Quantcast

new dh trail/race

roperacer

Monkey
Aug 17, 2009
320
0
chattanooga tn
The trials traning center has let us start building dh trails in jasper tn,,30 mins from chattanooga. we have two nice runs, and plan to have a promotion race oct. 10th.
There is over 700 acres of mtn side,cabins,campsite,wi-fi, ice machine poweraid macine,nearby rope swing/swimming hole.
Come and support one of the best things that has happend to dh and free-riding in the area.

for work weekends contact troy @ 423 635 4627 trail work is almost every sat and sunday
 
Last edited:

profro

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2002
5,617
314
Walden Ridge
NOOOOOOOO!

There is a Snowshoe race Oct. 3rd. I have been hearing about these trails and I was really stoked to try/race them. Is there anyway to move the date of the promotion race?
 

roperacer

Monkey
Aug 17, 2009
320
0
chattanooga tn
crap i didnt know there was a snowshoe race,,,,i have the following saturday also, we may do it then,,,is there any other southern races that weekend?
 

brado1

Monkey
Jan 2, 2008
248
0
G'Vegas SC
crap i didnt know there was a snowshoe race,,,,i have the following saturday also, we may do it then,,,is there any other southern races that weekend?
Helen Fat Tire festival (Unicoi State Park, Georgia) is the weekend of the 10th It's not a DH event , but a 6 & 12hour race and festival


just don't have it the 17th got the Paris DH that weekend.


anyone know if Herndon and Wes are doing the Gobbler this year? is there a date set?
 

wishihadmoney

Monkey
Dec 1, 2005
293
0
Boone, NC
yesss so glad to hear this. iv been out there a lot to ride trials and brought my dh bike the past few times to ride from raga falls or whatever. theres a lot of rocks and a lot of potential out there. ill definitely get out there when i can
 

roperacer

Monkey
Aug 17, 2009
320
0
chattanooga tn
are you talking about the waterfall at the top with the rockhouse/cave behind it? if so.. that is where our run starts. and the race date has been changed to the 10th
 

untitledsince89

Turbo Monkey
Nov 11, 2005
1,316
0
Winston-Salem NC
Helen Fat Tire festival (Unicoi State Park, Georgia) is the weekend of the 10th It's not a DH event , but a 6 & 12hour race and festival


just don't have it the 17th got the Paris DH that weekend.


anyone know if Herndon and Wes are doing the Gobbler this year? is there a date set?
Pretty sure the property the gobbler was held on, transferred hands, and is no longer rideable, from what I last heard. Too bad considering how much fun last years race was, minus the rain.
 

roperacer

Monkey
Aug 17, 2009
320
0
chattanooga tn
300 Woodland Rd
Sequatchie, TN 37374

the trail should be between 2 and 3 minutes, depends on how much of the upper section we get done by then,and ill bring my gps up there next workday for the elv change .

for sure on practice friday the 9th, any other weekend just call me, i will probably already be there. we are starting to put a kias up for sign in, so it can be rode at any time, but u must sign a release before you ride!

the trail does not have alot of big jumps, we have a 25 foot gap that is like 3 foot high and a road gap to get over the shuttle road, and a lil dirt kicker, but what we do have a couple steep shoots ( that is just freakn fast) and rocks rock rocks, . the trail is not a pro dh course but it is very very fun.
 
Last edited:

TryFour

Monkey
Aug 20, 2007
119
0
Oh, I wish I had heard of this earlier!! This is so frickin' cool!! I live in Murfreesboro, so I'm not more than an hour and a half away, probably less than that. Thanks to you guys who got this figured out and have been working hard on trail. I'll be MORE than happy to put in my fair share of work to help this place grow.

I work almost every weekend, but I always have Fridays off. Will there be the ability to ride there on weekdays?

I won't be able to make the race, but I hope it turns our really well. I can't tell you how excited I am about this!!
 

roperacer

Monkey
Aug 17, 2009
320
0
chattanooga tn
For the race...the classes will be set accordingly with how many people show up, pro dh,beginner,hardtail,womens. Race fee 25.00(each class).

The kias is not up yet but it will be soon. it will be besides the drink machine outside of the motorcycle shop/office(cant miss it). directons and releases will be on the kias

On the larger side of the mtn. (where we havent been riding), we are working on landowner relations to open a trail from the top of the mtn. sounds like the owners are nice,but there is a 35-80 foot bluff across the top. i have been told that there is no gaps in it, and ive been told that there is some gaps in the bluff also, i dont know,,i will find out soon,(cant wait till fall).
But even if the bluff runs the entire top,,it leaves me for two options.#1 doze and gravel a road to the top,that would be thousands many of them.
Or,,surely us mtn.bikers could figure out a way to get off a 40 foot cliff,(huck it) im thinking somthing like a spiral staircase,northshore style somthing i dunno. but i do know it can be done for alot less than a road and could be adding one kick ass feature to the place. Me and zack are just gonna rappel down with our bikes as soon as we get permission on top.
 

OB1

Monkey
Speaking of sport....what happened? I haven't been racing long. But until this year every race had a sport class. Call it weekend warrior, or whatever. Now its just beginner, expert(am), or pro. I would be in amatuer either way....so its not like it matters for me. But I'm just wondering....is everyone just following Snowshoes lead on this? Or did something else happen that I'm not aware of to make all promoters suddenly ditch an intermediate class?
I'm not interrested in anyone preaching why sport classes are, or are not irrelivant. I just want to know who started it? Who killed the sport class??
 

roperacer

Monkey
Aug 17, 2009
320
0
chattanooga tn
we may do a sport class, it will be all decided saturday morning. we will just take input from all the riders and go from there. we are even gonna let the riders put input on what trails to run for what class.

the ttc is here to please!
 

TryFour

Monkey
Aug 20, 2007
119
0
Although I won't be able to make the race, (gotta work), I may have the Friday before off, and I'll be more than happy to come help set up for the race and dial in the course. Lets keep in touch. I can't wait to check it out this weekend.

Is anybody up for riding at TTC on Monday, (Labor Day)? We can use my truck for shuttling.
 

LambMan

Chimp
Jul 13, 2009
46
0
ATL
I was wondering if anyone would be up there riding on Monday. My friend backed out on going to Beech at the last second and I couldn't pay for 10 hours driving alone. Anyways, I'm trying to salvage my weekend and thought I might try to come up there Monday and check out the new trail.
 

TryFour

Monkey
Aug 20, 2007
119
0
Well, I got so excited about the prospect of even easy dh trails close to home that I headed down to the Trials Training Center yesterday to meet up with Troy, (roperacer). I honestly didn't know what to expect, (and expected the worst), but I was blown away. Not only is the land and terrain perfect for building dh trails, but the two trails that these guys have built in LESS than a MONTH, are fun, quick, not particularly pedaly, and already have some smaller features built in. Most of you guys who are experienced downhill riders and racers are going to feel like these trails are relatively easy, but as we all know, that just means that you can ride them that much faster. And it's not like this is all smooth buffed out trail, there are plenty of rocky sections to keep you on your toes. Most people can ride these two trails comfortable on a 6" bike or less, but a full on dh rig will fit in just fine.

If you can do it, I would highly recommend that you check it out, especially on October 10th for their race. We're trying to get a solid group to come out to show the land manager that this is seriously worth his time and money. These runs aren't super long, but likely will take even faster guys two minutes or so to finish. On top of that, I talked to Troy today and he told me that they had cut quite a bit more trail on the race run.

If you like descending, this is a place to come check out.


I was wondering if anyone would be up there riding on Monday. My friend backed out on going to Beech at the last second and I couldn't pay for 10 hours driving alone. Anyways, I'm trying to salvage my weekend and thought I might try to come up there Monday and check out the new trail.
I'm going to be up there on Monday, and it sounds like there will be other people there too. Where are you coming from, and what time are you thinking about getting up there? Feel free to PM me.

-Tryon
 

roperacer

Monkey
Aug 17, 2009
320
0
chattanooga tn
what is with this rain,,, its never gonna end. also a big thanx to tom and sam for getting a excavator out to the ttc and cutting some sweet burms and step down gaps, they even done some hand shapeing yesterday in this slop fest. the main trail is a solid 3 min run for the average person and it is no longer a beginner trail, its not windrock( but we are getting there)and and more tecky and longer than carters dh,,,speeking of, i bet they cancell that this weekend,,,thats sux, i wanted to race it this weekend. also the begginer trail at ttc is done and it is about a 2- 2.30 run and very fun also.
 

TryFour

Monkey
Aug 20, 2007
119
0
I'll certainly vouch for that! Both of the current trails are very fun to ride. The main trail takes me just under 3 minutes to ride, and that's if I'm giving it all I've got. It has a good variety of fast sections, jumps, (gotta love the road gap), small drops, short rock gardens and steep descents. The 'beginner trail is a little bit shorter, but has some very cool sections too. And, of course, there is plenty more to come!

Because of all of the RAIN I haven't gotten to check out the new stuff that they did with the excavator, but it sound's like it will be really cool.

It'll be awesome to ride it in about a MONTH when it finally dries up!! (Just kidding, hopefully). Frickin' rain. :rant:

All I can say is that is is SO nice to have some actual dh riding in this area.
 

roperacer

Monkey
Aug 17, 2009
320
0
chattanooga tn
If anyone wants to come out this weekend we will be able to provide shuttles for a few people. the trails need to be rode,the rains wasnt to bad to the new trails but still needs some new packing,,and we need a few riders to make some runs, to help out with getting our timing system down for the race next satrday.
 
Feb 17, 2010
26
0
A, A
Ok, so we had a meeting the other night, it was pretty much the most dedicated Chattanooga and Cleveland guys who were invited. We got together to decide several things, first of all we needed to make more of a governing body to help shape the group and help keep our goals in focus. Second, utilizing that governing body, we wanted to discuss the future for the TTC Gravity Park and what we would like to see happen. Third, and what is most pressing at this time was to decide what trail maintenance and new trail work needed to be done and or needs to be done in order for us to meet our goals. Those were the top three things that were discussed in detail, although several other subjects came up as well.

Troy Roberts is now the president, I'm the V.P. and Zack Gaston is the Treasurer. This was decided based on what the group thought, who wanted the positions, and who has most of the trail work and put effort into creating this park. It has become more of a legit club as well, we now have dues, which is $30/year, and more regular meetings to make sure that our goals are on track. No decision is made by one person alone, if its something big then its brought to the group and discussed at large and if something small such as a water break then it can be made on the spot.

Part of the reason we have created this group or club, or whatever you want to call us, is that in the future this park has the potential to blow up!! If you look at all of the big mountain bike parks in the southeast, they are more than a couple hrs drive from Chattanooga. The TTC is a 30 minute drive from the base of signal mountain. Not only that but its 700 acres of land that we have access to out there, with incredible land features and excellent elavation. If you compare that to all of the big parks on the eastern seaboard you come up with a relatively small list. Sure you have West Virginia with Snowshoe mountain, but what happens when it gets cold, no more riding, its snowboard season. Then to the south of us is Hurricane Creek freeride park, but how much land do they have to work with and most of their features are man made. Theres nothing wrong with that but nothing beats riding natural gnarly landscape!! Think of it this way, we are at the bottom of something big! We have the chance to build a freeride and downhill park our way. Its on private land, and we are working with the landowner's and the TTC owner's requests and provisions, but we have to potential to build the biggest mountain bike park in the southeast!!

I personally am a huge fan of freeride and an advocate to see several freeride trails go in at the TTC Gravity park. One of the essentials to having a good freeride park though is having access to natural wood, which we have, and alot of cut lumber, which at this point we don't have. We area also in the process of building a skills course, something that is geared towards a beginner to teach people the essentials of riding downhill and freeride. The skills course will include a teeter totter, skinnies, small drops, ladder bridges and small jumps. Again this skills area is made of, you got it, wood!! There is an opportunity that will be coming up for us to receive wood from Volkswagen. I've been working with a local non-profit to help them realize their goal with this project and at the same time it will benefit our park, but we need volunteers. I will be going next week and doing the initial trial run with Create Here to see how its going to work out and if its a viable option then I will fill you in on it more.

Also one thing that we decided at the meeting is that we want to get the "big side" bench cut before the spring and the foliage, such as poison ivey comes out. What I mean is that our current network of trails is on one side of the valley, and we have yet to touch the other side. The potential for the other side is HUGE!!! There is a 7.5 minute ride to the top via a paved concrete road, and that puts you directly on top of 1600 to 1700 ft of elevation. If you are farmiliar with Windrock the ride to the top is far longer and much bumpier than this one is. The top of the ridge though is lined in by pretty steep cliffs all around, but we do have an access point that will have to be bench cut in order to get us from the top to the rest of the mountain. Thats going to take some work, and that work is not going to be easy, but the result and the end product will greatly open our options. There are already multiple fire roads and single track trail cut on that "big side" but there isn't any access from the top, thats what we want to create, and once that happens the potential for a 6-10 minute downhill or freeride run is very possible!!

We will keep you as up to date on the goings on with the park, but my suggestion, get involved, this place is going to be big, and you don't want to be left out in the cold!!

Thanks David Snyder
 

TryFour

Monkey
Aug 20, 2007
119
0
For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of riding out at the TTC Gravity Center yet, definitely put it on your list. I'm amazed at how much we've accomplished, and I'm really glad to see everyone taking it seriously and not wasting such an amazing opportunity.

I am in to help with bench cutting the new trail on the big side of the mountain. I feel like that is one of the best things that we can do, primarily because of the ease of shuttling, but also because of the length of potential runs.

FYI, I am available most Fridays, so if anyone else is available, I'm more than happy to start work on that new section of trail. Has anyone flagged it yet?

-Tryon
 

TryFour

Monkey
Aug 20, 2007
119
0
That may be overstating it just a touch, but there is potential for some good long runs, and I'm excited about it!!

Right now no trail has been cut on the big side of the mountain. We've working on access from the top on the hill, which will require some pretty serious benching. Once that is complete, we will start work on one primary trail, then branch into a network on that side of the mountain.

Lots more to come!
 

TryFour

Monkey
Aug 20, 2007
119
0
The TTC Gravity Center is just on the other side of Chattanooga, in Sequatchie, TN. Google maps says it's about 200 miles from Athens, so probably around 3 hours, depending on the speed you like to drive.