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Dirt Rag Articles
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12 Hours of Razorback
Feb 18, 2006
Reddick, FL
Tucked in the midst of horse farms and not much else in the dot-on-the-map north central Florida town of Reddick is Razorback Mountain Bike Park. Now, I've traveled enough to know that assuming certain regions won't have any trail to speak of because of limited topography is usually foolish, as I'm continuously amazed at what people can make out of what they have. Razorback is a case in point. Whoever said you need mountains to have great mountain biking was, as they say, just plain wrong.
Stop number one of the 2006 Dirt Rag World Tour was the 6th 12 Hours of Razorback, this year gleefully attended by about 450 racers, with 156 solo riders. The venue is a privately owned park, open on weekends from 9 to 5. Trails were built and are maintained by race promoter Dave Berger, and after a spin on the more than 10 miles of trail, I take my hat off to him. Tight singletrack all the way, Razorback provides a challenge to any level of rider. Drops, swoopy sections, rocky climbs and lush Floridian flora put that goofy singletrack grin on my face and a few bugs in my teeth. The word is overused, but I'm going to use it anyway: this is a mountain biking gem, and if you're in the area, you'd be foolish to pass it up.
With a bracing shower/bike wash, potable water and portable toilets, camping was the way to go for this event. And Mother Nature provided, with a gorgeous sunny day and dry, hard pack trail. It didn't seem like work chilling in the booth to either Maurice or myself as the racers did their thing (we did just drive down from Pittsburgh's winter, after all), and with some tasty swag from Kenda (some fine Kenda Karma 2.0 tires, perfect for the terrain, to be exact), we had the chance to meet and greet subscribers, both new and old.
The winner of the expert team category was the TrekVW team with 16 laps. Having guest rider Sue Haywood on the team didn't hurt their chances none. Top solo rider was KHS Cycle Youth's Andy Johnston with 13 laps, and top woman was Cannondale/Landrover's Tricia Stevenson with 12 laps. Team CBE took the Sport category with 15 laps, UF N Crazy took the Beginner under 125 category with 13 laps, Pure Energy took the Beginner over 125 category with 14 laps, and the top 6 hour solo rider was Ryan Woodall with 7 laps. Congrats to the winners and everyone out there riding their best and simply having the proverbial tons of fun.
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