[Borregokid]

Matty already layed down the gauntlet to Oly and the rest of you beer swilling Dhers to come up to Bellingham for the Broken Spoke. Of course I imagine half the posters over here managed to have missed the first page announcing the Broken Spoke for the past few months.

Ok Dhers heres the deal-There is a downhill race-the Deadfall Downhill--and there will be a beer garden or something like that. Also its not true despite rumors to the contrary that the only food you can buy in Bellingham is tofu and granola.

I am guessing Oly is out tuning up his new $3000 hardtail rig getting ready to kick some Bellingham A**. The only thing I know is these guys in B'ham love the home field advantage. Dwaugh is probably on the downhill course right now. For anyone outside Bellingham they will probably tell you the Dead Fall course isnt open. Dwaugh will probably know the course blindfolded.

Ok so who's in?

 

[SuperSlow]

its not really a downhill course. More like a fast trail bike course. But none the less ill be there.

 

[oly]

how bout a good description of the course?

Would one be better off on a trail bike? or maybe i'd be better off on my fully rigid SS bike?

Edit: It might not matter since I will be beating the crap out of gothic kids in the MOSH Pit at the NIN/QOTSA show on the 23rd..... gotta polish up my Docs, and find my suspenders......

 

[MUTOLI]

:heart: The Speedy Beavers will be there!!! :heart: Along with our Fir Trappers!

 

[KNine]

I am planning on being there. Right now i am working on getting a motel for that weekend, or trying to find a floor to sleep on. Have no desire to drive from Seattle and back 2 days in a row.

 

[Five]

I'm thinking of going - don't know if I'll race, may just go to hang out.

 

[mplutodh1]

Glad to see monkey's are gearing up to make the trek up here. We've put a lot of time (over a year and a half) planning this event, a lot of energy, sweat and of course frustrations. It's all coming together though and hopefully everyone will have a good time, on and off the bike.

To address some questions and comments:

Hotels - The Ramada Inn is our host hotel and is providing everyone a discounted rate if you mention the festival, information is on our website under Location.

Camping - There is a first-come/first served camping at Larrabee for that time of the year.

Parking - There is no on site parking due to the size of the park. Bellair Charter shuttles provided for all registered participants from an off-site parking lot a few miles down the road. Those not needing to bring gear to the park or are just looking to swing by, we suggest you park in downtown and ride the Community Cruiser Ride down the 6 miles to the park, Saturday this is a guided ride with refreshment stations along the way thanks to Starbucks. You may also park at the off-site lot in Fairhaven and ride from there. Free bicycle parking available at the event with staff to make sure no one walks off with your stuff.

DH Course - This year we will be using a temporary course, unfortunately our previously planned course had some issues that we were unable to address in the time frame we had but are working closely with the park to bring that trail up to IMBA and State Park standards in a hope of possibly using it next year or down the road. This years course will be high speed, upper section is singletrack but fairly straight, temporary stunts (race worthy - none of this huge lip crap) will be placed on the course in a few areas to add to the challenge, the singletrack then meets up to a fire-road to take riders to the bottom. The speeds should keep everyone on their toes.

DH Shuttles/Practice - NO SELF SHUTTLE. We will have Bellair Charter shuttles to the top where you can sit in an air-conditioned comfy seat on your way up the hill. There is no parking along the shuttle road so please obey this. Practice on Saturday will start as soon as the XC has ended (we are hoping for approx 2pm) There will also be day of race practice as at most other races, I am working to see if we can get the course opened an hour earlier for those morning folks to get a few more runs in.

XC Course - Approx. 12.5 mile loop with 2000' climb up a streneous fireroad, drops into singletrack challenging sections to wind all the way back to almost the base of the hill again. Pros/Semi/Expert will head up for another lap and the Sport/Beg will head down to the Finish.

Chuckanut Brewfest - Yes, we will have a kick but brewfest celebration in the Festival grounds. Brews from Boundary Bay, Skagit Brewery & Redhook, food vendors cookin up grub, live acoustical music all weekend from local headliners La Push, Buckle Busters, Quick Draw String Band, Yambique and others.

Festival - Kayak Demos to all registered participants, bicycle safety and maintenance clinics put on by local shops and organizations, youth races, kids bicycle rodeo, guided hike for spectators to come watch the DH and check out the nearby lake, and numerous other activities.


Save yourself $10 and register online, A.J. from GoHuckYourself is cookin us up some slick T-Shirts, I will have a quick sketch of the art online today or tomorrow.

Any questions just hit me up, I am on the hill, at meetings or lining up our paperwork for the event so don't get on here too often, drop me an email if need be.

Hopefully I'll see you all in a few weeks!

 

[joelsman]

pullout the big rings, kamakazi style.

 

[garcia]

tofu and gronola iaaacckkkk!!! I hate tha sh*@#$ my roomate she giveme tofu and seaweed; I **** green for a week no for me. Tacos OK

 

[Borregokid]

They have a pretty good burrito type restaurant in Bellingham, its called Casa que Pasa. I think they are a little heavy on the vegetarian side but its pretty reasonably priced and the quality is higher than most places. If the Broken Spoke isnt reason enough to come the restaurant might be worth checking out.

 

[Gex]

Maybe...

 

[Motoking16]

I'll be there, i'm gonna pre enter within the next week. Just trying to decide on the class.

 

[wanker]

Last chance for redemption.........riders from Whatcom county will own this course!

p.s. Don't burn out on the Mt. Baker Hill climb.......five days isn't enough time to recover.......don't forget the Matchsticks Productions movie the night before @Mt. Baker theater.......we will see who does their homework for this race.

 

[mattv2099]

I doubt I'll be doing the broken spoke... I can't really afford it (entry + norba liscense for expert). I'm hitting mt baker hill climb the week before and ECC cyclocross #1 the day after. Saturday's I'm typically obliterated from work.

 

[mattv2099]

XC Course - Approx. 12.5 mile loop with 2000' climb up a streneous fireroad, drops into singletrack challenging sections to wind all the way back to almost the base of the hill again.

The climb is a little more than 1200'. I wouldn't call the down hill 'singletrack.' It's more like overgrown double track at best.

 

[mplutodh1]

Matt - I GPS'd the course the other day and the #'s would say different. It's not 2000' but its far from 1200. I should have said nearly 2000' the summit is at over 1800 and you start below 200'

So I guess to clear it up, 1500' approx. The downhill section at the very bottom used to be double track maybe, but that was a long time ago, minus the fact that the park has groomed part of it, it's still a singletrack, especially the upper portion.

Either way, I personally think it will be a fun course.

Also on a note about the Norba license, they are available for $30 this late in the season. I know it's more than the $5 day license but that's NORBA's rules. At least everyone gets a break in that sense.

 

[Borregokid]

They said they are getting bike jerseys over at Central and hope to have some sort of team. I figure if I can score on a jersey, get some fresh legs and a hollywood makeup artist I will be set. Oh yeah, I suppose you actually have to be a student to compete at the college level .

 

[mattv2099]

Matt - I GPS'd the course the other day and the #'s would say different. It's not 2000' but its far from 1200. I should have said nearly 2000' the summit is at over 1800 and you start below 200'

So I guess to clear it up, 1500' approx. The downhill section at the very bottom used to be double track maybe, but that was a long time ago, minus the fact that the park has groomed part of it, it's still a singletrack, especially the upper portion.

Either way, I personally think it will be a fun course.

Also on a note about the Norba license, they are available for $30 this late in the season. I know it's more than the $5 day license but that's NORBA's rules. At least everyone gets a break in that sense.

1500 sounds right. Chris got elevations last time we were there and it was ~1200' from the gate off of fragrance. That's definately one of the most challenging climbs I've ever done. It'll be one gnarly race.

 

[baric]

Is it a secret where the XC course is? If not can you explain how to get to it?

 

[mplutodh1]

Simply stated prior to the posting of the course map in the coming days. The course will start at Clayton Beach Parking lot and head up Fragrance Lake Road, take a right onto Burnout Road and head to the very top, at the top of the 1500'+ climb the course will head down the singletrack section which heads back to the base of Double Black Diamond, down Fragrance Lake Road to complete one lap. Expert and above will complete two laps so they will turn back up Burnout and head up again, Sport and below will complete one lap. Some of the Junior categories will race on a short track style course near the Start/Finish area rather than using the big loop due to the streneous climb. One lap is approximately 12.5 miles.

 

[Borregokid]

The XC course sounds nice. How would it compare to Padden with the tight turns and the techy spots? Or will it be a little more wide open like Freund Canyon? I am hoping its a little faster than Padden with less tech.

 

[mplutodh1]

More wide open, less technical, climb is grueling, downhill is fast. Short techy section near the top of the climb before the long downhill.

 

[kinghami3]

There's a good chance I will head back up to B'ham for it. I might have even entered my first race if my swingarm weren't about to snap in half. Casa Que Pasa, Diego's, and others. BCR at Diego's is the way to go though; that's a damn good burrito.

 

[Snacks]

Trailhacker and I will be there....I'll be taking pictures (if I can do it with one hand :mumble: ).

I think we are camping

 

[Certified Drunk]

I'll be moving

 

[Snacks]

I'll be moving

Did you guys sell the house? :dancing:

 

[Certified Drunk]

Yes, We did! on the market 26 hours. SOLD!

 

[Snacks]

Yes, We did! on the market 26 hours. SOLD!

Congrats guys! Let us know if you want some help moving!

 

[baric]

Thanks for responding to the whereabouts, I'm heading up next weekend and would like to ride the course. Sounds easy enough....

 

[Borregokid]

Let us know how the course is. Baric-did you race the Indie Series? It was a lot of fun, the best race was Freund Canyon at Leavenworth. There is one other race coming up after this one and that Winthrop which probably has the best XC race course in Washington.

 

[baric]

I've never raced, that's kind of why I wanted to ride the course in Bellingham because I may be able to make it back up for the race. I'll let you all know how it is if I find it...

 

[Borregokid]

Matt-Is your crew going to do some maintenance on the course? I have heard from well placed sources that Burnout isnt rideable right now-fallen trees etc. covering the overgrown trail.