anxious cold and a bit nervous hearing all of the horror stories of past years events….

Sunday comes up fast!  I am up and awake at 6am.  Coffee is on by 6:30.  Restless, I get suited up and go over my battle/survival plan.  While eating my dozen pancakes breakfast,  I notice the grassy knoll which just yesterday was littered only with a pack of dancing dogs from nearby campers was now overridden by car after car after SUV.  The hotel stayers had arrived.  I would say about a good hundred or more.  The madness started right away.  Time sped forward and before I knew it we were instructed to lay our bikes in a large group area and walk up and away from our bikes to start in a “Le Mans”-like fashion (Indy car racers would have to run to their vehicles when the green flag was waved).  Todd briefed us on the start and instructed us on where to run.  While he was talking I notice Andy Campbell had shown up to race!  Awesome!  I wish him good luck and just like that we were running through the woods.   I notice many were simply walking which forced the runners up through them all.  I say we must have started in the upper third of the pack upon grabbing our bikes and spinning off.  I immediately realize running up and down a mountain before a race really sucked.  I was winded before I ever got onto the trail, not a good feeling.   The ride winds up Cove Creek and it is climbing singletrack mixed with a handful of tricky creek crossings.  I fall into a rhythm almost immediately and hope that my breathing can slow down before I pass out from sucking wind.  I feel every bit of the cold mountain air deep in my lungs and grow a bit more upset that I just cannot acclimate properly.  I notice myself passing many riders who are having a worse time than I am at breathing and quickly understand I am not the only one battling the elements.  Rest stop 1 comes quicker than expected and I find myself warm and optimistic.  The rest stops were AWESOME!  The attendants were so organized and really there to wait on you hand and foot.  I was told not to get off my bike, but to ask for what I needed, so I ordered a peanut butter sandwich, my water support bag, and a fresh set of lungs.  They simply could not fulfill the lungs part, but that is a difficult request…Off I rode from rest stop #1 in less than a minute of arriving which was a shock to me as I had expected to lose 5 minutes at each stop. 

Up a long gravel road climb I went.  Daniels Ridge connector is around here.  Onwards to rest stop#2 which came quickly, so I must be deprived of oxygen by this point.   Once again, awesome reststop!  I fly through this one, only eating a sandwich, climbing on and quickly entering the singletrack in Gloucester gap.  I start making up tons of spots here.  I finally catch up to Andy and am flowing along with the large group he is mixed into and notice he starts slowing because he has popped a rear derailleur cable!  I stop to check if he needs anything, but he already has his hex wrenches out and working on the problem, so I scoot on ahead.  I drop the rest of the group and am feeling really optimistic about finishing around 5 hours based on my current speed and physical status.  Then it happens…a simple creek crossing turns into a nightmare when I get my front wheel hooked in a gap between rocks.  I flip over, hit my helmet on rocks, my shoulder and part of my back go into the cold creek, and my feet are still clipped in!  I cringe from the impact and both my legs cramp solid.  It is agonizing pain.  I force my legs to unclip and straighten out for the next 10 minutes staring at everyone fly by me asking if I am ok.  Andy passes me again at this point and checks if I am ok.  I tell him thanks, and to get moving, no problem here and I never see him again for the rest of the race.  Not being able to move freely was the downward spiral to the entire race.  In pain, cramping everywhere, cold, and slightly wet, I pedal on.  No more optimism.  I make it to rest stop#3 and look forward to drying out a bit on the climb up Pilot Mtn. Rd.  This climb is a lot like Curtis Creek on the ORAMM, long steep and ridiculously long.  I actually find I don’t mind climbs like this as much anymore.  I did dry out, but the cramps would resurface again after a few miles upwards and send me looking for a nice sunny warm spot to allow my legs to carry me onwards.  It was time consuming and something I will be focusing on entirely throughout next season.  I finally make it to Farlow Gap and breath a sigh of relief because despite everything terrible I have heard about this descent, I am looking forward to some time not pedaling and simply flowing…WRONG.  As I enter Farlow, I realize it looks pretty and simple, but underneath the overgrown grass, moss, and barrage of leaves, are boulders, baby head rocks and sharp protruding rocks everywhere.  It is one of the most difficult decents I have ever attempted to make.  I make it a third of the way and go over the bars again.  Fortunately, I catch myself clip back in and try again…halfway down, the banging, constant line changing and state of panic for my body’s safety grow to a level where, I simply cannot proceed on the bike and get off and start walking quickly.  I carry where I can, and roll it where I can, but I try everything to keep moving along.  I am not only afraid someone is going to catch up, I am afraid I will be stuck here well past dark.  I reach some trees I must climb over and start complaining out loud about how I am not having fun not riding my bike, but then I think hard about how cool it is to be out here in a spot which is hard enough to hike to and using my bike to get me here and out of here.  It is also quite beautiful out here.  I come to a creek crossing and notice a nice waterfall off the right edge, don’t fall here!  I hike onwards and upwards.  Up and through junglelike singletrack, wondering if I am still on the right course.  I come to another creek crossing and realize I haven’t ridden my bike in quite sometime.  Finally, I start seeing some steep uphill singletrack and clip back in and creep forwards since my legs are screaming in pain now.  2 riders actually catch up to me and my spirits sink for holding what few spots I had retained.  I make it all the way to Davidson river trail and this area actually sends nice vibes through my soul since it flows and makes up for the setbacks I had on Farlow Gap.  I start really cruising along now and make it back to rest stop#1 which signifys I am coming close to the end of the race.  I am really happy I made it to this point because I learned I can ignore some pain in my body and continue forwards.  Onto Cove Creek I ride, discovering another long arduous uphill gravel road climb was in store.  I actually made this entire climb in my middle gear, so I am assuming it was not nearly as steep as Pilot Mtn Rd.  It winds upwards for around 4.5 cold cold miles according to my computer and then quickly enters some super nice single track which is Cove Creek.  I start jamming on this trail as soon as I realize it is the same trail we rode upon the start!  I take tons of chances, roll over some of the same creek crossings that I earlier walked across and hop over rocks and anything else which would get me to the finish as soon as possible.  I then hear the beautiful sound of people talking, and cheering as they see me coming through the woods.  As I approach the finish, Todd announces my arrival and gives me a hi-five which sends a smile across my face!  I made it!  6:07:02 official time, 5:21:33 computer time.  I actually made it back in time to have a beer from the keg which was one of my goals as well!  I hang out for the next few hours watching riders roll in amazed there were still so many out there!  There were also quite a few DNFs and a few riders still not present as darkness set in!  There were dozens of people who were getting ready to camp for their second night and although I wanted to stay one more night and really engage in the merriment with others whom I had met here,  I had to get back to work the next day.  With that said,  I said my goodbyes, thanked Todd and crew for their fine work, and I hopped into the car, and drove quietly into the night taking with me a strong feeling of accomplishment and awe.  I am sure I will return next year for another round of punishment, ‘err enlightenment.

–Joel

Masochism….insanity…abuse…futility; all adjectives which accurately describe the OffRoad Assault on Mt. Mitchell(ORAMM).
I am quite comfortable stating that while I am a fairly seasoned rider with some decent technical riding experience under my belt, this event tested me beyond normal acceptable human limits.  This was the most grueling climbing endurance marathon I have ever participated in.  I never realized how far one can climb when they simply have to.  Pain was everywhere, suffering was everywhere, broken bodies and wills were everywhere.   Quitting was not an option for myself after 30 dedicated miles ….To make a long story short, I suffered, survived, and completed my first, and possibly last Off-Road Assault On Mt. Mitchell….unofficial time: 11hrs:??mins… official computer time 8:36:07, therefore with moderate reststop visits, about 9.5 hours(more on that later)…oh yeah, one more thing:climbing sucks.

Personal Computer Data: 

• Total miles ridden: 65.26
• Total Time: 8:36′07
• Average Speed: 7.5mph
• Maximum speed: 29.4mph

Travel Crew: Brad & Jennifer Phillips, and myself, Joel Watson….

Other participating LCFTFs: Justin & Tina Fisher & family, Nick Latto, Andy Campbell

PreRace.)

Breakfast time at the Comfort Inn.  6:30 am and all is quiet in the Continental breakfast lounge.  I grab myself a danish, some rather rubbery looking cooked eggs, OJ, and some wickedly watered down coffee…i go back for some toast and more OJ….Some more water back in the room to keep the hydration system circulating…we all get dressed and stagger out to meet the monster.  Food Drop bags in place, then shuffle into a good spot to avoid the lockdown at the hike-a-bike at Kitsuma…

Start.)

GO!  I have never heard that many knobbies roaring along on a paved road before…it was an amazing sound!  Adrenaline pumped through my body.  The rush was overwhelming.  My heart rate shot up to 175 instantly!  I could not control how incredible and insane this start was!  Heartrate check: 184.  Myself, being stuck dead in the middle of this fearsome aggressive pack of winners made for an uncomfortable feeling of not making the slightest mistake in formation.  One turn led us through a man trying to control the pack traffic into a left turn, but he was too short to see, so many riders almost hit him: maybe he should be up on a large pedestal next year?  This went on up most of Old 70…truthfully, I actually felt immediately winded from the immediate grade that the road started taking….I started wondering if I would even see RestStop#1….

Kitsuma.)

Ahh yes…lovely Kitsuma, she sounds like a lovely gentle asian flower, but in reality: demanding, demeaning, and will only give up her gift upon total devotion and surrender…so with that in mind, I briskly rode forward down a bit of singletrack towards a sharp left vertical turn by the highway whereupon an immediate congestion of riders commenced.  Heartrate check: 170.  At this point I realized I was not far enough at the front of the pack to avoid the traffic jam, so I physically and mentally throttled down and started the humbled march up Kitsuma…and up…and up….damn this hike-a-bike!  Heartrate check: 180. Then, when all patience seems to vanish and thoughts of pushing riders out of the way to get ahead enter one’s thoughts, you hear chatter from relieved riders ahead…”downhill, finally, alright..about time!..etc”.  I catch my breath for a moment, and impatiently clip in and start hammering…WOW, hard drops off roots, rocks jutting up everywhere!  Quick ascents upward make for another moment of bunched up climbing, but before anyone can mutter a word about hiking, I am clipped in again and flying along bones jarring from the harsh, loose, rooty drops which propelled me forward to about 20mph in the blink of an eye and the slight release of the brakes.  I fly across off camber ledges praying not to slip out, forcing my focus to remain on the trail ahead, feeling the presence of hundreds of riders breathing down my back.  Hands screaming in pain from the downward pressure of the descent and the constant loading/unloading of the brakes…I let off the brakes and start really making some room!  WOW…this is fun stuff now…total devotion and surrender and Kitsuma will bear her soul to you….and just when it starts smoothing out and turning fun and twisty, she takes it back!  Heartrate check: 160. aww…i wanted more…ever heard the quote: be careful what you wish for? Arrived at RestStop#1 at the 15 mile marker according to my computer…dazed, I was starting to realize the key to surviving this race is not to race it out…off to RestStop#2

Star Gap.)

As soon as you set out from RestStop#1, you enter another type of climb up an old dirt road which is run over with mountain foliage.  This climb seems to never end and I soon start to understand why this is called a climbers marathon and quickly decide I want don’t want to ride anymore….too late possibly…I continue thinking thoughts of bailing after reaching RestStop#2, but RestStop#2 never seems to come…Heartrate check: 185.  Wicked cramping sets in…Just when it seems like my legs seriously are done climbing, the road starts to point downward… fast, fast, fast…oh yeah, to hell with quitting, game on!  Cramps forgotten.  The downhill drops you right into RestStop#2 and I am overcome with adrenaline at the crazy descent I just finished, ready and wanting more.  But, minor setback#1 occurs with a harsh reality check about the current state of logistics: no water at the feed station!  Ok, getting worried…I calm down and slowly take out my pre-loaded feedbag which does not contain a water bottle, just some gels and energy foods and slowly eat them hoping the replacement water will be here once I am done.  10 minutes later, no water…Fellow LCFTF, Andy Campbell, shows up with the same look on his face regarding the current state of the race…ouch…15 minutes pass.  finally…water arrives…frustrated, but not negative, I reload and immediately continue onto RestStop#3 trying to make up for unforeseen lost time.

Curtis Creek Rd.)

Someone at RestStop#2 mentioned this being his 3rd ORAMM attempt which always ended along the Curtis Creek Rd climb.  This information worried me.   Nonetheless, I had plenty of water, heartrate was 158 and I felt renourished and ecstatic having made it this far!  I start the climb…Sweet! This is nice a leisurely climb up a long campground road, why all the fuss?  Wow, this road sure is long..holy cow, this road is still climbing…omigosh, are you serious??  Still climbing….climbing….if I see any more gravel I am going to scream…nobody actually cared when I yelled…why are all the riders so silent?  I can’t stand this anymore…please give me something different to climb…damn it, I am not giving up…up..up…up..pass 2 riders..up..up…pass 5 riders, one at a time….Heartrate check: 180. stop, pee in the bushes, get back on …up..up..up…up..up…get passed by some chick with groovy tassles on her bike seat…are you kidding me?….up…up…up, pass the tassles chick after she drops to her granny gear….7-10mph, mid-ring up front(this is the key)…up…Heartrate check: 170…up…you get the picture…I finally get off for a bit to walk and stretch my legs since saddle-itis is setting in and I gotta take care of tha’ taint….get back on after a mile and ride past some lady who claims I only have 2.5 more miles to get to RestStop#3…awesome…up..up..up…1 mile left…I chug down my last bottle of water to keep the hydration system pumping steadily…all systems normal and operational….Heartrate check: 168.  Finally RestStop#3!  1:30pm, I enter the feed zone with adrenaline surging…I grab my feedbag, down my food, look at my watch and tick off 7 minutes.  I want to be outta this stop no later than 1:40pm.  I quickly get my bottles ready for a refill and minor setback#2 occurs: NO WATER AT THE FEEDZONE!  ok…getting panicky, so I ask the attendant when they expect more, to which his reply was: he doesn’t know and he doesn’t expect anymore anytime soon…Great! Wonderful…adrenaline turns to bewilderment…I turn around to look at what other liquids are available…2 roasting hot cans of RedBull sit amidst a flurry of emptied cans in an overflowed trash container.  I finally make the decision to use them when someone runs up and chugs them both into his camelbak…wow, everything cannibalized…this is not good…nothing left at all except for remaining feedbags which were not an option to me…I sit down and try to think of a rational way to solve this issue, all the while, time rushes on….30 minutes…45 minutes…1 hour later, frustrated with it all, and mentions from many about abandoning the race as well as mentions of refunds….the growing group of upset people all walking around waiting for water are handed other’s liquids from unknown feedbags…not cool.  just wanting to get on with it I take it, reload and go away, not certain what lay ahead at RestStop#4…

BlueRidgeParkway.)

Determined not to let technical minor setbacks influence my adventure ride, I started moving along at a fast clip.  Beautiful scenery, nice little decent and then, level and up again…oh no…not another gravel road!  Climbing again…faster this time…rested, moving along at 10-12mph…really surprising myself…passed riders who had at least 45 minutes on me…moving along so nicely…this climb is just as insane as Curtis Creek!  legs burning from the cold restart…heartrate: 175…drop it down to 7-10mph…keep moving don’t stop….bam!  Heartrate: 160.  RestStop#4…oh surprise!  They are out of water…and so here I am stuck yet again…man, I am frustrated, but NOT rude…this is obviously a logistics problem…not knowing what lay ahead I wait it out for water again..15 minutes pass, I finish my feedbag grub and look for a nice spot of grass to sleep in, but before any water detail arrives, a generous man named Phillip shares from his gallon of personal water with me!  Alright, back in action!  25 minutes later I am back on the road!  The only thought on my mind was: I cannot believe I am on my way to RestStop#5!

HeartBreakRidge.)

While waiting it out at RestStop#4, I overhear mention of the brutal downhill awaiting…over 6 miles of it!  I don’t know whether I should be afraid or very afraid…onwards up the BRP about 1-2 miles…then sharp left right into a mean, vertical hike-a-bike section…then…the moment of truth…the downhill begins….steep, fast, wicked fast if you wanna…ruts, turns, off-camber berms, ledges no safety net…you name it…Heartbreak throws everything it can at you…this descent is only for the serious-minded, seriously mental that is….sharpened focus is the key to survival here, as well as controlling your downhill descent speed…I did suffer a sever cramp in my left quad muscle when attempting to unclip upon arrival at a steep switchback…it almost turned ugly, but I caught myself and simply laid back on some shrubs for about 5 minutes to ease the pain…back to downhill flying I went…I witnessed some of the nicest outlook views from some of the points on the ridge where I paused to give my hands a break from the intense pain.  I finish the downhill and cross over some surreal looking railroad tracks and discover RestStop#5…woohaa!  I am not gonna even check for water…I catch my breath, get off the bike and spit on my rotors just to hear them hiss, laugh, gently massage my hands to bring them back to life and then set out to finish this beast off…

MillCreek./Kitsuma.)

I speed off again fueled mainly by adrenaline only to meet yet another climb!  Blast this race and its neverending eternal uphill battles!  Along the way, I meet a couple, Russ & Megan, who had entered the ORAMM because of their friends who had backed out at the last minute due to unforeseen circumstances…They were troopers!  Onward I climbed…up….up…up…and yes, up…ok, now old 70 again….things are looking great, then I remember…Kitsuma…again…remember what I wished for earlier?..well, I take it back…I didn’t wanna hang out with Kitsuma anymore…Strangely, now with little or no energy left in me, Kitsuma seemed a much larger challenge than before.  I did, however, manage to navigate up many a switchback before jumping into hike-a-bike mode which left me a bit impressed to know I can handle this trail with some skill.  After goofing off a bit and dizzy with completion anticipation, I start the downhill…whoa…I didn’t realize how many descents and climbs there were…I noticed a lot of different challenges now that I was entirely spent…the switchbacks were much harder and trickier…I could not believe some of the drops I had taken earlier with little or no thought…you really get to know your limits in this race.  Finally, I reach the bottom sweeping downhill of Kitsuma and start charging taking lots of risks to simply end this game…I blast right out of the woods into the campground area and startle a large group of campers who were walking along.  I take note of the directions and get on the long road home….

Finish.)

The road to the finish is old 70 back to Old Fort…it is fast and paved…oh yeah, big ring, top gear…kickin it up I reach almost 30mph and love the wind cooling me down.  My legs start quivering half from pain half from adrenaline…feeling very much alive….i reach the one mile marker and start really cranking…just when I thought the racing was over, here comes a dude with a yellow jersey on who I had passed looking dizzy 15 minutes ago on the Kitsuma descent…He flies up in front of me, so I start drafting him…he throws a textbook move from the Tour de France at me and proceeds to start shaking me off…I laugh and dart ahead…testing him…he takes the bait and follows…I then proceed to shake and drop him…and then slow down to maintain energy…then he blasts by again…I see the finish coming up fast…I crank like a madman to pass…he ramps up his speed…we end up finishing basically tied(no photo finish)…it was pretty funny battling for something like next-to-last place…but it made the last mile enjoyable…  Being close to the last one returning, pretty much everything was gone…the keg was drained, the spaghetti was mushy, but I enjoyed every bit of my mushy dinner and frothy bottom of the keg beer like it was the best meal ever… After explanations as to why it took me so long, we were caught up, loaded up and back on our way to Charleston…

 Aside from the minor setbacks based on water shortages: Logistics as well as rumours earlier riders were wasting water by using it as personal shower systems(I truly hope you guys get this problem figured out Todd), I had a great adventure…

Overall, this was an awesome test of perseverance and true mastery of one’s bike handling & survival skills…I am happy to be able to honestly say I completed it and now truly know what it is all about.

Congratulations to Justin Fisher for great first time place results

Congratulations to Brad Phillips for the tremendous improvement in results time over last year!  over 1 hour difference!  WOW!

ORAMM is one hell of an adventure challenge….do it…

Well, me and Joel survived 65 miles of riding this weekend. Andy (the new bike made me do it) wasn’t so lucky, he managed about 10 miles at FATS and had a nasty crash, luckily his head and shoulder were there to break his fall. No broken bones and no trip the emergency room but he was in lots of pain and out of commission for the 50 mile ride on Sun.

The ride Sun was awesome, the weather was kinda cold but clear and dry. We had the opportunity to experience 4 cool trails in one ride, the trails mostly follow creeks and were pretty tight and twisty. The climbs were not long but there were plenty of short ones which felt long as I fought off a hamstring cramp the last 15 miles of the ride.

Joel picked up a stick in his rear well about every 1/4 mile…he was lucky that his deraileur survived. 

We finished near the back of the pack; I think there were 4 people behind us…Joel was kind enough to ride at my pace and we stopped alot.  It was an enjoyable ride and I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to do this ride.

 There were about 45 riders and they raised about $1100 towards the grant-matching funds for the last section of FATS.  

Collin

FATS Trip Update:

• When: November 12th 2007
• Where: Forks Area Trail System (Edgefield County)
• Who:
  • Joel “5 foot drops are a piece of cake” Watson
  • Bradical “I ride bicycle good” Phillips
  • JD “I am glad I fell on something softer this time” Douglass
  • Louis “Marathon Man” Wall
  • Collin “Downhill Daredevil” Papke
  • Ken “not-nearly-as-naked bear” Michalak
  • Justin “Fly like an Eagle” Fisher
  • Dennis “No pain, No Glory” Kapralov
  • Chris “Ken is still in the woods” Bernique
• Why: Because FATS is where its at.
• How& What:We met early Monday morning 12 November 2007 to carpool to FATS ($3.00/Gal YIKES!!). There were 8 of us heading out of the Main Street Bike Shop parking lot. Our 1^st adventure was a traffic jam caused by an obviously fatal big rig wreck; not a pretty sight. Then the roadie on the trip needed a Hardees break, as well as frequent gas stop breaks because he had to go really bad. By the time we finally got to the trail there were 9 of us; Justin caught up to us along the way...and the fun started!

Rider Reports:

• Collin:
  

  There were only 3 of us that had ridden FATS before so we were riding with 6 “virgins” that were in for quite a treat. We headed out to ride Brown Wave after which some of us had lunch while the more sadistic of the bunch went and rode a couple of more trails. After lunch we hit the trail again enjoying a total of 24-37 miles of incredible whoops and jumps. At the end of the day there were smiles all around, tired legs and several bleeding elbows. Dennis had the worst wreck bruising his thigh and ribs along with bloodying both elbows. Joel had the only bike damaging wreck bending his derailleur hanger and narrowly avoiding wrapping his derailleur up in the spokes of his rear wheel. This was an awesome day with great trails, weather and company. If you have not ridden FATS; it is worth adding to your “things to do before I die” list… Ride on, Collin

• Joel:
  

  How can I describe this wonderland for offroad pedal pushers? This place is gorgeous! I have ridden many miles of trails in North Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado and here in South Carolina, but this place is just perfect. Its not a climb-junkies dream, nor is it a wide open endurance challenge, but it is miles and miles of pump track laid out in a way to keep the emphasis on speed and aerial thrills. This is the kind of place that takes one back to their younger days when all you wanted to do was get your tennis shoes on, grab your bmx bike and go tearing through the woods with several of your good buddies. Shred is the key word here. You can literally shred through every bit of FATS in style. Whether you pump the miles of whoop-de-doos or take them on in aerial combat mode, you cannot go wrong(unless you crash). I was smiling like a dumbstruck kid for the first 5 miles and had dirt in my teeth to prove it! I found untapped energy to carry me through every trail at least once and some twice. The entire trail was pump, pedal, jump and FAST. At one point in the ride, the groups split up and some had lunch and others tried to take a longer trail and beat them back. I was in the “others” group. Justin led the way on this stretch which led to the Great Wall trail. The jumps along the way were perfectly laid out and a BMX style jumping session soon evolved. Justin lofted off the first jump with about a 3 foot crossed-up air which stoked me to fly into the same jump with a semi-laid out table top(clipless shoes only allow you to go so far). Smooth landings carried me forward. The next few jumps were more of the same; jump, style and float through space like something out of an awesome freeride video. I think this is when we both realized we were enjoying it a little too much because the next thing I see is Justin fully disappear over the edge of the next jump! I was following with so much speed, that I went right over the edge with the plan being to simply float out the jump. That was one heck of a jump! The drop felt like 5 feet straight out and down. Although I did manage to float it out, I landed a bit off camber. My shocks bottomed out entirely and I immediately unclipped and dropped off the bike to the right. I hit the ground a bit hard, but I think my quick thinking kept me free of extreme injury, too bad my bike didn’t land the same way. I thought I had busted my front fork from the smashing I had given it, but turns out the quick eject I gave it mangled the dérailleur dropout as well as busted my bottom water bottle cage. I sat there for a few minutes, assessed the immediate damage, adjusted and kept on going. Yes those trails were that good! Oh yeah, and Justin did make that jump(lucky him)! After about 15 more miles like that I took another spill on some hoppy fast turning whoop-de-doos, more from exhaustion than anything and totally ate up my left elbow sliding out of a corner. I rode another 5 miles and decided that was about it for me. With blood everywhere, cramps happening in muscles groups I didn’t even know I had, I headed back to the trailhead content with the fact that I really got to know FATS. Cheers, Joel

It was a nice cool and crisp morning at the Tree Shaker. I would estimate that there were about 200 bikes there. Myself and Pat Hubert made up one team in the 6 hour duo while Louis Wall and Jason Ferro made up the second team. Pat and I finished dead last and Louis and Jason took 7th out of 14 teams. For complete results of the event go to http://www.mylaps.com/results/newResults.jsp?id=695533. Louis and Jason were on there way to a 5th place finish when Jason snapped his chain on the last lap. As for Pat and I well we just kinda took our time, Pat suffered a hard crash on his first lap and bruised up some rims, so I rode the remainder of the race, taking a good long break after my second lap.

A photographer was on hand and snapped the below pics of us.

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/OrderPage.aspx?pi=0NR80009020019&po=19

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/OrderPage.aspx?pi=0NR80009020029&po=29

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/OrderPage.aspx?pi=0NR80009020000&po=0

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/OrderPage.aspx?pi=0NR80009020021&po=21

We all had a great time and I can now say I was in a race.
Don Watts
Natural Resources Technician
Naval Weapons Station Charleston
843-478-8663 Cell
843-764-7951 Office
843-764-7167 Fax

Pisgah MTB Trip Update:

• When: October 5th-8th 2007
• Where: Davidson River Campground in the Pisgah National Forest
• Who:
  • John “camp clown” Lackey
  • Joel “I swear there were horses” Watson
  • JD “I am glad I didn’t fall the rest of the way down the mountain” Douglass
  • Andy “that’s why they call it mountain biking” Campbell
  • Louis “Ninja” Wall
  • Collin “I’ll get to the top sometime today” Papke
  • Ken “naked bear” Michalak
• Why: Because we like the abuse…and craved real moutains.
• What: What what?
• How: Caravan, tents bikes and lots and lots of CytoMax!

Rider Reports:

• Colin:
  

  Well…the Pisgah trip this past weekend was a complete success and we all had a really good time…no major injuries or bike failures. We rode between 40 and 50 miles and at least 2600 ft of climbing in really nice weather. You all might not understand the goofy quotes but those who went will…I hope the rest of you get a chance to earn a goofy quote on an epic trip like this some day…it was awesome!

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• John:
  

  The fun meter for this trip was off the chart. If you have never been…shame on you! If you have, then you know. Now if I could just figure out a way to ride those trails every weekend. I would need to relocate, cut costs, and make some major changes. Hmmm…I wonder how long I could survive camping at the trailhead.

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• JD:
  

  I want to go back to Pisgah already!!!!

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• Joel:
  

  Incredible trip, words cannot describe everything experienced riding in Pisgah. We arrived late in the evening on Friday, setup camp in the dark all while trying to control our excitement about the upcoming rides. Andy Campbell had arrived earlier and had already ridden 17 miles! We setout Saturday morning focused on riding as much as we could. Saturday - Clawhammer Mountain: This was a major wakeup call! The initial climb was an uphill gravel fireroad from hell! I had chosen to use a CamelBak for the trip which I had not used in quite some time and started to feel the weight of it within the first few miles. That gravel road really made me start sucking wind and made me wonder if I was going to feel like this all weekend. I finally got into a nice pace and started moving along. After our first stop at the top of the gravel road, we discovered we had lost “Naked Bear Ken”. After a failed search party attempt , it was later discovered that he had taken a right turn earlier on an entirely different trail! We continued on a bit concerned about where Ken could be, but soon became preoccupied with one of the gnarliest hike-a-bike sections I have ever witnessed. At times it seemed we would never see the top of Black Mountain. Finally reaching the summit, we found ourselves looking deep over the valley with one thing on our minds: the downhill! A little more singletrack ups and downs and finally we found what we were looking for! The first downhill out there was one of the roughest most abusive descents I have taken in a while. After about 3-4 miles of nonstop downhill aggression, I actually had to stop and rest my hands because my thumbs were on fire from the constant bashing the trail was giving me. Hard Turns, berms, erosion bars, off-camber rocks, you name it, this downhill trail was dishing it out in buckets. After reaching the bottom, we then paused to enjoy the adrenaline rush we were feeling. Thinking the ride was over we started up again after giving our thumbs a good long rest, we discovered the best laid directly ahead. The final descent of Buckhorn Gap was a perfect set of pump track humps with oversized berms just begging to be carved! After racing downhill again loving every moment of this insanely perfect speedway, Collin went into attack mode ahead of me and grabbed a huge part of the berm and whipped out of it super fast using it to connect to a perfect jump up ahead! It was really cool to watch someone else enjoy this trail in the way it was supposed to be enjoyed… We then returned to camp, ate a light lunch, hydrated on CytoMax by the buckets, and decided to try another trail before dark. I found my second wind and rode much stronger than earlier and yes, you know it, we hit that super fast downhill once again…it was too good to not do twice…JD had other thoughts on that second ride, but that is his story to tell… Dinner at camp Saturday was incredible! Dutch oven cooked biscuits! Red Beans & Rice with bits of sausage! German Beer! CytoMax! woohoo! Sunday - DuPont State Forest: Sunday morning came up fast! Breakfast was by Collin , another Dutch oven masterpiece! Feeling well nourished, rested and ready for more adventure, we loaded up the cars and drove off to DuPont to find out what all the fuss was about. Joe Pelton has been mentioning this place to me for quite sometime, but I have had an unusually busy year with only local trails within my grasp to keep myself fit. I now know what all the fuss is about DuPont…this is one incredibly beautiful trail system! Our first ride was up Laurel Ridge Tr, which was a moderate climb with a great rewards system around every bend. Ultra smooth climbs followed by curvy predictable descents. I was in heaven! THEN we found Bridal Falls! WOW! Slick Rock on the East Coast? No Way! Intense! I was in another world! We climbed all the way up to the Falls and then sat there taking it all in. It was really nice…words can’t really describe this once again…THEN we returned to the parking lot for lunch and our next trail adventure! The last trail that day was on another section of DuPont called Cedar Rock Mountain. This place was something else. It starts out as clean singletrack leading into rocky sections leading into slick face off-camber climbs. The climbs went more and more vertical as you leave the security of the trees and up and out into the open. I have never had such fun climbing and enjoying the magnificient views as I have while I was there. The views alone helped you forget the fact that the climbs were incredibly challenging. This is one place to visit again and again. I did, however, take a pretty gnarly spill on the way down. It happened near the end, so I guess it was due sooner or later. I had started to get pretty comfortable racing downhill with my suspension plushed out, so this was definitely a lesson to be learned. Racing down the slickrock really gave me a charge, so I started to go much faster and take more risks. I came near the end of the trailhead and I noticed a super smooth hill begging to be jumped. I guess I was hitting around 26-27mph when I neared it. Speed has a way of making simple decisions very very difficult. I approached the jump, got into position and then saw horses up ahead! I decided to try and stop and float up and over the hill…BIG mistake, too much speed, brakes locked and up and over I went, landing a bit sideways immediately sliding into the gravel…ouch! Down I went, sliding across onto my hip, elbow and a bit of my helmet. The landing was uglier than it felt. I got up, chunked my bike, checked myself over, apologized for scaring the horses, and got back on and finished the ride. A little blood, a few reminders to be more careful and all was good. I was lucky that day… Monday - More DuPont State Forest!: Monday gave us more of the first trail in DuPont since JD was eager to go back and explore that trail some more…I, at this point, was totally exhausted and finally gave in to the cramps which were probably more from eating too much camp goodies the night before…Noone really wanted to leave, but we all had places to return to in the “real-world”