Baker’s Dozen was a great success story. We had 33 riders that made up 15 teams for the event. Solo had 5 teams, 2-rider had 4 teams, 3-rider had 4 teams and 4-rider had 2 teams. We had riders f rom North Augusta SC, Greenwood SC, Dalton GA, Ashville NC, Waterloo SC, Augusta GA, Evans GA, and Aiken SC. People camped at Lick Fork Campground and Hamilton Branch Campground.
At 10:00am, the bikers started on the road at the horn Creek trailhead. They traveled down the gravel campground road and turned right onto the paved park entrance road. At the park entrance they turned right and traveled down this road until they got to the first trail crossing, section 1 & 2. They entered the trail at section 2 going clockwise. Rode the complete trail back to the road crossing at section 1 & 2. They then took the road back to the trailhead where they completed a lap. With the addition of the road portion, one lap was about 8 miles long. Once a rider completed a lap, the next rider started their lap.
SORBA-CSRA had a great looking and very operational status board to keep account of the riders lap completion and lap times. When a rider completed a lap, a card was stamped from a time clock and the rider stapled this card onto the status board. The riders would consistently gather around the status board to see how their teammates and their competition were performing. At nighttime, the riders put on their night-lights and headed out onto the road. At 11:00pm the ride was officially over and the lap results were tabulated. At this time the winning teams were announced.
The trail was in great condition. SORBA-CSRA had been performing trail maintenance on the Horn Creek trail for several months. A storm did blow thru the area Friday night, so the trail was damp Saturday morning. Feedback from the riders was that the roots and bridges were very slippery but the trail was in good condition. By the afternoon, the trail was dry and fast. Some of the local riders that have ridden Horn Creek for years said that the trail was in the best condition it has ever been.
The SORBA-CSRA volunteers were great!!!! At 7:00am Saturday morning, volunteers were setting up tents, installing warning signs, mixing PowerAde, setting up the registration table and performing many many more jobs. During the event the volunteers performed course marshaling, operated the start/finish tent, maintained the riders PowerAde & water supplies, and numerous other jobs. By 11:00pm all the volunteers were just as tired as the riders, but they kept on working. They removed all the signs, took down all the tents, and cleaned the area of all trash.
If you missed this event, then you missed one of the best mountain bike events in the area. Because there was a good turnout of riders and volunteers for this Baker’s Dozen, SORBA-CSRA is considering a Baker’s Dozen in 2004. If you would like more information about the Baker’s Dozen 2004 or have comments and questions about this year Baker’s Dozen, email Paul Farrow at pfarrow@sorbacsra.org or any of the SORBA-CSRA officers.
