My favorite race series

Charlotte Sports Cycling, which is the local XC race series here in Charlotte has set their schedule for 2012. This series is one of my favorites and is better known locally as the "summer series". You get to know a lot of the local mountain bikers and it's friendly, yet really competitive racing. Neal Boyd, the owner of Charlotte Sports Cycling does a great job putting on this series and lots of other events in the area. We are lucky to have him and all that he does for the sport here in Charlotte. Thanks Neal! You can check out his events here: http://www.charlottemtnbike.com/
This year the series is changing it's format. Anne Springs, which is probably my favorite trail in the area is being added to the schedule. This is great news for me as I live 5 minutes away and know every single root, rock, and line at that place. It's got a lot of technical sections, which I love. I've been riding it about 100 days a year for 7 years now, so I 'd say I know how to go fast there if the "motor" is cooperating that day. Knowing and doing as it turns out can be two different things completely.

Don't let the name fool you, this is no greenway. I really like this trail mostly because it has a little bit of everything trailwise. There are plenty of roots and rooty sections to pick lines thru, some rocks, creek crossings, tons of twisty tight singletrack, flowy parts, some fun short down hills, tunnels that take you under the road, and even suspension bridges that move side to side and up and down as you go over them.

This bridge has dumped lots of riders in the creek and if your bars are not super narrow your gonna scrap those posts on the way in. For Charlotte area Anne Springs has decent climbing as well. Per lap the place has 805 ft of climbing and is roughly 9 miles long. Like I said, lots to like. This picture makes the tunnel look spooky, but I assure you it's only about 50 feet long and not a big deal - it's great to be able to go back and forth under the road.

Obviously I'm really excited about the addition of Anne Springs to the race schedule. April 18th will be the first race of the series and it'll be at Anne Springs so come out to race or to cheer on the all of us who choose to suffer. I'm hoping to do well, but there are some monsters in my class and I have no idea what sort of shape I'll be in come April? Here is the rest of the schedule for the summer.

Anne Springs Close Greenway

April 18 May 30 July 11

Fisher Farm Park

May 9 June 20 August 1

North Meck Park

April 25 June 6 July 18 Reniassance Park May 2 June 13 July 25

USNWC

May 16 June 27 August 8

As you can see the summer series rotates between five different trail systems that are located in and around Charlotte. You already know how I feel about Anne Springs, but I also really like USNWC which is better known as the US National Whitewater Center. Check it out  - HERE. While you are there you can do some  whitewater kayaking. Here's a shot of me last summer tearing up M-Wave:

I use one of my friends lines here - It's bigger then it looks in the picture. That's actually a good sized class III rapid. At any rate, back to mountain biking - I'll talk a little more about whitewater this summer when it's warmer. The trails at USNWC are really fun. There is some climbing out there that separates the men from the boys. You also get to watch the rafting disasters

Tune in later this week and I'll dive deeper into the summer series schedule to include a breakdown on the other 3 courses.