The goal for #Cumberlandworx Day-4 was to pedal up and ride a trail called Bear Buns and then figure a route out from there. Nina and Claire have both been riding so well that it felt like the perfect bump up in technical difficulty and terrain reading. But I quickly discovered an issue. 

It’s not just that their descending has been improving day over day, but I swear their legs are getting fresher while mine are going more bagged out. Claire’s not quite nine so maybe that makes sense, but Nina’s also been strong on all the climbs – gravel, singletrack, and technical. 

Today was another solid grind. Sobo no Michi interrupted by a grind up the Bear Buns Connector and BBC to a trail called Bear Buns. I don’t have a photo, but Nina stepped up and rolled the entrance rock roll like she’d done it one hundred times. Today was the most confident I’ve ever seen her descending – everything was in her absolute domain.

After Bear Buns everyone still had a full tank so it was up SnM for a rematch with Upper & Lower Thirsty Beaver. It will be interesting to see how riding those long ladders will translate once we get home. As with all of us, there are few ladders that intimidate Claire not based on the rider she is now, but where she was a year or even two ago. Hitting the road may act as a reset?

Day-5 we’re planning to crank up to the top of Blueprint and then find our way back to Bear Buns. I think it’s safe to say that Bear Buns has been everyone’s most fun trail experience of Cumberlandworx ’23. It’s highly recommended as a blue with a couple black features. Like a surprisingly large number of trails, the most intimidating section is the entrance, and even that has a ride around. 

It’s crazy to think that our trip is almost over for this year. It seems to have gone by faster, but that’s down to just how much terrain we’re covering every day. If Claire is going to keep progressing at the same rate I’m going to need to start training for next year’s event.