Endurance Mountain Bikers are a special breed; they seem to thrive on the pain that is inherent with pushing themselves through grueling climbs and forearm-rattling downhill sections of singletrack hour after hour in pursuit of “a good time”.
More than 375 riders converged on the Warrior Creek Trail at Kerr Scott Reservoir in Wilkesboro, North Carolina last weekend to rip it on the trail’s steep berms and fast downhills for six hours. The trail system is the latest creation of the Brushy Mountain Cyclist’s Club and is, according to trail designer Jim Horton, their best yet. The trail is a finely crafted work of art that features rolling hills, rock gardens, and big, swooping, berms that often elicit whoops of joy from the cyclists — even after four 12 mile laps.
While the event provides participants with a great opportunity to get an extended dose of a fantastic section of single-track, the event also has proven to be a very successful fund-raising event that helps the Brushy Mountain Cycling Club continue their trail building efforts at the Kerr Scott Reservoir.
At the end of the day, the exhausted cyclists reconvened at the nearby Wilderness Lodge for a classic, Carolina-style, pig-pickin’ complete with baked beans, smoked chicken, and ice cold drinks. The cyclists sat around enjoying the feeling of accomplishment that comes on in the wake of an endurance event such as this, telling stories of “blowing up” and “pushing through” as they looked forward with excitement to the next event on the horizon at Kerr Scott Reservoir, next month’s ultra-endurance race, the Burn 24 at Dark Mountain.
