With the holiday weekend looming ahead it took no time at all to decide how to spend an extra day off from work. A few phone calls and text messages later and our plans were set. A weekend at the bike park was upon us and the whole crew was more than eager to rip the trails at Snowshoe.
To say Snowshoe is a great bike park is an understatement. No matter what you’re into, whether it’s Downhill, XC, Slope Style, 4X, or Free Ride the bike park has you covered. The fact that there are two lightning fast quad lifts is just the icing on the cake. We rolled deep for this trip: OG, Amy, Steve-O, Rose, C-Los, Melissa, Rat Hair, Sukie, and little Ray-Ray all showed up to enjoy the weekend.
Friday started off a bit cool. We had just spent the previous week sweating it out in 90 degree temperatures in Hickory and here we were, getting ready to drop in to the trails under windy and overcast skies at a chilly 48 degrees. It was kind of a shock and a refreshing twist all at the same time. Getting warmed up was easy and conditions were pretty good at the start of the day. Just a bit of moisture to keep the dirt tacky and the roots slick enough to add a little nervous excitement. We spent most of the first day rolling the groomed trails and exploring some of the new trails as well.
Snowshoe has made a solid commitment to keeping the park a fresh experience and the proof is in the quality of the new trails. New downhill race tracks like “P”, berm and table top connectors such as “Cliff Jenkins” and “Lucid”, a new 4X race course, and the re-opening of trail”B”all added to the gravity fest. The best new trail has to be the re-opening of “Ball and Jack”. Huge berms , beautiful table tops and tight twisty sections make this one a winner for sure. What was once an extended rock garden has been packed in and transformed into an insane straight shot directly down the mountain. This was perhaps the scariest part of both days in the park. I don’t get paid to ride a bike so I’ve got no business straddling the line between blazing fast and out of control; but slowing down to a manageable speed was actually tough in this section. Failing to keep relaxed and alert here could spell true disaster for any rider. After scaring the s#!t out of ourselves for an afternoon we wrapped things up with a huge spaghetti dinner and viewing of Hot Tub Time Machine to relax.
Day two was full on. The sun had broken the clouds apart and bluebird skies prevailed. The picturesque early fall day suited the trail conditions well. We all knew today was going to be reserved for some truly nasty rock garden filled runs. Back to back “Lower Quick Draw” and “Hareball” runs were a common occurrence. Top to bottom nonstop runs linking “Sport Course” to “Ninja Bob” to “Ball and Jack” to “Power Line” left us in a kind of “hurts so bad it feels good” state of being. After the Western Territory lift closed we crossed over to the Basin side and finished out the day with some true beat down runs on “E”, “A”, “B” and “Raging Bull”. Due to the holiday weekend the lift was open until 6:00pm and we shamelessly took advantage of every last minute. By the end of the day the bike park staff trail sweeper followed us down make sure we didn’t try to sneak in another run. All of us were toasted and ready for a cold beer and a hearty meal at the Foxfire Grill. A low key evening spent watching The Hangover brought an end to seriously great weekend of riding, kidding around and hanging out with the whole crew.

The crew was back from a ripping weekend at Snowshoe and after a bit of rest they were ready to get back into some downhill action. I had to take a pass on the Snowshoe trip this time around so you know I was going through some serious bike park withdrawals. To ease my pain OG worked out a weekend for us to raid his cabin and session some new trails along with some old favorites.
OG, Steve-O and me broke out of work early on Friday to get in a few evening runs around the Wilson’s area. After unloading gear at the cabin we set up the shuttle to ride a new downhill rip that had been stumbled upon while checking out a map of the area. It’s a north facing slope with plenty of dark and damp coves full of ferns and mossy rocks. It has a great loamy west coast feel to it and a flow that works well for long travel bikes. After a couple of quick runs it was back to the cabin for post ride brews and grilling out.
What were once bright and sunny skies the day before had turned into dark, overcast and grey skies by the next morning. As we loaded bikes and headed toward Banner Elk for breakfast we all had the sinking feeling that we were in for a dose of classic east coast slop. We arrived at Sugar Mountain around 10.30am and were greeted with temperatures in the low 60’s coupled with mist and fog. As we rode the lift up the fog got thicker and the skies got darker. About halfway down the first run some light rain began to fall and by the time we made it back up for our second run the bottom fell out. Lucky for us there was no thunder or lightning, just solid rain and fog, so the lift kept running all day. As temperatures fell into the upper 50’s the mountain turned into a ghost town. For better or for worse it looked like we were going to have our own private downhill park for the afternoon.
Some folks think of Sugar as a “light downhill” run because of the lack of trail options and the relatively short trail lengths. What most folks don’t realize is that things get super technical super fast in the pouring rain and fog. Some of the steeper lines can get downright dangerous in spots when traction becomes optional. At times things got so slick and sloppy I felt like I was all over the place just trying to control the bike in mellow sections of trail. Slow and tech was the way things went down and by 4:00pm I had enough rain, wash-outs and slams to last me the rest of the summer.
OG forgot his rain gear again so he gets the true survivor award for riding the whole day in a t-shirt while rocking a borrowed umbrella on the lift. Steve-O gets the most dedicated award for inspiring us to buy a full day lift ticket and holding out until the last run of the day. Just a couple of shots from this trip…the camera gear had to stay in the pack most of the day due to the rain and slop.

This year spring came on the heels of one tough ass winter here in North Carolina. What Mother Nature denied us with snow and ice she paid back in full with near perfect riding conditions the last couple of months. We’ve been ripping the local trails in Wilson’s every chance we get but with summer fast approaching we knew it was time to break out and hit up one of our favorite spots before things got too toasty. It was Kraigory’s last weekend on the East Coast so OG, C-Los, Steve-O and I decided to send that boy off in style with a trip to Windrock.
I-40 was open this time around so making our way to Oliver Springs was easy going. We figured we would ditch the tents this round and opt out for the comfort of a hotel room. I like camping but for a quick trip like this one it was nice not to worry about a bunch of gear or finding a decent camp spot. Being the responsible adult influences that we are, we took Kraigory out for his first underage beer in an actual restaurant / bar and cashed in early to rest up for tomorrow’s ride.
We woke up early and hit the free continental breakfast. The hotel was in the middle of some extensive renovations so what was supposed to be a breakfast of champions ended up being a breakfast of losers. The selection was slim and after our fill of stale bagels, nutra-grain bars, and room temperature orange juice it was time to get down to business. Most of us had hooked up with some new components for our bikes this spring so we were all anxious to give our new forks, brakes, protective gear, etc. a proper break in. If your rig can survive an all day session at Windrock you pretty much know that you’ve purchased something that will last for the long haul.
The trails were absolutely dialed in this trip. The dirt was on the moderately tacky side with predictable cornering and solid braking. This inspired a bit of confidence which was reflected in everyone’s riding. We all stepped up our personal limits and left the mountain better riders on this trip. Coal Creek Company has resumed mining operations on the upper part of the mountain so we were forced to session the lower half for the whole day. It was kind of a lucky break in the sense that we ended up exploring some older and less ridden trails, most of which were loaded with signature Windrock terrain. Super steep tech-gnar and natural rock drops had us all grinning ear to ear on an afternoon full of short but sweet runs. In usual fashion the end of the day came far too quickly and before we knew it we were packing up the bikes to head back to NC. A quick stop at Captain Tom’s BBQ was the icing on top of what was without a doubt a killer day of riding.

On a side note: if you’re planning a trip to Windrock soon remember there are no signs on Upper Windmill stating that the trail is closed. We gave it a try once and ended up popping out of trail about 3o feet away from a 200 foot cliff created from the blast mining. It’s pretty dangerous up there with all of the blasting and heavy equipment. We were pretty sketched out and obviously had no business that far up the mountain. If possible, try and hook up with a local rider if you want to hit anything above the Snakerock access trail.