# Highland Bike Park - 9/26/09



## powbmps (Sep 26, 2009)

Awf, have you been there before?  If not, you'd probably love the place.  Maybe 2knees will start a thread or something with pictures from today.  The place is awesome!

Here's a blurry shot of 2knees jumping the mulch.....


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## o3jeff (Sep 26, 2009)

powbmps said:


> Awf, have you been there before?  If not, you'd probably love the place.  Maybe 2knees will start a thread or something with pictures from today.  The place is awesome!
> 
> Here's a blurry shot of 2knees jumping the mulch.....



Come on, you have to do better than ONE picture!:flame:


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## MR. evil (Sep 26, 2009)

Pats got a bunch of video, bur it may take a while for him to get or up

anyway, Highland was awsome!!!!!!!!!  Most fun I have ever had on a bike.


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## 2knees (Sep 26, 2009)

its almost all of the little jump park.  it was too much fun on the trails to stop and shoot video.


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## powbmps (Sep 26, 2009)

Half my ass is scraped up.  Add "NSFW" to the thread title and I'll post up a pic. uke:



o3jeff said:


> Come on, you have to do better than ONE picture!:flame:


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## powbmps (Sep 26, 2009)

Ka-pow!!!!!!


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## MR. evil (Sep 26, 2009)

powbmps said:


> Ka-pow!!!!!!



That was sick.


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## Paul (Sep 26, 2009)

MR. evil said:


> but it may take a while for him to get it up



That's what she said


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## 2knees (Sep 26, 2009)

again, its mostly the little jump park.  that shit was too much fun to stop on the trails.

got myself a huuuuuge bruise on my thigh from my nasty crash.  gonna go out now and drink the pain away.


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## powbmps (Sep 27, 2009)

Is that one of those new fangled cameras that makes everything look smaller and flatter :razz:?

Great day.  Weather couldn't have been better (today is cold and pouring rain).  Cool sport.  Unlike in skiing, it seems acceptable to rock wind pants and jeans.  Wish we could have ended it on a better note.  

Downhill is freakin' rad!


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## MR. evil (Sep 27, 2009)

powbmps said:


> Is that one of those new fangled cameras that makes everything look smaller and flatter :razz:?



No shit! that last part of the vid in the woods was really Fg steep and sketchy, but looks like nothing on the video. And that ladder drop also looked really small. I stood on the top of the transition and the ladder was just below my shoulders around mid chest. So i would estimate that it was around 4.5 feet.

I dont know about you guys, but I am pretty sore this morning. Can't wait to get back there next season.....maybe even this season :razz:


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## bvibert (Sep 27, 2009)

2knees said:


> again, its mostly the little jump park.  that shit was too much fun to stop on the trails.
> 
> got myself a huuuuuge bruise on my thigh from my nasty crash.  gonna go out now and drink the pain away.



Looks like you guys had fun.  I'm anxious to hear more about the trails and stuff that's not on film.


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## awf170 (Sep 27, 2009)

My bike thanks me for not going.


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## powbmps (Sep 27, 2009)

awf170 said:


> My bike thanks me for not going.



I managed to escape with only a broken seat.  

The downhill bikes they rent are insane.  Nothing like "normal" bikes that you see out on the trail.  I had no clue they were that much different.


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## Marc (Sep 27, 2009)

powbmps said:


> I managed to escape with only a broken seat.
> 
> The downhill bikes they rent are insane.  Nothing like "normal" bikes that you see out on the trail.  I had no clue they were that much different.



Dirt bikes minus the motor.


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## MR. evil (Sep 27, 2009)

Met up with Pat around 6:30 and we made out way up to Highland and got to the mountain around 9:00 and found Chris in the parking lot getting suited up. So we got our gear on and heading inside to get lift tickets and then down stairs to get our rental bikes. As Chris mentioned these things were HUGE. They made his bike look like a toy. 

He made out way to the lift and there was no line. Got up top and headed right to the easier side of the mountain for a warm up run. I quickly noticed all the trails on this side were named with a cat them (Fancy Feast, meow something, ect) and quickly deduced that this was the ‘pussy’ side of the mountain. But even the green trails were pretty challenging. Very tight, twisty & rocky. The end of the first trail put us right in the skills park with all the ladder drops and jumps we took video on. We played in there for a while were I ran into a guy I met / rode with at Case Mt about a month back. 

After playing in the skills park we headed back up and made out way over to the harder stuff. This time we hit a trail called Hellion, I found this is a vid I found online of it. I think we did this run about 4 times. This trail was awesome! The upper 1/3 was really narrow, rocky and technical. Then it opened up and turned really fast and smooth with lots of big table tops, step-up jumps, big berms, a cool natural wall ride, and a 4 to 5 foot mandatory drop that you couldn’t see coming. The drop appeared to be roll-able, but if you had any speed at all you were flying it. The drop really caught me off guard the first run. Before I knew it was even there I was flying off it. By the end of the day it was one of my favorite sections of the trail. The was pretty much feeling out the hits the first few runs on Hellion, but later in the day I was starting to get some decent air. Even managed to clear some table tops and actually land on the back side. Pat was killing everything and get some big air. One time a little too big on the last run of the day, but he can fill in the details on that. We all ended up eating it on that last run. 

The entire drive home and even last night in my sleep all I could think about was DH’g. It was the most fun I have ever had on a bike and I can’t wait to get back there. My plan for the winter is to pester Jarrod into opening some DH trails with features at Sundown.


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## 2knees (Sep 27, 2009)

that vid shows alot of the stuff we rode and some we didnt.  like that drop at the end.  which we did scope out but was a bit hairy for any of us.  the approach was nasty, all rocks and roots to a little approach ladder that turned.  

anyway, the green trails were much more like traditional xc.  boring as hell.  :lol:

the jump trails were sick.  once you ran them a few times and figured out the landings, you could just LAUNCH.  i went too far on my last run and missed most of the backside of a tabletop and bounced off into a couple of rocks.  that took all the bravado out of me so, along with chris' wrist we bagged it.

i dont know if i'll ever have the desire to just ride xc again and i definitely never want to ride my pos bike again after riding that $6,000 trek yesterday.


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## MR. evil (Sep 27, 2009)

So when are we going back? And does anyone want to buy a gently used pimped out Turner 5spot so I can build a DH bike


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## powhunter (Sep 27, 2009)

Nice vid and pics boys!!  Gonna tag along on the next trip!!

pow


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## WoodCore (Sep 27, 2009)

Looks like you guys had a great day up there. It's not my bag just yet but does look like a ton of fun!


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## MR. evil (Sep 27, 2009)

powhunter said:


> Gonna tag along on the next trip!!
> 
> pow



Cool!


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## Greg (Sep 28, 2009)

Ha! Awesome. Right up Pat's alley apparently. I know you guys said the DH bikes were big and burly, but how did they ride? Did they give you any more confidence to just let 'er rip? (not that Pat needs any more balls).


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## 2knees (Sep 28, 2009)

the bikes were amazing.  you can take such direct lines on the single track no matter what is in your way in regards to rocks, roots and the such.  between the suspension, the raked out angle of the forks, the bad azzz rims and tires and the sheer weight, it makes everything so much easier.  As far as jumping, again, the suspension and even the weight make it easier.  I like the heavier feel of those bikes, cause for me, they just seem so much more stable on approaches, takeoffs, in the air and the landing.

there is PLENTY of stuff there to keep you interested beyond just launching all the hits.  I was joking when i said the regular downhill stuff was boring.  It was like parts of nass. just alot more downhill.  tons of berms, twisty narrow track and techy (i know you love that word) sections.  natural wall rides, steep rooty rocky downhills.  You would absolutely love it even if your wheels never left the ground all day.  Plus, that little jump park has 3 ladder drops.  a teeny teeny one probably about 1'.  another one around 2' and then the bigger one probably around 3 feet or so, maybe higher.  and the last little kicker there, the landing is filled with mulch so you can really get the feeling of leveling the bike out in the air without the fear of pain.


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## MR. evil (Sep 28, 2009)

Ya, what Pat said.

The first couple of runs I was tentitive about getting air on the bigger hits. But once I got used to the bike it was a breeze. The extra weight made the bikes very stable in the air, and you didn't even feel the landings. There were two sections on Hellion that if taken with any speed turned from a roller to decent sized drops with nice down hill landings. The suspension worked so well that you didn't even know when you actually landed. But those bikes REALLY sucked to pedal. As the day went on I think we all got a little over confident becuase we all started to go faster and bigger than on previous runs, and we all had crashes that run. I had two pretty minor ones, would have torn up my legs pretty good had i not been wearing leg armor under my jeans. But Pat and Chris each had afternoon ending crashes. Didn't see either one of them, but heard Pat's about 100 feet back on the trail. Pat and I figured Chris had a crash when we had to wait several minutes for him to catch up. When he showed up covered in dirt it kind of gave it away.

The drops in the practice area were a little higher than Pat mentioned. Probably 18", 30" and 48" respectively. The larger one may have been a little higher but not much. The landing transitions were so well done that you barley felt hitting the ground. But the bikes may have also played into that. The mulch pit after the jump was a cool idea. But the jump had such an extreme pitch that it took a while for me to get the balls up to try it. Pat was going really big off that thing from the get go, with style to boot.


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## Brik (Sep 28, 2009)

Jon, if I can run some of this stuff, you most certainly can. I've only ridden with you once and I know you would have a blast. I'm heading up there on the 17th (maybe) and I would like to go at least one more time before year end. My son does more of the aggressive stuff and what I run is lame, but it's a lot of fun.


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## MR. evil (Oct 1, 2009)

Did my first trail ride yesterday since DH’g at Highland. Here are a couple of random thoughts.

1.Pedaling up hill sucks! I was not in a very good mood the first 30 minutes of yesterdays ride, chair lifts rock!

2.My bike felt like a toy compared to that beast of a DH bike I rented. I forgot that I have to chose a line with my bike, not so much with the DH bikes.

3.Those heavy DH bikes are much easier to take drops with than my trail bike. I took a couple 24” drops last night at Case and almost wrecked both of them. I forgot that with my bike I actually have to work when taking a drop (pull up on the bars, get weight back, ect…) The way your body position is on those DH bikes along with the head tube angle made drops easy. Didn’t really have to do anything and the bike stayed level and balanced in the air.


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## Greg (Oct 1, 2009)

MR. evil said:


> Those heavy DH bikes are much easier to take drops with than my trail bike. I took a couple 24” drops last night at Case and almost wrecked both of them. I forgot that with my bike I actually have to work when taking a drop (pull up on the bars, get weight back, ect…) The way your body position is on those DH bikes along with the head tube angle made drops easy. Didn’t really have to do anything and the bike stayed level and balanced in the air.



It's certainly not anywhere close to a DH bike, I'm sure, but I love the slacked out head angle on my Remedy. That stupid little 2 footer we all hemmed and hawed over at the start of the ridge ride at the Rez at the beginning of last year was effortless. The rollers I've tried have been nothing - I've taken a few with pretty bad body position (i.e. not far back enough) and the fork would suck up enough that eventually the bike would level out. In fact, I haven't gone OTB since I got the bike (now I'm cursed). Yeah, climbing is a little more tricky with the front end wandering around, but I deal and simply stand and mash more. It's pretty easy to distribute weight while standing on it. With all that said, I will never ride a sub 6" travel bike on the type of rides we do around here ever again. The Remedy 7 at 32 lbs. is an awesome AM bike.


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## MR. evil (Oct 1, 2009)

I have gotten to a point where I dont really care how steep something is. As long there is a line that looks ridable to me I will go for it. Trev has also turned in a roller nut. in the past month he has ridden some really sketchy stuff. Drops are still something I need to work on and I was making progress with them. They were so effortless on that DH bike. Last night it took me several tries to get up the nearve to wheely drop a 24" ledge with a nice DH landing. I was really pissed with myself.


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## awf170 (Oct 2, 2009)

MR. evil said:


> I have gotten to a point where I dont really care how steep something is. As long there is a line that looks ridable to me I will go for it.


 
Come back to Lynn... I want to see if I can prove this wrong.  :razz:


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## MR. evil (Oct 2, 2009)

awf170 said:


> Come back to Lynn... I want to see if I can prove this wrong.  :razz:



At that place I am sure you will be able too......I actually know for a fact you will. That place is just crazy!


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## MR. evil (Oct 6, 2009)

I was looking around in the Turner forum on MTBR and came across this stuff. Looks like they have added a new feature at the end of Hellion,  I am guessing its right around where I crashed and tore up my jeans on the last run of the day. That area was really chewed up and looked like it was being cleared for construction. 




Insane drop! You may need to save this to disk if it won’t play directly from the link.
http://mechamaniac.com/biker/highland/pt2/MVI_0892.mov


http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=558325


I should stop watching this stuff. I really want to get back there and cant afford to build up a FR bike.


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