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Dirt Rag Fresh Dirt
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11.17.2004
A Lesson in Soil Sampling
By: by Michael Browne
Laird Knight, owner of race promotion company Granny Gear Productions and founder of the 24-hour mountain bike racing format, admits, “My credibility is shot.”
After three years touting vast improvements to his race course for the legendary 24 Hours of Snowshoe, riders still complained it was too difficult or that the trail conditions were unacceptable. Each year, Laird returned with tons and tons of gravel, manmade bridges and a small army of volunteers. 2004 was the breaking point—registered teams were down by half since the race’s heyday in 1999. The race’s reputation slipped from a mountain biker’s rite of passage to a muddy, gruesome ordeal. Fun for some, but hardly worth the entrance fee for most.
This isn’t the first time Granny Gear has changed courses. After two successful years out of Davis, WV, the race moved to nearby Timberline Four Seasons Resort, due in part to increasing participants. Timberline hosted the race from 1994 until 2000 when the race moved to Snowshoe, where existing facilities allowed higher numbers than at Timberline. In 2001, Granny Gear registered a record 550 teams. Laird issued the following statement to riders: “This course will raise the bar for less skilled riders, not because the technical sections are that much harder than the most technical sections of Canaan but because, overall, there are more miles of technical riding. Practicing your technical riding skills will deliver a big pay-off at this race.”
But the difficulty level scared many off and the race’s impact took its toll on the trails. Knight’s efforts to weatherproof the trails proved futile, as Snowshoe’s peaty soil showed its reluctance to dry in short periods of time. All told, he spent over $50,000 and spread 160 tons of gravel over the trail. He even shortened the course to appease riders. In 2004, he registered 198 teams, the lowest number since 1995.
Enter Mark Schooley, promoter of the Big Bear Mountain Bike Classic, a mainstay on the West Virginia Mountain Bike Association’s extensive list of races. But Mark isn’t just a race promoter—he’s also part-owner of Big Bear Lake Camplands, a 1,000 acre recreation area that’s primed for mountain biking. It’s no Snowshoe in that there aren’t any weekend condos up for rent, but there are RV hook-ups, bathroom facilities and supply stores that should keep racers tuned and coolers filled with ice.
This is the site of the race formerly known as the 24 Hours of Snowshoe. The 24 Hours of Big Bear (not to be confused with Big Bear, CA) will circle around the Camplands property, which is centered on a plateau at about 3,100 feet—just about as high as you’ll get in West Virginia. The surrounding land drops down close to 2,500 feet, and possesses all the flora and fauna you’d expect from an Appalachian mountain range—mountain laurel, rhodedendron, cotton grass, pine trees and all the deer you can fathom. But the best part is that the soil drains well, and Mark has 10 years of race promotion experience to back that up.
Karen and I had the chance to pre-ride the course with Laird, Mark and Granny Gear’s new guy, Mike McMillion. At the central location of the course “start” is an old airplane landing strip that will act as campgrounds for racers. The trail wraps around the open area toward a neatly planted 4–5 acre section of pine trees where the trails are fast and open, flowing smoothly amongst soft beds of pine needles. At this, the southern-most part of the property, you can see the Timberline ridgeline and a dozen or so power-generating windmills, about 50 miles away. After the pine section, the rocks get bigger and the trail becomes more technical—dropping, then climbing back up to the west. After that, it’s back down again, over a few streams and back around to the course start. All told, it’s roughly 12 miles that solo racers and singlespeeders should enjoy, mostly due to the lack of any must-walk climbs over the estimated 1000 feet of climbing per lap.
That’s not to say this course is easy—far from it, in fact. Karen compared one urethra-pinching rocky part to the Enchanted Forest section from Snowshoe (which was cut from the course in ’03), and the singletrack is most definitely West Virginia variety. But extensive rooted sections? Gone. Peanut butter, wheel-stopping mud? It’s not here. Fun? It’ll definitely be here. And so will Dirt Rag.
If you’re interested in pre-riding the course, check out Big Bear Camplands, but you’ll have to wait until January 1 when the trails open up to mountain bikers. Fork over $5 for your day pass and you’ll be ridin’ like it was 1999.
In the meantime, study this course map, and check back to Granny Gear’s website for updates.
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