[stubby]

Who all here is racing Fontana, and What class are you racing in.
also post if ur riding a trailbike or a dh bike i dont wanna b pedalin my dh bike up the hill, my choices are the dh bike or my p hardtail
Paul Keller/ sport

 

[bizutch]

oooohh....oohhh....mme....meee....muueeeeee!!!!
Pro/Semi-Pro

 

[stubby]

i hope there wont b any uphill........

 

[Peete]

Who all here is racing Fontana, and What class are you racing in.
also post if ur riding a trailbike or a dh bike i dont wanna b pedalin my dh bike up the hill, my choices are the dh bike or my p hardtail
Paul Keller/ Juinour x

Hmmm, didn't see JrX on the flyer. I'm sticking with sport. When they split into age groups I'll go expert.
No hardtail class, bummer, my son would be all over that if they had one.

 

[stubby]

ok ill go with sport then
i didnt catch that.

 

[Guard]

Who all here is racing Fontana, and What class are you racing in.
also post if ur riding a trailbike or a dh bike i dont wanna b pedalin my dh bike up the hill, my choices are the dh bike or my p hardtail
Paul Keller/ sport

Their running a new course this year which doesn't have uphills...at least that's what the dude told me. I'm bringing both bikes just in case...this dude's extreme might not be extreme to us.

 

[bizutch]

I've described the portion of trail to Jeremy and Matt and they udnerstood exactly what it was and seem to think it will be dope. A large portion of it has been on the XC course...a place where you get really high in the back of the Village and scream down a blown out old fireroad into some tight stuff. on the left side of the village if you're looking up from the road toward the ridgeline.

jeremy said when you're riding the XC course, it's the portion where you say to yourself "Now why isn't this on the DH Course"...hope that helps.

 

[spoke80]

I've described the portion of trail to Jeremy and Matt and they udnerstood exactly what it was and seem to think it will be dope. A large portion of it has been on the XC course...a place where you get really high in the back of the Village and scream down a blown out old fireroad into some tight stuff. on the left side of the village if you're looking up from the road toward the ridgeline.

jeremy said when you're riding the XC course, it's the portion where you say to yourself "Now why isn't this on the DH Course"...hope that helps.

Dang shoo, I'm actually getting fired up for this race. I think Hinton, Bridges, and myself will be in attendence. Hope to see everyone there to show the new guy that we are hungry for races in the dirty Souf!

 

[profro]

Only race expert if they split age groups????? WTF. If you're expert then race expert andything else is bagging. Sorry Peete, but its the truth.

I won't be there. Wyatt and I are going to be shredding Windrock.

 

[manimal]

Only race expert if they split age groups????? WTF. If you're expert then race expert andything else is bagging. Sorry Peete, but its the truth.

I won't be there. Wyatt and I are going to be shredding Windrock.

hells yeah pete.....i already got spanked by you last year when you raced sport. i'll have to pull a tonya harding on you if you race sport again :evil:

hell, i'd race expert if they'd split it into weight classes

 

[Peete]

hells yeah pete.....i already got spanked by you last year when you raced sport. i'll have to pull a tonya harding on you if you race sport again :evil:

hell, i'd race expert if they'd split it into weight classes

Well, maybe I'll do it if one of you young'uns will carry my oxygen bottle to the start. :evil:

There are expert courses out there I just don't have the ability/balls to ride, much less race.
And for MtnX(if there is any this year) I realize I'll probably be nothing more than a moto filler locally as an expert. But at nationals since there are age groups I'll do ok.
So on that side of things I don't mind the move-up.

Brandon, if they split up into weight classes we'd still race each other. ink:

 

[bizutch]

hah hah....Jeremy and Matt wouldn't like racing me on steep, open stuff cause I could have a 20-40 lb "gravity" advantage on them.

 

[manimal]

Brandon, if they split up into weight classes we'd still race each other. ink:

i dunno dude.....you look a little too svelt to be in the 245+ class

now...if they split it by age groups and then again by weight class we'd both be coming out with some schwag

 

[Peete]

i dunno dude.....you look a little too svelt to be in the 245+ class

now...if they split it by age groups and then again by weight class we'd both be coming out with some schwag

You are too kind, but I would be in the clydesdale class if there was one.
I've been doing too much drinking and eating since our trip to California.
With no mtnx racing anywhere it's hard to keep riding. I'm just riding the DH bike to take a break from riding the same mtnx track I've been riding all winter.

Anyone else from Georgia going?

 

[DVNT]

Yeah I think there is about 4 or 5 of us heading up on Friday.

 

[Raaar]

I've kind of been thinking about racing some downhill and Fontana is fairly close to the house. Just curious, what are the classes? Do they have a slow, fat, and old class?

 

[bizutch]

ONLINE REGISTRATION
SCHEDULE
FLYER

 

[stubby]

yeah im heading up friday
where is a good place to stay up there?
it has to be nice for my mom

 

[bizutch]

yeah im heading up friday
where is a good place to stay up there?
it has to be nice for my mom

go on their site...the newer cabins are Very nice. the older ones are fine. The hotel last time I was there was straight up early 80's style...but everything is compact and right there in the village and convenient.

 

[Peete]

I've kind of been thinking about racing some downhill and Fontana is fairly close to the house. Just curious, what are the classes? Do they have a slow, fat, and old class?

Yeah, just look for me.

 

[Mike Fitz]

Ill be there trying out Begginer class. I hope My Endro will be enough bike . Oh well Im just going to have some fun.

 

[stubby]

it should be fine, people raced this course on hts.

 

[bizutch]

Guys...back me up here...send some emails and make some phone calls to Fontana! We can get this resolved if we assert ourselves positively.
Butch, I talked to the folks at Fontana today and they unfortunately can't
have the forest service gate open on Friday and also no shuttle on Friday
but the course will be open to ride (assuming the riders can chug it out to
the top of run). There will be shuttle service from 10am on Saturday thru
the race however. Ps my cell phone doesn't work up here so email or
personal is my only way of contact from now on.

Thanks,

David Berger
Gone Riding, Inc.
352.873.9279
www.goneriding.com
goneride@earthlink.net

And following is my response to David:
David,

I hate to be negative here, but that is absolutely terrible! That is going to cause a lot of people to waste their money and others to turn around and go home instead of attend. you're going to give 70 or more DHers only 2 hours to practice a high speed DH course and have them go out of their way for very little time on the course. A two hour practice with a shuttle truck will only give people 2 runs at most...assuming they don't have any mechanicals or anything of that nature?
That gate has to be open on Friday. I realize you don't do many Dh races...but the racers have way, way more money invested in their equipment and less opportunities to use them. They're willing to pay more to race and they expect more time than 2 short rides before their race.

Downhillers provide your venue with tons of extra revenue because they are the ones who fill up the hotels on Friday night when they might otherwise be vacant. They buy food and contribute to the local economy for 2 days and that is a substantial contribution financially. They deserve a shuttle vehicle if they're going to bring in that much money for the village on a Friday. They contribute thousands renting cabins, tent site, hotel rooms, food, beverages, etc. The income to the promoter might not be as optimal as an XC event, but they help your venue with a very hefty financial contribution that they would not have otherwise.

THEY need to provide a shuttle in return for the financial investment these racers are making to their resort. It is not too soon to re-think this. I hope you take my concerns into consideration.
Sincerely,

Jerry "Butch" Greene
31 Cherokee Rd
Asheville, NC 28806
828-665-8833 (home)

 

[?????]

I'll be there racing sport 19-29 downhill and xc. They definitely need shuttle practice Friday. Paying thirty something dollars plus lodging and transportation costs to ride a course at most 4 times is crap.

 

[Peete]

Thanks for the heads up Butch. I'll shoot him an email today.
Only 2 hours of shuttle service and the gate to the access road locked on friday has me thinking of saying to hell with it.
I think if everyone will email this guy and cc to the adventure center we might get some satisfaction.
Does he ever go on these forums, I wonder?
Sorry, watching too much Star Wars I am. Yoda I talk like, hmmmm.

 

[lux]

Email sent.

 

[manimal]

email sent.

def not worth the 4 hour drive and $$ for 4 or less runs. let us know asap if/when you find anything out.

i'll owe you a cold one if you get this fixed bizutch

 

[jackalope]

E-mail sent...

Btw, anybody else notice that there is no 'Pro' catagory? So does that mean X-perts get to race the likes of Butch, Jeremy, and Steve Peat? Damn, I feel special already

 

[profro]

E-mail sent...

Btw, anybody else notice that there is no 'Pro' catagory? So does that mean X-perts get to race the likes of Butch, Jeremy, and Steve Peat? Damn, I feel special already

According to NORBA rules, there have to be 5 or more to run a seperate class. I think. I'm not sure there will be 5 of us there. You know JR and Butch will be there. Ryan Taylor, Joe Hailey and Ryan Bloch could show up. I won't make it and neither will Andrew Parsons. What I think Terry Hinton is showing. It might be close. However they should run a seperate class.

 

[bizutch]

E-mail sent...

Btw, anybody else notice that there is no 'Pro' catagory? So does that mean X-perts get to race the likes of Butch, Jeremy, and Steve Peat? Damn, I feel special already

I'll be printing this quote out and framing it on the wheel..right next to my lock of Kovarik's hair. :heart:

 

[bizutch]

Update: Spoke with the GM's son at the village and he was surprised that Berger said they weren't running shuttle on Friday. He's got a call in to the GM, (also a mountain biker) to find out why and is gonna call me back. The guy said they have a key to that gate and can go in it anytime they want.
Stay tuned.

 

[bizutch]

OK...new upadte form nick, the GM's son. They're short staffed and need someone that the GM trusts to drive the shuttle vehicle if they do it Friday and they also have to have someone man the gate to prevent anyone other than Fontana Village staff form driving that road. They're going to try to work it out if they can. I offered to try to find a person who's buddy/relative/etc...might man the gate but didn't sound like they were keen on an outsider doing. Stay tuned...and call the Adventure Center and ask for updates??

 

[Jeremy R]

Oh, now they are picky on who drives the shuttle.
The last time I raced there, they let some GOTH dude in a trenchcoat drive us up. I kept thinking of Klebold and hoping this kid had a better childhood.

 

[Peete]

Butch, if this gets straightened out I'll owe you one too.

Is the road they are talking about the same one as before?

 

[bizutch]

no. FS road b4 u get 2 the village

 

[manimal]

so i guess that means we can't shuttle w/ our own vehicles if the gate is open?

 

[bizutch]

so i guess that means we can't shuttle w/ our own vehicles if the gate is open?

nah bro...still waiting to hear more. by all means people of a mind can call and press the GM. several thousand dollars of cabins reserved by DHers can't be ignored.

 

[bizutch]

OK. Nick from the Adventure Center called me back and to try to accomadate, they're gonna do a shuttle from 6-8pm near the finish of the DH. For details, ask at registration. Or keep an eye out for the shuttle vehicle just before you get to the village. Call the Adventure Center for details.

You're welcome.

 

[stubby]

Thank You Bizutch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Peete]

OK. Nick from the Adventure Center called me back and to try to accomadate, they're gonna do a shuttle from 6-8pm near the finish of the DH. For details, ask at registration. Or keep an eye out for the shuttle vehicle just before you get to the village. Call the Adventure Center for details.

You're welcome.

I hope you like to drink PBRs

U da man.