Pisgah 4 day stage race - Brevard, North Carolina
OCTOBER 2009
Day 1 - Time Trial
Day one of the Pisgah 4 day stage race was a bit of beauty parade. Riding as a team of two we had been told to turn up at 2.30 to pick up our sign on packs and get ready for the first day's time trial. It had been raining relentlessly for the past 36 hours and if the truth were told we were no longer quite so keen on racing.
The actual description of what the TT would involved was also a bit sketchy and only at sign on we were told it would be 6 x 1 mile laps of a specially built circuit around Brevard College. On the pre-ride, Stephen ripped the sidewall of his Schwalbe Racing Ralph on an innocuous looking root. This wasn't the start we had been hoping for.
As with all mechanicals the best way to solve the problem is to throw money at it. $60 later he was sorted with a new Maxxis Crossmark. Hardly the best tyre for the muddy conditions (and not cheap) but it would have to do.
At 3.59 we were lined up with the other teams, the crazy singlespeeders and the women's (non-pro) racers. It was going to be a short track race and because of the terrible weather and deteriorating course it would now be over 4 laps.
At the gun we set off like the proverbial rat-up-a-drainpipe. The course was best suited to a cx-bike and our full-suss bikes with fast rolling hardpack tyres handled like supertankers. The singletrack sections of the course were offcamber and by the second lap were pretty much unrideable. So running and pushing was the name of the game and we tried to pretend we were enjoying it. 25 or so minutes after we started the end were in sight. We'd qualified for the following day in third, a mere 10 seconds behind second place.
We hung around to watch the pros show us how it should be done. The Pisgah stage race [and $15,000 purse] has attracted some of the biggest names in US mountain bike racing. Among others in the Pro category was Jeremiah Bishop, Harlan Price and local top gun, Sam Koerber. In the women's race there was former short track national champ and World 24hr solo champion, Sue Haywood.
These guys made it look a lot easier than we did but it was also somewhat reassuring to see them running some of the sections. Perhaps we weren't so terrible after all. Fastest rider of the day was Jeremiah Bishop who is looking very strong and the likely favourite for tomorrow's 37-mile assault on Squirrel Gap. As for us? We've heard the horror stories and we're ready for a long tough day in the saddle.
Day 2 - White Squirrel Loop
Today was the first of the 'real' stages. We'd cleaned our bikes in the dark after the previous day's race (come cyclocross slide) around Brevard College and despite our best efforts they weren't exactly gleaming - I wonder if the Jeremiah (Bishop) and Sue (Haywood) had washed theirs by the light of their Maxx D? Somehow I doubt it.
Having made the trip from the UK there was plenty of start line banter directed at us. It was good natured but already we were aware that the race was about to become a battle ground. We talked trash back and generally gave as good as we got. Bring it on.
This stage had been billed as an introduction to Pisgah at 37 miles in length and with 9000ft of climbing. Amazingly 22 miles of this would be single-track. Was it going to be the hardest day? The jury was split but a few locals cited the fourth day featuring Farlow and Bennett Gap as the toughest.
The start line buzzed with excitement and trepidation. We'd ridden some of the trails in the days running up to the race. However, we knew it would be one thing to ride them and another to race them. As the horn blew we set off. Well, when I say "we", I mean everyone else did. It was at that point my speed link decided to commit mechanical suicide. What timing. So as the bunch disappeared into the distance we had to fix my broken chain. I could see the look of frustration in Stephen's face [this wouldn't be the last time].
Five minutes later we were back on the road. Heads down, riding through and off. It was only five minutes and we had three days to go. Anything could happen, right? We soon caught up with the tail markers before the first dirt climb. This was closely followed by some of the other teams. Before long we were back in the game with only the leading team to catch.
We'd been talking strategy in the days running up to the race. We knew that many of the teams taking part where used to riding technical rooty, rocky strewn single-track with long punishing downhills. Sadly things like that are pretty much absent from the South East of England and we also knew that this was where we would lose time. So we agreed to push hard on the fireroad and double track climbs. As the old adage goes; races are won on the climbs and lost on the downhills.
So we did exactly that. Pushing hard until we reached the first section of single-track - Buckthorn Gap. Buckhorn was smooth and fast and just a great way to start to get in the mood for skinny wet single-track. We made decent progress before turning onto the Squirrel Gap trail and welcome to massive off-camber roots!
As we raced down the first section of wet offcamber single-track we had a small gap on second and third. And then bang! A ripped sidewall and sealant everywhere. This was all going horribly wrong. 3 minutes, a tube and a used gel wrapper later we were back in the thick of it. But we'd been passed by the chasing teams and were back in fourth place. Note to self: Schwalbe Racing Ralphs and North Carolina single-track, not a good mix. This wasn't the home of the weight weenie.
Squirrel Gap was a real challenge. In places it wasn't even wide enough to be called single-track and the off-camber routes made things super tough. The theory was, ride fast and keep loose letting the bike move under you. The practice was something different and involved lying by the side of the trail wondering how you got there. I reminded Stephen that this is what we had come for. Challenging technical single-track. "If it doesn't kill us, it'll make us stronger? Right?" Right!
Once through Squirrel we had a sweet downhill off of Laurel Mountain. This was the kind of downhill that people in the UK travel all day to get to. Big rocks, small rocks, sharp rocks, slick rock. Water, logs, roots, drop offs, step ups and switchbacks. You name it, it had it. It was awesome but required every ounce of concentration we had.
By now we had once again built a small gap on the teams behind us and we knew there was a dirt climb ahead. We pushed hard, eager to get increase this gap. We were only too aware that there was a hike-a-bike section over the top of Black Mountain and this would be a killer. At the 32 mile mark the trail started upwards.
It was a pretty long climb with the now familiar roots, rocks, switchbacks, skinny single-track and lots of wet leaves. There was only one word for it. Brutal. Our Turner Flux bikes were light 4" full sussers but even they felt too heavy after 30 minutes of shouldering. To make matters worse, the trail had a false summit. Just when we thought the agony was over, the summit towered above us. We pushed on, sometimes taking two steps forward and one back it was so steep.
The final run to the finish was down Black Mountain. This was a big grin inducing downhill and would feature in the next two day's stages. To say it was tough was an understatement. We were mentally and physically tired and this would take everything we had left to get down in one piece. But it was also so fun. Some of the drops you could roll some required you to launch yourself off them. Speed was definitely your friend.
By the time we got to the bottom I had horrendous 'arm pump' and my index fingers were cramping. Any longer and I think I might have had to stop and rest. But we were delighted to have held on to second place and be only 10 minutes behind first. We were welcomed back by the race organiser Todd and, friend and leading women's rider, Sue Haywood - both seemed surprised to see us fairing so well. After all they'd heard it was all fireroad in England. Tomorrow, Land of the Waterfalls Loop, 41 miles and 9,500ft of climbing.
Thanks as ever to our sponsors, Beyond Mountain Bikes and Specialized.
