Plattekill Delivers the Gnar
No race plate! I crashed further up course and somehow sheared the race plate off my bars. Fortunately the timing chip stayed on, which is what really matters.
What a wild weekend! We trekked up to the Catskills this past weekend for the Maxxis Eastern States Cup and got a taste of what makes Plattekill so infamous.
Saturday dawned bright and clear, with perfect riding conditions. I had never ridden Plattekill before and had been warned about its steep and treacherous nature. It turns out there would be no course dumbing down for us U12 Class, we were going to race the same course as the pros. The first practice run down had me a little concerned, it was a 1,000 vertical feet of rocks, roots, and drops. After another couple of runs it was apparent there were just two or three sections of concern, and by the fourth run I managed to piece everything together in one go. I did a couple of more practice runs after that, fine tuning lines and getting more comfortable on the course. I hadn't seen any other kids on the course all day. It turns out the other U12s were practicing for the Enduro. At the end of the day we all rode the DH course together and I could see that my practice runs were paying off.
On race day we woke to pouring, driving rain - it was like November in the Pacific Northwest. Arriving at Plattekill, we hear there has been a power outage and the lift wasn't working. Several hearty souls made the 40 minute push to the top for a practice run. I was nervous about course conditions and was contemplating doing the same until I asked a teenager what he learned from his practice run, and his answer was, "I learned I shouldn't have bothered pushing my bike up, it was brutal (the push up)."
Eventually the power company got the power back on and the lift started spinning. Up we went into the cold, misty fog. My dad wasn't allowed on course with me, so down I went alone. I had a small crash right at the top when my tire washed out on the wet roots. I was fine, but somehow it was enough to shear the race plate from my handlebars. Fortunately the timing chip stayed on. I picked my way down the track quickly and carefully. It was treacherous, but I made it to the finish in one piece covered in mud. I am so happy to haven taken the win in this race and gotten Plattekill under my belt, I feel like it's a kind of right of passage in East Coast DH. Hat's off to the ESC crew for battling the tough weather conditions that took out their lift and computers on race day. See you all at Thunder Mountain!