I'd rather you and the rest of the haters just keep your mouths shut because nothing you say will change the fact that if you plan on racing nationals this year said:
2011 National Champs to be held in North Carolina
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- coolguido4life course marshalls = slaves eask koast beech sand east koast rox full on homo thread haters gonna hate ih8rice fails all ih8rice knows all ih8rice=2 cool for nc jefferson davis ftw keep voting for ska-todd keyboard riders nc>the rest of the world no plahhty no care platty riders = god please kill me sambo the liftie save us. the hicks will rape you u got a perty mouth boy vote ska-todd derp
Hit me up closer to the race time, I live real close and would be down to show you some goodies. There is really good AM, DH, and dual slalom riding within 20 minutes of the venue...
Saving your name.
I have raced at Sugar, NC and ridden a few trails while visiting a few years ago. There is no problem with the terrain (except the heavy mud). The views are teriffic and the mountains and resorts are more than ample. High speed lift is perfect. Except for condo's lodging can be a bit scarce. East coast is good for half the country and a 12 hour drive from the Northeast isn't too bad at all.
But....
But....
Man, when I seem normal, you know it's a mess of a thread. If you're coming for Nationals, bring a trail bike or plan any other number of activities. You've got unhinged, unlimited NO RULES and open 24/7 Windrock 10 minutes off I-40 in Knoxville 2 hours away with the longest runs on the east coast.
You have endless singletrack in Pisgah (oh, and Schley was hear b/c he was dating Willow). So don't expect a bro sighting of him as easily as in the past.
Rafting and kayaking spots galore. Boatloads of legal rock climbing, hiking, picnicking, BBQ, tourist attractions galore, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, drunk college freshmen girls 1 month into their first semester......
You have endless singletrack in Pisgah (oh, and Schley was hear b/c he was dating Willow). So don't expect a bro sighting of him as easily as in the past.
Rafting and kayaking spots galore. Boatloads of legal rock climbing, hiking, picnicking, BBQ, tourist attractions galore, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, drunk college freshmen girls 1 month into their first semester......
Seriously dude, stop stalking her.
Said the stalker stalking me.....Seriously dude, stop stalking her.
I really don't think the size of the mountain is that big of a deal, it really comes down to what you do with it. Let's see what happens.
I am not sure that the southeast is the best location, having said that, I really think the southeast could be more than it is, like Butch said it is probably one of the best places to do AM type riding, any true mountain biker should try to make it to this area, great single track and great riding. As far as DH, they get a lot of snow, but it is gone quick and I am surprised that more ski mountains down there have not tried to push it.
I am not sure if I can make it, but will certainly make the attempt and will have my AM bike in tow for some trail riding if I do.
Best of luck to the south, I hope you pull it off.
I am not sure that the southeast is the best location, having said that, I really think the southeast could be more than it is, like Butch said it is probably one of the best places to do AM type riding, any true mountain biker should try to make it to this area, great single track and great riding. As far as DH, they get a lot of snow, but it is gone quick and I am surprised that more ski mountains down there have not tried to push it.
I am not sure if I can make it, but will certainly make the attempt and will have my AM bike in tow for some trail riding if I do.
Best of luck to the south, I hope you pull it off.
My brain is boiling over from all the hate.
Beech has great terrain for EXTREME!!!! bike riding. Deal with it.
Beech has great terrain for EXTREME!!!! bike riding. Deal with it.
The reason to date taht our ski resorts have avoided bike parks is their need to preserve the grass on our slopes. Since our season is short and the temps higher, the grass acts as a great grip and insulator to carry a little longer season.
Any place in the south that is dirt on a slope acts like a solar panel under the snow. Water runs under it constantly and light from the sun warms and melts it quickly.
I worked with all the local resorts for several years before having a family and all the courses I cut stayed off the slopes or crossed them quickly to pacify the owners.
So a bike park with dirt jumps and berms, etc would leave ruts and mud all over their ski slopes.
You would think the resorts would be beggin for it, but as one GM who worked with me fantasically once put it....
"Butch, it's March andthe owners got over $2 million in net profit in his pocket right now. You're not going to catch his interest. Wait til October. He'll be flat broke again and willing to listen then. :
:cough:cough: Grass, gates and mud spikes, cough: cough:
Didja ever see the old and terrifying tracked grass "skis" Beech used to have in the late 80's? SCARY
Imagine some 16" long spiked steel tank treads on the bottom of some aluminum ibeams with bindings on them and you're on the right track.
...and don't forget your meth pipe because your chances of running up on someone cooking meth way out on Pisgah is pretty good!
Seriously, especially for you NE guys, come on down for at least a good time.
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I just moved back to PA after living in NC for 4 years, and must say I am stoked about this news...the potential of that mtn area is huge! I hope the promoters nail it because lift access there would be a huge asset for our sport (and me because i will surely make some trips)...see you guys there!
You forgot about the Pink Beds bomber....and don't forget your meth pipe because your chances of running up on someone cooking meth way out on Pisgah is pretty good!
Just curious, which resorts are you talking about?
Wolf Laurel, 9 different DH trails built there with help from Jeremy R, FCLinder, SoEastMatt, etc. The owners were VERY specific about the grass and made us re-seed grass after every race.
Sugar Mountain - The original design I laid out and got approved from the top, including the top section we had to close, went straight across to the big turtle rock on the left side, then immediately back into the woods to the big boulder roll down per their request.
Beech - I worked with Gil Adams and Mike Green and laid out the old courses you never rode and then re-routed the old course into the new longer rock garden to get the DH track off the intermediate slope b/c the owners were having fits over the location of the track. Homeowners (yellow brick road) hated the muddy streaks down the mountain and had more pull in what the slopes did those days.
Not to detract from Mt. Snow or any eastern venue in any way, BUT:
Masters Worlds course at Sun Peaks, B.C. = 2000'
The Hammer at Silver Mountain, ID = 3,300'
(granted, it's a 15-min. endurance DH course)
For the record.
Ride Mt. Snow. You'll want to take a break at the fireroad at the bottom of the waterfall section.
Retardly fun. As has been said before, their ski slope is harder than most mountains woods. 
Do you know the vertical for the Dry Hill trails in Port Angeles? Those were some of my favorite runs, not to long nor too short and plenty of gravity-fed speed. There are definitely plenty of DH runs well over 1700' out there for sure..
Butch that is creepy.
...only because you are gay. Not ghey...gay.
Seriously dude, how old (or gay) do you have to be to not think 18 years old college freshmen (freshwomen?) are fair game? I hope they like windowless vans!
arent you a freshman in college?? id think youd be salivating at the thought of drunk freshman girls.
No Butch, you're just a creep....only because you are gay. Not ghey...gay.
Anyone ever wonder why there are only 5 or 6 female Jr. Expert dh racers in the whole country?
It's a fell known fact Butch likes pre-pubescent young boys. Just look at some the images he posts on the South forum.
... must spread rep
I believe it's about 1,300 feet. ODS (Olympic Dirt Society) certainly has made excellent use of the terrain they have to work with.
he is salivating over you, apparently. Maybe he just prefers older men?
Because they have better things to do than waste time riding bikes and exploring a possible, yet utterly pointless, career path?
Why did you race Jr. X then?
I'm a guy, we do stupid things until we learn better. Also, when i raced Junior, being a professional mtber was a viable, well paying career path.
You don't honestly think that kids should only race bikes unless they have realistic chances to turn pro do you?
Do you feel that way about youth hockey? Track and Field? Canadian Football? Heck, sport mtb racers? People who play golf, tennis, etc?
You regret racing bikes? Really? Why are you still in the industry then? What drew you in?
Junior racers grow into the long-term consumers who allow us to build mountain-biking as a lifestyle sport.
Fat old dudes who vote republican with ample disposable income don't generate many dollars outside of their invariably heavily discounted bike and equipment purchases.
Women buy more stuff than men, and they have more influence than many men would like to admit in purchasing decisions for anyone in a relationship.
Having women in the sport, especially young, intelligent passionate ones is what will allow the companies we all work for (like the ones you sell photos to) to sell way more units, both of bikes/hardgoods and more importantly branded merchandise and lifestyle apparel.
Do you want more young shredders involved with bike racing, the ones with creativity and talent that stay in the more traditional gender-equal parts of the action sport industry that aren't sausage fests? When was the last time you went to MTB party?
Do you want Dylan Dean to sell more sunglasses? Sombrio to sell more pants? TLD and Alpinestars to see a more significant return on their investments in our sport?
We must foster an environment where teenagers and young adults are going to want to hang around in the lodge after practice and buy food and drink and socialize without feeling like they are on the bus coming back from a lacrosse match.
The mountains need all of us to spend more dollars at the mountain. The softgooods manufacturers and bike companies need a coherent lifestyle with a distinct demographic to develop so that we can more effectively market to riders and sell them goods that have utility beyond the lift line.
We are missing opportunities that could help to create a strong network of new rider-owned companies that focus on servicing the apres-shred market.
Companies like Kona have been trying to make a push into lifestyle apparel since before the advent of Clump. The margins are so much better, the opportunities for market differentiation are so much better there and the overall sales price is so much lower than hardgoods that we can not ignore the lifestyle aspect of the sport any longer.
Freeriding isn't going to prop up small rider-owned companies indefinitely, and until we develop a coherent overall shredder demographic racing will continue to be marginalized as a loss-leader niche market as park riding becomes more accessible and more attractive to women. Racing DH isn't hard or imposing once barriers to entry in terms of equipment and confidence are surmounted.
We aren't motorcross. There aren't ever going to be silicone chested airhead podium girls for the kids to wank at. We need women. We need their entry fees, we need their discretionary spending on fashion items, we need them to be integrated into our lifestyle so that we can have more shred-couples to bolster rider numbers.
Creating an environment that isn't a sausage fest doesn't mean dumbing down tracks and it really doesn't have all that much to do with "PRO Racing"
We are a tiny niche of a relatively obscure industry that already offers limited returns for outside sponsors.
We have PATHETIC Junior racer numbers on the men's side as well.
If anyone cares about the sport being taken seriously by governing bodies or potential outside-industry sponsors we need to bolster our rider numbers from every end.
Depth doesn't magically happen.
It's our sport goddammit, and we need every single rider we can get and we need them to spend as many dollars as possible inside of our industry, otherwise we will likely end up with a last-minute afterthought of a national championship indefinitely.
If we are going to rise above the barriers that USAC affiliation have created for the sport we must show a united front, we need kids and women as part of our base and we need an industry that is strong enough to stand on it's own two legs so that we can walk away from a governing body that does not value us.
We need a sport that truly stands on it's own. One that has enough dollars moving through it to make it worth your time and my time and the time of everyone else who squeaks by in it to come together to create our own organization, our own channels of communication so that we can finally once and for all take control over gravity racing to truly make it a sport for the riders by the riders with the best interests of the athletes and the industry in mind.
Think about it.
Post of the year?
I was about to read that whole post, but Jersey Shore came on. I guess the teenage girls feel the same way.
Good post Mickey, I agree with a lot of what you say.
We def need to get more youth involved in the sport. The biggest problem is kids don't decide what sports they may want to play, their parents do. It's not about going pro it's about college scholorships and chasing that dream. Parents will pay tons to have their kid play a certain sport year round and don't want them "wasting" their time or their money playing multiple sports. Most I've talked to also fear their child getting injured while playing a different sport.
I fear this culture will not change until college athletics do and that is not going to happen any time soon.
Opportunities for MTB college scholorships are few and far between, especially when compared to the major sports. Colleges will never embrace MTB because there in no way for them to make a profit or get exposure from it like the major sports.
I won't even get into how parents live thru their kids. MTB can't be watched from the stands, thus. the social network for the parents is not there.
Rich and I started a team last year to help promote and grow the sport by supporting juniors. We knew some juniors and had 4 junior experts in 2010. In 2011 we will have a few pros and Cat 1 racers but no Jrxers. The numbers just aren't there.
I really wish I knew how to correct this, but I am getting more discouraged as time goes on.
We def need to get more youth involved in the sport. The biggest problem is kids don't decide what sports they may want to play, their parents do. It's not about going pro it's about college scholorships and chasing that dream. Parents will pay tons to have their kid play a certain sport year round and don't want them "wasting" their time or their money playing multiple sports. Most I've talked to also fear their child getting injured while playing a different sport.
I fear this culture will not change until college athletics do and that is not going to happen any time soon.
Opportunities for MTB college scholorships are few and far between, especially when compared to the major sports. Colleges will never embrace MTB because there in no way for them to make a profit or get exposure from it like the major sports.
I won't even get into how parents live thru their kids. MTB can't be watched from the stands, thus. the social network for the parents is not there.
Rich and I started a team last year to help promote and grow the sport by supporting juniors. We knew some juniors and had 4 junior experts in 2010. In 2011 we will have a few pros and Cat 1 racers but no Jrxers. The numbers just aren't there.
I really wish I knew how to correct this, but I am getting more discouraged as time goes on.
All this could easily be fixed by the industry if they'd step up and make mini-DH bikes.
CR50's, CR80's, KX125s....they're what juniors ride from age 3 and up. I've not seen a DH race bike yet for a kid under 5'2".
It would require Stik, Fitzsimmons, Sun/Hayes/Manitou/Maxxis...whoever...to step up and get designers build a dedicated mini-DH complete bike.
THE INDUSTRY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LACK OF JUNIOR RACE BIKES. Therefore, NO JUNIOR RACERS.
CR50's, CR80's, KX125s....they're what juniors ride from age 3 and up. I've not seen a DH race bike yet for a kid under 5'2".
It would require Stik, Fitzsimmons, Sun/Hayes/Manitou/Maxxis...whoever...to step up and get designers build a dedicated mini-DH complete bike.
THE INDUSTRY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LACK OF JUNIOR RACE BIKES. Therefore, NO JUNIOR RACERS.
