big time at the 'Coon

Raccoon Mountain ~
Temps in the high 50's are perfect for shredding. Trail conditions = incredible.
4some - Eric Nelson, Jay Smelser, Brian Nicholson and myself.

Double Rainbow

Farewell ride to the Michael Stipe of mountain biking. Good luck in St. Louis, its been fun.

Raccon Mountain ~ flow

Raccoon Mountain flow from Chad O on Vimeo.

Photo of the day:

from an evening ride at the 'Coon.

sweet jumps

Raccoon Mountain

I got cooned

all-star game 12-6-09

Single-speed vs. Gears

It was a perfect sceene for a fast ride around Raccoon Mountain. Snow at the top, dry trails and fast corners. I rode SS, 1speedBrian rode gears. Go figure. Victory was in the eye's of the beer-holder.


Raccoon Mtn; counter clockwise-> Electric Avenue->Laurel Point->River Gorge->Mega Watt->Six Flags->Grindstone Ridge->Split Rock->Small Intestine->Chunky->Chunky->out to the Terminal Brewhouse.

Trail Heads

Raccooon Mountain-
It was the perfect plan = head to the trails + jump stuff + head to brewery; 2 out of three is still a good day; I just wish I could have spent more time jumping stuff, but I managed to get pretty damn far away from the car before I ripped a 2" hole in my tire; a long walk back to the car will make a guy thirsty, the brewery was fun.





















Terminal

Shred-passion

Raccoon Mountain



I woke up Sunday to a blanket of snow, and almost gave up on the ride. I fielded a few phone calls, and the word on the street was that the precipitation missed Chattanooga, so we made the drive.

Me, Brian, Eric and my furry friend Hank; met a large group from Knoxville in the lot at Raccoon Mountain. I was pleased to find a keg in the back of Doug Parkers car, so I filled a cup and suited up. We left the lot going clockwise, and immediately started with a fast, fun and long descent.

The group was about twenty plus riders. It was cool watching the train of riders sweep and corner through the woods.

Eric, Brian, Hank and I made a stop to repair a minor issue on Eric’s bike, when he was digging through his pack and found a surprise bottle of Bourbon. Score! The sun was shining bright, and all was well in woods. We began to work our way over to Chunky trails (freeride trail.) We spent the next few hours jumping rocks and playing on those trails; before a persistent need for ribs broke us down. So we stumbled out of the woods and headed for Sugars Ribs, where we found the rest of the Knoxville crew enjoying a southern cultural experience. Cheers!

Eric is the big spoon

Pour Judgement on Raccoon Mountain

Me and Brian headed south for the day, to Raccoon Mountain, where SORBA hosted a gathering. It was a beautiful, blue sky Saturday with an occasional cool breeze. Perfect for grilling and riding, and pouring pints!
The future of trails on Raccoon Mountain is bright. This SORBA group is continually building killer trails, and has big plans for way over 100 miles on the mountain.



tumbling on a sketchy line; Chunky trail

Raccoon run

I hooked up with Jeff and Brian for a ride at Raccoon Mountain. Most of us would say it was a great ride, however, Jeff was trying hard to make the 6 0'clock news by crashing-big a couple times. He now goes by the name "6 O'clock news Jeff." He will no longer be known as "Mister January", named for his appearance in a calendar. Apparently I will have a new nickname too. More on that to come.
But as Brian pointed out, Jeff is gonna have to crash much bigger if he wants to make the news. Better luck next one!

The gratuitous 'coon shot:

Day Tripper

Opting out of the Swank was easy, I'll take a 4-man group ride on a beautiful fall day and call myself soft. I've built up my reputation as being expected to do these big rides, so I have to throw my fans for a loop and take the easy way every once in a while. (wink)
At a time when I'm match tuff, I've got a good reason for taking the easy way out. I'm addicted to the spirit of the ride. I just wasn't feeling the Swank, and hanging with Brian, Ben and Eric for fun ride at Raccoon Mountain was just what the doctor ordered. Laughs brought us home, and the sun hit the spot, while the cool breeze took the edge off. It doesn't get much better than that, now does it?

The Anti-Swank

Raccoon Mountain





I recently bought a new camera which has a cool feature, the flash drive allows you to shoot sequential pictures.

Return to the 'Coon

Racoon Mountain




































Another parting short from the Bible belt.

High Gravity

Like robbing a bank, we left town in a bang, heading south for Raccoon Mountain. Hot as hell, and sweltering in the woods, we burned it up.
The trails were impressive and an absolute blast to ride. Stunning views delivered with a punch while hard-hitting and ripping trails unfolded around every bend. Exposed bluff lines and spine-like rock gardens kept you honest while fast banked turns made you feel like a rock-star. But of course the keg we brought along helped with that too.

Raccoon Mountain