Pro GRT Super D preview trip!
I got a message from Jeff Lenosky asking if I wanted to ride some time soon so I figured it was time for a day off from work and decided to meet him at Mountain Creek Bike Park on a Friday. We planned on getting in some runs on the Super D course to be used for the POC Pro GRT event that was coming up. Weather was perfect, sunny and in the 70’s. It had rained the day before so some of the trails were a little greasy but it wasn’t so bad that we couldn’t ride. It just made it that much more interesting through the berms.
Before we could set off to ride the clip on my helmet broke, normally this would mean “day over” but luckily Jeff had a couple of demo Mavic Notch helmets with him.
I haven’t had the opportunity to wear a new helmet in a couple of years so I thought that this could be interesting and not in a good way. When it comes to mountain bike gear, especially protective gear, you want it to be comfortable and for it not to get in the way of the riding.
I’ve seen this helmet online and I love the look of it but the fit and weight were more impressive than the style…and my Ryders Shore goggles worked well with it. So if you’re in the market for a new helmet check out the Notch.
Crisis averted, onto the riding!
Using Jeff’s connections at the mountain we had a shuttle truck set up to take us up top when we needed. Our first trip up was a combination of riding and pushing up the steep stuff. We met up with a truck 2/3 of the way up and they got us to the Granite side of the mountain. There’s something about the view at the top of a mountain that just doesn’t get old in my book.
We got in three or four runs of the Super D course but also made a trip around to the backside of the mountain so he could take me through one of the enduro stages from last year’s King Of The Mountain race. I missed the event due to an injury.
Here’s a little run down of the course:
The POC Pro GRT Super D will be a mass start that starts on an uphill, this will allow the sprint madness to occur without everyone barreling down hill right away. 
The rest of the course is a combo of access roads, single track and bike park trails.
Just before the finish you’ll encounter a short uphill then a steep descent before the finish, shown below.
Below is the course map and profile for this 1.7mi Super D.
You can check out the segment details here.
Video preview:
I only shot one video this day and didn’t get the camera angle in the right spot so unfortunately you get to view more of my handle bars than I’d prefer.
Coming from an area where the total elevation gain for a 20mi ride is 200+ feet, I needed a run or two to get back in the swing of real mountain descending. During our second run down the mountain I was feeling comfortable so by the time I got to shoot video of the course I was ready to open it up a little more. Jeff said “no stopping this time” so on we went, it wasn’t a 100% effort but it was faster than we had gone in the previous runs. The course will be fast and should see sub 7min times…that is if you’re keeping track. Since this will be a mass start, time won’t matter, just finishing ahead of the other guy will! It should be fun as long as someone doesn’t show up in their Mad Max style gear.
Overall a great day, to be able to follow a rider like Jeff down the mountain is a rare occasion for me so I enjoyed the time very much.
