Pisgah National Forest Mountain Biking

October 27, 2011 

 

 

I made it back in one piece from Brevard, North Carolina after a long weekend of camping and mountain biking.  Let me start out by saying these trails are super fun!

 

On Thursday October 20^th, I went over my checklist one last time so I wouldn’t forget anything.  The camper was loaded and I had my bike.  So I rolled out of town around 1 pm headed for the Davidson River Campground in Brevard, North Carolina.  I stopped for fuel and about 6 hours later I was set up at the campground.  I spent the rest of the evening eating dinner and planning the rides for the next day.

 

Davidson River Camp Ground

On Friday October 21^st, the outside low temperature for the night was 37 degrees and the camper stayed a cozy 60 degrees inside.  After it warmed up outside I headed out to ride a few trails.  I covered about 15 miles the first day riding North Slope, Sycamore Cove, Thrift Cove and a fire road that I forget the name of.  Not the mileage I wanted to get in but the climbing really kicked my butt!

 

On Saturday October 22^nd, it got pretty cold again but I stayed warm in the camper.  I think it was around 35 degrees.  It’s really nice to be up off the damp ground.  I even watched the Green Lantern on DVD last night, which is a good movie.  I finally got out around noon and started up a fire road toward Black Mountain.  I didn’t make it all the way to the top because my legs were worn out.  Again, the climbing in Pisgah is pretty tough.  I ran into two guys from Georgia and decided to follow them back down the mountain.  So I ended up riding what I think are Lower Black Mountain and the trail back to the Ranger Station.  This was a blast!  The top part of the trail was rough and rooty with some 12 to 18 inch drops.  There are some really bad eroded parts of the trail.  The bottom part of the trail was fast and flowy.  Top speed of around 24 miles per hour!!   

 

Roots grow above ground!

The way it works at Pisgah is climb, climb, climb and when you think you can’t climb anymore you climb and climb some more.  Then, it’s down hill and really fun.  I really wasn’t ready for all the climbing and intend to work on this before I go back.

 

 

Logs to control erosion.

On Sunday October 23^rd, I slept until noon.  I was pretty tired and fighting a cold so I broke camp and headed back home.  I took my time and even took some back roads out of Brevard so I could see more of Pisgah Forest.  

 

 

Watch the drop on the left!

It was a great adventure and I learned a lot about my riding ability and what strategy I should use next trip.  I learned my climbing needs improvement - more leg conditioning.  I also learned my technical riding skills and downhill skills are better than I thought.  I did really well on the rough rooty trails and I got more comfortable with the drops after I got my speed up a little.  My Turner bike still wanted to take off and leave me a few times but I had to hold it back out of fear of riding above my ability.  It has been said "A man only truly lives if he is ready to die at any moment."  I feel alive while I’m racing through the forest around the trees, over the rocks and roots but I’m not ready to die doing it. 

So looking back on the trip, there are a few things that I will do next time.  I’ll ride Black Mountain the first day while I’m fresh.  The climb to the top is brutal and I need fresh legs to hit the summit.  Also, I’m going to run a wider tire next time.  The 2.0 inch wide tires took quite a beating on the way down the mountain.  I didn’t have a flat but I just didn’t feel like I had enough rubber on the ground at times.  The trails are really rooty and rough at times so a wider tire may give me a little more stability.  My helmet cam was a little shaky because of the way the suspension system in the helmet is made.  I need to fix the current helmet or find a different design.  All in all the trip was great and much needed.

 

Log bridge.

I’ve already started planning a trip back to Brevard in the spring.  I can’t wait!!

 

I have some video from the trip I'm still editing and when I'm finished I will post it too.