Regional Mountain Bike Racers Celebrate the Swan Song of Catawba Riverfront Park

In what may be the last time the current configuration of the cross-country mountain bike course is raced, regional mountain bikers descended on Catawba Riverfront Park for the Cane Creek Cup finals on October 2 and 3, 2004. The 10 race series, held at various locations across North and South Carolina, culminated for the first time on the trail located off of I-85 and Sam Wilson Road. The race is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Tarheel Trailblazers, the local, fully volunteer, trail building workforce in Charlotte.

Saturday dawned with a misty fog, as racers prepared for an exhilarating Downhill course, high flying Duo Slalom, or a grinding, short course, cross-country. The races differ in style and technical skill to the liking and equipment of the participants.

Male and female downhill racers donned body armor and full face helmets for the total of two timed runs against the clock. On specially prepared full suspension bicycles, with an average of 6 inches of front and rear travel, the 35 – 40 pound beasts are made for one thing: going down hill, and doing it as quickly as possible. The 1/2 mile long course descends through a wooded region of the park, with riders dodging trees, flying over huge drops, landing tabletops, and plowing hell bent through rock gardens. The one minute, 25 second ride is a heart stopping rush of acceleration and momentum as the rider negotiates the course.

Duo Slalom racing pits two riders, head to head, on a specially designed downhill course. The 25 – 30 second races are the adrenalin junkies high. A offshoot of the old dual slalom ski races, the competition offers a little of everything: the smooth flow and big air of the riders as they careen elbow to elbow on a course that features high banked turns and double jumps (and a fair share of the preverbal crash and burn).

A new, up and coming race, short course cross-country, was offered at Catawba for the first time in a Cane Creek Series event. The 0.8 mile course was run on fire roads, with just a touch of tight twisting singletrack thrown in, just to keep the riders honest. The races were run for a specified period of time (25, 45, or 60 minutes, by class), plus a bell lap.

Sunday was dedicated to the cross-country contingent, with their nimble, light weight racing bikes. Catawba offers something for everyone on the scenic but challenging course. Averaging 26 pounds or so, the hi-tech rigs swallow bumps, drops, roots and rocks as the racers traverse the 8.3 mile course. After dodging showers late Saturday and early Sunday, the trail was in excellent condition for the races, which were started in waves of three, with Beginner, Expert and Sport races being spaced throughout the morning to early afternoon.

But Catawba is known to bite, and to bite hard. During the Sport event, a rogue thunderstorm unleashed its full force on the racers and volunteers. The zip and crack of lightning and the immediate boom of thunder signaled a shortened day for the Sport riders, as their races were abbreviated to just one of the two scheduled laps. With the trail turning to a heavy rushing creek bed, all riders safely made their way to the finish line, wet, muddy and with drivetrains that had lost the crispness of shifting, long before the end of the ride. But even with all the fury Mother Nature could muster, there were nothing but smiles on the faces of the contestants.

The excitement of the weekend was somewhat tempered by the fact that the park we all know and love today, is changing. Construction of the US National Whitewater Center, scheduled for the coming fall, will rest on the grounds of Catawba, now referred to as Historic Tuckaseegee Ford Park. The footprint of the park, while currently somewhat nebulous, will probably be at the cost of at least three miles of sweet, volunteer built and maintained, singletrack. With new local municipalities coming onboard and inviting the Trailblazers to construct trails in their towns (Davidson, Mt. Holly and Harrisburg, to name a few) the future appears bright for mountain biking around the Metro-Charlotte region. But the loss of any trail at our beloved Catawba playground is a bitter pill to swallow by the mountain bike community.

May the Catawba of the past, and all of her memories, rest in peace…