Icycle Bike Race North Carolina: A North Carolina Winter Classic

I have heard about the Icycle Mountain Bike Race for years this year I finally had an opportunity to do the race and experience the party for myself. The Icycle is held at Fontana Village every winter it offers various races including beginner, sport, and expert divisions in both its cross country and down hill courses, and a single speed division in the cross country race. The icycle mountain bike race is even better known for the partying that is part of the race activities which continue into the late evening hours.

While the typical double done by most racers at this event is the cross country and downhill races I decided to do a double in the sport cross country and single speed cross country races.
This included a 11am start for the sport race which included 3 3 mile laps followed by a 45 minute break and then a 1pm start for the single speed race of the same length. Both races were a blast as I rode on a course which could best be described as oil slick like conditions caused by the rain from the last couple days.

At the start/ finish area there were plenty of people cheering and drinking as you came around during each laps. Horns were blown and shouts were heard from that area through out the entire day. After finishing my races I got a quick shower and a bite to eat and headed back down to enjoy the beer provided by French Broad Brewing and watch the downhill racers practice and prepare for the night time downhill race.


At the end of the down hill race awards were given out and the party continued late into the night. As I sat around talking to friends one buddy commented, "who cares if I am slow this is fun and having fun is what life is about." I thought that just about summed up the Icycle weekend. Thanks to Sycamore Cycles and French Broad Brewing for sponsoring the event and a special thanks to Sarah Watt for providing me with great support as I came through each lap of the two races.

Pura Vida Adventures offers guided mountain biking trips throughout the southeast as well as other mountain adventures throughout the US and world. To find out more about Pura Vida Adventures visit www.pvadventures.com .

Pisgah Mountain Biking: The secret is out.

Brevard mountain biking takes center stage in Bike Magazine's 2012 bike bible. Bike magazine travels to different destinations each year to test and review the year's new bikes. This past fall the bike magazine team came to Brevard, NC to test the crop of bikes coming in 2012 and check out the trails of Dupont and Pisgah.

The story of their experience in Brevard and review of bikes is now on newstands. What bike magazine talks about regarding the town of Brevard and the bike scene here has been known to those of us who live and vacation here for years. We know we have great trails, we know we have a great town, we know we have the best kept secret when it comes to our trails in Dupont and Pisgah.

The secret is now out. Everyone now knows that when it comes to mountain biking in the eastern US Brevard is the place to come. This point was made clearly in the Bike Magazine article by professional mountain biker Adam Craig who said "I'm going to say Pisgah is definitely one of the top three places in the universe that I've ever ridden-and maybe the very best one."

Once you have read the article and learn about the Pisgah Tavern at the Hub bicycle shop, and the local boy Wes Dickson and his team of mechanics and staff at Sycamore Cycles you will be ready to make plans to come here for your next biking vacation. You will be ready to ride the trails of Dupont which is our zoo for biking and survive the trails of Pisgah which is our mountain biking Serengeti.

Thanks Bike Magazine for visiting and welcome all those who now know America's best kept secret in mountain biking. When you come to visit do not forget about us at Pura Vida Adventures Brevard's only guided mountain biking service for the last 5 years. Sure you can find the trails on your own but you will maximize your experience if you hire one of our guides.

Pura Vida Adventures shows Canadian Pro visiting Brevard the trails of Dupont

To say we showed Amanda Sin the trails of Dupont may be a little bit misleading. In fact, what Pura Vida Adventures mountain bike guide Joe Moerschbaecher did was direct Amanda where to go and try to stay close enough to her so that she did not have to wait at the major intersections to long before he and her fellow canadian Kasey Galdwin caught up to her.

Joe commented, "hikers in Dupont made comments regarding how we were getting beat by a girl, but I was pleased to know that we were close enough to her that people knew we were riding in the same group together." The long Canadian winter seems to have done little to effect Amanda's training as she had Casey and Joe chasing her for over 3hours through the single track of Dupont.

Joe commented "at the rate we were moving we were able to hit most of the major mountain bike trails in Dupont. It was a pleasure for me to not only ride with Amanda and Casey, but also to show them why Brevard is quickly becoming the mountain biking mecca of the southeast."

Amanda and Kasey will be in the carolinas training for the next couple of weeks and Pura Vida Adventures hopes that the weather treats them as well in the upcoming weeks as it did this weekend. The temperatures were in the high 60's to low 70's and the trail conditions have been incredible for the last 3 weeks.

Amanda said the following about the weather and trail conditions currently in Brevard, "The mountain biking is so awesome. Yesterday we went to Pisgah National Forest and today we hit up Dupont State Forest. The riding there is so much fun. There were tons of trails and the weather today was an amazing 23 C degrees. Pretty good for the end of February!"

Joe hopes to have an opportunity to ride with Kasey and Amanda again before they leave and all of Pura Vida Adventures wishes Amanda well with her 2011 season.

Pura Vida Adventures offers guided mountain biking and instructional programs to learn more visit http://www.mountainbikingnorthcarolina.com/ or http://www.pvadventures.com/ .

To learn more about Amanda Sin's racing visit her blog http://web.me.com/amandasin/Amanda/Blog/Entries/2011/2/27_Mountain_biking_in_NC.html

New mountain bike tour programs and camps.

Mountain bike tour vacations

http://www.mountainbikingnorthcarolina.com/

3 DAY CAMP
Mountain Bike Touring Camp 3 days at 3 different southeastern Mountain Bike meccas.

Program Dates April 1st-3rd and April 29th-May 1st

Trips available at any time for groups of 3 or more

2 DAY CAMP
Mountain Bike Touring Camp 2 days at 2 different southeastern Mountain Bike meccas.

Program Dates April 2nd-3rd and April 30th-May 1st Trips available at any time for groups of 3 or more

Day 1 Tsali: Ride the well known trails of Tsali Recreation Area. Tsali is known for its fast smooth riding. Tsali's trails will provide a great warmup for the trails to come later in the program. While at Tsali take in gorgeous views of Fontana Lake enjoy a nice box lunch and ride until your hearts content. Tsali will allow us to gauge the groups various fitness and ability levels to be sure we provide each individual with the experience they want over the three day course.

Day 2 Dupont: The day will be spent in Dupont State Forest where you will find single track of all types including slickrock trails, fast compact singletrack, technical singletrack and wider gravel roads. Dupont's rolling terrain also provides opportunities for great views of various waterfalls, overlooks, and gorgeous lakes. Once again lunch will be provided for you on this trip and the day will end back at The Hub where mechanics will look over your bike as you enjoy a beverage of your choice at the Pisgah Tavern.

Day 3 Pisgah: Spend your last day riding some of the 200 plus miles of mountain biking trails in Pisgah National Forest. Pisgah is quickly becoming known as one of the best places to mountain bike in the eastern US. The rooty technical trails will challenge your skills while the uphill climbs will challenge your lungs. At the end of the day you will have completed your three day bike tour riding some of the best trails North Carolina and the eastern United States has to offer.



Trip includes airport pick up drop off. Transportation each day to and from Brevard, NC, lunch and snacks before, during, and after the ride and a mountain bike guide. Hotel and bike rental discounts also available. Cost $375 a person

For more details visit www.mountainbikingnorthcarolina.com .