Plattekill Gravity Series Finals

The final downhill race of the Plattekill, NY gravity series was held on Oct. 25. Rebecca Bagley posted the fastest women's time of the day. Rebecca also took the Cat. 2-3 series win by a narrow margin over Felicia Kearsley. Kristine Koch won the series for the Pro/Expert women. For more information about the downhill and dual slalom series at Plattekill, visit Plattekill.com.

Cat. 2-3 Women
1. Rebecca Bagley
2. Felicia Kearsley
3. Jennel Ortiz

Gravity East Series Finals

The last race of the 2009 Gravity East Series was held October 10-11 at Plattekill, NY. Dawn Bourque took the win for the pro women. Although I haven't seen any season-long tallies, based on the results history, it looks like Dawn has taken the series title, with Karen Eagan in 2nd. If you've seen the season totals, please let me know! For more information about the series, visit GravityEastSeries.com.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Karen Eagan
3. Stephanie Gubernat
4. Lauren Petersen
5. Lauren Daney

Cat. 1 Women
1. Susan DelPino
2. Kristine Koch
3. Hannah Trimble
4. Katelyn Parhiala

Cat. 2/3 Women
1. Rebecca Bagley
2. Felicia Kearsley
3. Leslie Litton
4. Jennel Ortiz

Junior Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Maddie Crowley
3. Olivia Allison

Plattekill Gravity Series Catch-Up

It turns out that we've missed a few results from the Plattekill, NY downhill and dual slalom series. So, here's a catch-up session. For more information, visit Plattekill.com.

September 19-20
Downhill
Open Women
1. Felicia Kearsley
2. Rebecca Bagley
3. Jennel Ortiz

Junior Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Olivia Allison

September 5-6
Downhill
Open Women
1. Rebecca Bagley
2. Felicia Kearsley

Junior Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Olivia Allison

Dual Slalom
Open Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Olivia Allison
3. Brooke Wilson

July 25-26
Downhill
Open Women
1. Becky Gardner
2. Meredith Mansfield
3. Felicia Kearsley
4. Rebecca Bagley

Dual Slalom
Open Women
1. Olivia Allison
2. Taylor Allison

More Fall Racing!

If you haven't gotten your fill of racing yet this year, there are a slew of events still to come in October and November. We've already mentioned the final race in the Northstar downhill series this weekend, and the Race for Tara 3 at Northstar on Oct. 10-11th. Here are a few more you may not have heard about:

Fall Tilt 12-Hour Endurance Downhill Race
Telluride, CO
October 2-4
VisitTelluride.com

Snowshoe Downhill Series Finals
Snowshoe, WV
October 2-4
Ride.Snowshoemtn.com

Gravity East Series #10
Mount Snow, VT
October 3-4
GravityEastSeries.com

Red Bull Burner 12-Hour Downhill Race
Angel Fire, NM
October 10
RedBullBurner.com

Gravity East Series Finals
Plattekill, NY
October 10-11
GravityEastSeries.com

Diablo Gravity Series Finals
Vernon, NJ
October 17-18
DiabloFreeridePark.com

Lagrange Fall Classic Downhill
Weaverville, CA
October 17-18
TeamBigfoot.net

NY State Downhill Series Finals
Plattekill, NY
October 24-25
Plattekill.com

Diabloween
Vernon, NJ
October 31
DiabloFreeridePark.com

18th Annual Southridge Challenge
Fontana, CA
November 21-22
SoutridgeUSA.com

Plattekill Results (June 13-14)

We have some catching up to do. The second Plattekill, NY downhill race, and first dual slalom race, of the season were held on June 13 and 14. Junior rider Taylor Allison won the dual slalom, and she also posted the fastest women's downhill time by more than 30 seconds. The next race at Plattekill will be held on July 25-26. For more information, visit Plattekill.com.

Downhill
Cat. 2/3 Women
1. Rebecca Bagley
2. Felicia Kearsley

Junior Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Maddie Crowley
3. Olivia Allison

Dual Slalom
Junior Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Maddie Crowley
3. Olivia Allison

The East Coast Rides Again

The snow has melted, the daffodils are blooming, and it’s almost time for the guys to get out there and mow the lawn while we ladies hit the resorts that have already opened for mountain biking season. Quite frankly, the East Coast has it going on, and to prove it, I'm going to take you on a little road trip.

The adventure starts with a warm-up in the Big Apple. New York City’s Highbridge Park features dirt jumps and a pump track right in the middle of urbania. Although there are no lifts here, it’ll do you some good to pedal around after a day of eating at any of the fabulous places in the city.

Heading away from the skyscrapers and concrete of New York City, travel northwest into the rolling hills of rural New Jersey and into the parking lot of Mountain Creek’s Diablo Freeride Park in Vernon. This is pretty much the East’s first and premier freeride park. After a day of world-class freeriding, take a day--if you can spare it--and play in the water park.

From New Jersey travel back into the Catskills of Upstate NY to ride another one of New York’s gems, Plattekill. What Diablo is with it’s groomed and buffed out jumps, landings and berms, Plattekill is its au naturale opposite. Its fast trails and legendary steepness lends itself to well-honed riding skills. It’s a little local place with gritty charm and now offers riding camps, racing, a dual slalom course, and $199 season passes before 5/15/09! Camp in the parking lots and make sure to say hi to Laslow.

Just a few minutes up the road is Hunter Mountain where flowy, mellow trails are not as knuckle whitening as at Plattekill, but still offer fun and challenge for riders of all levels. Hunter Mountain would be a perfect place for the fledgling gravity rider to hone their skills and gain confidence. Rental and guided ride packages as well as hourly mountain bike lessons are available.

The fourth destination, Catamount, is just getting into the gravity and freeride scene. Catamount offers a skills park, lift-served downhill riding, and dirt jumps. Freeride Foundation's field team (AKA Mrs. Allegra Burch) has not yet had the opportunity to scope out this area in detail, but we’ve heard positive things from riders of all abilities.

Now we'll travel north and cross over into Massachusetts to ride Jiminy Peak. The riding starts to get back into a mix of natural techi-ness and flow. Again, the Freeride Foundation field team cannot provide the gritty details, but Jiminy Peak has been advised as a place that must be ridden.

A short and scenic three-hour drive puts us back in New York and in the wilds of the Adirondack Park. We travel towards Lake Placid, the home of the 1981 Olympics and breathtaking eastern mountain views of Whiteface Mountain. Whiteface is a gem, although not for the faint of heart. Nicknamed “Iceface” for bare spans of windblown Canadian shield, it boasts miles and miles of trails that swoop through loamy wooded sections and plunge down shelves of rectangular rock. This is where the legendary 5k Downhill Race takes place, and don’t be fooled, it’s legit.

Whiteface also has a pump track at mid-mountain that’s a replica of the municipal pump track of Stowe, VT. If you go, find Downhill Mike in the shop and tell him Freeride Foundation sent ya. Make sure to check out The Flume swimming hole while you’re there!

No trip would be complete without ice cream, so off to Vermont we go. After spending time guzzling maple syrup and recovering from Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia induced brain freeze, we roll over to Killington, VT to work off some of those calories. Again, sadly the Freeride Foundation field team is lacking in details, but reports say Killington is fun, fun, fun and very welcoming to women. From what we understand, there is something here for everyone. Hucks, leisurely descents and high-speed sections. We’re hoping to see good things on the riding front coming from Killington!

“Live Free or Die!” Ok, we accept. Helloooo Highland Bike Park of New Hampshire! This former hole-in-the-wall ski resort was snapped up for a song by some local riders and turned into a mountain bike Zion. Dirt Jumps, well built stunts, flowy trails and a lift--Highland Bike Park has it going on. It plays host to numerous major slope style events and has an overall great scene. Good food and frosty beverages are available on-site.

Note: Freeride Foundation’s East Coast field tester had a little trouble wrapping her head around Highland at first, but once she started trusting all of the features, all was well!

Just in case we hadn’t gotten our fill of maple and creamy frozen treats, we head back to Vermont and visit the legendary Mt. Snow. Mt. Snow has hosted national and local races nearly since the inception of the sport of mountain biking. Mt. Snow’s trails are FAST and may the lord have mercy on your soul if it rains. There is freeriding here, which is worth checking out along with the amazing scenery.

Don’t forget your bug spray and to stop in the deli in the village and get yourself a “Vermonter” sandwich. Apple, bacon and ham drizzled in maple syrup and snuggled between two thick slices of French toast!

This concludes our lift-served East Coast road trip. However that’s not what the East Coast is all about. Simply epic trail riding abounds in every one of these states, and even more lift served gravity action is available as you travel south into Maryland (Wisp) and West Virginia (Snowshoe).

Hopefully everyone will have an opportunity to come out here and ride. You’ll get more bang for your buck than nearly any state in the West and be no more than five hours from one of the world’s premier cities.

Plattekill's Final Downhill Race of 2008

The last race Plattekill's season was held in Roxbury, NY this weekend. The race was also the final race of the New York State Downhill Championship Series. Kristine Koch took her first Pro/Expert win at the double-points race. Vicki Koch held onto her significant points lead to win the overall Pro/Expert Women's series. Click here to view the entire series points and rankings.

Downhill Race
Pro/Expert
1. Kristine Koch
2. Vicki Koch

Junior Beginner
1. Taylor Allison

Gravity East Series Finals

The final downhill race of the Gravity East Series was held last weekend at Plattekill, NY. Dawn Bourque took home the win for the Pro/Expert Women. With her win in this double-points race, Dawn takes the series title for the Pro/Expert Women. Lauren Daney took the win in a tight race for the Sport/Beginner series title, and Taylor Allison won the Junior Beginner series title. The race results are below. Visit GravityEastSeries.com to view the series standings.

Pro/Expert Women
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Karen Eagan
3. Lauren Petersen
4. Susan DelPino
5. Vicki Koch

Sport/Beginner Women
1. Lauren Daney
2. Kristine Koch
3. Elisa DeGolyer
4. Meredith Mansfield
5. Tammy Allison

Junior Beginner Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Olivia Allison

Plattekill Downhill and Dual Slalom #4 Results

A few weeks ago, Plattekill, NY hosted the fourth racing weekend of their series. Susan DelPino represented for the Pro/Expert Women, but it was the juniors who stole the show. The three Junior Beginner Women were the only girls to race both Dual Slalom and Downhill. The next race of the Plattekill series will be held on October 11-12, and doubles as the Gravity East Series finale. Click here to learn more about the racing at Plattekill.

Dual Slalom
Junior Beginner Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Maddie Crowley
3. Olivia Allison

Downhill
Pro/Expert Women
1. Susan DelPino

Sport/Beginner Women
1. Erin Davey

Junior Beginner Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Maddie Crowley
3. Olivia Allison

More from New York: Plattekill Race #3

The third dual slalom and downhill races in the Plattekill Mountain, NY series were held August 23 and 24. The only ladies to compete at the race were Junior Women, and Taylor Allison swept the event with wins in both dual slalom and downhill. The next weekend of racing at Plattekill will be September 20-21. You can find out more about the series at Plattekill.com.

Downhill
Junior Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Olivia Allison

Dual Slalom
Junior Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Maddie Crowley
3. Olivia Allison

Gravity East Series Race #4 Results

Plattekill Mountain, NY hosted the fourth downhill race in the Gravity East Series on Sunday. Dawn Bourque took her second GES Pro downhill win of the season. The second race of New York's Dual Slalom State Championship Series was held on Saturday, and Isabel Georgian took the Pro win.

Downhill
Pro/Expert Women
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Allegra Burch A
3. Isabel Georgian
4. Alicia Hamilton
5. Karen Eagan
6. Vicki Koch

Sport/Beginner Women
1. Lauren Daney
2. Kristine Koch
3. Marielle Lueker
4. Amy Somers

Junior Beginner Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Greer Sargeant

Dual Slalom
Pro/Expert Women
1. Isabelle Georgian
2. Karen Eagan
3. Vicki Koch

Beginner/Sport Women
1. Kristine Koch
2. Amy Somers

Junior Women
1 Maddie Crowley
2 Taylor Allison
3 Olivia Allison

Plattekill Mountain Downhill #1 Results

In addition to being a junior guys' World Championships qualifier, the Plattekill Mountain downhill race on May 4, 2008 was also the first in a series of races at the Roxbury, NY resort. East Coast ripper Vicki Koch was the lone Pro/Expert woman to race, and there was a solid Sport women's showing. The next race at Plattekill will be a dual slalom on June 14.

Pro/Expert Women
1. Vicki Koch

Sport Women
1. Amanda Doughty
2. Tammy Allison
3. Gaelle Hudson
4. Stephanie Eannetta

Beginner Women
1. Taylor Allison