Pisgah Podcast

Hurricane Helene has left Western North Carolina devastated. From the large city of Asheville to the hollers of Old Fort, Bat Cave, Mortimer and more, have all seen destruction. We've got friends all up and down these blue ridge mountains and felt it was time to check in with them and give you all an update from the source with hopeful tales of good news. Special thanks to Peter Mills, Kristian Jackson, Jared Hartman, Jane Dauster, Michael Thomas, Neko Mulally and Jason McDougald. The organizations mentioned in this episode: ⁠NW NC MTB Alliance⁠ ⁠Pisgah Area SORBA⁠ ⁠Friends of Dupont⁠ ⁠Neko's bike raffle⁠ ⁠Old Fort Strong⁠

We got a kickstart from Daniel and Natalie at Pisgah Area Sorba to crank this thing back up, so here we are! We've got the PAS folks on the mics to give us some updates on new trails and whats new in the scene while we've been away. Did you get an email from SORBA main too? if you didn't, here's the FAQ Link to answer some questions. If you've ridden the newly reworked Greenslick and Butter, smash that subscribe button!

Ever been so deep in Pisgah that you thought no one had touched that zone in forever but then you come across some fresh cut timber trail clearing and you're completely flabbergasted that someone brought a saw waaaay back there. Well, that someone was the Back Country Horsemen of Pisgah and we owe them a ton of thanks. A really great video was just released showing some of the story on what the club does and this podcast is a little bit more of that. If you have a little hitch in yer giddyup then check out The Back Country horsemen and click subscribe!

Matt Zuniga, a rising senior with the Brevard College Cycling team stops by to give us the run down on what these crazy college kids are up to, their operation and what their favorite rides are. Drew and Mangler wrapped up a busy year of downhill with a Central America visit and dropping a new USDH focused podcast, The Gravity Coop's Hot Seat. If you dropped out of college to ride bikes rather than go to college to ride bikes (LIKE DREW DID) then click subscribe!

About 7 months ago we dropped by Rockgeist so Drew could get a fancy custom bag made for his Tallboy and spent the morning documenting the process of making a bag the crew and the makings of Rockgeist with Greg Hardy PHD. So after 7 months, Drew has great things to say about his bag but some minor changes he would make. If you have bags full of water bottles strapped on your bike then click subscribe!

Western NC has been sprouting up some new trails over the summer so like any good podcast producers, we wanted to deliver some sweet sounds of ripping. Drew and Mangler convinced Adam Hobbs to join in as they visit some new trails at Chestnut Mountain and Old Fort. IF you have rolled the rock on Union then click subscribe!

NC has legally declared 2023 as Year of the Trail so we got some of those behind the scenes of this movement on the mics to talk about the who, what and why. Daniel Sapp and Seth Alvo of Backslope along with Beth Heile from Friends of Valdese fill us in as we hung out at Berm Peak. October 21st is the first Great Trails State Day and it will continue every year as the third saturday in October. So to help us celebrate, lets all get outside and invite others to enjoy one of North Carolina's finest assets!

Like many of you, we had lots and lots of questions regarding the proposed user fees for Pisgah Ranger district for mountain bikes and equestrians. So after a week of gathering questions, our friends at Pisgah Area SORBA got a lot of them answered from the USFS and brought us that info. Huge thanks to Natalie Narburgh, the Executive Director of PAS for sitting down with us for this rapid fire. You can find a link to the FAQ here: https://pisgahareasorba.org/2023/06/30/usfs-proposed-fee-faq/ And there is a paragraph at the bottom that gives you some pointers on submitting your comment.

Little White Oak Mountain may be an unfamiliar name for most listeners, but you're going be remembering it after listening to Craig Lee of Community Trail Designs and Ed Sutton of Trail Dynamics fill us in on the juicy details of the soon to be project. 900'sh feet of descent on a south facing mountain in a public trail system, easily highway accessible and way closer to the major metros to our east and south. Sounds dreamy! Also, while we've got Ed on the mic, he fills us in on the Bernard Mountain project over in Old Fort, thats opening June 16th. If your local trails are beginning to be built like a bike specific trail park the way that white oak, Chestnut MTN and many other projects are then click subscribe!

Nick Bragg is no stranger to podiums and he's also a real good friend of the podcast but after our interview with Eric Wever / Pisgah Productions for episode 166 we decided to put Nick on the spot and inquire about his thought on chasing the King of Pisgah for a second time, cause he's already won it once… With a little bit of pressure and some sweet talking, Nick committed to the series and we've got him on to talk about his background of racing and how the first 2 races of the series went. Lots of other racing going on in the region and $5 after 5 is back at Kolo! If you are as ready for Pisgah Podcast to get back in the regular rotation then click subscribe!

On the mic this week is French-Canadian World Cup downhill racer Rachel Pageau, fresh on a new bike and straight from the top step of an enduro win! Also, spring is still deceiving us, but winter is returning. Some prescribed burns around WNC and the regional racing season is firing up! If you are as ready for fools spring to be over as we are then click subscribe! Valentine Bikes Raffle

Ever had that feeling the bike shop crew was laser eyeball judging your bike? Yea, us too. So we put mics on some bike industry pros named Mike and allowed them to shame us on our bike setups, or did they? Also, we've got the Ride Kanuga winter enduro race results. If you have ever had trouble picking between your shorty travel rig and your long travel trail plow then click subscribe!

We often play in the woods far from civilization, thats what we do, so what happens if you or someone from your riding crew get hurt? Well, we took those questions to Justin Padgett of Landmark Learning, a learning specialist for the outdoor community that specializes in wilderness first aid. We all want to recreate as rowdy and safely as we can, so take some notes and think about getting some training, we are. If you have ever had a trailside close call but had the knowhow to save the day, click subscribe! Landmark Learning

If you've been to a bike fest, you probably had a good time with the Handup Gloves crew. So we ventured across the mountain to Chattanooga Tennessee to indulge in a good time and get the story on how Handup became the fun havers and good timers that they are. If you have ever got to a trail head to find that you only brought one glove, click subscribe!

Pisgah Productions has been one of the main racing promoters of western NC for many years now. Bringing you such death marches as PMBAR and Pisgah 36 but also more fun races like the 111, 55 and Pisgah Enduro. So we caught up with Eric Wever, the creator of Pisgah Productions to talk about its evolution into being part of the G5 Trail Collective now and what the future looks like. If you have ever finished on time but didn't get the extra credit check point then sign up for PMBAR, click subscribe!

Drew and Mangler ripped laps at Ride Rock Creek for New Years day on their enduro sleds, its team transfer season and also, is it gravel season? Is that a thing? To find out more, we met up with the new shop Gravelo Workshop in North Asheville to find out more on their new shop focused on coffee and bikes. Greattrailsnc.com gravelo-workshop.com

Jolanda Neff, Olympic Gold Medalist and multiple world champ title holder sits down with us to chat off season in Pisgah and more! A once rogue trail network gets legalized, bike raffles and winter solstice. If you came to the UCI WC DH live stream for the DH race but stayed for the XC then go ahead and click that subscribe button! Gravel Adventure Guide 286 trails press release

Neko Mulally guides us through what we can expect on visiting the new Ride Rock Creek Bike Park, the location, the trails, the shuttle, what it took to build the place out and other fun info. The park opens December 9th and is operated by the crew from Ride Kanuga. Drew and Mangler run you through a local gift buying guide from as many local Mtb focused companies we could come up with, from coffee to beverage wraps to bike park passes. If you want santa to bring you a downhill bike for local bike parks then go ahead and click subscribe! They'll have the website up this week and day passes will be $55, open Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

We've been watching Max tear up the local and soon to be global race scene and build some sweet trails out at Kanuga and the soon to open Rock Creek bike parks so its rad to sit him down and find out where this dude gets all this energy from! Lots of stoke to go around. And we recap a bit of this past weekends racetivities from NCGP and Cranksgiving. If riding in the cold isn't tough enough for you so you have to race your bike in it, then go ahead and click subscribe!

The racing season around western NC has almost come to a close and we've got Chris Bennett of NCCX to talk about the upcoming NCCX Grand Prix race this weekend at Jackson Park. Also this weekend is Upstate SORBA cranksgiving taking place at Ride Kanuga. So still some race fun to participate in! We rapid fire off some results from Pisgah 111 and 55, Rock Creek Enduro, Swank, Coach Potato, College Nats, Rock Creek Downhill Southeast and more. If you have ever got lost in the pages of zone4 or bikereg.com Then go ahead and click subscribe!

If you've been around western NC trails frequently enough, theres a strong chance you've caught Shanna Powell ripping around having fun in her cat ears and fairy wings. Drew caught up with Shanna to find out more about her path to bike riding, making drive train parts and pushing ladies to shred. If you ever thought you were bonking cause you saw a cat fairy shredding pisgah but realized it was Shanna, go ahead and click subscribe! Endless Bike Co. Endless Bike Girl MTB Skills New Pilot Plunge t-shirt

Pisgah Area SORBA recently brought on Natalie Narburgh as the executive director so we got her and president Craig Ruhland on the mic to give us a little more behind the scenes look and sort of a how its made on the club, what they have going on and whats in store for the future of the organization. Have you ever wondered how the Pisgah Area SORBA sausage was made then go ahead and click subscribe!

Following up from last episode on Rocky Knob's history, we have a gathering of Boone locals to celebrate the opening of RKP's newest trail Jumbo Shrimp, a blue “back country” descent off the top of the mountain. We caught up with some of the shredders and shakers of the high country scene to hear some words. Kristian Jackson guides us through as Moto Mike of Teratek Trails gives us a little of his backstory on the park, Shrimper graces us with his eloquent vocabulary and we grab some sounds from locals. Are you tired of this aggro rain like we are? Then go ahead and click subscribe! Pisgah Podcast has achieved a top ranking in Feedspots 15 best mountain biking podcasts and you can see that list here: https://blog.feedspot.com/mountain_biking_podcasts/

We flash it back to an older podcast project that Mangler did a few years ago with trail boss Kristian Jackson on Rocky Knob Mountain Bike Park. Rocky Knob opened up a new trail recently so we wanted to share this older podcast to get people up to speed on some of the backstory before our episode on this new trail opening. If you went to Rocky Knob and were surprised at all the rocks then go ahead and click subscribe!

Did you know… yes, Ohlins USA is based in western NC! We got Jake Thompson Jacobson on the mic to chat about Ohlin's history in western NC, the twin tube damper and weird bikes. And if you've ever blessed the rains down in Africa, then go ahead and click subscribe!

The trails are open! Phase one of the Old Fort trails have opened, called The Gateway, its the first introductory part of the system to have trails for all. We had a super secret guest reporter cover this opening for us, so HUGE thanks to Adam Hobbs. Are you as happy as we are that the Old fort trails are finally up and running? Then go ahead and click subscribe! Jeff Kendall-Weed Video: Local Loam: how building Trails for All united the Old Fort, NC community

The Downhill Southeast series wraps up the season this weekend at Beech Mountain Resort. There's a lot of tight races for season champs so we got the DHSE emcee and past guest, Trill Will on our mic to talk some details on how things are shaking up and shaping up for this weekends race. Have you ever placed well in a race series just because you kept showing up? Then go ahead and put that participation trophy on the mantle with pride! click subscribe! DHSE youtube DHSE website

We got a ton of rain this week while we've been cooped up inside and yes it has been dry, but let's point it to those better draining trails for a few days first. The Mortimer project has been one of those “other Pisgah” projects we hear about but don't really get much follow up on after the fact. So we ventured over to Mortimer campground area to link up with Kristian Jackson to get the deets on the project and the newly reopened trail, Schoolhouse. If you've ever gotten both pedals stuck inside of a pisgah ditch then go ahead and click subscribe! https://www.patagonia.com/stories/the-pisgah-paradox/story-115753.html

After a few busy weeks we have the berm park episode featuring Seth's bike hacks, Eric Porter and Peter Mills of Elevated Trail Design along with some follow up questions with Arrie from last weeks episode to fill in some details on Luv Trails. Lots of cool things happening in the near future and more to come. If you have already seen a few berm park go-pro pov's on youtube then go ahead and click subscribe!

Arrie Rossouw and Hugh Moran from Luv trails sat down with us to give us the details on their new micro localized trail donation platform, LuvTrails. Ride wherever, use your strava and with a predetermined amount pledged per mile, you can give back to those that brought you that fun ride. If you ever meant to donate to your local trail club but forgot to then go ahead and click subscribe! https://www.trail.care

Nick from Fifth Element camping sits down with us about making the best camper inserts for western NC's best vehicle. Also, downhill southeast, world cups and more! If you ever optimized every last centimeter of your vehicle for sleeping and storage then go ahead and click subscribe!

Listen to Brevard's top amateur homeless bike packers as they recount their adventure of a 374 mile loop in central Florida on some very tough terrain. It's a story with many ups and downs and even some unders. Tj, Rusti and Regis are some fine humans and kudos to them on completing this amazing journey together and sharing with us! Have you ever had to plan a bike trip by where beer is available? then go ahead and click subscribe!

Charlotte's Airline mountain bike park might have sat somewhat dormant for a few years before being publicly open, and there's a good story behind it. Listen along as Will Washam from the Tarheel Trailblazers fills us in on the behind scenes battles to bring a new bike park along with a slew of volunteers while Mangler goes for a guided tour from Craig and Patrick. There's a lot to cover in this episode from Berm Park, Roamfest, CX Worlds, WWE Royal Rumble and to an open comment period on a National Park project. Dive in with your favorite listening tool. If you ever left the mountains to go to Charlotte, to get away from the Charlotteans then go ahead and click subscribe! the open commenting period on the natural gas pipeline is open till feb 5, 2022 https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=355&projectID=99118&documentID=117374

The G5 trail collective celebrated a ground breaking ceremony for the more than 40 miles of trail that will be built in the Old Fort, NC area. What was expected to be a decent gathering of around 50 people turned into a massive gathering of over 200 people in a field off Jarrett Creek road, that will eventually become a trailhead parking area. All the movers and shakers were there and we caught up with most all of them to get some words on the trails, the community and how the future looks for the Old Fort area and McDowell county. And have you ever wished for a longer loop than Kitsuma, but a shorter loop than Heartbreak then go ahead and click subscribe!

Trail building and new trails are a hot topic right now. So after some back and forth we finally got Peter Mills of Elevated Trail Design on the mic to talk Berm Park / Chestnut Mountain along with a slew of his other trail projects going on right now. And if you're looking for some new brunch spots to wrap up those frozen morning rides, we've got you covered. And if you have already failed on your New years resolutions, go ahead and click subscribe!

After hearing whispers of a new private bike park over near Pigeon Forge, TN, Mangler crossed over the mountain to meet up with designer, Chris Kehmeier to get the details and go for a pedal at Vee Hollow bike park. Oh, also its free to ride! If you are ready to have a festive holiday weekend then go ahead and click subscribe!  https://rideveehollow.com/  http://c2recreation.com/  https://instagram.com/mountainbikeryeti

After a year of producing this podcast, Drew and Mangler reflect on what they've taken away from sharing, learning and experiencing all of these episodes and what's in store!

Kinda hard not to nerd out on weather living in the mountains so we got Dr Baker Perry from App State on the mic to talk Appalachian weather and some of his wild expeditions to install weather stations in the far reaches of the world. Also the dudes round up some gift guides that help support the western NC scene a little bit more. If you're trying to orographicaly get to the other side of a mountain for ripping descent then go ahead and click subscribe!

Mangler ventured down to Alabama to find the southern slow tech on Boulder Ridge trail at Oak Mountain State Park with local Lon Cullen. With both NCGP and Cranksgiving going down on the same weekend, the dudes drew straws to cover the events and have some good wrap up details for ya. If you enjoy that slow jank then go ahead and click subscribe! Vote for us, best regional podcast in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine https://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/best-of-the-blue-ridge-people/

Drew caught up with both Chris Bennett and Kerry Warner to talk about the upcoming NCGP UCI Cyclocross race going down this weekend (11/20) at Jackson Park in Hendersonville. Also, Cranksgiving is going down at Ride Kanuga this weekend with events taking place Friday-Sunday. If you ever watched ALL the bike races in one weekend then go ahead and click subscribe! nccyclocross.com youtube.com/c/KerryWernervlog https://ridekanuga.com

This is going to be a long listen but we wanted to have all of this combined into one episode. As mountain bikers we put a lot of wear and tear on our bodies. We demand a lot of power, take impacts, stress and tweak things, this list goes on. So we wanted to round up some of our favorite body focused professionals and get them on the mic to talk about how we can prepare, recover and repair our bodies. We've got Cory Worf covering strength training, Park Baker covering Yin yoga, Chanley Layton covering ROLF massage and Wesley Miller covering physical therapy. By no means should this episode be a prescription for your exact needs, but a general idea of the how and why to put more care into our physical fitness. If you ever focused on stretching your forward muscles and then realized it was your psoas that was jacking up your lower back then go ahead and click subscribe!

Industry Nine has been around the western NC mountain biking scene for a long time and we knew little bits of the history but it was great to have Clint dive into not only I-9's history but some other industry history as well. If you ever set upon a career in robotics but wound up making high-engagement wheels instead then go ahead and click subscribe!

Drew attended The Riveter's Harvest Jam to close out summer and caught up with Elizabeth and Joey to get the scoop on the jam, their events and just overall vibe, which is good! If you ever went to a bike park and ended up becoming a climber then go ahead and hit that subscribe button!

Drew sat down with Tim and Laura from NCCX to talk about the 2021 cross season and its history in western NC just as the other bike disciplines wrap up for the year. But don't worry, there are still tons of other rad things popping off! Have you ever done an Enduro and a UCI CX race on the same day in the same small mountain town? If you have, go ahead and click subscribe! NC Cyclocross

Neko is fresh off the 2021 World Cup season and we thought it would be a great time to catch up with all the things he has going on, especially his bikes for kids raffle. How wrong was Drew with his World Cup predictions and these cooler temps means its getting dark earlier, its bike light szn! Have you ever entered a raffle to win a one off, pro DH rig but didn't win? Head over to nekomulally.com and try again THEN go ahead and click subscribe!

I heart Pisgah is doing great things to protect Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests so we got the details on their push for Big Ivy protection, Drew gives us a run down on his predictions for World Cup finals and also, his vacation is over. Back to work! If you had plans to go to Snowshoe to watch the world cup but you're going to be watching it on redbull tv instead, go ahead and click subscribe!

Tropical storm Fred wreaked havoc on many areas in western NC and the Pisgah Ranger District zone took a beating. We got Daniel Sapp from Pisgah Area SORBA to fill us in on forest damage and then also, what's up with Black Mountain trail?! Mangler just got back from Whistler and Drew is heading there. If you've ever waited out a storm to ride your favorite trail and discovered a new escarpment, go ahead and click subscribe!

Josh Patton wears two very important hats, US mechanic for the YT mob and head cycling coach at Lindsey Wilson College. So we sent him a mic to hear all about balancing those two jobs. Tropical Storm Fred is dumping rain on western NC, Drew got a new bike and Mangler was without power, again. If you ever joined your College cycling team for fun, and wound up working in the bike industry, than it is your turn to click subscribe! Lindsey Wilson College cycling team YT mob

Hoobastank swung through western NC on their Summerland tour with Everclear, Wheatus and Living Colour so their drummer, Chris Hesse hit us up to go for a bike ride and a Kitsuma lap ensued! Drew runs us through the season wrap up of the Downhill Southeast series and everyones going to Snowshoe! If you have ever missed the overall result from a race series because you missed just one race, click subscribe! And share with your friends! Summerland Tour

Cherokee, NC has lot more going on than the casino. We got Jeremy Hyatt on the mic to fill us on on how the Fire Mountain trail system has gone from an idea for locals to being a mountain biking destination. Also, we caught up on all the races that went down to give you a quick recap on some results. If you ever went to Cherokee NC with only a couple of dollars but left with enough to buy a new e-bike, click subscribe! Fire Mountain Trails

Freehub has long been regarded as the community mountain bike magazine and we are very psyched to have the magazine's creator and publisher, Brandon Watts on this weeks show. Drew runs us down on the best ways to help keep your favorite trail your favorite and Mangler went to Snowshoe! And if you ever bought anything because you saw it advertised in a magazine than click subscribe! Freehub magazine Craft MTN 44 days and rolling video series