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The Fonta Flora Barnburner is a 50k mountain bike race that will test your endurance, skill and fortitude to press on as you ride through the heart-pounding trails of Lake James State Park and the Fonta Flora Trail. Each trail system has unique features to enjoy, but here's a little taste. LJSP is tight, fast and flowy, with ripping berm sections and did we mention feel the flow? Next the Fonta Flora trail opens up, but stay on your game. It's fast, fast, fast with tight corners, wide open sprints and enough flow to get the wheels well off the ground. Gorgeous lake views abound on this race along with mountain views that will inspire you to ride harder.
The Barnburner will start and finish at Fonta Flora Brewery's Whippoorwill Farm in Nebo, NC. After finishing this beautiful race, plan to enjoy a hand-crafted pint at the brewery with your fellow racers. Proceeds from the event will benefit further maintenance & development of the trails around Lake James!
We want you to know that this years race is 80% plus single track with gravel and paved road mixed. Future races will feature more single track, as trail is built so we want to THANK YOU for participating in the Barnburner!
Registration is $50 for all participants
Start time is 9am!!!
https://fontaflorabarnburner50...
Registration includes Barnburner t-shirt, Defeet socks and a beer from Fonta Flora Brewery.
Sorry, no refunds at the moment.
The top three Male and Female riders from each category will be awarded with special prizes! They will receive limited edition Fonta Flora Trail Feather markers, as found on along the Fonta Flora trail. The top three overall racers will receive awesome sunglasses from Tifosi Eyewear....and a SPECIAL Fonta Flora Trail MUG.
Link: https://www.mtbproject.com/tra...
Parking attendants will be onsite at 7am to direct traffic and parking. If you arrive before this, we might kindly ask you to re-park so everyone fits, nicely.
Start time is 9am!!!
Registration Cut-off: It's important to register early!!!! Barnburner registration will be CLOSING on 10pm Wednesday September 26th so we can get everything squared away. There WILL be same day registration for the Barnburner, but event t-shirts and socks cannot be guaranteed.
Registration Price Increase: Another reason to register early! Barnburner registration will increase by $10 on September 23rd to $60 and again for same day registration will increase an additional $10 to $70.....so go ahead and get registered!
What bike to ride: Not sure which arrow in the quiver to bring? The Barnburner is more of an endurance race than technical challenge, so we would recommend few different bikes. It's very common to see hardtails, short travel full suspensions and even gravel bikes on these trails! Long travel is not recommended, unless you just roll that way. Join one of the prerides to find out what the trail is like! Preride details are on the Overmountain Cycles Facebook Page.
Cut-off time: Cut off time is 3pm at the Long Arm Access off HWY 126 on the return trip from the Fonta Flora Trail. Riders past this time will be directed to finish the race on HWY 126 back to the finish line.
Food: Lil’ Guatemala Coffee Roasters will be onsite offering drip coffee pre-race and we'll have super tasty post-race food too.
Bathrooms/Shower: Fonta Flora Brewery is equipped with bathrooms in their tasting room for your use. An outside shower will be provided for post-race clean up as well. Be courteous and clean up after yourself please!
Neutral support: Overmountain Cycles will be providing neutral support for race day participants. They will have limited tools and supplies, so bring the gear you need and please be prepared.
Post-race: Yeeeeehaw, you did it!!! Get yourself a Fonta Flora beer (one free with registration), some tasty food and hang with us.
Rain: We realllllly hope it doesn't rain, but we've planned for this. The plan as of now, if it rains on race day (29th) and trails are closed, is to run the race on the 30th. IF the whole weekend is rained out, we will enact the alternate course OR run the race the following weekend on the 6th or 7th of October. This decision is up to the race committee, but we want the race to be held on the 29th/30th. Do a anti-rain dance or something!
The nearby Lake James State Park has two stellar lakeside campgrounds within 5 miles of the start. More information can be found at the park website.
https://www.ncparks.gov/lake-j...
There are also multiple hotels in Morganton about 20 minutes drive from Whippoorwill Farm. Airbnb and VRBO are excellent resources as well.
https://www.airbnb.com/s/Morganton--NC
https://www.vrbo.com/vacation-...
Other lodgings:
The official Brewery address is: 6751 NC-126, Nebo, NC 28761
Friends of the Fonta Flora Barnburner
About Us
This race is a collective effort between Overmountain Cycles, Tanawha Adventures, Fonta Flora Brewery, and the Northwest North Carolina Mountain Bike Alliance with the aim of promoting outdoor recreation in Western North Carolina.
Overmountain Cycles is a local, independent bicycle shop based in downtown Morganton that is founded on the belief that every day is an opportunity to discover new tarmac, rip through single-track or link up gnarly gravel roads making an epic route. Overmountain Cycles strives to build the bicycling community through advocacy, conservation, education, and shared adventures.
With an emphasis on seasonal flora, the nationally renown Fonta Flora Brewery brings English tradition and Belgian inspiration to the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. Fonta Flora utilizes local artists to help conceptualize the notion that fermentation is yet another medium for creating art. This uniquely artisan approach to beer yields a sustainable product filled with culture from our very own community.
Tanawha Adventures was founded on the belief that events held in the scenic beauty of our public lands will inspire participants aid in efforts to conserve and protect our wild lands and trails. To achieve this goal, Tanawha designs beautiful courses, partners with local conservation and advocacy groups, and allocates a percentage of the proceeds to conservation efforts.
Northwest NC MTB Alliance is a chapter of SORBA, the largest nonprofit mountain biking organization in the Southeastern United States. The Alliance promotes land access, trail preservation, and new trail development on federal, state, and local lands in the geographic area of the Northwest NC mountains and foothills including the communities of Boone, Hickory, Lenoir, Marion, Morganton, and Wilkesboro.