The Breck Epic now a happy memory, I was on the fence whether to race the upcoming Crook Country Crush XC race outside of Prineville, OR on July 18th. The local Deschutes brews were tasting awfully good and hanging out in, out and around the river made up the "training" regimen other than Wed Night Crit racing.Inspiration came in the form of a Bend Bulletin article detailing the very area the race was to be held with a photo of woodsy singletrack and summer wildflowers. Sold.
The course started with a nice 4% paved climb for about 5 miles letting the small PRO/Expert field warmup and get ready for the 30 mile course with 6000ft of climbing and over 20 miles of singletrack. Taking a right off the road onto the Round Mountain Trail (#805a), Chris Sheppard set the early tempo (gasping for the rest of us) and created a quick separation. I was second in line and followed suit up through the large Ponderosa trees and dry, needle-covered singletrack. Gaps quickly formed as we climbed, climbed, climbed up the Lookout Mountain Trail (#804) gaining spectacular views of the lush, rural agricultural lands surrounding the town of Prineville . In fact you could even catch glimpses of The Three Sisters, Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson and Mt Washington as topped out at 7100ft elevation.
Don't gape to long because the singletrack descents were narrow, fast, slightly off-camber and had a lot of little rock bands hidden around the next corner. The faster you went, the easier the descents became and the wider the grin spread. I ended up riding the entire race alone trying to feel like I was racing, but couldn't help stopping at the aid station for a banana and hello with promotor Kevin Thompson's family. Managed to stay focused and follow Shep in for 2nd on the day.Round Mountain and Lookout Mountain trails are epic, that's all there is to it. Print out the directions from the Crook County Crush XC race flyer, fill up the Hydrapak and go ride these trails before the snow starts falling again. Oh yeah, and make sure to include this on your race schedule next year - its well worth it and you can even pick up a great burrito at Ranchero Mexican Restaurant in Prineville post race.
Check out the Garmin course map here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/9152273
Photos Courtesy of Jeremy Dickman and the Bend Bulletin
