Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1527076
A er a single lap, most of the muddiness and slick areas had become manageable and the so terrain helped form good berms and lines. By the me the a ernoon's post vintage par cipants took the green flag, things were great out there. For Sunday's races, the loop really shined a er already genera ng praise earlier in the week- end from a variety of skill and age level racers. A conglomera on of terrain, speed, and difficulty, Tim definitely nailed this year's layout. Blazing fast straights along the edge of farm fields leading into single track that is fun and perfectly balanced between flowing and technical. A few sparse areas with rocks, plenty of eleva on change, and plenty of opportunity to pass. The grass track area on the south edge of the property morphs each year in a differing serpen ne along a small creek and flowed excep onally well this year once a line was worn in and riders became familiar with the course. And the barn…can never get enough of the simple joy of riding through this landmark of the Shady Acres repertoire. The vintage motocross grass track morphs each year in similar fashion as Tim paints the landscape using the tractor as his brush(hog). Fast straights, sweepers, a few ght switchbacks and one-eight- ies, a pair of fence row eleva on changes that make suitable natural terrain jumps, and an exci ng rubber band start in view of the crowd of spectators makes for a pleasurable day on a limit- ed travel machine. The long-shorn grass clippings le behind from Tim's mowing ac vi es provided a unique two-fold slip factor challenge by retaining some of the prior evening's moisture giving the tradi- onal wet grass factor, and then the shear volume of clippings present in some areas would actually move beneath the re to really get your a en on in the early laps. Post vintage and next-gen bikes took the stage Sunday as they lined up at the same start line but took a hard le at the end of the first stretch and se led into the freshly watered and groomed moto- cross course laid out upon the hillside overlooking the former farm's barnyard. Very nearly vintage friendly, in this era of modern MX tracks incorpora ng Super- cross style elements, the Shady Acres main course is approachable to all skill levels while remaining chal- lenging, fun, and compe ve. Reasonable doubles, rollers, whoops, and a tabletop well-placed for spec- tator pleasure are combined with a nicely prepped surface and a solid layout. Most of the track is view- able from the edge of the pit area except for a few small por ons, which leads to some exci ng moments as ba les rage through the unseen areas and a new leader emerges airborne over the tabletop leading to the finish line. Another successful, compe ve, and entertaining event in the gorgeous landscape of Maryland's Garre County. Shady Acres, ahhhhh…relaxed, invigorated, ready to return! I'll bring some of my could-have-been re rement income, you provide the awesome. Thanks to the Thomas', the efforts of the na onal and region- al AHRMA volunteers and Bridgestone Tires for con- nuing to sponsor mul ple AHRMA Na onal Champi- onship series.