Switching around the route a little for 2012 – same roads, but moving up Peak Two so its a little less onerous on fresher legs, with the long descent through the forest coming next, which effectively makes Peak Three harder, but the first half is pavement and then you get the long easy paved descent before the final climb. The Half distance race is unchanged, but the courses diverge at Buckeye Creek, which will vastly simplify course marshaling. Here is the course map and elevation profile:

ITS RACE TIME!

Day-of registration and packet pickup will be at the Banner Elk Winery and Inn, from 9:30 to 10:30 AM. All races start together at 11AM.

There is a wedding at the Winery on Friday – if you see “closed” signs please respect their privacy.

America’s Hardest Cyclocross Race, the second race in the 2011-2012 American UltraCross Championship Series, is back and its bigger and badder: 48 miles, >80% off-road with 7,900′ of climbing and a 28 mile “Half” with merely 4,200′ of climbing.

The race will start and finish at the Banner Elk Winery and Inn, and they are rolling out the red carpet to make the event truly special. The new course features lots of jeep track and forest roads through Emerald Mountain, Eagles Nest and The Headwaters at Banner Elk. This means more real ‘cross riding and a lot less pavement. Only one peak from last year is still on the course – the long ascent around the east side of Beech on Andy Hicks to Shawnee “Road.” The new peaks are an ascent to the very top of Beech via the Winter Road and the Backbone Trail in the Emerald Outback, and a climb (hike) to the top of Eagles Nest through the West Bowl – it is a much better trail that last year’s final climb up Beech Mountain Parkway.

Mountain bikes are allowed.

Register before September 1 for $60, or $40 for the Half, and use the money you save to get some easy gears.

The course is finalized!

The start and finish will be at the Banner Elk Winery and Inn, and they are rolling out the red carpet to make the event truly special. Click over to the Course page to see maps and profiles for the Full and Half Courses, last years’ maps, as well as some important notes about pre-riding.

Registration will open Monday with special early-bird discounts.

Start training.

The Second Annual Three Peaks USA will be held on Sunday, September 25. In case you have not heard, Three Peaks USA will be the second of four races in the American UltraCross Championship Series. I’m making some changes to the course this year – the start and finish will been moved, I’m getting rid of the paved descents of Beech, and while the climb up Dark Ridge is out (its been paved), there is over 12 miles of unpaved stuff I’ve added that should be a lot of “fun.” On net, its about the same distance and total climbing, but my guess is that the new course will be harder. Check out my current devious plans on the Course Page, and email me or post up on the Three Peaks Facebook page if you want to come up and pre-ride, or, better yet, sponsor the race.

We have compiled the overall results with lap times and posted them on our results page.

Thanks to everyone for coming out to the inaugural Three Peaks USA. Thank you to all of the following folks for working so hard to make the event a success:

Eric Jelinski and Daniel Scagnelli at the Beech Mountain Parks and Recreation Department

Cheif Hefner, Captain Turbyfill, and the entire Beech Mountain Police Department

Avery County Sheriff Kevin Frye

Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman and Captain Kelly Redmond

Rory Ellington at the Beech Mountain Club

Tim Holland and everyone at the Beech Mountain Volunteer Fire Department

Pete and the Ski Beech Ski Patrol

Jake Storey and the Fall Creek Volunteer Fire Department

Fred Phole at Fred’s General Mercantile

Alena and Johnny at the Famous Brick Oven Pizzeria

Will Selle, Todd Nolt and all the teachers and students from the Mountain Alliance

Super Intern Emma Mazur and the crew from Team Pirate Race Productions presented by Alpha Facilities Solutions

Results are posted http://pre-reg.com/Users/RacerMain.aspx?Type=1&EventID=560.

The 2011 Race will be on September 24 – start training.

The folks who live in communities where we are racing are pulling out all the stops to make this race a success, and to help the folks at the Mountain Alliance give more local kids a chance to learn leadership skills, get outdoors and RIDE BIKES! To wit, there will be FORTY (40) course marshals, patrol cars, motos, and EMS ATVs out on race day, including three fire departments, two police departments, the Ski Beech ski patrol, the kids, parents and teachers from the Mountain Alliance, and the Crew from Team Pirate Race Productions presented by Alpha Facilities Solutions. All the intersections will be manned, painted, and/or signed on race day. There will be a rest stop you pass at miles 8, 29 and 39 which will be stocked with water, bananas, and peanut butter sandwiches courtesy of Fred’s General Mercantile. If you decide to hang it up, the Mountain Alliance bus will get you back to the start line. The team from RMS Events are doing scoring, on-site registration, and are running a second online registration page with lower fees than BikeReg. When race day comes, we’ve got you covered!

If you are coming up to pre-ride, please note there are no markings for the turn onto “Farm Rd” as someone painted over them in black (possibly the Angry Cow), and that the markings for the turn onto Old Beech Mountain Rd is very faint – both will be fixed, but not before this weekend. Also, please note that there is a nasty gravel switchback on Joe Parlier that we will have marked on race day, but would be very dangerous if you overshoot it, Also, the descent off the Second Peak on Old Beech Mountain Rd has a couple hundred meters of new, large gravel that will require high tire pressure, a steady hand, and low speed to navigate without pinch flatting or drifting into the pucker-brush.

Thanks to the generous support of Boone Bike and Touring, we will be able to offer CASH prizes. As of Sept 21, we are paying out $250/5 deep to the top male ‘cross racers in the 75K race – as registrations fill in the other categories, we’ll kick in cash there as well. Go see Shaw, Sarah, Joseph and Sam for all your cross needs, and check out the new 2011 Trek XO and Specialized Crux

An homage to the UK’s legendary 3 Peaks Cyclocross Race and Pennsylvania’s notorious Iron Cross, this will be a challenge of rider and machine on the unpaved roads that scale Beech Mountain and its North and South Ridges. Roads conditions range from  quality paved roads, to scraped gravel sections that would be comfortable on a road bike, to weathered jeep roads that will force many to walk. Unlike our namesake we are also offering a Mountain Bike Division in both the 75K and 35K races. Race starts and finishes at the Beech Mountain Visitors Center.

Three Peaks USA is a fundraiser for the Mountain Alliance, a community of individuals committed to providing Watauga County high school aged youth with opportunities to explore and develop their leadership potential through experiential learning. Students in the program will be working as course marshals and manning the aid station and start/finish, working hard to keep you safe, on track, and having fun.