New Lift-Assisted Mountain Bike Park, Asheville
- Thread starter 26West BikePark
- Start date
Trails sound amazing, cant wait!
what time is it open this sunday for opening weekend?
That's an awesome tribute to one of the nicest guy's I've ever had the privilege of riding with.
That is so cool. You guys know he would be ripping it up with a cape or getting stylie in a tigger suit.
here ya go
word.
The two nice days of rain this week turned into three long days that have limited bobkitten work to the open, sunny slope. That does mean the beginner trail is going to be sweet but without a machine in the woods, I cannot finish big features in the park. Like three of the road gaps, that just need a little bobkitten compaction - but that's not happening until it dries out, which I would say could be as late as Saturday afternoon. More rain would certainly force us to postpone our grand opening.
The loam is snot-slick right now, but there are a few trails could be rideable like Village DH, Easy Does It and a nice road gap on Park Connector.
Making a tough call here; whether we can open on Saturday, or even Sunday. We will pursue all options to open the park, but I am posting this is a heads-up to the reality that our opening may be postponed due to conditions.
For those traveling from afar, don't cancel your plans just yet. We are going to make the final call in the morning, and I will try to open the park using the rideable trails and features.
I will post an update asap.
The loam is snot-slick right now, but there are a few trails could be rideable like Village DH, Easy Does It and a nice road gap on Park Connector.
Making a tough call here; whether we can open on Saturday, or even Sunday. We will pursue all options to open the park, but I am posting this is a heads-up to the reality that our opening may be postponed due to conditions.
For those traveling from afar, don't cancel your plans just yet. We are going to make the final call in the morning, and I will try to open the park using the rideable trails and features.
I will post an update asap.
Due to conditions, 26 West has postponed opening the park until June 14 and 15. We had more rain this morning and that sealed the deal for postponing the opening.
The weekend of June 7 and 8 is the annual Wolfridge Hill Climb automotive race. During the race, Wolfridge road is shut down and only allows shuttles to use the road for 10 minutes every hour. That means we cannot shuttle enough bikes frequently enough to open.
Currently, the trails are too soft and slick to open; plus, I did not want to ruin the trails and create more work.
If you have further questions, please call me at 828-553-5856.
The weekend of June 7 and 8 is the annual Wolfridge Hill Climb automotive race. During the race, Wolfridge road is shut down and only allows shuttles to use the road for 10 minutes every hour. That means we cannot shuttle enough bikes frequently enough to open.
Currently, the trails are too soft and slick to open; plus, I did not want to ruin the trails and create more work.
If you have further questions, please call me at 828-553-5856.
I mean better things come to those who wait!
Yesterday I had the opportunity to go snap some pics of the progress up at 26 West. Ryan has done a TON of work up there and it's going to be a crazy place. There is no less than 5 decent size road gaps, a ton of table tops and some sweet single track. I can't stress enough the need to support this place - we could feasibly see it open year round and it has the potential to gain twice the land that it's currently on.
As some of you know, I currently have a broken left shoulder and right wrist, so I basically have half a hand to take pictures with and the quality shows. I had to use the full automatic mode of my camera and it was pretty much impossible to get any good angles. Plus I'm definitely no highrevs behind the lens.
I took about 50 pics but most are pretty boring and I haven't had time to go edit all of them. So here's a few to tide the skeptics over...
This is the last pic I took and it was getting dark, hence the terrible quality. It's one of the road gaps on Facebreak with Ryan standing in the middle for reference. The takeoff is on the far left and the landing is on the very far right. I'm not good at judging distances but it's pretty big:
I actually walked the entire DH race trail and documented the whole thing and the rest of the pics are from that. The first picture is the entrance to this trail which is right beside the tunnel at the top of the ski slope. You can see it starts off tight and drops to the left and crosses a ladder bridge:
This next picture is shortly after the ladder bridge. On the left you can see there is a gap step down (bigger in real life) followed by 3 decent sized table tops (out of focus I know). All of these jumps are currently shaped only by the bobcat but Ryan had planned to shape them by hand today until the rain probably ruined that.
After the tables, the trail goes thru some technical sections and starts dropping. This next one is of a REALLY tight bench cut (think 6 inches) after a 90 degree turn. Doesn't look like it in the picture but missing the turn or falling to the left off the cut could be really ugly. If you participated in the race last year, this is above where the hip jump was.
After the bench cut, I walked into the woods for a few minutes, then I rounded a left-hand corner and the hill dropped steeply with a good sized table at the bottom. Once again, the picture does no justice whatsoever.
And closer to the table:
The entire bottom section of the DH race trail is tight Pisgah-esq single track:
Needless to say, I absolutely can't wait to heal up. This place is gonna be off the charts in 2 weeks. I'd go ahead and start making plans now.
As some of you know, I currently have a broken left shoulder and right wrist, so I basically have half a hand to take pictures with and the quality shows. I had to use the full automatic mode of my camera and it was pretty much impossible to get any good angles. Plus I'm definitely no highrevs behind the lens.
I took about 50 pics but most are pretty boring and I haven't had time to go edit all of them. So here's a few to tide the skeptics over...
This is the last pic I took and it was getting dark, hence the terrible quality. It's one of the road gaps on Facebreak with Ryan standing in the middle for reference. The takeoff is on the far left and the landing is on the very far right. I'm not good at judging distances but it's pretty big:
I actually walked the entire DH race trail and documented the whole thing and the rest of the pics are from that. The first picture is the entrance to this trail which is right beside the tunnel at the top of the ski slope. You can see it starts off tight and drops to the left and crosses a ladder bridge:
This next picture is shortly after the ladder bridge. On the left you can see there is a gap step down (bigger in real life) followed by 3 decent sized table tops (out of focus I know). All of these jumps are currently shaped only by the bobcat but Ryan had planned to shape them by hand today until the rain probably ruined that.
After the tables, the trail goes thru some technical sections and starts dropping. This next one is of a REALLY tight bench cut (think 6 inches) after a 90 degree turn. Doesn't look like it in the picture but missing the turn or falling to the left off the cut could be really ugly. If you participated in the race last year, this is above where the hip jump was.
After the bench cut, I walked into the woods for a few minutes, then I rounded a left-hand corner and the hill dropped steeply with a good sized table at the bottom. Once again, the picture does no justice whatsoever.
And closer to the table:
The entire bottom section of the DH race trail is tight Pisgah-esq single track:
Needless to say, I absolutely can't wait to heal up. This place is gonna be off the charts in 2 weeks. I'd go ahead and start making plans now.
Nice shots man. I have been trying to find the time myself to get up there and take some pics. Glad you were able to. I hope to be back on the bike for some lighter riding by then, time will tell.
thanks for showing us some pics i'll try to be up there as soon as i can
Nice pics kenan. Can't wait to get up there on the 14th. I guess I'll have to make due this weekend by shuttling some pisgah trails.Oh well. Things could be worse. The first picture of the road gap was nice. It does look pretty big.
thanks for the pics...can't wait for two weeks to pass.
Talked to Ryan a couple of times this past weekend. I should reiterate that this place will be off the hook when completed. 
Anyone know if there is somewhere to camp at 26 West? Tryin to make plans for opening weekend!
so is Village DH the race course or not? and how long do you think these runs are?
and does anyone know the race dates?
Thanks,
Austin
Anyone?
Closest stuff is back down the road a ways toward Asheville. There's a nice place on the river in Alexander just down the road from Alexander Park MTB area (currently no trail map for the new Alexander trail additions FYI).
Thanks Butch! You gonna make it out on the 14th and 15th?
26 West Mountain Bike Park will host the 2nd annual NC State DH Champs! Proposed race date is October 11-12 or 18-19. The 2008 race course again starts high on the open ridgeline and descends to the stepdown/tunnel, but changes course immediately from 2007's race course after exiting the tunnel.
At the stepdown and tunnel entrance, the race course merges into the bike park's Village DH trail, which will be the trail used to determine who will be this year's champs. Note: the upper ridgeline part of the race course is for race use only and will not be used in the bike park, nor will it ride-able at any other time.
Another possible race date is July 18-19, but I am not sure if this conflicts other events. The Village DH needs a few rains and packing-in before we race on it.
The longest run in the park should be Super-D, as it has a climb in the middle of the descent and is one of the longest runs in length. Also, the Village DH (from where it starts in the park at the upper lift and through the tunnel - not starting from the upper ridgeline) and Yo-B are long runs.
Trail times will vary from 2 - 10 minutes, that's my best guess right now. I can say there is more land available, and it is steep and fast. Future trails could offer several more minutes of descending.
The closest camping that I know of is located in the Coleman Boundary. I think this is part of the Pisgah National Forest. It offers primitive camping and nice singletrack, but is 25 minutes or more from the park. It's near Burnsville, NC.
At the stepdown and tunnel entrance, the race course merges into the bike park's Village DH trail, which will be the trail used to determine who will be this year's champs. Note: the upper ridgeline part of the race course is for race use only and will not be used in the bike park, nor will it ride-able at any other time.
Another possible race date is July 18-19, but I am not sure if this conflicts other events. The Village DH needs a few rains and packing-in before we race on it.
The longest run in the park should be Super-D, as it has a climb in the middle of the descent and is one of the longest runs in length. Also, the Village DH (from where it starts in the park at the upper lift and through the tunnel - not starting from the upper ridgeline) and Yo-B are long runs.
Trail times will vary from 2 - 10 minutes, that's my best guess right now. I can say there is more land available, and it is steep and fast. Future trails could offer several more minutes of descending.
The closest camping that I know of is located in the Coleman Boundary. I think this is part of the Pisgah National Forest. It offers primitive camping and nice singletrack, but is 25 minutes or more from the park. It's near Burnsville, NC.
so there is going to be 1 race this season Right?
The race course will have roughly 700' of elevation drop. The bike park offers roughly 400 - 450' of elevation drop.
Next year, the park will expand to the lower acreage of Breakaway Village, which will mean the park will offer nearly 800' of elevation drop!
Next year, the park will expand to the lower acreage of Breakaway Village, which will mean the park will offer nearly 800' of elevation drop!
Please forgive me if this was already addressed, will the race course be open to ride on opening weekend?
Does anyone have the physical address of the bike park? Tryin to set up the GPS route for next weekend. Thanks!!
TryThis:
1911 Wolf Ridge Road
Mars Hill, NC 28754
[From the Breakaway Village Website so don't hold me to it but I know its's on Wolf Ridge Rd.]
Yea, I've been checkin on google earth (wish they would update their feed) to see the layout around Breakaway. Looks Pretty cool though. Cant wait!!! Ryan, if you're out there and could give better directions that would be great. Thanks
Dude. Get on I26 and take the exit that says "Wolf Laurel". Turn Right on the road that runs parallel to I26. Then take your next two lefts. Follow that road a few miles til you see a big log sign and turn Rt up one steep mother of a paved road.
Drive to Breakaway Village.
Dug all day til 6pm with Ryan today. So very tired. Hands raw. Good night!
Drive to Breakaway Village.
Dug all day til 6pm with Ryan today. So very tired. Hands raw. Good night!
FYI to anyone who has free time this week. Ryan said he still wants help from riders this week so if you've got some time to go help dig, please do.
This weekend should be DEEEELUXE!
Are the lifts actually running tomorrow -- Saturday, June 14th? Or is it shuttle runs?
Apologies if this has already been covered.
Apologies if this has already been covered.
As far as I know the lifts will carry people and Ryan will have a trailer for the bikes. Ryan had his guys training on the lift a couple of weeks ago. I even took a test ride up the mountain.
Thanks for the info. Hoping to get lots of runs in on Saturday.As far as I know the lifts will carry people and Ryan will have a trailer for the bikes. Ryan had his guys training on the lift a couple of weeks ago. I even took a test ride up the mountain.
My son will be on a white Enduro. I'll be the squid on the blue & white Glory.
Just got a message from Ryan that said they will definitely be open tomorrow from 10am - 6pm but they WILL NOT be accepting credit cards this weekend! Bring cash with you! The nearest ATM is at the gas station right off the exit. I'll see if I can get anymore info.
B/c i'm too lazy to do a search or read the previous 5 pages, what's the cost of a lift ticket/trail pass?
24$ Looks to be the price for fun.