The birth of enduro!

Enduro is not new and here's the proof. Seth me Chris Dave and Lou G. spent a couple three four days in the GW Forrest summer 2003 shuttle trucking the area and ripping the ridges. We hadn't complicated things with timing ones self but time has marched on! We also didn't have digital cameras......good memories

A Northern Southern Traverse Ride?

!!!This ride is now on the MTBProject. Check it out as Titled the Northern Traverse!!!

Owen's first time on the ridge and riding strong. Just get a better rear tire next time...

Thanks to the International Mountain Bicycling Association's "Epic Ride" designation, the "Southern Traverse" section of the Shenandoah Mountain Trail (From Benson Run south to Scotchtown Draft) many riders travel to our area to ride this southern gem and we are often asked about it in the bike shop. While the ride has a little bit of everything and is a superb example of hand-built Virginia ridge top riding, anyone who rides around here regularly knows just how many other amazing rides are out there for us to enjoy. The Southern Traverse provide an amazing back-country experience but a trail like that deserves another and another such experience.

Kurt and his Little Grill Bagel sandwhich

On Tuesday, I made it out to the mountains with former SBCer Kurt Rosenberger now of Gray Fox Design Works to celebrate 30 trips around the son for one of our mountain bike buddies. This particular buddy just happens to have twice "won" the Shenandoah Mountain 100 on a tandem with Kurt. You can read Kurt and Ryan's account of the Shenandoah Mountain 100 on Blue Ridge Outdoors. Since Ryan now resides in the deepest depths of Northern Virginia, he doesn't typically escape to ride in the mountains these days. But for his thirtieth birthday (and veterans day) he made an exception and brought his buddy Owen along. So we decided to meet at Tomahawk Pond just north of Brocks Gap in the Lee District of the George Washington National Forest and ride a piece of a Virginia Endurance Series ride that I helped put together last year.

Look at that elevation profile! The ridge is FLAT or at least mostly downhill

Other than a trip to Big Schloss once in awhile, not many Harrisonburg mountain bikers seem to venture up to the western side of the Lee District of the National Forest. For this loop we parked at Tomahawk Pond off of state route 610 and cruised up pavement through Basye and then over to Crooked Run Road. After traversing along the eastern base of Great North Mountain, we finally made it through some recent timber sales and over to Laurel Run trail and climbed up to the North Mountain Ridge trail. Once on the ridge, it is as easy as cruising ridgetop singletrack for 14 more miles all the way to the Hunkerson Gap Trail. We dropped down Hunkerson Gap just as the sun was dipping below the mountains and ended a route that starts with a lot of climbing but then cruises a ridge top trail that is "mostly flat."

Where do you keep your trail food? On top of your Ibis Ripley of course.

The ridge trail along the top of Great North Mountain is part of the Vriginia Mountain Bike Trail and the Great Eastern Trail. With some rocks, plenty of amazing views, open meadows and noticeably "flatter" than most Virginia ridge top trails, Great North Mountain is a treat to ride. Once you turn onto a dirt road at mile 7 the tires never touch pavement again until the car. That is an epic ride that I can get behind. Feel free to checkout the route on Strava and stay tuned for SBC to update the MTB Project and other mapping sites this winter with some of our personal favorite rides in the valley. Especially those that are a little bit different from what we all typically ride. Any questions about the ride? Feel free to email me: Kyle@shenandoahbicycle.com

OK so it isn't totally flat. A little bit of walking here and there BUT very little walking

The birthday boy rolling into one of the open meadows

One of the best overlooks on the ridge. This one is up north near Devils Hole Mountain Road

Cheating Old Man Winter with the Wolvhammer

Sometimes certain things are that much better!

WARNING!!! SBC has select sizes of these boots in stock. They will sellout QUICKLY and we may not be able to get our hands on any more this year. If you are thinking about boots then the time is now.

My old Answer winter shoes have seen the end of the road. This 7 year old pair of riding boots had made it through many rough and cold rides keeping my feet void of frost bite. Between the answer pair of winter shoes and my previous Lake winter boots I thought I had experienced the best of options for foot protection during our winter months. Now I know better,  45Nrth Wolvhammer winter boots are AWESOME!

Once I figured out the right size (go one size bigger then you normally wear or checkout the wooden 45NRTH foot measuring device at SBC) and  bolted a new pair of cleats to the bottom I test them out on a night ride. The ankle stiffness was the only item that felt awkward but this disappeared and was not noticeable at all during my second or third ride. The Wolvhammer's look big but they ride light and small, even more so then my previous lake boots. So don't let the bulky looks fool you.

These look like a joke compard to my new Wolvhammer shoes.

I like winter riding, 20 degrees bring it on, 10 degrees and I might be game, below 10 and I would bail due to my feet. Now I can enjoy anything winter will offer this year.  If you don't foresee yourself getting out there in the sub 25 degree days 45Nrth still has a pair of shoes for you, the Fasterkatt. The Fasterkatt still has many great warmth and water proof features but comes in at a lower price and less mass.

Even if you keep your riding to the road, no worries 45Nrth has on option for roads pedals too with their road version of the Fasterkatt.

Road version of the Fasterkatt by 45Nrth.

Lets talk about bars

I love bars! I consider myself an expert. What makes me an expert you ask? Well I've spent the majority of my life in them and behind them. We will be talking about the new bars that a few customers and myself are behind right now in this post and save the talk about the best drinking establishments for a later date.

The Jeff Jones loop h bar is the hot ticket right now for the trekking crowd. My man Dan has been rolling thru Japan and south east Asia for months now and my friend John has seen the light and had us install one on his bike too. The first picture is John's old bar. The second is his bike now waiting on grip choice. The third is my bike outfitted with this great bar. Stay tuned for pictures of Dans bike. SBC is now a dealer so come by and check them out!

SBC tested and approved: Trek Slash 650b

After riding the long-travel mid-sized wheel option from Trek since early April my initial thoughts have been confirmed over and over again. The conclusion: this bike rules.

Yes,I could reel off all the numbers and angles and specs that make this bike so great but you can read that on every mtb forum on the web. What makes me give this ride the SBC stamp of approval is by the sheer amounts of fun I have had riding it.

Sporting a lengthy 160mm of travel it's been my one bike to rule them all.  And by "them all" I am referring to the different types of rides, races, and events I've done and not the inhabitants of Middle Earth (nerd alert!).  To name a few of the rides that seen the Slash get put through its paces; the Massanutten Yee-Ha downhill race, the Giro d'ville, the Massanutten Hoo-Ha XXC, le Tour de Burg, the SM100, and Shenduro. Yep, the same bike for a downhill race and a 100 mile endurance race.

I did a custom set-up using the Slash 7 to start, adding Sram's XX1 drivetrain, Industry Nine Torch wheels and a RockShox reverb stealth seatpost and it weighed in at 28lbs.3oz. The Trek Slash 650b is ready to pedal all day, but when the trail points downhill, it comes alive. It's squishy, it's light, it's fast, it's a total party. And it gets better, the 2015 Slash 650b is available in a  carbon model. Check it out at Trekbikes.com and check out a great review the fine folks at Pinkbike wrote up for the new carbon option here: Trek Slash 9.8 - Review .Ride on!  - Collin

2014 Six Pack Downhill Series Finale! 20th Annual Invitational!

Chimney Hollow results

Results from the Invitational!

Red Diamond results

Dowell's Draft results

For those who aren't familiar with the Six Pack Series, get familiar. Once the JMU school year starts, the Friday Fatty group ride switches gears and becomes the Six Packs. Meeting every Friday afternoon, the group party paces up whatever trail is chosen that week, and then races down as fast as possible for the potential glory of winning, hosting that night's party, and getting to ride the Soft Ride (winner's bike) the following week. We had an incredible season this year, and it just ended this past weekend with the 20th Annual Six Pack Invitational. This thing has been going on for twenty years! Collin Vento and Oliver Quinn tied for first place men's, and Sue Haywood dominated the ladies' field. If you haven't already, put next year's Six Packs on your calendar. They are the perfect rides to meet new friends, have fun on bikes, and get to know the area!

The infamous Soft Rides

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Where old meets new on Lookout Mountain

Lookout Mountain has been the site of thousands of trail work hours in the past few years. This past Sunday some of the SBC crew jumped on with the Coalition's trail work day to finish up the latest new section on trail and close out the trail building season.  The challenge of this work day was how to seemlessly tie in the iconic rock drop off into the new peice of trail.  We think that has been solved! 

Old to the right, new to the left with Collin, Tim & Lindsey.

The angle of departure from the rock drop off has been tweak by a few degrees, this done by one hell of a rock crib wall. Next time you are out there stop and take a look at what is supporting your take off, it took a lot of back breaking lifting by the crew (Tim r, Paul J, Owen J, Ben M, Lindsdy C, Micheal W, Andrew D, Thomas J, Mark, Collin W. ) and help from the Coalitions Grib Hoist. These types of trail builds will out live all of us who help cut this section into the rocky mountain!

Owen Johnston, has trail rock work in his blood.

The downhill side view of the your new landing

Grand Touring the Dirty South

The weekend before Halloween, Sean Quinn picked Sue Haywood and me up from Harrisonburg to drive 7 hours to Clayton, Georgia. Arriving at the Fall Tour Compound around 2:30 am, we set up camp in the Ewok Village and got a few hours of beauty sleep. I woke up to kitchen hustle noise, and then made my first appearance as a clueless northerner ready to experience dirty south riding. Thus began the four day stage race titled "The Fall Tour". Four glorious days of steep climbs, ROCKING descents, warm weather, and fantastic food. Southern boys and girls put on the the most polite grand tour I've ever been to, and definitely have the best cuisine. What a great time - I will most definitely be going back!

The routes for all four days.

YT gets power tool rowdy.

Gotta stay hydrated.

Men's leader for a few days, Oliver Quinn taking times at the top of the first timed section.

Warm pavement naps kept me going all weekend.

The crowd at the bottom of Big Ridge, a fifteen minute downhill.

Jersey lineup after the first day! 

Fall colors in full bloom.

The results overall.