miggiddymatt.com › Mountain biking
10.45 miles and 1,715 feet of climbing at Black Mountain — one of those rides where the trail wins and you're okay with it.
Kitsuma is one of those trails that has a reputation in Black Mountain — and on this August morning it earned every bit of it. The heat was already building by 9am and the trail wasted no time reminding me why I'd been avoiding the climbing sections all summer.
The Kitsuma trail itself is relentless uphill — tight switchbacks through rhododendron tunnels, loose rocks that find a way under your front wheel at the worst possible moment. By the time I hit the top I was properly cooked. But the descent off the back side is one of the best pieces of singletrack in the area — fast, flowy, with just enough tech to keep you honest.
Nearly 1,700 feet of climbing in 10 miles on a late August day in western NC. The trail won. I came back for more two weeks later.
View on Strava ›14 miles, 1,594 feet of climbing, and a navigational situation that turned a planned 2-hour ride into nearly 3. Dupont State Recreational Forest is beautiful. It's also easy to get turned around in.
Dupont has a trail network that looks manageable on the map and is absolutely not manageable when you're deep in it without cell service and every junction looks like the last one. This was supposed to be a straightforward loop. It became an adventure.
The forest itself is stunning — hardwoods, waterfalls, granite domes, and singletrack that ranges from flowy gravel paths to chunky technical descents. The problem is that the trail intersections are numerous and not always obvious, and on a September day when you're tired and a little dehydrated, left and right start to lose meaning.
I added about 3 miles I didn't plan on. The good news is that those extra miles included some of the best trail in the park — a long ridge traverse with views out toward the south that I wouldn't have found if I'd stayed on route. Getting lost in Dupont has its upsides.
View on Strava ›A November ride in Pisgah — 9.4 miles, 1,234 feet of climbing, and the kind of late-autumn light through bare hardwoods that makes you forget how cold your hands are.
November riding in Pisgah is its own thing. The crowds are gone, the leaves are down so you can actually see the ridge lines through the trees, and the air is cold enough that you're working to stay warm on the climbs and freezing on the descents. Gloves are non-negotiable.
Spencer Gap trail is a classic Pisgah climb — a long, steady grind up to the gap on a jeep road before things get more interesting. Mark set a pace that was slightly too fast for comfort and exactly fast enough to be satisfying.
The descent back down was fast and loose — the kind of Pisgah riding where the trail surface changes every thirty seconds and you're making micro-decisions constantly. A proper late-season ride.
View on Strava ›