Winter East Coast DH?

jackalope · Dec 7, 2016

Bailey's is a freakin blast IMO, and your intuition about finding (sublime) beer nearby in Asheville is dead on. Keep in mind that Baileys is pretty basic in terms of "facilities" and they use a shuttle truck(s) in lieu of an actual ski lift. I'm pretty minimalist, so I think its more than adequate, but lets just say it ain't Mountain Creek (but hey, they usually have a good food truck in the parking lot). The trails are mainly flow/jump trails with numerous ways to mix things up between different trails. However, they also have 4 "black diamond" trails that are absolutely legit. These are my faves, as they are generally quite steep, rugged and brutal. Not a ton of speed on these trails since you're mainly trying to manage your mph's so you don't end up having pancakes with Prince.

I haven't been to Windrock in years, so I'm not up on all the recent additions. Back in the day, it was hands down the rowdiest bike violence you could find in the SE, and I suspect much of those trails are still available for your wheel demolition needs. There weren't too many jumps back then, but there were several respectable gap jumps scattered throughout. Obviously since Neko and friends have become involved there are now berms [gasp] and more flowy jumplines, but again, I haven't actually laid tracks on them. Maybe @Metamorphic can chime in if he's had a chance to check it out. Personally, I'd love to go back to just hit the OG stuff, and if the jump lines are good, then that's just icing on the stoke cake. Not sure what bike or bikes your bringing, but if you have a trail bike, there's supposedly some fantastic trail options in the windrock area. Holla at Profro for the 411.

jackalope · Dec 7, 2016

Regarding shuttle trucks, I'm not sure about Windrock. We used to shuttle ourselves, but for some reason I think there's now a formal shuttle truck option. And you'll have a blast on your all-mountain-trail-duro bike, especially on the jump lines at Bailey (i.e. I struggled to get a DH bike over some of those tables). As for beer, check out the Wedge in Asheville. Super cool scene, good brewed libations and some good eats nearby.

jstuhlman · Dec 7, 2016

Either would be good. @jackalope 's bailey assessment is spot on. buddy rode the "new" windrock the other week...some old stuff is there, some gone. i don't think the new shuttle takes you to the top of the windmill trail. the new "flowish" trails is supposedly decent as far as such things go...

if it's cold, at least the windrock shuttle is enclosed.

both are fine on long travel trail bikes or dh bikes. windrock is in the middle of effing nowhere; i hear there are some decent xc-ish trails in the knoxville area though.

i'd plant myself in asheville and hit both (windrock is a tolerable day trip from there-heck, we daytrip it from charlotte). do not...i repeat, DO NOT go to the new belgium brewery. wicked weed/burial/highland are all good. or head south a few miles to sierra nevada.

see also the NC winter trip thread in the lounge.

Carraig042 · Dec 8, 2016

Either is fun, I have been to both many times and windrock is 30 minutes from me. For shuttle at windrock, they are using 2 busses gutted out which seems to work well. It has the one new buffed flow line and many of the old gnar trails are still there. I prefer windrock myself due to the old school raw feel overall.

You can go into Knoxville for beer, a 40 minute drive to the downtown area. Some good choices there (not quite as good as Asheville of course).

They are planning to have a shuttle go all the way to the top, but those trails are still getting worked on to re-open.

Brett

Jim Mac · Dec 8, 2016

Regarding bermz, rail it:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/45-and-losing-productions/rail-the-berm-the-bicycle-motocross-show

SuspectDevice · Dec 15, 2016

Year 2 of the Downhill Southeast schedule is gonna be even radder. $65 DH races in March and April?!
Heck yeah. Free beer? Cheap tacos? Races run by racers for racers? Want to sharpen up your skills with most of America's top World Cup talent?
http://www.downhillsoutheast.com/
http://www.downhillsoutheast.com/
@downhillsoutheast for all yer social media needs.

Venues include Windrock, TTC outside of Chattanooga(I LOVE THAT PLACE) and Bailey.

I had so much fun being the logistics manager last year that I'm more than willing to take the month of March off from work to hang out in WNC + East Tennessee to ride shuttles and do huge backcountry national forest loops in Southwest Virgina.

I'm planning on basing in Roanoke, VA for March- it's 3 hours north of Asheville, but the average winter temps there are still in the 50's and 60's, lodging is super cheap and the backcountry enduro gnar along i81 between Blacksburg and Harrisonburg, VA is undeniably radical. The city of Roanoke also has a solid 80ish miles of singletrack in it.

jstuhlman · Dec 15, 2016

yesyesyes

TrumbullHucker · Dec 15, 2016

crazy! me and the dudes were talking about this last night... heading down the bailey.. maybe march

jstuhlman · Dec 15, 2016

TrumbullHucker said:
crazy! me and the dudes were talking about this last night... heading down the bailey.. maybe march

Metamorphic · Dec 16, 2016

I did this series last year and it really is tits! What a good time. Pro tip...camp at Windrux and TTC. mega fun. Maybe Bailey will have some sort of camp option, not sure.

@jackalope : I have been a grade A turd as of late. Held down by the man, chasing the cheese, climbing the ladder. And basically sh!tting on my bicycle and riding (lack of) skills. Working too much dawg. Anyways, I digress...point is haven't ridden DH since the summah. Sad face.

jstuhlman · Dec 16, 2016

kickstand · Dec 16, 2016

Metamorphic said:
I did this series last year and it really is tits! What a good time. Pro tip...camp at Windrux and TTC. mega fun. Maybe Bailey will have some sort of camp option, not sure.
.

Wife and I only made it to the TTC Race, but we had a good time. We didn't camp, but instead stayed in some floating cabins near Jasper, was pretty fun.

The race itself was pretty good, other than the lack of runs we were able to get in each day. It's cool to see additional races popping up, but shuttles and long lines leaving only a few runs per day really make it tough to drive a long ways to race.

SuspectDevice · Dec 16, 2016

kickstand said:
Wife and I only made it to the TTC Race, but we had a good time. We didn't camp, but instead stayed in some floating cabins near Jasper, was pretty fun.

The race itself was pretty good, other than the lack of runs we were able to get in each day. It's cool to see additional races popping up, but shuttles and long lines leaving only a few runs per day really make it tough to drive a long ways to race.

FWIW, we are planning on adding additional shuttle trucks at TTC this year. TTC is a rad venue, but the track we race on is the only way down the hill.

I agree, only 3 hours of practice(since we have separate pro/am practices) isn't totally optimal when you're driving a dozen plus hours.
Maybe come down for a Windrock race instead- plenty of other mountain to play on, and while I can't let people onto the race track outside of practice times, self-shuttling the windmill trails, etc. is a-ok!

kickstand · Dec 16, 2016

SuspectDevice said:
FWIW, we are planning on adding additional shuttle trucks at TTC this year. TTC is a rad venue, but the track we race on is the only way down the hill.

I agree, only 3 hours of practice(since we have separate pro/am practices) isn't totally optimal when you're driving a dozen plus hours.
Maybe come down for a Windrock race instead- plenty of other mountain to play on, and while I can't let people onto the race track outside of practice times, self-shuttling the windmill trails, etc. is a-ok!

We are planning on the windrock race for Pro GRT, probably won't be able to make the other South East races being close together.

TTC was super fun, i enjoyed both tracks (Poached a lap on the pro course). The race ran nice, I had heard the plan was to increase shuttles, so that's good, I think 3 would be perfect.

SuspectDevice · Dec 19, 2016

Speaking of Winter East Coast Downhill-
FREE DH RACE at Windrock New Year's Day*
(normal shuttle fees apply)

BigBoi · Dec 19, 2016

SuspectDevice said:
Year 2 of the Downhill Southeast schedule is gonna be even radder. $65 DH races in March and April?!
Heck yeah. Free beer? Cheap tacos? Races run by racers for racers? Want to sharpen up your skills with most of America's top World Cup talent?
http://www.downhillsoutheast.com/
@downhillsoutheast for all yer social media needs.

Venues include Windrock, TTC outside of Chattanooga(I LOVE THAT PLACE) and Bailey.

I had so much fun being the logistics manager last year that I'm more than willing to take the month of March off from work to hang out in WNC + East Tennessee to ride shuttles and do huge backcountry national forest loops in Southwest Virgina.

I'm planning on basing in Roanoke, VA for March- it's 3 hours north of Asheville, but the average winter temps there are still in the 50's and 60's, lodging is super cheap and the backcountry enduro gnar along i81 between Blacksburg and Harrisonburg, VA is undeniably radical. The city of Roanoke also has a solid 80ish miles of singletrack in it.

Maybe the average ANNUAL temp is in the 50's

kickstand · Jan 4, 2017

Went down to Windrock over the holidays, rode 3 days of moto and DH bikes, daytime temps in the 50's, much better than fat biking in Michigan....

I kinda failed on getting cool pictures....and much of a ride report but here's a few pics for fun.

3 motos, 2 dh bikes, 1 dog, and a super crammed back seat, but we got it all to fit.

Lunch break

Somewhere over the rainbow:

rode the dirtbikes up to see the windmills.

Waterfall off trail 16 somewhere out there.

The aftermath:

Cost me over $30 in quarters to wash both our dirtbikes, that mud hardened up like concrete....

jstuhlman · Jan 4, 2017

How'd you like the new trail? Did you ever take your dh bike up to the "top" and ride the windmill trail?

kickstand · Jan 4, 2017

jstuhlman said:
How'd you like the new trail? Did you ever take your dh bike up to the "top" and ride the windmill trail?

No, we didn't take the DH bikes up to the Windmill trails, couldn't find it while we were up there with the dirtbikes.

what is the new trail? This was my first time to Windrock with 2 wheelers....Wife road a lot more DH than I did, I had a hard time getting off the moto, but I rode a few of the MTB Trails with her....I assume you are referring to the "flow" trail Talledega, and no I didn't get a chance to ride it top to bottom, it was 2-3" deep peanut butter with a 6" deep river running down much of it, they were doing a lot of work to divert the water off the trail, Neko mentioned they built it in the dry and this was the first time it was really seeing water, so they were making some drainage changes, too sloppy to really enjoy on this trip. The rest of the more "gnar" trails that we did ride were fun.

jstuhlman · Jan 4, 2017

Yeah - new trail is Talladega. There's just one main DH trail that starts from the "top" - the current shuttle doesn't take you all the way up there so you have to know where to go, I guess. Glad you made it down! I need to get back out there this spring. Had a blast last year . . .

kickstand · Jan 4, 2017

I knew there were trails up there, but when I went to scout them out on the moto I never could find them, I was also going up there blind, so I didn't know where to look....last thing I wanted to do was go down the wrong side and have to hike out/up LOL.

jonKranked · Jan 4, 2017

kickstand said:
Cost me over $30 in quarters to wash both our dirtbikes, that mud hardened up like concrete....

what's one more thing in the truck?

https://www.amazon.com/Pure-Clean-Portable-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B00WWNJVHQ

kickstand · Jan 4, 2017

jonKranked said:
what's one more thing in the truck?

https://www.amazon.com/Pure-Clean-Portable-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B00WWNJVHQ

that's cute LOL

They have a powerwasher on site, but the line was pretty deep, so I just waited until we got home.

Winter East Coast DH?

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