Protect Your Head Brew is ready for Rocky Knob Fest. Join us tomorrow 1-5. BBQ, Burritos, and Coffee, and fun on bikes! More raffle prizes keep rolling in: App Ski Mountain passes, Beech Mountain passes, and Tsuga Canopy goodies.
And don’t forget about the Boonetown Throwdown on Sunday!
The future Sunset Skills Area
Rocky Knob Fest is fast approaching. Join us this Saturday, Oct 27th at 1:00 to enjoy the incredible fall conditions at the park. Magic Cycles will be on hand with Giant Demos (2012 Reign’s will be sold at a special price). ASU Cycling team members will lead group rides starting at 2:00. BBQ and burritos will be available all afternoon ($7/plate including 1 raffle ticket; additional raffle tickets f0r $1 each). Bald Guy is roasting a special “Rocky Knob Double Black Diamond Brew” and we will have a raffle featuring local goods to benefit the Boone Area Cyclists and the ASU Recreation Management Association’s student scholarship. Stay at the Marriott in Boone for a special Rocky Knob Fest rate and enjoy the Boonetown Throwdown on Sunday.
“Karate Monkey” Ryan Puckett going full rigid on the PBJ.
Christopher Patino deep in a PBJ berm.
The trails at Rocky Knob are not easy. Rocks, roots, leaves, more rocks, climbs, and downhills are some of the challenges riders face. And that’s just on the first trail. Most regulars at Rocky Knob will attest that riding here will make you a better rider. Imagine growing up riding at two wheels at Rocky Knob? What kind of talent might emerge? One of the visions of Rocky Knob Park is to create a place where riders could progress their skills (what ever their skill level) on authentic challenges. International events like yesterday’s Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day remind us that going big starts small.
Rocky Knob joined countless other trail systems across the world in playing host to over 13,000 kids riding bikes on trails. Some of the skills we worked on yesterday with our young rippers were patience and decision making, along with braking and shifting. Getting more kids at younger ages on bikes has many beneficial ripple effects: riders develop a sense of fitness and health, they make connections between people and our natural environment, and as IMBA believes, “Today’s riders are tomorrow’s land managers.” So when you get a chance, take a kid mountain biking.
Special thanks to Eric Marland, Jay Womack, Ryan Puckett, John Goldbaum, DeFeet Socks, IMBA, Specialized, Magic Cycles, Boone Bike and Touring, and the Boone Area Cyclists for making this event come together.
Rocky Knob Park will host the International Mountain Bicycling Association’s (IMBA) Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day (TAKMD) this Saturday, Oct 6 from 2-5. We will have rides and activities for children who are independent riders on two wheels.
TKMBD is an annual celebration held on the first Saturday of October. The event, developed and coordinated by IMBA, strives to encourage communities around the world to join together and ride mountain bikes with youth. Last year, we had more than 13,000 participants at hundreds of events across the globe, including: Italy, Australia, South Africa, Canada, Malaysia, and Mexico. Informal or formal, one child or one hundred children, TKMBD celebrates the joy of riding in the dirt.
Besides being good, healthy fun, the goal is to develop a connection between kids and the natural world around them. Today’s children are tomorrow’s land managers and politicians — future decision-makers for important matters like recreation and access to public lands. How different might our current access landscape look today if previous generations of policy makers had grown up riding bikes on natural-surface trails?
Bring your bikes and helmets (we’ll have a few loaner helmets if you need one) and sample the trails or the pump track at Rocky Knob this Saturday.
