XXC: Long Sunday Rides Built To Race

So many mountain bikers of the free ranging type—those not bound by cramped municipal tracts—relished epic Sunday rides as the very definition of mountain biking. When vast acres of public land adorned with trails and fireroads on most every ridge lie beneath your Sidis, why not stay out there all day? The adventure of exploring the unknown after poring over national forest maps for days was the rare essence of this wild, two-wheeled experience.

There had to be a way to translate this experience to races, you know, racing in exactly the same fashion as you ride. NORBA never saw it that way. For whatever reason, national races, contested by the best of the best, were limited to gerbil-wheeling, ski resort short lappers. Ostensibly, this was for spectatorship, but even at that shorter length, mountain bike races aren’t much for watching. It’s just not a spectator event, and that’s OK. Fact is, most of those who might watch a mountain bike race would just as soon be riding!  

I never agreed with NORBA’s philosophy on any level except where limited by land or trail. Thankfully, the Virginia Series courses were never like that by design (except Rebel Ramble in Rocky Mount). The Escape course across mighty Potts Mountain in Craig County is the Virginia granddaddy of epics: 26 miles 6000’ of climbing, and a lifetime’s memory all bundled in the price of entry. Here was the inspiration behind the whole series, created by early pioneers and explorers Paul Economy and Scott Freday in 1988 and awarded to me in 1994. Simply completing that great big course was your first order of business, racing your riding buddy fell a ways down the list.

I’ve always noodled around with different ways and formats to make bicycle races fun, better, different.  Some of these oddball ideas have been real winners.  Laird Knight up and quit promoting traditional style races, invented 24 hour racing, and now it’s a world championship big deal.  Its massive appeal was impossible to imagine.  It quickly became the 10 ton gorilla that dominated the June calendar. No self respecting promoter with an eye towards any kind of turnout would dare schedule within weeks of it because 2500 people from your neighborhood and everywhere were headed to Canaan for the 24 hours. That is, if they had pre-registered by April when field limits usually maxed out.

It must’ve been a natural progression, given our generous terrain and style of racing, to have lighted on the idea of XXC, double cross country: 40 mile courses where even the fastest jasper can’t get across the line in less than 4 hours. Do all that, too, without course duplication. This format would allow the XXC race to take place on the same day as the regular race, only it starts at 9AM instead of 11:30. Extreme long races, like the highly successful Shenandoah 100, present a whole rash of specific needs that the XXC does not require.

Could we pull it off? Would anybody think it was as cool as I did? Would the courses we now had, Escape, Misty Mountain Hop, Dragon’s Back, Middle Mountain Momma, Hoo-Ha, accommodate XXC? Would the forest service issues special use permits for XXC? Would the extra work be worth it?

These and many, many logistical challenges remained. Fortunately, there are much greater minds than mine out there, so I consulted with two wise epic riders I knew, Jeff Cheng and Rob Issem. We chiseled out the concept of this new XCL (early working name, cross country long) in an email dialogue back in October of ’99, just 2 weeks prior to the first XXC event: Misty Mountain Hop. This was Mountain Lake’s second time as the venue, and was the NORBA and UCI sanctioned American Mountain Bike Challenge series eastern final event. Sure time was tight, but what the heck, take chances and have fun. After fiddling with names for the class (LSD was one, for long, slow, distance), boom XXC made sense. Almost immediately its eventual sponsor appeared in a vision: Dos Equis beer. On October 20, in the snow at Misty Mountain Hop, there was a new checkbox on the entry form and the XXC was born.

The courses at Dragon’s Back (Craig County), The Escape (Craig County), and Middle Mountain Momma (Douthat State Park) all came together in glorious, sufficiently epic fashion, certainly surpassing the debut course at Mountain Lake (nice one there, too, though). The long running Hoo-Ha! (Harrisonburg) jumped in full force in the XXC fray, generating 50 riders just the first time out.

West Virginia joined in the fracas with its Ultra Series, of which 2 events crossed state lines by sharing points with ours. As a Virginia Series staple, heck, even brand, the XXC remains a favored format. We’re just delighted to have the ability, the land, the access, the riders, and the health to make it all come to together. We aim to keep Dos Equis C coming for an appropriately long time.

Eventually, NORBA (now USA Cycling), offerws their own 40 miler marathon class as a national championship. UCI did the same on the world level. Virginia’s adopted favorite pro, Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg), won the USA Cycling marathon national championship in 2009. He gets it honest, right from the source.

Excerpts from email discussions in formulating the XXC.

10/6/99 R2K

I think your idea for adding a 50 mile event to your races would be
excellent.  Don’t hesitate.  Do it and figure out a way to offer it at every
race in your series.  Come up with a name for it and make it yours.  Dan’s
“Enduro” class is a cool name.  How about the XCL or XC-L class.  Yeah, XCL
is cooler than Enduro.  L is the roman numeral for 50 (and it’s also the
first letter of the word long).  I’m getting excited about racing that class
just sitting here.  Imagine if you offered it and popularized it and the
NORBA adopted it!  I really believe it could be big – I know I would race it
every time.  People traveling from great distances can more easily justify
driving 4-5 hours when they know they’ll be racing 4-8 hours.  I say you do
a test at Mt. Lake.  Run it independently of the AMBC.  Start it 9am and
racers will simply ride the course 5 laps.  I bet if you update your web
page, send an e-mail to: the list serve, the ec race team, the h-burg crew,
and send a fax press release to all the shops and media,  you will have
15 -30 entrants in the XCL class on Oct. 24th.  You have nothing to loose
and everything to gain – call the h-burg fellas and ask them to send an
e-mail to all SM100 participants.  A lot of local riders do not want to join
NORBA just to race on the 24th so they are not planning to race and they’re
bummed about not racing this cool course in their backyard (I am one of
them) BUT if you give them this option many things will be cooler.

10/7/99 r2k

So is their any chance for an XCL class on the 24th?

10/7/99 k2r

You may have heard my belly chuckle about the XCL class for Misty Mountain.
I won’t say won’t. It would be hard to pull off, and it would have to be
NORBA, so licenses would be needed (no big deal there except cost to racers
and directors).

I really want the XCL class; the real courses would verify the true extreme
event, just like the Shenandoah. Course setup is already done. To alleviate
stress on the registration team (I don’t want them to have to open up much
earlier than 8AM), we could require pre-registration. Perhaps a Saturday
afternoon window could be opened. Here is my main logistical stumbler, so
help me please: the events would begin, say, at 9AM.

The biggest issue is rescue and on-course marshals. It is extremely
difficult now, with 4 hour events to cover the bases. My gray hairs are a
testament to this challenge. It is easier climbing the Gauntlet 14 times
consecutively than rounding up adequate bodies for a race. The Escape, for
example, was 5 people down from the normal skeleton crew. Appalachian
Search & Rescue would have to be on course. Would they agree to 10 hours? Perhaps,
but my donation would most certainly go up.

The main reason Comber’s races are easy with this event are the courses.
With laps, and relatively low or no marshals, no sweat. This is one
advantage of a short course, but who wants to race 6 hours on a 4 mile
loop? Naturally, our back mountain courses would be superior.

A mack-daddy sponsor could help with these issues-someone geared toward
extreme events. I could use $5000 to $10,000 without blinking an eye. Any
ideas? Obstacles are no reason not to do this.

10/7/99 r2k

Regarding the XCL class…
Registration: XCL racers must pre-register via Internet or mail and then
sign in is from 8-830am race day.
Course Marshals:  I don’t think they need course marshals.  XCL racers are
traditionally gritty individuals – simply mark the course, give the racers a
map, put a jug of water at the start finish line and at 9am say “GO.”  This
would honestly work for me but I have NO idea what really needs to happen to
put on this type of event.  I can see how having rescue handy would be
important and I sincerely don’t know if it’s acceptable to have an
unmarshalled course.
Results:  Hell, let them sign a log after every lap and before the awards
ceremony one of them will come over and tell you how things ended up.  Just
let them ride 50 XC miles as fast as they can and they’ll love you for it
 

10/8/99 k2r

I have just this moment made an executive decision, based on these
conversations with you and one I just completed with Jeff Cheng, to offer a
5 lapper at Misty. Jeff has experience with these at his 12 hours of Brush,
so I offered to him to run the logistics on it. He suggested we call it
“LSD” which I like. It stands for what ever you choose, hallucinogenic or
long-slow-distance or long-stupid-distance, anything (kind of like the MX
term “WFO”).

To circumvent the NORBA deal, we’ll offer just one class: beginner. That
way
you can buy a daily license for 5 bucks. I’ll sling it on the web by
tomorrow.

How’s that sound?

10/8/99 r2k

Sign me up!!!!

First Ride O’ The New Year turns 20

What’s the point of making a resolution when you can do a resolution? What better way to shake off a long night’s hangover and arduous (yet heartwarming) holiday season? Get out and ride, that’s what I said 20 years ago come January 1, 2010. Yes, it’s early winter, and yes, there’s a possibility of serious snow, ice, and such. But I’ve never missed this ride, not once.

That’s even counting the first 10 years, when bikes, hiking, and horse riding were not exactly illegal, but were hardly sanctioned, uses of Roanoke city property. In those days, the now popular trail system on the Bennett Springs tip of the reservoir mostly didn’t exist, so the ride used an established route that completely circumnavigated the long lake on trail and fireroad, 23 miles all totaled. 

Ride #1 in 1991 was advertised through a free listing in the Roanoke Times called “Outdoors You Go.” 14 people showed up. I was elated. It was in the 30’s that day, so it was nippy, and in those days, most mountain bikers supply of technical clothing consiste of a collared flannel shirt! The bikes of course were fully rigid, but weighed as much or more than today’s full suspenders. Toe clips, little tires, and poor cantilever brakes seem almost Victorian looking back. We didn’t know any better, so off we went!

Setting out from the boat dock parking lot, we traveled the only route available, the fireroad, toward Bennett Springs. It’s a nice ride, not technical, but not flat either, like you might expect from a lakeside track. Up the 1000 foot climb (it’s funny how my description of this on a scrawled map became the proper name), down the Trough. Trough? Why not the Gauntlet?

Well, we didn’t know anything about the the then unnamed Gauntlet’s existence. We knew of one trail down and it would several years before I dubbed it the Trough, due to its rutted condition. It was on this very ride, though, that one fellow named Dave told me about the mysterious “long” singletrack down. It was thick with laurel, so thick you couldn’t see your bike beneath you squeezing through that tight crease, trail barely visible. The arms took a mean scratching and thrashing, leading me to its inspirational namesake, the Gauntlet. Dave was notable for one other thing, just as inspirational. At the top of 1000 foot climb, he reached into his pannier and produced an air-chilled 12 ounce National Bohemian adult malt beverage. Didn’t think bad beer could taste that good!

Down the short singletrack then up to the powerline. We didn’t know about Green Ridge, then, either.  Green Ridge is a sweet 3 mile ridge trail that parallels I-81. It would become the preferred route for ages once uncovered, far better than the dusty, undulating powerline.  But alas, Green Ridge has been shut down. It exits through a driveway at the offices of Church of God on the frontage road. Miscreants long ago lost our welcome passage by stealing tools from a shed. They weren’t riders I don’t think, but the church thought so. It was great while it lasted!

1 mile of frontage road to another of our tragic closures, the dam trail. In those days, and up until 9/11/2001, you could hang out at the dam if you wanted to. Now your banned within 200 feet of the thing, just in case  you’ve got an explosive or something sinister in mind. The 2 mile trail from the dam back to the parking lot was amazing. It carved and snaked, perched atop a high bank above the waterline. While it was mostly flat, it had a slight technical jag as well, with plenty of embedded limestone and rolling g-outs. Often called the fishing trail by locals, it was a great way to close out the loop with sweet, fun singletrack!

23 miles under the belt. In 1991, there’s no way I could’ve conceived of this milestone ahead. Technology has changed the way we ride and do things in sometimes dramatic fashion. None of that mattered to the 14 riders back then. It was just a great way to start the year correctly by doing a resolution. That’s one I’ve been somehow able to keep for 20 years!

Dragon’s Back in the buff.

Some folks are working on getting Dragon’s Back shined up for April 6th’s big race. The race kicks off the official USA Cycling MTB state championship on the venerable fire breather course that first took to wing 16 years ago.

 The trails survived the onslaught of 70 mph winds from last month, and it ain’t that bad. So we’re counting on getting a good hard ride in mainly, with a few stops to move a tree trunk or two. Meet at the intersection of 311 and Wildlife Road in Craig County (2 miles past the Dragon’s Tooth hike parking area) at 10AM on Saturday, March 22, 2008. Bring small snips and saws if you’ve got them, but no tools are required.

Word around the campfire is that the 3 main ridge connector trails–Grouse, Deer, Turkey–are set for overhaul this summer. We can’t wait!

Where we ride…

A forum for all things mountain bike, riding and racing, on the great trails of Virginia from the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Highlands, to the sandy swamp-paths of the eastern shoreline, plus everything in between. A few of our favorite mountain bike resort towns: Damascus, Blacksburg, Catawba, New Castle, Roanoke, Arcadia, Stokesville, Harrsionburg, Keezletown, Bedford, Lynchburg, Danville, Richmond, Clifton Forge, Montvale, Big Island, Williamsburg.

Dody Ridge

http://mountainbikeva.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/dody-2d.jpg 

Yes, Roanoke, there are many alternatives to Carvin’s Cove, which obviously ain’t bad itself.

This little jewel cooks up a killer 2.8 mile 1500′ climb to warm up, a mellow Blue Ridge Parkway portage, a fun, pedal-assist downhill, and finishes off with some mean rock stew that just keeps getting rougher and tougher by the day.

Take 460 east from Roanoke towards Montvale. Just before Montvale, spot Camp Jaycee Rd on the left. Signs say Day Creek Recreation.  Take it. Go 1/2 mile to left on dirt to Day Creek parking area. Exit parking to the gated road, which is the start of the Black Horse Gap fire road climb. If the road you take is basically flat, it’s the wrong one (you’ll return on that). Climb like hell, the first mile being unkempt gravel. The second gate introduces dirt. Think Carvin’s Cove’s 1000′ climb, only at 10% rather than 5%. You’ll pass a historical area where once sat the Black Horse Tavern. This was the main route from to West Virginia, later on becoming VA 606 that heads to Sweet Springs, WV.

You’ll finally grunt through a gate at the parkway, which is always welcomed after this beast. Go left, or south, on the Parkway, eventually passing the Great Valley Overlook. Stop there and take in views of Dragon’s Back, Bald Mountain, Potts Mountain, and other great mountain bike locales.

Proceed downhill south on the Parkway for a mile, reaching Salt Pond Rd., a fireroad gated on both sides. Take the left. Have fun, on the gas, dropping down a 3-5% grade for 1 1/2 miles. Go left on Quarry Rd. After about 1/2 mile, after passing the A-framed house on the right, you’ll spot a steep, wide trail to the left. If you get to a powerline, you overshot. Take this steep, rocky, rutty beast. Eventually, you’ll get on top of ol’ Dody on a neat, mini-slickrock ridge skimming across bolder scalps, slcing through sandstone cantaloupes and bocce balls.  Technical zones keep your rotors warmed up, as does a Clownheadesque drop off that nasty rock.

Surviving that, you cross the headwaters of Day Creek in a nice wooded section that yields to more fun with rocks before you’re completely done. If you happen to spot a fork in the trail, stay left. Right works, too, with a creek bed ride that’s a hoot, but it’s longer and better left. If you make it through the rolling stones, you’ll be singing Gimme Shelter to get outta that place! Back on the dirt road, go left, downhill at 2% back to your vehicle.

If you want Dragon’s Back training in a 2 hour packet closer to home, this is it. More fun from Day Creek to follow…

Too all who…

…ride the trail, no matter the size of your ears, nor your number of gears, we welcome your comment and discussion from the great mountain bike state of Virginia.