24 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com
In the last few years, there was a separate vintage
course that kept things a bit tamer on the lower
eleva ons while the other races got to explore the
upper reaches. This year, the five-ish-mile loop
was the same for all three races (vintage, post-vin-
tage, and disc-brake), so the vintage bikes were
unleashed upon the mountaintop as well. All class-
es took off from the uphill star ng area and into
some familiar single track just beyond the wood
line of the paddock, across the powerline, and
headed west toward a logging road that provided
a direct route to the highest eleva on.
Here the bikes and their pilots descended through a
tangle of ght trees, curves, roots, and rocks before
heading back uphill yet again on a few challenging
mul - ered climbs. Once near the top, the course took
a fresh off-camber route toward some neat single track
introduced last year. Here, a trio of side hill paths,
peppered with roots, ascend the mountain in parallel,
connected by upswept one-eigh es. A few bowl turn
switchbacks carry the riders downward to the fan-lined
sinkholes, through a small rock garden, and a final
bit of flowy fun. Comple ng laps at Ashcra Farm's
2024 event was no-doubt one of the more challeng-
Brock Kutskel Brock Kutskel
Fred Walker Fred Walker
Craig Lowery Craig Lowery
Nina Golova, Carter Bille , Keira Grove Nina Golova, Carter Bille , Keira Grove