[n-man-726 offline]

11, 21, and 40 (XXC) milers. Singletrack galore. Sweet mother! Sweet Virginia!
http://www.mountainbikevirginia.com
[img][img]http://www.singletracks.com/images/uploads/2010/04/IMG_0778-0.jpg[/img][/img]

[CraigCreekRider offline]

I have no financial interest in this, but I will put a plug in for my riding buddy N-man 726’s race. I don’t race (too slow) but I like to get out and meet and socialize with other riders at a cool MTB event.


XXC racers in 2008



My usual traffic directing station on top of Middle Mountain

Photo-tour of the XC Course
The 21 mile XC race course starts out kind of innocent on Locust Gap Trail


Climbs up about 1800 feet on Stoney Run Trail

Classic Virginia ridge top ride on Middle Mountain

A rip down Salt Stump trail

Another tough climb up Mountain Top Trail, not as high as the first one but steeper

With several false summits

before you get to come down Brushy – which many consider the best XC downhill in the region



And you finish were these 2009 racers started, on Blue Suck Falls trail

If you are into this kind of abuse and are not too far away, put on your climbing legs and come to Douthat State park this Sunday. Many of the lower trails have been re-worked in the last couple of years and are in very good shape and I hear are quite fast.

[CraigCreekRider offline]

This is already posted in a regional forum, but I don't think theres much overlap between the 2 groups so I will re-post here.

Helped my riding buddy with the Middle Mountain Mama race at Douthat last week. Turned out to be a nice day, although the humidity felt more like July than early May.
A few pics from my ride – hike into my station.
Some serious Spring Green

Blue Suck Falls

Ferns on Salt Stump

Other trailside pics here
http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd66/CraigCreekRider/Douthat%20State%20Park%20Clifton%20Forge%20VA/2010%20Race/

Once at my station at the junction of Salt Stump and Middle Mountain I tried to get pics of all the riders. I was late getting there, so I missed some of the first riders (sorry). I left early, took the short route and you XXC riders still beat me to the top of the mountain. My old camera has a 2 second time lag between when you push the button and it actually snaps the picture, so its kind of like shooting skeet. Not the best quality race pics, but I guess the price is right.





Other race pics here from the XXC race
http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd66/CraigCreekRider/Douthat%20State%20Park%20Clifton%20Forge%20VA/2010%20Race/XXC%20Race/?start=0

For you folks that placed, heres some podium pics
http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd66/CraigCreekRider/Douthat%20State%20Park%20Clifton%20Forge%20VA/2010%20Race/2010%20Podium/






After all the XXC riders past, my “chore” was to sweep out Middle Mountain north to the Forest Service road. I had forgotten how nice that is, even when you hit “The Wall”, maybe one of the tightest stretches of goat track around.




Some trailside ingenuity