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Do You Mountain Bike?

Dubbington said:
Any suggested east bay trials to check out? I have a year older Iron Horse Full suspension that has only seen pavement and wet grass.
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Redwood Regional Park (West Ridge to East Ridge -- CCW loop)
Joaquin Miller Park
Lake Chabot
Wildcat Canyon

See the trail reviews at MTBR.com
 
MrCrash said:
1 1/2 loops of the main Boy Scout loop with a trip up Pine Mountain for a grand exit on Repack is the way to go out there :)
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Still haven't done Repack -- Cody promised he'd take me there:)

**************

I've also been wanting to check out Pine Mountain:teeth
 
Ouch.

[youtube]jeIwl629_Yg[/youtube]
 
zx6roxy said:
^^ Yep, and yet they still keep doing it:)
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Fixed!

I don't think any of us (that I know of) are doing anything like those guys!

Man some of those accidents look like they could leave somebody paralyzed.....Those over the bar accidents just reinforce my superstition of staying back on the rear wheel when descending. Ouch!
 
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So muddy this weekend it looks like. . . Giant is getting tuned up and I won't have it back before then. Where's a good place to take the Trek? :confused
 
From http://www.passiontrailbikes.com/articles/2008/12/27/soil-types-and-where-to-ride-in-winter-part-2

Soil types and where to ride in Winter, Part 2

Posted by Patty 47 days ago

Here are some tips on choosing a place to ride in winter

Where to go when it’s ACTIVELY RAINING:

We recommend pavement or gravel surfaces, or very sandy or rocky trails.

Option 1: Paved MUPs

Paved off-road multi-use paths are great if you don’t want to share space with cars when their wipers are wiping and visibility is poor. They also tend to be relatively pedestrian-free at these times, which makes biking much more pleasant and conflict-free.
The San Francisco Bay Trail is great, especially from San Mateo to Redwood shores, and from Palo Alto Baylands to Shoreline Park in Mountain View. The Bay Trail is incomplete, so check their website for what sections are finished in your area. Unpaved sections of the Bay Trail tend to be greasy gooey mud, so be aware. Other paved MUPs include…

Sawyer Camp Trail along Crystal Springs reservoir in San Mateo County, the Coastside Trail in Half Moon Bay, Vasona Creek Trail in Los Gatos, Stevens Creek Trail in Mountain View, Coyote Creek Trail from San Jose to Morgan Hill, and the Almaden Creek and Guadalupe River Trails in San Jose. Marin has a number of paved MUPs, as does the East Bay, in particular the Iron Horse Trail between Concord and Dublin.
If you are making one of these multi-use paths a destination, we recommend riding uphill or upwind on the first leg of your ride until you’ve used up about 65% of the time you have, then turning around and riding back to the start, enjoying the faster downhill/downwind ride after you’ve gotten good and warm.

Option 2: Paved Roads

On-road is another option for a great rain ride. There are hundreds of miles of little-driven roads in the Santa Cruz mountains or Marin Headlands that make for incredible joy-inducing rides through rain and wind. Other places to find good roads for cycling include roads like those in Golden Gate Park or the Presidio in San Francisco, or Huddart Park in Woodside, or Big Basin park in the central Santa Cruz Mountains. Road riding in the rain should inspire you to take extra precautions with your bike set up and handling. Put lights and reflectors on your bike. We also suggest a blinkie light for the back of your helmet. Wear a roadie yellow jacket. BE VISIBLE!

Option 3: Gravel or rocked fireroads

There are quite a few roads within various parks and open spaces that are coated with gravel or a crushed rock surface so that motor vehicles won’t get stuck in the mud. These roads usually will have a firm enough surface that you will be able to pedal along on top, rather than sink in. Examples include Gordon Mill Fireroad in ECdM, Hihn’s Mill Road in Soquel Forest, Radio Road on San Bruno Mountain, Old San Pedro Road on Montara Mountain, Black Mountain Road between Palo Alto and Cupertino, and Old Haul Road in Pescadero.

Option 4: Super long loops that combine Options 1, 2, & 3.

Oh, yeah. Let your imagination run wild. Bring a spare pair of dry gloves, and a dew rag to wipe grime from your glasses.

Option 5: Trails on bedrock or sand

Bedrock is amazing in the rain. Water does not sink in, it flows across the surface. We know of one great place to experience this first hand: The Oat Hill Mine Trail in Calistoga. This historic mining trail runs up a south facing mountain on a volcanic rock substrate, and is blazing hot in the summer. In the winter, it’s as hard as a rock, and you can ride right through the water flowing across this old road cut. Bring technical skills because the rock is not smooth and you will have to work it to make your way to the top. Rockville in Fairfield is another option, although there is more soil between the rocks, which can be fairly slickery.
Sand is another super fun surface in the rain. It is actually much firmer in the middle of winter than it is in the middle of summer, because water helps the sand crystals stick together. Fort Ord is basically nothing but a bunch of old sand dunes. This highly erosive surface is so unconsolidated that Mother Nature is constantly blowing it up into the air in little dust storms, or washing it down the drain. There are a number of trails in the Laguna Seca/BLM area that have had the thin top-coat of black greasy grassy muck washed off, leaving only the blonde sand crystals behind. These can make for a great winter riding experience.

Where to ride shortly AFTER HEAVY RAINS HAVE PASSED:

Consider any of the rain ride options above. But if you are jonesin’ for real trail riding, what you are looking for after heavy rains is roads and trails that drain well and firm up quickly as the water percolates through. You want to be able to pedal and not have the mud build up on your tires, or have your tires sink in and leave tracks behind. You also want to be able to stay upright and control your speed, so a surface that provides some traction is good. Generally speaking you are looking for sandstone or granite underneath, with minimal clay topcoating. You absolutely need to avoid trails with a lot of adhesive clay, or greasy leaf coated organic surfaces. Also avoid trails that cross a lot of seep zones, or have fords through rushing creeks.

Good places to look for fine riding conditions after fronts pass through are mostly on the west side of the San Andreas Fault and include Pacifica’s Montara Mountain which is granite based, Purisima Open Space (note that the singletrack Whittemore Gulch Trail is closed when wet), El Corte de Madera Open Space, and Soquel Demonstration State Forest, which are all sandstone based. Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz also has a nice long climb up under the redwoods which holds up well. Keep in mind that you still want to let the trails firm up with a little sunshine before you start laying down tracks. The dirt jumping area near Carlmont High School is pretty nice after a rain, since there is no organic matter and a lot of rock in this old quarry area. One special place to consider is the Berry Creek Trail from Waddell Beach, in Big Basin State Park. This mostly flat fireroad leads to a very pretty set of waterfalls and is a great place to take kids. There is a one-mile hike at the end to get to the waterfalls.

Where to ride AFTER A WEEK OF DRY WEATHER:

Here you can consider a number of parks that are just too much of a mess right after a rain. These include places east of the San Andreas Fault that are underlaid by much older and finer sandstones, places with a lot of north facing slopes, and places with more clay content. Nice options include Waterdog Park in Belmont, Russian Ridge Open Space preserve, Skyline Open Space Preserve, and Monte Bello Open Space Preserve up on Skyline above Palo Alto, and Saratoga Gap above Saratoga. Try to avoid trails in the deep shaded canyons, as these will firm up last, and be aware of a few trails that are closed seasonally.

Where you need to wait until after SEVERAL WEEKS OF DRY WEATHER:

Other than the first few rains in Autumn and Winter, when the ground is still absorbing water, many preserves will stay gooey and largely unridable most of the winter due to heavy clay content, springs, and deeply shaded north facing woodlands. These parks include any of the dirt sections of the Bay Trail, like shells in Foster City or the Baylands in Palo Alto, Arastradeo Preserve and Windy Hill in Palo Alto/Portola Valley, Long Ridge Preserve on Skyline, and Fremont Older Preserve in Saratoga, and the Canyon Trail in Monte Bello Open Space.
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racerXgirl said:
So muddy this weekend it looks like. . . Giant is getting tuned up and I won't have it back before then. Where's a good place to take the Trek? :confused
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Ft. Ord - and bring lots of lube.....otherwise your bike will sound like it's eating fritos...;)
 
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I totally subscribe to Passion Trails newsletters and I remember reading about that. D'Oh!

Thanks Chum! I don't think I wanna drive all that way though :(
 
racerXgirl said:
I totally subscribe to Passion Trails newsletters and I remember reading about that. D'Oh!

Thanks Chum! I don't think I wanna drive all that way though :(
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there's always Sierra Azul if you want a rigorous dirt workout....up Kennedy...thru woods road...loop around back into los gatos......should be about a 5K+ day and around 22+ miles (if i remember correctly....)

Side Note - if you want a great time you should race down in ft ord (worth the drive)...the CCCX series starts on Sunday...it's really a pretty fun XC course...and a hella cool series:

http://cccx.org/mtb/2009/index.shtml
 
sjensen said:
says mr single speed solo 24 hours, BC bike race etc:thumbup

you know you like riding that enduro at demo, the DH is so much better
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HA!...my big solos were not ss....i had gears....:twofinger

but the DH does sound fun.....hmmm...i even have a FF......not sure if that's even neccessary though ;)
 
Answer: YES

This is what happens at Fremont Older after a little rain a week ago.
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