Specialized BicyclesYes good friends of TRW, we still do exist. Our tales of epicnicity have never stopped. Many of us have been "shreading the gnar" while others have been guzzling copious amounts of hoppy nectar. Then there are those that have been doing both. It's been a great deal of time since the last post. Since the Land Run 100, the team crushed Tour of Herman, mushroom stamped the Ogre, Cincinnati bow-tied the Cedar Cross, and gave the Dirty Kanza a Mongolian War Mask. Hell...we even adopted a french dude on the team, Pierre...only to have him sadly depart back to the land of crepes. Of course, we sent him out in appropriate TRW fashion...pub ride!
Well, this past weekend was one to document in the land of the interwebs. About 3 months ago, we heard the rumblings of a new mountain bike park being built on over 200 acres around Nixa. Well, this utopia was no dream...this place does exist. Now don't get us wrong dear friends. We have a deep rooted passion for some of our favorite trails in the land of the Mighty MO...Middlefork, one of our favorites. Council Bluff...one can never go wrong. Berryman...hell, it's an IMBA epic. But this place is not in comparison. Downhill trails???? Skill courses???? Slopestyle courses???? 10 ft. berms???? Yes...this place does exist here in MO...so yes...we had to go see this for ourselves.
Nick (the pulled pork eating champ), Corey, Bob, and myself jumped in our autobots and drove 3 hours down to the place only to be greated by Paul who had been there from the wee hours in the morning. Unfortunately, the area had received a great deal of rain the night before, and the trails had yet to be opened for riding. It was no big deal though, because this was the grand opening of this place they called, Two Rivers. TRW was in heaven. Mountain bikers were everywhere, there was scent of bbq in the air, and we could hear the ale flowing out of the taps. We cruised around, drank some local brew, talked to some local riders, and began to chomp at the chance to ride this place.
We're there
Two Rivers was built by a non-profit organization called Trail Spring. I believe Trail Spring is the organization that built Slaughter Penn in Bentonville, AR as well as other well respected trails. A MC got on the microphone and did a dedication to the opening of trail. Trail Spring's motto is, "earn your dirt". There were a large number of volunteers there, one of them being a volunteer that logged in over 1000 hours of volunteer time. Due to his countless hours of volunteer time, Trail Spring rewarded him with a fully carbon downhill bike...freakin' sweet. I have to admit, after riding these trail, I have the utmost respect for all of the people that put time into constructing this trail...because we haven't even touched the details.
So, as we stumbled upon the throngs of mt. bikers, there was #1 a skill course. Yes, a place to ride every man made obstacle known to man. Skinnies, ramps, more skinnies, platforms...hell...I don't even know what you call of them, but there were a freakin ton of them. #2 up on the massive Ozark hill side you could see a slope style course that ended with a rather large wall ride...yum. #3 We hear of this downhill course...it could not be seen, but we were on a mission to find this so-called gravity cavity. #4 8 miles of flowy singletrack. Now I know many of you may be thinking, "only 8 miles?" Yes, but it is said that they plan on building a total of 30 miles within the next two year...yes 30. Not to mention, these 8 miles were not for the light hearted.
one of many skinnies
The time to ride was on. We rolled onto the "west" trail. I wish I could articulate through words the type of beauty that rumbled under the tread of our tires. We were embelished in fast, flowy lines...surrounded by waterfalls and gorgeous views of the Ozark Mountains. We caught as much air as we could with natural lines that provided us with atmosphere between our rubber and dirt. We pumped our legs driving ourselves up wicked nasty climbs only to be presented with awesome views and fast downhills. Beautifuly groomed berms let us shread turns. Our lungs hurt and our thighs burned, but it was worth every second of it.
awesome.
As we finally summitted to the top of what seemed like a good hour of climbing, we came across some locals. They guided us to the foot of what would be a short, but bowel dropping downhill course. I'll have to admit, I was slightly nervous, but we bombed away. 10 ft. high berms, massive jumps, manure flailing from my drawals...it was righteous. Rigteous enough that it had to be attempted more than once. We rode it all my good friends. The only thing we didn't ride was the bluff line trail that had been closed because of the rain.
yup...we took the shuttle once...our legs hurt...and we had full bellies of pulled pork.
This kid could shred...no joke
The only bad part of the day is that we had to leave. Don't be surprised if this place doesn't start getting some big attention. There's no doubt this trail is going to pull people from all over the state, AR, OK, KS, and who knows where else. The best part about it...there's more trail going to be made!!!! Trail Spring plans not only building more flowy singletrack, but another downhill course, more slopestyle stuff, and I believe a pump track.
As I write this, all I can think about is when can I make the long drive back this place. So my dear friends, all I have to say is...ROAD TRIP!
ps...I stole these pictures from the internet...so who ever took them, I hope you don't mind. They're awesome pics. My wife took some. Once she uploads them, I'll post some more.
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