[motomike]

Wow, the race this weekend was, umm, interesting. The course was pretty good. It was basically 1/2 fire road, 1/2 nice singletrack and a really nice deep mud section at the bottom. I think there were like 4 REALLY tight switchbacks that took more than a few victims. I heard someone say that the winning time was something like a 3:22 from Taylor. congrats to all who had fun and made it through safely.

And what is the story on the dude who got hauled off?

I don't even want to start typing about the other stuff at the race because it'll be a novel. I'll let someone else do that.

 

[Peete]

I was thinking about all of the things that were wrong with the race today while riding.

If the circumstances of the injury I heard are true there is probably room for a lawsuit. It was that bad.
Course marshalling? What's that?
Like I pointed out in my email to the promoter, the DH was a side show to the XC race.

I didn't care for all of the fire road action mainly because I'm so out of shape.
But the mud at the bottom was pretty fun by race time. As crazy as it sounds, by my second run that was my favorite part of the course.

If someone had the time and permission, the DS course could be rebuilt exactly where it was before. Juan, are you out there?

BTW, I left my Fox knee/shin guards at the finish line. I'll buy lunch or a 6 pack to whoever returns them. Thanks

Oh yeah, it was nice meeting everyone this weekend and putting faces to names. See ya'll at the next one.

 

[jet]

what the hell happened?

 

[BurlyShirley]

what the hell happened?

some guy got hit by a helicopter and a snowmobile at the same time DURING the race.

 

[santacruzed]

wow i guess i did benefit from going to sugar instead.

 

[motomike]

anyone have a count on how many people didn't do their 2nd run?

 

[think1up]

I skipped my second run. The promoter said he wanted to be done by 3pm, and at 3:30 the last beginner guys were just taking there first run. I had to get back to ATL.

Did the second run go quicker? What time did you guys finish?

 

[motomike]

I skipped my second run. The promoter said he wanted to be done by 3pm, and at 3:30 the last beginner guys were just taking there first run. I had to get back to ATL.

Did the second run go quicker? What time did you guys finish?

yeah, the 2nd runs went alot quicker, because there were no racers left! I got to the bottom after my 2nd run and hightailed it home.

oh yeah and another thing. There were XC guys on the DH course during the 2nd runs! Actually, I don't blame them. They were told that we would be done at 3:00. And it was like, 4:30.

 

[Jeremy R]

I skipped my second run. The promoter said he wanted to be done by 3pm, and at 3:30 the last beginner guys were just taking there first run. I had to get back to ATL.

Did the second run go quicker? What time did you guys finish?

I think the sports are coming down right now, the beginners should be done on Tuesday or so.

 

[AirAddict]

I know the guy that got hurt (his name is Drew). I ride with him all the time over here in Asheville.

He crashed a couple of hundred feet down from the first switchback, and he said that he was just going too fast for the section that he was on, lost control, and couldn't avoid hitting a tree. There was a guy watching him when it happened and that guy said that he was going like 15-20 when he hit, and then he just collapsed and we're guessing that he blacked out for a second or so. Drew broke his neck last year during a silimar experience and said that the pain then was a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10, and this time it was an 8. He decided that it would be best not to risk it because he knows what a broken neck feels like. Drew was extremely mad that he was holding everything up. He was saying stuff like: "just toss me over the back of the 4 wheeler and lets go! Just get me off the trail!" We took care of his bike and everything after he left to go to the hospital in bryson city.

As soon as the race was over we went to pick drew up at the hospital... he was waiting outside for us. It turns out that he was alright. Apparently, the pain and loss of feeling/movement was some aftermath of last year's injury.

The happy ending: We took him out for pizza after we picked him up, and Drew was able to drive himself home.

 

[frznnomad]

I think the sports are coming down right now

nope sorry jeremy me and james are still chillin at the top.

although all in all for my first race it wasnt that bad. i mean it could have been ran better but not to bad. got to chill with some cool people and meet some new guys that share my insanity. .

 

[AirAddict]

Yeah, overall, it was a really good first race ever for me too.

I raced in beginner because they didn't have a junior class, and i'm glad that i did because i got 3rd with borrowed parts on my bike, and a dirt jumper up front temporarily (broken super t)

P.s. I hated that mud section at the bottom. i think that i like really fast finishes better...

 

[Jeremy R]

nope sorry jeremy me and james are still chillin at the top.

although all in all for my first race it wasnt that bad. i mean it could have been ran better but not to bad. got to chill with some cool people and meet some new guys that share my insanity. .

I was actually really hoping that they were not a lot of first time racers there, because I did not want them to think that is actually what racing is like. I am glad you guys made a good time of it.

And I hope the guy that got hurt is OK as well.
Having a course hold because of an injury is all part of the game,
and nobody was complaining about that for sure.
It was just the whole logistics of the race that was rank.
When you pay $38 to sit around all day, even a die hard racer like me is thinking, man, I could be somewhere else actually riding my bike all day.

 

[frznnomad]

yeh man im deffinatly with you on that one. that could have been a whole day in pisgah. but ohh well i got to race and have some fun, and laugh at some people and with some people.so its all good.

ohh and james cudos on beatin the cookie monster :dancing:

 

[?????]

haha...I'll have to look at James' time. Who was he/what bike does he ride and was he at Dark Mtn? ...(I'm the cookie monster)... I was ripping it the 2nd run but coming out of one of the long pedaling sections where it dips down and comes back up and turns left I went over the bars hard. I came out of it pretty well for how fast I was going, but I still layed there for about 30 seconds...might be time for a full face and pads.

I must've gotten spoiled at Dark Mtn. cause Fontana F'n SUCKED. The XC race was even worse. It was a 3 mile hike to the top of the mountain, and then where the downhill and xc course split, they didn't mark off the dh course so I'm tearing it up down that and take the switchback down the downhill course for a little ways till another guy sees me and yells out that I went the wrong way. And towards the end of the xc course it opens up into the big field...with no signs to tell you where to go. By that time I was fed up with the course and just stopped to look around and figure out where I was supposed to go. Of course all that wouldn't have been a problem if the dh had finished on time so I could preride.

 

[manimal]

When you pay $38 to sit around all day, even a die hard racer like me is thinking, man, I could be somewhere else actually riding my bike all day.

you mean....somewhere like this? :nuts:

 

[Peete]

I'm glad to hear the dude is alright. The story I heard was B.S. then.

Anybody have my shin guards?

 

[stubby]

I had to stop twice on my second race run. Once for xcers, and once for the fat blue guy on the atv who made me wipe out but its all good. it was a crap courcse anyway.

 

[frznnomad]

dude stubby how in the hell did he make you fall. was he on the course or something. . i wouldnt dought it though there were spectators on my first run down. the damn guy almost became trail kill and then he had the nerve to tell me that i had a nice line. well no duh you were standing in the middle of it you dick.

 

[stubby]

it was on that part where you pedal up through the wet rockgardn and i put my breaks on, what can i say i suck at life.

 

[danW]

Wow that stinks! I was upset I missed it until reading this thread...still not clear on what the hold up was...logistics I guess?...

...so what's next?...ETSU?...hopefully my bike will be fixed by then!!!!!!!!!...I'm definately suffering from "riders block"

danW

 

[stubby]

my helment smells like a$$ as well after all that heat and sweat and uphill!the smallest gear combo i had was a 44 25, which sucks all around.
Have you guys seen FRznomads bike, its like the most beutiful color ever!

 

[danW]

...wait a minute! I just reviewed some of the earlier threads regarding Fontana- the buzz was Fontana is happening and ready - in fact there was much to do about it all!?...

...not that it really matters now, but what EXACTLY was the problem?..and how to avoid a situation like this next time...

danW

 

[stubby]

ask around i dont want to be a whiner even though i am, i bet motomike could explain it good! it wasnt a full on dh course, it was part of a xc course, that ended up at the bottom of the mouniaan, the finish line was a swamp, and you had to pedal uphill for like 20 feet to the finish line tape in the mud and you forget to shift!

 

[DRB]

When you pay $38 to sit around all day, even a die hard racer like me is thinking, man, I could be somewhere else actually riding my bike all day.

Too bad there aren't any cool trails around there to ride TSALI around there. And also nothing between Bent Creek Dupont and a bazillion Pisgah trailsthere and Spartanburgianville.

But all of this talk of crappy promoters, running a million hours late and XC racers on the DH course is making me all misty eyed and nostagic for the old days Well not really but I do miss hanging out

 

[frznnomad]

yeh a big hold up was the fact that drew crashed and they had to get him off the trail. its a good thing he wasnt that critical or it could have been a lot worse. it took the guy like 30 mins to get him off the trail and up to the road. then they had to wait on the ambulance to clear out which took another 30 to 45 mins cause they were just running threw checks and stuff on him. ohh and also the dh race and the xc pre run ran together cause the xc guys werent informed of the hold up. so thats just a few things. although i thank dave and his wife for helping me and my crew out with the trail location and where too start and end.

 

[bizutch]

It's a catch 22 situation. The resort used to have Claude, an employee of many years, backhoe operator and trail guru...run the races and he did an awesome job. But he moved on with his life. David Berger is pretty new to DH. I'm gonna talk with him by phone and try to share some insights to ensure he can give a better DH product next time around. His attention to detail is great and he's a very positive guy. It was only his second ever DH race so please cut him some slack.

Once I show him the things that make a DH flow smoothly, I have confidence he can run it effortlessly.

Also, thanks to AirAddict and FznNomad for keeping things positive and enjoying their time.

Oh, and Jeremy...we got nobody but ourselves to blame on the price. We both are vets and know better than to wait til the day of the race. If we'd done what we already knew we'd have paid $28.00.
Plus I blame myself for not getting in touch with David in advance to give him advise on how to run a good race in terms of shuttles, timing, bossing riders around, flow of event, etc. Oh well...maybe next time.

One thing you'll all benefit from is I got so frustrated with not being in control of everything that I am going to definitely put on a DH event next year...somewhere.

 

[Jeremy R]

Oh, and Jeremy...we got nobody but ourselves to blame on the price. We both are vets and know better than to wait til the day of the race. If we'd done what we already knew we'd have paid $28.00.
Plus I blame myself for not getting in touch with David in advance to give him advise on how to run a good race in terms of shuttles, timing, bossing riders around, flow of event, etc. Oh well...maybe next time.
.

Not really, I never bother pre-registering because I never know if I am gonna be jacked up before the race. So, I normally pay my $5 dollar late fee, which is normally worth it.
But $38 for this turd festival was insulting.
To put it in perspective, I payed $75 for the US Open, and I felt like I should have given them more money when I left.
But its over now, and I'll shut up.
I am normally the positive one, but enough is enough.
Most of the time it is the little things that make an event go well, and not even the course.
Take Dark Mountain for instance, a small little course, but a great time was had, because the small things were done properly by people who have ZERO expericence promoting races, XC or DH. No excuses.

 

[Guard]

David Berger is pretty new to DH. I'm gonna talk with him by phone and try to share some insights to ensure he can give a better DH product next time around. His attention to detail is great and he's a very positive guy. It was only his second ever DH race so please cut him some slack.

Once I show him the things that make a DH flow smoothly, I have confidence he can run it effortlessly.

Man I would like to be optimistic but I tried to engage David before the race once I learned about the shuttle. I informed him that most racers communicate on ridemonkey & even gave him a link to the thread I started but here's what he came back with:

"Matt, thanks but no thanks I don’t engage in forums, if someone has something they want to share with us, they can do it directly."

I followed up further & here is his reply:

"Matt, I appreciate your concern for the race however all I said was that there was no shuttle planned for practice, there is one planned for the race. We are traveling to Fontana today and will have chance to see what we can do about a shuttle for practice.

Don’t worry this ain’t our first rodeo, you won’t be disappointed."

He didn't seem to open minded to me & after the last email I stop pursing it. From your comment above this was his 2nd DH race so he was actually correct about one thing...it wasn't his first rodeo...and thank god I wasn't there for that one!!!

The course was ok I just wish I was in better shape for all that pedaling but that's my own fault. Of course if I had been thinking smaller tires was have made up for my lack of endurance since the only thing that made the course extreme was the mud section at the bottom...I agree with Pete on this one...by the last run I couldn't wait to get to that section just to see if I could make it through it.

Anyway good luck speaking with him...maybe he'll listen to you after this race. :nuts:

 

[Peete]

It didn't help that the description of the new course before hand was misleading. I'm not making excuses for being slow, I have plenty. But I think a few of us showed up expecting a much burlier course.

I disagree with Butch when he stated it wasn't as bad as pedalling Turkey Shoot. I walked up and did a run down turkey right after a run on the new course. Yes, it has a couple of uphills but the energy expended on that is way less than the mile long flat on the new course. I would have rather raced on Turkey but the bottom of the new course was definitely fun.

 

[bizutch]

In so far as promoters participating in forums...for the most part it does suck and is a complete waste of time. All they get is harrassing emails from 14 year olds with no spelling skills who have no intention of even coming to the race...I should know.

 

[frznnomad]

hey all that matters guys is that we had some laughs and got to ride. its better than no laughs and being stuck at work. and pete your right the bottom section of that course was pretty narly. i dont think anybody expected that. ohh well peace and hope to see ya at sugar.

ohh and bizuch when is the preregistration for sugar going to be up. thanks for the heads up

 

[motomike]

Oh, and Jeremy...we got nobody but ourselves to blame on the price. We both are vets and know better than to wait til the day of the race. If we'd done what we already knew we'd have paid $28.00.

you know that they were doing pre-registration prices on Friday until 10:00pm?

 

[Peete]

you know that they were doing pre-registration prices on Friday until 10:00pm?

I wish I knew that. Kevin told me they shut it down in the afternoon.
That's what I get for listening to someone from Georgia

 

[frznnomad]

dude dave told me and my crew that they were shutting it down at 4:00 or sometime around there. it was when moto and stubby were chillin by the truck and i was awwwing over your m3

 

[think1up]

ohh and bizuch when is the preregistration for sugar going to be up. thanks for the heads up

I contacted them and they said they are not having online registration. You've got to mail it in...

 

[motomike]

dude dave told me and my crew that they were shutting it down at 4:00 or sometime around there. it was when moto and stubby were chillin by the truck and i was awwwing over your m3

maybe, but Terri, wife of Dave, said 10:00pm. Who knows.

 

[manimal]

It didn't help that the description of the new course before hand was misleading. I'm not making excuses for being slow, I have plenty. But I think a few of us showed up expecting a much burlier course.

I disagree with Butch when he stated it wasn't as bad as pedalling Turkey Shoot. I walked up and did a run down turkey right after a run on the new course. Yes, it has a couple of uphills but the energy expended on that is way less than the mile long flat on the new course. I would have rather raced on Turkey but the bottom of the new course was definitely fun.

after hearing all of this, i REALLY hope that the icycle will be on the old course. that's probably my fav race of the year. maybe this year i'll bring the wife and get into a heat conservation posture

 

[frznnomad]

ahh who cares and who knows mike race is over and done with thats all that matters.

ohh and thanks for registation info.

 

[AirAddict]

Also, thanks to AirAddict and FznNomad for keeping things positive and enjoying their time.

you know it! we make a good time of almost anything!

haha i missed getting my 888 in by one shipping day. So i had to run that dirt jumper on my bullit. I know that you don't really need a really big fork for that course, but i just hate the geometry of my bike with a 5 inch fork. It feels stupid in my opinion...