Chihuahua Dirt Fest 2018
by Mark Logrbrinck • February 23, 2018
Once a year hundreds of mountain bikers from all across the county make their annual migration to the Big Bend region of Texas. Still one of the remotest areas in the country, a short drive for some folks is around 4 hours. Luckily for me I have an apartment in Alpine, Texas which is only 100 miles or so away.
This area is one of unfathomable beauty, mostly untouched due to private ownership of land in Texas. The percentage of private land ownership is 96%. Not great, but it is what it is and this is why we come here;� Big Bend National Park at over 800,000 acres and Big Bend Ranch State Park at over 310,000 acres there is a lot to explore. Big Bend Ranch State Park Hosts the only IMBA Epic Trail in Texas at nearly 60 miles, with 4000 feet of elevation gain and 40 miles of single track it is not for the faint of heart. To add, the temps were in the high 80's. The most impressive rider in my humble opinion is 'Fixie Dave'. He rode his fixed gear from camp to the race and finished the Epic in an impressive 9 hours 18 minutes, 70 miles with 8K of climbing.
There was a lot of riding, eating, drinking, and camaraderie. Many thanks to Crystal and Mike of Desert Sports for putting on the whole event (it would not happen without them), Bike Mojo and Alan who provided the camping and the 'adult' refreshment station on the trail, to Team IPA who always provide excellent food, drink and company, and to Big Bend Brewing Co. for the tasty beers.
It is always great to see old friends whom I only get to see once a year (one of them drove from Connecticut) Y'all Mainers need to make the trek, I got a lot in store for you. I am glad to be back on the team and look forward to the next report, which should be quite gravelly.
