Monday, April 30, 2018
Opening Weekend at Highland & Mountain Creek, Maiden Voyage on the Tues What happens when you cant decide which DH park to spend the weekend at? Opening day at Highland & opening day at Mountain Creek Bike Parks!! Thanks for checking out our videos. We love comments, likes help and we need subscribers!! www.mtbbeta.com https://ift.tt/2yFVuQm @facebook MTB Beta https://ift.tt/2xUn4VX
2 Days 2 Parks
I had an amazing weekend, I rode my new Tues for the first time, I rode Highland for the first time and I rode Mountain Creek for the first time. Life really doesn't get much better than that!
The Tues; getting on to a DH whip for the time I didn't expect it to be as different as it is and while I have some fine tuning to do, the bike setup is pretty dialed. The bike is crazy stable and fast and that is probably the biggest difference. The bike needs to be ridden faster and a little faster than I had expected or was comfortable with on some terrain. With the Meta its easy to approach something slower and if need be get up to speed quickly or use muscle and force to make up for the lack of speed. As example I rolled into a steep rough section on ODB and end up over the bars. I think if I had been carrying more speed I would have been able to manage this section without crashing, by (as so often is the case) using the momentum to carry me through/over the hole I drove my front wheel into as I slid down this wet and muddy rock section. Also I think that on the Meta I would have been able to pop the front end over the hole which I was not able to due on the Tues. Now that could just be because I hadn't adjusted to the Tues yet or maybe I was just getting worn out. I do think that I will need to get used the bike a bit more and figure out what it will take to get the pop I need, it might just require a little more effort on my part. The Tues feels fast as hell, really balanced and easy get into the air. I am not sure yet if I am a fan of the stock Maxxis Highrollers, I felt like there was a lack of grip on the wet muddy rock sections. The Cushcore in the back was awesome and the Huck Norris in the front was really put to the test. Popping off a blind jump and hucking into sharp rock garden was when I realized I was low on pressure. When I got a gauge on the tire it read 11psi. I am very certain that I would have done some damage with the Huck Norris in there. The Tues ate up big air and chunky sections with so much ease I really allowed me to push my limits. I did one of the biggest drops I have ever done at Highland. I messed up the take off and landed rear wheel first which made for a rough landing. This would have been disastrous for me on a smaller bike. At Mountain Creek I hit a rock feature that requires just a small amount of pop at speed or a slow roll and as I approached I wasn't committed to ether method and awkwardly half rolled and half popped to find myself in what would have been a crash on a smaller bike. I may have been able to muscle through this lack of commitment on the Meta but I am not sure it wouldn't have been worse either.
Highland was amazing despite some very wet and muddy conditions. The weather was warm and conditions improved as the day went on. The trails flowed easily even with peanut butter conditions. Only a handful trails were open but that was not a problem as the Cat trails are easy and fun enough to ride over and over. I got in 11 laps even with long lines and the chairlift, first stopping for about 30mins leaving me to consider jumping off and then being shutdown for another 30-40 minutes for repair. Highland is and has the craziest features for those with the skills but they also have lots options and trails to work your way up to and improve your skills. Progressing jumps, drops, wall rides and all sorts of other features you can find the perfect set of obstacles to match your skill level and the perfect set to bump it up a notch. With Highland as your local I can not image you couldn't quickly become an excellent rider. Highlands trail building is really really good. The runs are short and quick (or can be), its pretty easy to get from top to bottom in less than half the time it take to ride up the lift (15 minutes). I had some sub 4 minute runs but with runs as amazing as Cats Paw it is so worth it. Cats Paw is an instant all time favorite top 10 trail. It is the epitome of fun, with multiple lines and packed with features it is nothing but smiles the whole way down.
Mountain Creek is another park with a feature set way beyond my skill level. While probably not quite at the craziness level as Highland its pretty close. The Pinkbike drop being one of many stand out crazy features. The conditions on Sunday were better than Highlands on Saturday but oddly the trails didn't ride quite good. Even though there was no peanut butter the amount of mud and wet kept everything running a little slower. Bobby and hit up most of the open trails but stuck mainly to the easier runs. Sunday was his first time riding his new M16 and he needed some runs to adjust and I was happy to spend more time getting used to the Tues. Upper Dominion and Outlaw presented significant difficulties to us both in the wet conditions. Many sections of the upper trails had seriously muddy spots and most of the jumps had massive puddles at the bases that removed the needed speed. The progression drops at the bottom are a really cool way to progress your skill level as get comfortable with one you can move to the next. I struggled not to hit the Porch Drop as it is one of my goals but it think the wise choice was to avoid until I have some more time on the Tues and we get a little further into the season. The lift is a little strange but runs pretty quick at under 10 minutes. We had lines 20 minutes long and got 8 runs in. The runs were longer at about 10-15 minutes down. I did 16+ miles at Highland and 18+ at Mountain Creek (lifts included I think).
Despite the trail conditions, the cold temps at Mountain Creek, the long drives, my car breaking down and adding 2 hours to drive home on sat, it was an incredible weekend. I feel very lucky to be able to take a weekend and ride park with no worries which is only due to the people in my life. Bobby is the perfect riding partner, he is great to travel with and I am constantly reminded to ride smoothly when I get behind him and watch him flow. Mountain Creek will need a repeat visit to really nail down an opinion of the place but Highland is instantly near the top and will get several repeat visits. I think Highland is place that I could make amazing strides in my progression. It will probably be put on the "make a weekend out if it" as the 3 1/2 drive is quickly stretched to 4+ with traffic. Tough decisions will be made in the future as to where to ride. Killington, Thunder, Mountain Creek and Highland all are so good it won't be easy to decide between them.
The Tues; getting on to a DH whip for the time I didn't expect it to be as different as it is and while I have some fine tuning to do, the bike setup is pretty dialed. The bike is crazy stable and fast and that is probably the biggest difference. The bike needs to be ridden faster and a little faster than I had expected or was comfortable with on some terrain. With the Meta its easy to approach something slower and if need be get up to speed quickly or use muscle and force to make up for the lack of speed. As example I rolled into a steep rough section on ODB and end up over the bars. I think if I had been carrying more speed I would have been able to manage this section without crashing, by (as so often is the case) using the momentum to carry me through/over the hole I drove my front wheel into as I slid down this wet and muddy rock section. Also I think that on the Meta I would have been able to pop the front end over the hole which I was not able to due on the Tues. Now that could just be because I hadn't adjusted to the Tues yet or maybe I was just getting worn out. I do think that I will need to get used the bike a bit more and figure out what it will take to get the pop I need, it might just require a little more effort on my part. The Tues feels fast as hell, really balanced and easy get into the air. I am not sure yet if I am a fan of the stock Maxxis Highrollers, I felt like there was a lack of grip on the wet muddy rock sections. The Cushcore in the back was awesome and the Huck Norris in the front was really put to the test. Popping off a blind jump and hucking into sharp rock garden was when I realized I was low on pressure. When I got a gauge on the tire it read 11psi. I am very certain that I would have done some damage with the Huck Norris in there. The Tues ate up big air and chunky sections with so much ease I really allowed me to push my limits. I did one of the biggest drops I have ever done at Highland. I messed up the take off and landed rear wheel first which made for a rough landing. This would have been disastrous for me on a smaller bike. At Mountain Creek I hit a rock feature that requires just a small amount of pop at speed or a slow roll and as I approached I wasn't committed to ether method and awkwardly half rolled and half popped to find myself in what would have been a crash on a smaller bike. I may have been able to muscle through this lack of commitment on the Meta but I am not sure it wouldn't have been worse either.
Highland was amazing despite some very wet and muddy conditions. The weather was warm and conditions improved as the day went on. The trails flowed easily even with peanut butter conditions. Only a handful trails were open but that was not a problem as the Cat trails are easy and fun enough to ride over and over. I got in 11 laps even with long lines and the chairlift, first stopping for about 30mins leaving me to consider jumping off and then being shutdown for another 30-40 minutes for repair. Highland is and has the craziest features for those with the skills but they also have lots options and trails to work your way up to and improve your skills. Progressing jumps, drops, wall rides and all sorts of other features you can find the perfect set of obstacles to match your skill level and the perfect set to bump it up a notch. With Highland as your local I can not image you couldn't quickly become an excellent rider. Highlands trail building is really really good. The runs are short and quick (or can be), its pretty easy to get from top to bottom in less than half the time it take to ride up the lift (15 minutes). I had some sub 4 minute runs but with runs as amazing as Cats Paw it is so worth it. Cats Paw is an instant all time favorite top 10 trail. It is the epitome of fun, with multiple lines and packed with features it is nothing but smiles the whole way down.
Mountain Creek is another park with a feature set way beyond my skill level. While probably not quite at the craziness level as Highland its pretty close. The Pinkbike drop being one of many stand out crazy features. The conditions on Sunday were better than Highlands on Saturday but oddly the trails didn't ride quite good. Even though there was no peanut butter the amount of mud and wet kept everything running a little slower. Bobby and hit up most of the open trails but stuck mainly to the easier runs. Sunday was his first time riding his new M16 and he needed some runs to adjust and I was happy to spend more time getting used to the Tues. Upper Dominion and Outlaw presented significant difficulties to us both in the wet conditions. Many sections of the upper trails had seriously muddy spots and most of the jumps had massive puddles at the bases that removed the needed speed. The progression drops at the bottom are a really cool way to progress your skill level as get comfortable with one you can move to the next. I struggled not to hit the Porch Drop as it is one of my goals but it think the wise choice was to avoid until I have some more time on the Tues and we get a little further into the season. The lift is a little strange but runs pretty quick at under 10 minutes. We had lines 20 minutes long and got 8 runs in. The runs were longer at about 10-15 minutes down. I did 16+ miles at Highland and 18+ at Mountain Creek (lifts included I think).
Despite the trail conditions, the cold temps at Mountain Creek, the long drives, my car breaking down and adding 2 hours to drive home on sat, it was an incredible weekend. I feel very lucky to be able to take a weekend and ride park with no worries which is only due to the people in my life. Bobby is the perfect riding partner, he is great to travel with and I am constantly reminded to ride smoothly when I get behind him and watch him flow. Mountain Creek will need a repeat visit to really nail down an opinion of the place but Highland is instantly near the top and will get several repeat visits. I think Highland is place that I could make amazing strides in my progression. It will probably be put on the "make a weekend out if it" as the 3 1/2 drive is quickly stretched to 4+ with traffic. Tough decisions will be made in the future as to where to ride. Killington, Thunder, Mountain Creek and Highland all are so good it won't be easy to decide between them.
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Awesome day riding Lippman. #mtblife #mtb #mtbbeta #thegoodlife
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Friday, April 20, 2018
Jump Pit and New Jump Line loop at Luther Forest 90% finished with the new Jump Line Loop at Luther. Its really good. Reworked both the step up jump and the stump gap. Thanks for checking out our videos. We love comments, likes help and we need subscribers!! www.mtbbeta.com https://ift.tt/2yFVuQm @facebook MTB Beta https://ift.tt/2xUn4VX
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Friday @ Luther
We are planning to continue our work on the Jump line on Friday. If time permits we may start looking at the new trail section that has been flagged. This is the section of trail that will connect the loop that has been broken with the house being dropped on it.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Saturday, April 14, 2018
Friday, April 13, 2018
#dh Ohh Yeah another awesome build. Thing is soooo sweet. M16 yummmmmy #mtb #mtbbeta #mtblife #mtbdownhill #downhill #intensecycles
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Sunday, April 1, 2018
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