Holy Crap I Want To Ride!
The 2009 Dirty Bird DH Race!!!
- Thread starter motomike
- Start date
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- super rad!
that does look F'n sweet! 
The legend himself Craig Folsom caught some dirty bird flu today. A few evening shots of the final section.
Post-qualifying hawksnest shred tomorrow??
Post-qualifying hawksnest shred tomorrow??
any chance of a post-RACE shred on sunday? i'm working tomorrow but might be able to sneak away to get a preview of the DB on sunday 
Twist my arm...any chance of a post-RACE shred on sunday? i'm working tomorrow but might be able to sneak away to get a preview of the DB on sunday
perhaps i could bring some tasty adult beverage to celebrate your belated 21st bday?
i've still gotta clear it w/ the wife so just let me know if you think you can make it out.
thanks for showing us around Trill and Moto!!! the pics don't do the steepness justice!
Wow...Noah is killing it! I'm stoked that he hit that last steep chute.
I was lucky enough to check this place out Sunday as well. Here is what I posted on the Charlotte area MTB Forums.
he hit the 2nd to last chute, the very last one with the drop was a bit much for him. he was sooo close to hitting the big rock garden, even worked his way up to $20 from those in attendance to try it but i think it freaked him out a bit and the rest of his first run was sketch 'cause he was so nervous and bummed that he didn't hit it. 2nd run was smooth and fun though.....
Wow...looks like we really need to get on building more trails and charging admission. Glad you liked it. Sorry I was a no-show yesterday...I was in a total haze for a few hours after ringing my bell in my race run at beech.
We're thinking about trying to build some stuff down on the golf course for full length runs, but for the most part we're just concentrating on the steep slopes/old ski area.
Who showed you around?
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Liam
With just the 1 main run and a dedicated shuttle driver (executed at least slightly better than the 26w system) I would (and I think others) would gladly pay a small fee. ($5-10)
With a complete top to bottom (linking the 2 existing trails) and a dedicated shuttle driver I would gladly pay ($10-20)
Finish just what was shown
Maybe one additional run from the top to the lift station
turn on the lift (we can dream cant we) and/or, have a shuttle driver at the bottom
Have food (burgers, hot dogs, sammiches etc) available from the restraunt/concession stand
and its $30-35 for an all day pass (10am - 5pm) all day long.
Some other thoughts....
A water fountain (maybe I just didnt see where it was and we had our own so it wasnt a big deal).
A little kicker (or multiple) kicker sized options right at the base of the lift pole after you hit the last drop/shoot. Would be some added fun for little work and give benefit to both riders and spectators. The folks on or waiting for the zip line looked intrigued everytime we came down. Why not give them something to watch?
Cut back the tree on the last drop so folks sitting on the deck can see the riders hitting it.
Seriously though that is a fun place and it is clear (at least to me) that it could (and is) coming together nicely.
Cool...thanks for the input. Glad you met up with Liam, he's the man that contacted me and made all this a possibility!
Some of those ideas are really valid. As far as water/spectating issues/etc...keep in mind its actually NOT open to the public right now. Please let people know that you need permission AND a guide to be out there if you're not in "the crew".
I may start to explore the lower pieces of property, but its so flat down there. Wouldn't you rather see more full-on DH runs from the top of the lift to the lodge rather than adding pedalling and flat sections to ride to the bottom? Maybe its just me but I don't see nearly as much potential beyond the lodge. Its about 600 feet that we used for the first track, and there's plenty of room for at least 4 more full runs. More will be added eventually, I think we're all still recovering from the epic 3-month shovelfest that was the construction of the first track.
The demand is definitely there and we've quickly found that we can't keep riders OFF the track. I have the feeling the mountain won't tolerate uninsured riders on the mountain for long...so we're facing some issues. Either we get our asses in gear on opening to the public (which means we HAVE to start building more trails, I won't support charging people to ride one run), or we really will start having to enforce access.
Some of those ideas are really valid. As far as water/spectating issues/etc...keep in mind its actually NOT open to the public right now. Please let people know that you need permission AND a guide to be out there if you're not in "the crew".
I may start to explore the lower pieces of property, but its so flat down there. Wouldn't you rather see more full-on DH runs from the top of the lift to the lodge rather than adding pedalling and flat sections to ride to the bottom? Maybe its just me but I don't see nearly as much potential beyond the lodge. Its about 600 feet that we used for the first track, and there's plenty of room for at least 4 more full runs. More will be added eventually, I think we're all still recovering from the epic 3-month shovelfest that was the construction of the first track.
The demand is definitely there and we've quickly found that we can't keep riders OFF the track. I have the feeling the mountain won't tolerate uninsured riders on the mountain for long...so we're facing some issues. Either we get our asses in gear on opening to the public (which means we HAVE to start building more trails, I won't support charging people to ride one run), or we really will start having to enforce access.
Do you have the equipment to build a full table top run? The mountain is anything but huge but I could see you guys having up to 10 runs with some jumps, freeride stuff, etc. Then you could charge $20-$30 if you had a well-run shuttle system. Add a small bike/snack shop to the bottom and keep soliciting feedback from customers and you'd have a badass park setup. 
absolutely... Hopefully I didnt come off as anything but positive...
Long term.. Everything ending at the lift is great, but more is always better. I liked that last part including going wide open through the grassy fields popping off those little rises.
Low Hanging fruit. I just mentioned the lower part if/when an "open" day is presented that folks pay for because it is something I would imagine the crew could get incorporated faster than another route from the top to the lift base. Additionally with the Buzz that is being generated an Open day, or Race day will get crowded on that short course, so having another option might help spread some folks out.
Good points...we will definitely try to have some more stuff built by the time we're riding/racing publicly. We're working on a few jumps near the bottom of the track, and hopefully we'll get started on some more trails soon.
Rob, having you guys up was great and I was glad I got to meet you. I'm only sorry I had to go work and couldn't ride the rest of the day. Mueller, Moto and the goon squad moved a LOT of dirt and they're justifiably protective of the trail they spent so many hours shoveling on. Access will become a real issue for us and we simply won't deal with the liability issues that come from being open to the public until we have all the parts in place. I know y'all are fully aware of this but I'm just posting it for everyone's sake.
Also as you all know now, these guys can build some damn trail... We're gonna try to do a demo day late in this month, and we've been discussing all possible angles for trying to get a bike park off the ground here. Having a bunch of happy riders out definitely helped the cause this weekend.
We'll be sure to keep everyone posted, I can't see any chance of opening to the public this season but with a good showing of interested people for our races I'd say there's a solid chance we can do something with 2 wheels up here by next summer.
Fantastic news..
Additionally if you could make sure the weather is equally good on any race/demo days it would be appreciated!
Liam, thanks again for showing us the course on Sunday. Definitely some top notch building going on up there. Great job to all involved.
If a few more trails of that quality are built, I would easily pay to ride up there quite often.
So progress is being made for the race...
Like to thank our sponsors so far-- Industry Nine, Eastern Bikes, Sycamore Cycles, Boone Bike & Touring, Magic Cycles, Re:Cycles, Specialized Tires, and we should have a couple Hawksnest Zipline tours to give away. more to come...
Thanks to everyone for cooperating with us on the access issues for the race track at Hawksnest. I know its very tempting to go ride it, but hopefully in the future we will be able to let people do so! Come check out the race, its gonna be FUN!! Hopefully we can take the seriousness out of racing for this one and just have a good time goin' fast.
Like to thank our sponsors so far-- Industry Nine, Eastern Bikes, Sycamore Cycles, Boone Bike & Touring, Magic Cycles, Re:Cycles, Specialized Tires, and we should have a couple Hawksnest Zipline tours to give away. more to come...
Thanks to everyone for cooperating with us on the access issues for the race track at Hawksnest. I know its very tempting to go ride it, but hopefully in the future we will be able to let people do so! Come check out the race, its gonna be FUN!! Hopefully we can take the seriousness out of racing for this one and just have a good time goin' fast.
Thanks for the kind words and impressing the owner. We plan to have more than a few other trails up on the hill eventually, among other things.
This picture was one of those annoying adds on facebook.
This picture was one of those annoying adds on facebook.
I might have to tell her the word and personally invite her to come party.
Damn Moto you and the boys have done a FINE job at that digging.
nice video
Ha, if that vid does not get you pumped up to ride... you're toast.
You might as well start shooting adrendaline straight into your veins.
Good job.
You might as well start shooting adrendaline straight into your veins.
Good job.
Nice job... Add some footage of the drop at the end!
Fun stuff.
Fun stuff.
will there be youth classes
There will be a "junior" class, all 18 and under. It was pretty big at the first Beech race, so hopefully it will be here too.
Hello bowl berms! Takes a lota diggin to make that many berms. Bet you boys got prison arms!
That was actually an idea earlier this year. Maybe sometime in the future we can have the High Country Cup series. I really wish Sugar would resurrect the original Showdown at Sugar.
To collectively thump all of our various chests, with the upper part of Sugar and all the little tweaks to the lower sections of it plus it being screaming fast, it's so sick now! Beech has the goat trail mentality going and Dirty Bird just puts you through every known skill test. I even had a retardo grin ripping a DH bike on the Lees McRae slalom in the AM that day.
We've all built some phenomenal trails that encompass all that Southern DH has to offer. Now, if we can talk Ryan into letting us do some new sections for the second Beech race to keep the creativity comin....
More like human tractors that are fueled by PBR, a safe mindset and gravity.
PBR really helps keep me hydrated so I can stave off those arm cramps that set in after six hours of straight up diggin
The track is dry, fast, and ROUGH right now. I keep making friends with new rocks each time I walk the track.