Loup

Round 7 & 8 of the Fat Tire Revolution at Loup Loup Ski Bowl is going to rock! A wicked hard cross country race on Saturday, then Sunday an epic enduro race on some of WA finest single track.  What’s an Enduro you ask?  It’s a big ride with your buddies that just so happens to also be a race.  Yeah, we time the rad stuff.

Registration:

Loup Loup XC – Saturday 

Lighting Creek Enduro – Sunday 

We encourage pre-registration, but will have day of available. You must be registered 30 minutes before the start of your race.

Saturday Start Times:

10:00 am – Cat 3 (1 lap)
11:00 am – Cat 2 (1 lap)
12:30 pm – Pro/Cat 1 (2 laps)
3:00 pm – Free Kids Race & Prize Give-Away!

Sunday Start Times:

9:00 am – All Cat 1 & Pro (35 miles -3 stages)
9:00 am – All Cat 2 (35 miles-3 stages)
9:00 am – All Cat 3 (30 miles 2 stages)

Camping:  Onsite camping available for $10 with proceeds going to the Loup Loup Ski Bowl.

Loup Loup XC Course:  This is one tough course!  It’s 12.5 miles with approx 2200′ of climbing per lap.  The climbing begins right away and we’re not going to lie, it ain’t easy.  It’s a mix of double track and single track that opens up into some amazing views (not that you’ll get to enjoy them, but they are there).  Following the climb is some sweet single track with some good tech, some fast double track, and one more heart breaker climb and banzai descent to the finish.  This is what mountain biking is all about!  Note: the course map link reflects two laps.

Enduro Course:  The course is approx 30-35+ miles depending upon what category you are.  Most of the climbing is on Forest Service roads.  Bear Mtn. is the first timed stage.  It has a couple sharp little climbs with a few techie rock features.  The next stage is Lightning Creek which has great flow and is pretty fast.  The third stage (Cat 2 and 1 only) is Beaver Creek which has some speed, with a few technical areas, like some tight rooty, rocky stuff along the creek and some steep rocky, skidded out stuff toward the bottom.  Overall the enduro will definitely have a more “mountain” feel and less “norba.”

Enduro Low Down:

This Enduro is a big ride.  A solid 35 miles with lots of climbing.  But it is sooo worth it!  We will have three timed stages for Pro, Cat 1, and Cat 2 (Bear Mountain, Lighting Creek, and Beaver Creek).  And two timed stages for Cat 3 (Bear Mountain and Lightning Creek) with a total of appox. 30 miles.  We will have a well stocked aid station that you will pass by 2-3 times.  Note: there will be no junior categories racing the enduro.  We want to get kids stoked on mtb’s not scarred for life.

Enduro is a fun mountain biking race format that for many participants feels more like a great ride with friends. That’s because the general format is a stage-race with both timed (typically descending) and untimed connector sections (typically ascending) covering a variety of cross-country or all-mountain style trail sections. The uphill, or connector, sections are ridden at your own pace.

The winner is the rider with the lowest combined time from the various timed sections. While a rider’s time on the connector sections doesn’t affect his or her final time, these sections do typically have maximum time limit for completion.

Enduro races can be ridden on the average cross-country or all-mountain bicycle with 4″-7″ of travel. So no need to invest in a special bike or new gear. And, because this is a stage-race, it evens the playing field for riders who might be fast on the downs, but not as fast at climbing — making Enduro racing a terrific sport for riders of all abilities.

Enduro is a relatively new format for mountain bike racing in the U.S., but it has been popular in Europe for many years. And it’s quickly gaining in popularity here.

Directions

Loup Loup Ski Bowl.  Approximately 12.5 miles East of Twisp WA on SR 20 hang a left on NF42.  In less than a quarter mile you’ll stay straight on NF4200.  This will take you right there.