Main loop: about 4.2 miles. Shakeout loop 0.8 miles.Shakeout loop. Doubletrack (sort of); pass on the grass or on the opposite line. 0.4 miles
out and 0.4 back, then uphill to start the main loop. Equal amounts of uphill and downhill.
Get position early! Note 2015: Sherwood Hills Resort closed for a time then re-opened as a
drug rehab facility. No races have been held here recently. The status of the trails is unknown.
On the main loop, most of the riding is twisting turns in the trees. The good news is the trail
is fairly broad here. It's pretty easy for another rider to move a bit off-trail to pass in
the trees.
There are sections of straight and fast, but it's hard to pass here because the trail is narrow,
the trailside is bumpy, and your opponent will be covering a lot of ground quickly. This is
the high-speed downhill after climbing up the steep spot at the start of the main loop.
The first 0.8 mile is the shakeout loop, which you'll do only once. This is a grassy doubletrack.
It would be good to work your way near the front of the pack in this section. As the shake
out loop ends, the trail turns sharply and steeply uphill for about 100 yards. (You'll pass
the finish-line turn and the lap-return on the way up. Keep left uphill.) After the top, the
trail turns down and is very fast. Run like the wind, but be on the lookout for the two sharp
(especially the second) left turns into the trees.
After winding through a long set of trees, you'll go across an open meadow that first falls,
and then climbs up the other side. The trail through there is very narrow so if you pass (and
or are getting passed) try and stay on the trail as much as possible. As soon as you get off
the trail, your speed and momentum are eaten QUICKLY... After you get to the top of the hill,
you have to go through more trees with a winding trail. The advantage here is that the trail
is mostly downhill and the turns aren't as sharp. Try pushing it through here. There will be
uphills and downhills. When you suddenly turn back southward and downhill, you're near the
end. Avoid being behind somebody slow here. As you exit that set of trees (about 3.75 miles
in) you'll cross a huge meadow (mostly fast downhill) on narrow singletrack, then plunge into
the trees for twisty technical stuff for another 1/2 mile.When you come out onto a doubletrack in the meadow, run like the wind. But be aware at the
bottom, it makes a sharp right. After the right turn, the trail climbs slowly back up to where
it loops. On raceday, you can usually find a lane to pass on this long climb. If you've got
leg left, it's a good place to crank out some speed. There's one place where the trail turns
right up a paved service road for about 100 feet.
