Superbowl Ride (Briery Branch, VA)

For years now there has been an annual tradition called the Superbowl Ride. I've always missed it for some reason or another, but this year I was able to make it for the first time.



The general theme of the day is to freeze your ass off, grind up a long climb, then celebrate by downing whatever beer/alcohol/other that you faithfully carried the whole way to the top (Flagpole Knob to be exact).



This year it wasn't especially cold, but every other aspect of the ride remained the same. We grinded up the asphalt road until it met fireroad, which was a great relief - just having something to pay attention to was nice. Although it's...well...a climb, the ride is actually pretty fun. Once we gained some elevation, we began to see snow on the ground and frost in the trees. We even had a chance to ride on solid ice, carved out of the muddy tracks from trucks driving in the Fall. It was a good distraction from the tedious nature of the climb.



When we reached the top we all set to digging through our individual stashes of the goodies - I brought two Brooklyn Brown's. I also discovered that Time Atac pedals are perfect bottle openers.



The descent is always the best part of the ride and this one was certainly worth the drudgery. The thin layer of water/mud on the top of the surface made it a "blinky" ride down, but still at warp-speed despite the minor lack of sight. I was reminded of our trip in the Spring with the big bikes and how quickly the descent was over. There's some satisfaction in riding smaller, less "sled-like" rigs on technical descents. You get to pay attention to the details I suppose, although railing through the rocks on a full DH bike does have its pros too.



Once out of the woods, we had a quick jaunt along the road back to the parking lot. Muddy and tired, we relaxed in the sun and retired what remaining booze waited at the bus. It was a full day of riding - almost 30 miles; but we still made it back to Richmond in time for kickoff. A great day for sure.

Potomac Trail Club Cabin (Virginia)

Our friend Cameron set up this weekend's trip. Our destination was a rustic cabin within the Shenandoah National Park managed by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC).



When we arrived Friday night we quickly started the wood stove within the cabin to warm the inside from its brisk temperature of around 22 degrees. By morning the entire cabin was a toasty contrast to the outside temp, not that Joey minded as he slept outside on the porch.



On Saturday we collected more wood for the stove by towing it from the woods with Warren's Jeep. After that a short hike led us to the Skyline Drive, where we took in the views and made a few quick snow angels.



Killing the keg became the main event of Saturday night. Joey, Eric, Mike, Warren, and Cameron found every imaginable way to kegstand and before morning there was barely a drop within the steel barrel.



Another drive for firewood and some extensive cleaning had the cabin back in shape for its next inhabitants. Shortly after that we were on the road and back in Richmond.

White Oak Canyon (Virginia)

For our friend Catherine's birthday she decided to take us all on a day hike to White Oak Canyon. It was my first time there and it's definitely a new favorite.



James and I had just finished our drive from Christmas in Alabama when we rendezvous-ed with the caravan near Charlottesville. It had been a long 24 hours up to that point for James and I, but we were excited for the hike and pushed on through the lack of sleep.



The hike was phenomenal. Beautiful views of semi-frozen waterfalls and clear sights across the Shenandoah Mountains. The air was brisk, but far from uncomfortable with the bright sun shining on our backs.



Our group of over ten hikers split off into segments as we explored the area. We even came upon a group of ice climbers just beside the trail.



When we returned back to the parking area, Catherine's mom lit the candles on her homemade cake and we celebrated her birthday before heading homeward. When James and I reached Richmond it marked the 36-hour mark. With only a handful of hours of sleep between the two of us, we crashed at our respective homes as soon as humanly possible.

Spy Rock (Virginia)

Weekday trips are tough to pull off. For this most recent trip Jeremy, Ellis, John, Tim, and Brian headed out on Monday morning. The rest of our crew, Peter and myself, set out early Tuesday morning - 3am to be exact.



When Peter and I arrived the sky was still pitch dark. We made our way up the snowy fire road to the trailhead (which we missed by 100 yards at first), and up to the summit at Spy Rock. When we reached the top the sun was just peeking through the trees and we could see the single tent housing our five friends. They were packed tight, bracing against the bitter cold.



We decided to sneak up on them and play with them in their sleepy state-of-mind. After that we worked on re-establishing their fire from the previous night. The wind was unrelenting and their previous fire was not large enough to counteract the cold air - evidenced by the iceblock of beef stew sitting upon the dead fire.



After a few minutes we had a respectable blaze and we began thawing out the stew. Eventually our shivering buds left the tent to assemble around the fire and share stories of the previous day at camp. We finished the stew and decided to explore the rock, climbing up ice and stone to the top. Tim had "drunkenly discovered" a slide on his way down from the rock, so we played on that for a bit before packing up camp and heading back to the cars.





One stop at Boylan Heights for a delicious burger (I chose the Varsity burger) and a brew, followed by a quick jaunt back to Richmond wrapped up our daytrip.

Southern Traverse (Virginia)

Possibly one of the ONLY times we've had TOO MANY PEOPLE for the bus! For this trip we had to slip three people in an extra car in order to carry ten bikes and the six OTHER people in the bus.

This trip was definitely a mountain bike ride, but two of my friends, Elizabeth and Jeremy, came along for the ride so that they could do a road ride while we were off in the woods.



After dropping off Jeremy and Elizabeth, we headed to the trailhead for the Southern Traverse Ride. There we met a group of over twenty riders to begin our ride.

The Southern Traverse seems to be a bit more about "the climb" than the descent, which is perfect for a winter training ride. It keeps the wind speed down and body temperature up, especially during the slow-speed and extremely technical ascent.



Our ride was a certified epic, ending only minutes before nightfall. Most of us were completely spent after the ride, especially Jeremy and Elizabeth, whose ride ended HOURS before we were back in Bridgewater to pick them up - whooops!



While we were sweating it out in the mountains, Jeremy and Elizabeth explored the Natural Chimneys and did some unguided cave exploration.

Windrock (Tennessee)

Our trip to Windrock was a real eye opener. The trails there are phenomenal! Largely natural terrain with an extremely high level of risk and technicality. It's as if the trail builders tied trail between the gnarliest rock piles they could find as they scouted out the path for their trails. They're really impressive and definitely some trails that will leave riders challenged for years.





The weekend marked the end-of-season for this system of shuttle-accessed trails. There were two trucks pulling trailers filled with riders all weekend long. The trails are located on the Coal Creek OHV Park in Oliver Springs, TN. The company allows access for a small fee and offers trails for ATV's and large trucks. The mountain bike trails were available after local riders approached Coal Creek about building on their property. It's a lucky relationship that worked out for both parties.



On Saturday night we even got to watch a Mud Bog at the park.



The only bummer of the trip was my wreck on Sunday afternoon. We were lucky that it happened on literally the last run of our trip, however, since it taco-ed my front wheel and left me unable to ride anymore. Other than that mishap, the trip was great and I think everyone on the trip would be glad to revisit the park next summer.

Blue Mountain (Pennsylvania)

The final stop of the Gravity East Series was well-picked. Honestly one of the most enjoyable courses (and parks) of the summer. The weather was especially friendly too, raining the week before and stopping for two days of pure sunshine.



As a most excellent bonus to the trip, Rachel and I visited Dave Laverdure, one of my very best friends. Dave moved to Philadelphia years ago and it's a rare pleasure to spend some time with him.

After a night at Dave's, Rachel and I drove the extra hour and a half to Blue Mountain, just in time for a full day of practice. The course was fun and fast, a deceivingly steep course that left the rider at least "touching" the brakes for nearly the entire track. What I liked most about the trails at Blue Mountain was their resemblance to good XC trails, with a more natural, singletrack style. The course was littered with technical rock gardens too, but had a definite "line" through every section.





After Saturday's practice Rachel and I explored Jim Thorpe, PA. The town was alive with activity. Bands on every block and people everywhere. We also took a drive to Lehigh Gorge State Park before the sun set.



On race day the course had dried a bit more and seemed even more enjoyable. I had a great run with little error and a smile on my face the whole way - good enough for 3rd that day and 1st for the season in CAT2. It's been a long summer with a load of races (and highway hours), but it's taught me a lot about the layout of the east coast. I've decided to take a step back from racing next season and focus more on riding, visiting many of these GES stops again to explore THE REST of what each mountain has to offer.