Michaux Off Road Weekend, Shippensburg, PA

Single Track Sunday

Event: Michaux Off-Road Weekend

Place: Michaux State Forest, Shippensburg, PA

Ridden: March 2015

Click on Video to Play

Michaux Off-Road Weekend in Michaux State Forest, PA, was the recent adventure.  In summary, the weekend went like this: racing, dogs playing, hanging out around the campfire, sleeping in the van, more racing, and then home to clean the layers and layers of mud off of EVERYTHING.

Micahux Off-Road Weekend is a two-day event put on by Fast Forward Racing Productions (Zach Adams). Saturday is a Super-D and Sunday is an endurance/marathon race. Camping is provided at the race site both Friday and Saturday night, with Zach and his crew building a camp fire Saturday night.  After the race on Sunday post race food is provided- grilled chicken, coleslaw, fruit and veggies, bean salad- are just a few things on the menu.  The weekend is just as much about hanging out with your friends as it is racing mountain bikes.

To set the stage for the weekend, let's describe the weather.  The week preceding the race gave hope that winter was finally gone. It was sunny, dry, and temps were consistent with Spring- highs in the mid 40s.  Almost all of the winter snow had melted. The day before the race weekend a winter storm came through, yup, a winter storm at the end of March dumping a few inches of snow on the race location.

Luckily the Super-D didn't start until the afternoon, some time for the snow to melt. When pre-riding the course there were still a few inches of ice and snow; by the time the race was happening most of the snow had melted but it was instead a muddy mess. The 3.2 mile course was primarily downhill, with a few short, punchy climbs.  Moderately technical but nothing outrageous.  The mud added to the challenge- making the corners slippery and the descents a bit more sketchy.

After the Super-D, we headed up to the camping spot. But this was after taking what seemed like ages to clean the mud off of everything. Multiple towels, washrags, baby wipes, garden sprayer, and even a near-by stream were needed.  By the end both of us, our bikes, and Cliff still had mud, but at a minimum clean enough to sleep in the van overnight.

Once at the camping location, we caught up with the Fast Forward Racing production crew for some hanging out time around the campfire. Cliff played with his other dog friends while we ate, relaxed, and stayed warm next to the fire.

Sunday morning we woke up to below freezing temps. It was a struggle to push away the thoughts of just packing up and going home; who wants to race for 4-5 hours in cold temps on a course that is partially snow covered, muddy, and technically challenging?  Well, we raced.  At times we questioned what we were doing, why were we out there; but we then quickly pushed those thoughts aside and rode on. The course was part snow, part mud, and part rocks- all made for an interesting day and a job well done when the race was over.

So how did the weekend go for us?  I was 2nd Cat1/Pro Super-D and 3rd Endurance.  Joël was 4th Cat1/Pro Super-D and 9th Endurance.  Both of us were content with our races but yet we also realize we have a lot of work to do before the next race!

- words by Jess

- video by Joël

- fun in the mud by Clifford

Cliff Cam Sunday- "Batsto" from Clifford's view

Single Track Sunday
Place: Wharton State Forest, "Batsto Trails"
Ridden: March 2015

Click on video to play

Not too long ago we featured Batsto Trails as a Single Track Sunday location http://nankmancycling.blogspot.com/2015/02/single-track-sunday-wharton-state.html So yes, this is a repeat location. Weather and the fact that most places still have some snow cover made riding locations limited.

To keep from being too repetitive with the same location, this video is a little different.  A good portion of the footage is via the "Cliff Cam", Cliff wearing the GoPro.  The trails and our ride are seen from Cliff's point of view and focus on what he is doing.

So enjoy seeing the trails as Cliff experiences them while he joins us on the trails. He loves being out there and we love having him with us.

- words by Jess

- video editing by Joël

- camera footage by Cliff

Uwharrie National Forest Woodrun Trails and Bicycle Post Trails, NC

Single Track Sunday
Place: Uwharrie National Forest Woodrun Trail System, Troy NC and Bicycle Post Trails, Greenville, NC
Ridden: March 2015

Sorry, no video this week. 

So once again it was a weekend hanging out in the van to escape the cold and snow of the Northeast. But this was a challenging weekend; the entire East Coast was getting hit with a storm; freezing rain and snow were extending as far south as Georgia. Places to ride were dwindling.  Joël spent what seemed like countless hours on the phoning talking to people in bike shops and with fellow cyclists who live in the south, and after much discussion eastern North Carolina was the place to go.

First stop on our adventure was Uwharrie National Forest in Troy, NC. Uwharrie is a 51,000 acre national forest open to a multitude of outdoor activities. Primitive camping is allowed in most areas throughout the forest, which made finding accommodations easy.  All we did was pull into a parking area, crawl into the back of the van, unroll our sleeping bags and we were set for the night. It was quite eerie but also beautiful sleeping in such a remote area for the night.  The clear winter sky and lack of ambient light made for great star gazing and the only sounds were those of the forest animals.

The next morning after some breakfast cooked on the camp stove we headed over to the Woodrun Trail System.  These mountain biking trails are made up of three main sections- Wood Run Trail and Road, a 5.5 mile essentially out and back section; Supertree (named for the experimental Loblolly Pines along the route) which is 5 miles; and Keyauwee which is 6 miles. The trails are technically challenging enough to keep you on your toes and not let your mind wander but everything is rideable and quite fun.  Some fun descents and a bit of climbing added to the variety of the terrain. Fun riding and a good place for all level riders.

The vanlife has been great for us thus far,the only tough thing has been finding showers after riding. Luckily for us, besides lots of great trails, Uwharrie has full-service camp sites, a day use area, equestrian stalls and camping area, and boating access. This meant we were able to find showers to use, they had super hot water and heat lamps- perfect after a long day on the bike.

After the day in Uwharrie it was time to head over to Greenville to check out the Bicycle Post Trails the nest day. Our place to stay for the night was a Cracker Barrel parking lot.  Nothing more convenient than filling your belly with great food and walking to your parking spot to go to sleep.

Bicycle Post Trails is a 10 mile trail system located on private land just outside of Greenville. A waiver must be signed and a small fee must be paid before riding there- this can be done at the Bicycle Post bikeshop in Greenville or via a drop box at the trailhead. The trails are good to flow through with speed.  They are moderately technical in places, but something even beginners can ride.  A few climbs and downhills, log crossing, bridges, and creek crossings keep things interesting. There is a "skills park" type of area with teeter-totter, skinnies, log overs- but most of it is too dilapidated to ride (what a shame, this would make for fun times and bring a lot more people in to ride the trails).  The trails are set up as interconnecting loops- so one can ride as little or as much as they want.  Cut-offs are available to exit the trails when wanted.  Visit the shop web site- www.bicyclepost.com- for more info.


Since it was such a nice day (just about 60 degrees and sunny, while it was about 30 and snowing in PA) we decided to go for a little road ride while in the area also.  Nice quite roads that were gently rolling. Joël reports having tan lines from his shorts after the road ride.

After visiting Greenville it was time to head home. Shortly outside of Greenville we started to notice snow on the ground. As we drove further and further north the snow got deeper and the temperatures got colder. With sad faces we arrived back in PA later that night; to below freezing temperatures and snow to shovel from the recent storms.  Our trip to the south was short, but it was well worth it just to see dirt and feel the warmth of the sun for a bit.

No video this week- while Joël was working on the video the computer crashed. The hard drive died and the information on it could not be recovered. Sorry readers, this week you will just have to settle for photos.

- Jess, Joël, and Cliff