Enduro of Subdued Excitement 2015
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 Adam Greene had a good start to stage one, but a crash and concussion forced him out of the race.(Pro Men). |
Roots, rocks, beer, and miles of prime singletrack — Bellingham, WA has everything you need for the perfect enduro race. Although it's better known for the trails on Galbraith Mountain, Bellingham also has convenient access a forest playground at Larrabee State Park. The narrow sandstone ridges, lush forests, and silhouetted glimpses of the Puget Sound and Mt. Baker instantly set the park apart. Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition had their first Enduro of Subdued Excitement here last year, and this year they returned for more shredding and to race a new trail.
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| Richard Handschin starts in on the upper part of the Ridge Trail (Pro Men). |
A lot goes into planning a race, but rolling out a new trail isn’t usually one of them. Double Down started taking shape in April, and the bone-work of a great trail was in place by the time the dry summer months hit. With moisture on the horizon and a looming race date, the trail has undergone a fervor of repairs and tweaks that only stopped the day before.
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| Autumn is pretty good in Chuckanut. |
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| Spirits were high in the staging area on Saturday morning. |
All of the planning, sweat, and volunteer hours were clearly worth it after seeing the looks of concentration and smiles from the 187 racers as they attacked Double Down. In roughly a mile, the trail packs in a slew of drops and rolls, plenty of exposure and a ride through a spectacular old-growth forest — and yes, it can be shuttled. Things worth having require time, though. Double Down was originally proposed back in November of 2012. Riding on the trail today was only possible through the strong advocacy of WMBC, the leadership of trail director Eric Brown, and a receptive partnership with Larrabee State Park. Going forward there's already a trail day this weekend to keep working on Double Down, and further trail planning will continue this winter.
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| Come prepared. Steve Vogel flashes his marshaling badge. Krissy Lee Newton gets ready for a day of heckling. |
An unfavorable weather forecast in the week leading up to the race clearly had racers on edge — as was evident by the influx of entrants once the barometer settled down. Luckily, Saturday presented with cool, overcast weather with just a dash of sunlight and some ripping fast dirt. All good news for riders who rode 16 miles and climbed 3,800 feet during the race. Overall things went smoothly during the four stages, except for a long line leading into stage one and a few injuries.
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| Aaron Bradford inspects Lars Sternberg's hole punching progress. |
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| Shaums March (Pro Men). |
Race Results: In total, a little over half of the entrants were local riders. And while there were many strong finishes from visiting riders, the locals did a good job putting their numbers and home-court knowledge to use. Lars Sternberg crushed every stage to carry a clean win in Pro Men. He was followed by Logan Wetzel, Aaron Bradford, Jason Eiswald, and Matt Russell. Seattle's, Emily Sabelhaus took the win for Pro Women ahead of Adrian Hopkins, Britney White, and Karen O'Connell. Despite some overzealous maneuvering on stage four, Jimmy Schwend-Cloherty ended with a healthy lead in Junior Men 17 & Under ahead of Bryce Kans, Brenden Pelkie, Elliot Jamieson, and Eli Gold. Check out the full results here.
Want to see just what Larrabee State Park has to offer? The trails (along with work days) will be running all winter long. All for the unbeatable price of a Discover Pass.
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| Eric Brown gets the rider's meeting underway. Brule and Crystal Lambert made an early morning drive down across the border. |
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| Kristian Duft (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| Lars Sternberg had a stellar race day (Pro Men). Sternberg put in the fastest time on every stage. |
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| Tabling some style. Kelend Hawks on Double Diamond (Pro Men). |
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| Jason Eiswald's flourishing season continues with his first race in the Pro Category, in which he finished fourth (Pro Men). |
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| Logan Wetzel racing on stage one (Pro Men). Wetzel finished the day 44 seconds back from Sternberg to take second. |
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| Matt Patterson (Expert Master Men 40-49). |
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| Matthew Studley recovers from a sideway drift (Expert Master Men 40-49). |
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| Bonnie Burke rounds the hip-turn on Double Diamond (Expert Women). |
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| The step-down is there if you want it. Jimmy Schwend-Cloherty (Junior Men 17 & Under). |
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| Andrew Knott - not having the run he wanted (Pro Men). |
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| Jordan Thomas (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| Feel the rhythm. Jed Yesier (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| Laurel Peak cutting through a sea of ferns (Expert Women). |
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| Adrian Hopkins (Pro Women). Hopkins took second. |
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| Ian Gordon getting comfortable riding fast and tucked (Expert Senior Men 30-39). |
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| Alex Zbarazky (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| Waiting to start on stage one. |
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| Emily Sabelhaus maintained a steady lead during the day to take the win (Pro Women). Fanatik Bike Co. prepares one mean spread of bacon. |
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| Scott Kemp was the first rider on stage three (Pro Men). |
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| Matt Davis was pinned for the win (Expert Senior Men 30-39). |
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| Logan Wetzel (Pro Men). |
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| Lars Sternberg putting the rubber down (Pro Men). |
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| Not all of stage three was dominated by tight roots and rocks. Aaron Bradford (Pro Men). Bradford came in third. |
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| The Ridge Trail also sports great sandstone slabs. Kelend Hawks (Pro Men). |
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| With no chance to pre-ride, Shaums March was our racing for fun (Pro Men). March finished seventh. |
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| Ian Schmitt (Pro Men). |
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| Ricardo Broberg (Pro Men). |
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| A very tight squeeze — but at least it was dry on race day. Left - Kristian Duft (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| Paul Mayes heading to third (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| Kevin Menard finished second just three second behind Tyler Earnheart (Expert Master Men 40-49). |
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| Britney White has a little bad blood with the park after she broke her wrist during a race a few years back (Pro Women). |
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| Michael Cunningham (Expert Senior Men 30-39). |
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| Nicholas Franzen determined to not dally among the roots (Hardtail Open). |
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| The plethora of on-trail obstacles make it easy to forget that there are some pretty significant cliffs along the ridge. |
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| Line choice is critical. Brian Savery (Sport Senior Men 30-39), Javier Vega (Expert Senior Men 30-39), and Michael Mcallister (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| The family that races together, podiums together. Gregg Eiswald topped his category (Veteran Men 50+). |
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| Kye Polverino (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| Sarah Butsch heads into the last plunge on stage three (Expert Women). Butsch put in the fastest time in her category. |
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| Gretchen Nelson was clearly having a good time on course (Expert Women). |
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| Mark Miller was the sole racer to compete with only one wheel (Unicycle Open). |
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| Casey Schlenker punches his time at the end of stage three (Sport Senior Men 30-39). |
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| Craig Folsom had no hesitation sending the drops on stage four — no doubt contributing to his winning time (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| Double Down expertly pairs views with thrills all the way down. Matthew McCluskey (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| Tracks of gold through the woods. |
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| Steven Cloherty (Expert Master Men 40-49). |
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| Michael Mcallister's ripping run on stage four was brought to a halt due to a flat (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| This advanced line offered riders a clean shot. |
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| Jimmy Schwend-Cloherty's over commitment in this turn didn't keep him from taking first (Junior Men 17 & Under). |
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| Zach Coooper puts in a clean line on the way to first (Beginner Men). |
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| Derailleurs have a way of acting up mid-race. Laurel Peak (Expert Women). |
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| Tori Broughton passes between two giant sentinels on Double Down(Expert Women). |
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| Brendan Light (Sport Senior Men 30-39). |
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| The middle of Double Down has plenty of exposed sections to compliment the rolls. |
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| Marne Fox-Barrow (Expert Women). |
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| Ryan Rickerts (Sport Senior Men 30-39). |
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| Dive in, the dirt is great. |
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| Chris Mellick (Sport Master Men 40-49). Mellick placed third. |
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| The sun made one last return at the end of the day for a few glorious minutes. |
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| Jaclyn Jeffrey (Expert Women). |
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| Even the smooth parts of Double Down have some off-camber to play with. Alex Zbarazky (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| Whether you roll it or send it, this goal-post takes you by surprise. Kevin Foss (Expert Senior Men 30-39). |
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| Place your order, it's guaranteed to be delicious. |
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| And, all the better when washed down by some local brews. |
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| Kelend Hawks (Pro Men). |
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| Andrea Johnson (Sport Masters Women 40+). |
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| Matt Russell (Pro Men) and Krissy Lee Newton. |
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| Gauging by the flag waving, Craig Folsom was pretty stoked with his win (Expert Men 18-29). |
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| " Eric Brown is a great guy to work with - a little hyper for me though," says Park Manager Paul McEvers when describing working with WMBC's trail director. |
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| Pro Women Podium: Emily Sabelhaus, Adrian Hopkins, Britney White and Karen O'Connell. Pro Men Podium: Lars Sternberg, Logan Wetzel, Aaron Bradford, Jason Eiswald, and Matt Russell. |
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| Closing view en route to the top. |
MENTIONS: @ericashley / @olympicdirtsociety / @CascadiaDirtCup
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Everything but the weather is great in Bham.
Oh and 9,000 new acres of forest opened up to new mountain bike trail building.
5 mountains, more than you can ride in a week. Come stay! Bhams poppin off!
#cityofrenewedexcitement
Thanks for the help!
Moved here to go to school 25 years ago... Had never lived anywhere longer than 4 years before that.