The Heartbreaker was a success! As far as I know nobody got divorced over attending, three ego's were saved and no one was seriously injured. When I woke up to rain all I could think of was the carnage that would follow. Slick rocks and roots for 6 miles of downhill mayhem can take a toll on someone. However, by the 9:30 rendezvous the rain was gone and the trail was already starting to dry out. Twenty two friends and friends of friends came out for one kick ass group ride. We casually made our way to the top of Heartbreak Ridge with a few stops along the way to take in the view and just hang out. After getting to the top there was some more hanging out then we kicked off the festivities around 2:00.
There are not too many experiences in life beat the thrill of a long pisgah single track descent with near perfect trail and weather conditions. With that said, people were hanging it out there. I myself pushed far past the comfort zone into an area that provided a rush that bordered on the limits of what one can legally achieve. A few minutes into my ride an off camber root called me out as I came into one of the first hard switchbacks at mach speed. Everything turned out ok and I have a new appreciation for full face helmets as my teeth would have been the first thing to connect with the ground rather than my helmet. Got back up, found the bike and continued only sightly less determined to go for a fast time. I was happy to see everyone make it down in one piece with smiles on their faces. Several lovely ladies/volunteers made it off the mountain with photos of some fast lines and a few good crashes that only resulted in buried egos and nut sacks.
In the end we had a great time hanging in the woods for a day pushing the limits of what our bikes and bodies could handle. I think we all learned that it doesn't take as much time as you think to make it down Heartbreak Ridge and that everyone that participated has some skills as the times were amazing close.
We finished of the ride with some coldies at a little private party over at our headquarters Pisgah Brewing Company. Chris Craig hooked everyone on up with food and Suspension Experts took care of some peoples suspension needs and bought everyone a round. The Brew Crew brought some beats and Pisgah Works pimped some wears. It was truly a unique event and one that will most likely happen again next year since Valentines once again falls on a weekend. A big thanks goes out to all that came out to play and add to the good times.
The After-After Party was nothing short of more good times. With a keg of Pisgah Pale Ale and a wood fired hot tub in a remote area of Black Mountain how could you go wrong?
On Sunday the crew and I made our way to Kitsuma with our new friend Craig and got in one more good ride to top the weekend off. The trail felt pretty mellow after pushing the limits the day before but it was the perfect ride with my favorite crew of people.
Heartbreaker Pictures here.
Jut Rut
No comments:
Post a Comment