Lemme guess....it was the 2nd 1/2 of No Name & most of Stairway.  That's where I struggled on my 1st ride there last Sunday, anyway.  Other than that, RRT is an absolute BLAST to ride...the main corridor is tight-n-right!  Amazing how there's so much trail packed in there.   

I thoroughly enjoyed it & plan on hittin' it again prolly this weekend.  The 4-cast looks favorable.

Thanks for a sweet trail Steve!

They all hurt to a degree.  I'm always spent when i get to Stairway though.  That long straight climb is a mental game.  I try looking down so I don't have to see how far it is.

If your depending on tire traction (wet or dry) to get you over that root,   your doing it wrong.

Yellowduck wrote on 09/03/13 at 12:51pm:


I think the exact same thing. . Worst part of the Gorge climb is the very end.

Yellowduck wrote on 09/03/13 at 12:51pm:



yeah or that valley bridge that I broke my knee on!

Let us all heed  the warning and slow it down a little before the bridge. A little less chatter on the boards about bones and such. We don't want to give Steve any second thoughts about liability on his land and on his masterpiece of a trail. I'd be all for signing a waiver of sorts ala Beech Springs. 

MountainCycle wrote on 09/09/13 at 11:42pm:


Fully agree and well said ... Retiring this thread with the following status report: Ortho Carolina's hand specialist (Dr. J. Skahen) did an outstanding job restoring my wrist last Friday.  I have full movement and feeling in all five fingers.  Have been keeping it elevated and iced to control the swelling. As of yesterday, I have started cutting back on the pain meds.

I am on the mend now with expectations for a full recovery and very much looking forward to riding RRT again in about eight weeks. My Ergon grips will be back on the handlebars and I will likely start back wearing wrist guards.

Many thanks to Steve for providing one of the best trail riding opportunities in the CLT metro area.  Keep the trail updates and reports coming in.       

I just wanted to add that I was demoralized at RRT yesterday myself.  Recently got the bug to start riding again and broke out the old (really old) Gary Fisher.  I live right down the street from RRT and decided it was time to check it out.  Well I was fine on the first climb out of the river and the second climb out of the gorge slowed me down a lot.  Took a short break at the top right by the big tree where it comes out in the field because there was a group of riders coming and I didn't want to hold them up.  Great excuse wasn't it.  Started back and no name forced me to walk part of the climb and by the time I got to the stairway to heaven my legs were cramping so bad I had to stop twice.  But made it through and had the best time in a long time.  It's only been about 10 years since I was on the bike and I thought I was in shape from running and hitting the weights regularly but what a difference a challenging trail makes.  Can't wait to hit it again.  Now to put together the project TREK I'm working on.  Maybe some more modern machinery will help a little too.  Thanks for such an awesome place to ride.  See you on the trail.