Race Report: Trans New England 2022 Days 3-4
Waking up to gently falling rain in the Mt. Washington Valley of New Hampshire, the effort of earlier days was clearly expressed across bodies slumped over coffee and food. As quiet conversations turned to laughter, tired eyes lifted up to the mountains across Attitash Resort, where bikes would be piloted for the day down 90s era DH tracks, and out towards Mt. Washington itself, still shrouded in clouds. Known as Kodaak Wadjo ("The top is so hidden") to the local indigenous peoples including the Abenaki and Algonquian, and as simply "high interior mountain" to initial European surveyors, this peak, the highest in New England, stands sentinel over the landscape, giving it a sense of relief that could challenge any landscape west of the Rockies. Attitash, with 1400 feet of elevation change from parking lot to peak, is composed entirely of decomposed granite, having had 180 million years since its origination to mature into the ideal soil for steep, tacky trails. This geologic and cultural provenance underscored a day of hike a bikes, loamy corners, exposed roots, and fern lined gulleys, followed by parking lot pit laps and apple bobbing in a way that could only be found here. After 25km and 1600 meters of descending, Attitash still held a multitude of trails rich in black gold that would sit untouched by tires, but laid freshly raked by event lead Peter Ostroski for those who follow or live locally - an ethic of true stewardship found at Trans New England that isn't exactly common these days.
Thursday morning saw a morning drive North along the White Mountains up to Mt. Abram in Maine, where Max Southam, the local trail builder lead, met us with welcome arms and wet dirt. Lap after lap, some accessed by pedal and some by lift, served up freshly shaped berms, rock slabs, and a now familiar New England jank of roots, rock and ruts lain into deep loam and slick mud. Lift service, thanks to the two seater chairlift installed in 1970, carried riders up an avenue of trees transitioning into the full spectrum of Autumns colors, with views of lakes and endless mountains beyond. Racers found themselves in not only the company of this unique landscape, but also local builders, up-and-coming juniors from Gould Academy, and a fair number of friends made over the past few days, with a few trail dogs thrown in for good measure. Race laps were followed by jib jams, party laps and whip offs before leaving for one final destination a touch further north.
Events such as TNE shine in not only the itinerary of world class riding, but in the community and experiences built along the way. Connections are made with local food, builders, environments, histories, and individuals who have travelled just as far to be in it all next to one another. Leaving each destination feels awfully similar to saying goodbye to old friends, where promises to see one another soon for a ride are meant in earnest. There is something about the North East that lends itself to this event format, but what that something is can only really be expressed through tires in dirt and beers with those who shared turns - the next best option may just be a long string of photos, so without further ado...
The White Mountains are an ancient, rugged, granite strewn range in the northern half of New Hampshire. North Conway is a town nestled in the heart of these mountains brimming with both outlet stores and artisan shops alike. Look beyond the outlets and main street and you will find out exactly why it's become known for the best gravity focused trail riding in the Northeast. With trails that rival those found in legendary places such as British Columbia, it's become known for the best gravity focused riding in the Northeast. Fast, rough, jank, tech, flow and big mountain adventure… it’s all here. A dedicated crew of local riders have formed Ride NoCo, a trail advocacy group for the region who have taken the reigns on managing many of the mountain bike specific trails and are constantly breaking ground on new terrain keeping everyone excited.
Pseudo Loc Janl (Dylan Russel) making awkward shapes in every corner
Builder Max Southam, making the most of his crews summer work
Thanks to event sponsors and supports who helped make it all happen
Sunday Morning Farms
Frontside Grind Coffee Roasters
MTN Culture
Orono and Saco Brewing
Klean Kanteen
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Given that female participation is not anywhere near that of men in enduro across all events in the US, I'm not expecting to have an equal number represented....but considering we had 25 racers in 2021, with 4 women and then nearly 38 racers this year, with 3 women, I would love to try and spur that ratio in the other direction in the very least. Additionally, while many of the guys racing TNE come in without knowing anyone, the majority of vast women who have participated in TNE the last two years have known someone who is already competing or has signed up with another person that they know and trust. Be it a spouse, a riding buddy, or a friend who helped assure them that it would be a blast.
It's just about getting in front of the right people, and sometimes I think that does mean pushing even harder to get this event in front of women-specific organizations and communities. But that's just my two cents...
On that point, I've been riding since the 90's and it's worth noting that the number of women I encounter has increased pretty significantly in recent years; though it is still quite majority male. But, like you, there are differences I've noticed. Whereas most of the men show up solo or with a buddy or two without much fanfare, in my area, there's often much more of a production with female riders. There are dedicated women's group rides, for example, at some of the major trail systems. And when I see them, they're large groups, well organized, and the women are all super encouraging of each other, etc. This is great to see. But it suggests to me that the increase in women is due to marketing mtb'ing in a distinctly "female" way.
But, I also wonder if this isn't, in a way, a prime example of why there is such gender disparity in something like TNE. The women are showing up for the group rides, but not TNE. TNE seems to me, by its nature, a huge commitment, competitive, intensely strenuous, and quite solitary - as you can attest far more than me. It's sort of the opposite of a "fun ride" on a weeknight and/or the type of marketing that has gotten more women into mtb'ing. It's more of an "epic" type of event, intended to push the extremes of individual riders. In other words, if the way to get more women into mtb'ing is to sell it as a sort casual, fun time to meet up with a bunch of other women, then TNE will always fail in that endeavor - provided that we keep TNE the same. Now, we could change TNE to more a "group ride" style event and heavily market it to women. But, is that the path we want to go down?