2022 Rim Nordic Season Finale: Good Old Mountain Dirt

August 08, 2022

2022 Rim Nordic Season Finale: Good Old Mountain Dirt

Would I be willing to trade another day of breathing hot, humid, smoggy air for a day of warm, humid air infused with good old mountain dirt? Yes, and yes. And thank you very much. Sunday was the fourth and final day of racing in the XC race series for 2022. Thankfully someone I know had shared some information about the finale in the days leading up to Sunday or it would have slipped by unnoticed. How I have ever managed to live so close for as long as I have, yet never managed to visit Rim Nordic during mountain bike season (nor for that matter when the trails are covered with snow and nordic skiing takes over) is a mistake I cannot undo. It is a mistake I won't be making again. Rim Nordic in the San Bernardino Mountains, not far from Running Springs is not only a fantastic mountain biking venue, but the community of riders and their families and friends, that has grown up around the annual race series harkens back to the glory days of 1990s mountain biking and its festive, bigger-than-just-a-race atmosphere. Success of the yearly series can be attributed to the dedication of the venue and race management and the loyalty of the racers who, knowing a good thing when they see it, return each season. While much could be added, about the setting, the beauty of the forest through which the race weaves, the color of the wildflowers, the blue of the sky and, yes, the competition itself, I am satisfied with leaving it at the commitment of everyone involved; races are not usually described as a partnership, but that is essentially what the Rim Nordic series is. Correct me if I am wrong, as I said this was my first time there, but often times first impressions are the most honest of all.

Beside the photos here, you can find a selection of 135 others in the Google album here.