Plans were made, the stars aligned, and it was on. What started off as a bunch of s#!t talking actually turned into a road trip this time. Before we knew it the end of the work day had arrived and we were on our way back to the bike park. Two trips to Snowshoe in one month you ask? Damn straight chief. Now that calls for one big ol’ Dr. Dre “hell yeah”. OG, Steve-O and me loaded up the truck and rolled out for some late season shredding up in West VA.

Because we left town so late we decided to crash out in Lewisburg Thursday night. When we hit the road Friday morning all of us were surprised by how windy and cold it was outside. The further we climbed toward the resort the further the temperature gauge dropped in OG’s truck. By the time we unloaded our gear topside we were looking at cloudy skies, 20 to 30 mph winds and temperatures down to the lower 40’s. The park had been pounded with rain for three days before our arrival and the trails were soaked to the core. We took a cautious warm up run on the Basin side and immediately knew this trip would be full of low speed technical runs. Tire pressures were dropped in an effort to gain extra traction and all of us had to employ a light touch on the brakes to prevent the wheels from locking up and washing out. I hadn’t ridden in conditions this sketchy since our little slop-fest at Sugar earlier this summer. In short, we all got our asses handed to us at least once during this session. We spent the rest of the day running the most technical trail combinations we could think of and, in a kind of twisted way, enjoyed riding some of the trails we usually skipped during past trips. A to K, B to I, C to J, M to O, D and E…you name it and we rode it all at least once. There was a race scheduled for Sunday so the course (on trail P) was open for practice runs. By the time we finished the race course our bikes were caked with mud so thick that it looked like we were running tires without any tread. Hats off to the racers, especially the ones who don’t get paid, that were pinning it down the course under these seriously sloppy conditions. The bike park patrol let us duck the ropes for one final shred down the hill and with that day one was over. We wrapped up the evening with our traditional post ride spaghetti dinner, poppin’ bottles of Yuengling and back to back episodes of OG’s favorite television show: Gangland.

In terms of the weather, day two was a sparkling jewel. Pure blue skies, no wind and abundant sunshine had us all anxious to buy our lift tickets and hit the trail. We reserved this day for the Western Territory. While still sketchy in some areas, conditions had improved noticeably from the previous day. Expanding on day one’s theme we headed straight for the rock gardens. World Cup, Upper Hare Ball, 5 Year Back and Quick Draw were all repeat offenders for most of the day. In fact, we ended up taking only one run down the groomed trails the entire day. There is nothing like holding on for dear life down Lower Hare Ball while water is running through the middle of the trail to get your stomach tied in knots and your hands shaking. After OG led us down what seemed like impending doom we began a demented game of picking the wickedest rock garden combinations we could think of. Each one of us took turns leading the others down some serious beat-down terrain. By the end of the day my bottom bracket, cranks and chain were toast, Steve-O’s derailleur cable was completely shredded and OG’s pedal was about to fall off.The fact that I could barely lift my bike off of the shuttle trailer told me that mission Beat Down had been fully accomplished. We rolled back to the condo and mowed through some left over spaghetti. Then we headed out to the village to check out an old school dual slalom race under the lights. It was an informal race with a winner takes all cash prize. Old school rap blasted out of the PA system as spectators drank free Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest while heckling the racers that zoomed past in everything from serious race gear to full on chicken costumes. The atmosphere was lighthearted and laid back with both the crowd and the racers having a great time. One final beer at the Foxfire Grill and we were straight up exhausted.

All good times must come to an end and reluctantly we packed up the gear early Sunday morning and left under a blanket of fog. As fate would have it we timed our trip just right as the next wave of wet weather rolled in. Another killer weekend of ripping trails was in the books!

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.