Mountain Biking?

[bluehende]

Sweet. What’s the resort?

Lol on the terrain thing. When I was in Sedona riding, I’d get back to the timeshare completely exhausted, gone for hours, and then I’d look at my bike computer and see that it was only a 7 mile ride! Felt like 40 miles. Someone in Sedona said to me that most of the time mtb miles tax your body 2x road miles but in Sedona it’s more like 4x, I’d believe it.

Land of Canaan.

I think time is a good indicator. One trail we do here drops off a dirt road and parallels it for about 3 miles. It usually takes us well over 2 hrs on the way out and we drop 150 ft. After climbing back to the road it takes 15 minutes to get back to the car. And that is by far the least taxing 15 minutes of the ride. This is the trail that made this area famous (plantation) but has been made almost obsolete by all the new trails in the area made for and by mountain bikers. I have never been that high motor guy. We enjoy technical challenge and have a tendency to go back and redo rock gardens that we miss.

 

[heathpack]

@vikingsholm nice pics! Thanks for posting them, can’t wait to get up there.

@bluehende technical is not my forte. Working on it. I admire the folks who can ride those technical bits well.

 

[bluehende]

@vikingsholm nice pics! Thanks for posting them, can’t wait to get up there.

@bluehende technical is not my forte. Working on it. I admire the folks who can ride those technical bits well.

Here was todays trail. A little harder. A lot of the trail looks like this

Here is one of me on this section

And a nice picture of the greenery

 

[heathpack]

Wow @bluehende I think I could actually ride that. I have trouble with stuff like that on an uphill grade but that looks pretty flat. Any idea what that % grade is?

The 29 inch wheels really help with stuff like that. You just keep rolling along...

When I was riding up in Tahoe, I was psyched out the first few times by this part of Sawtooth trail. Then I just rode over it and was amazed, it went fine. That’s how it is for me with mtb, I refuse to do something a few times. And then one day I just do it and it’s fine...

 

[bluehende]

Wow @bluehende I think I could actually ride that. I have trouble with stuff like that on an uphill grade but that looks pretty flat. Any idea what that % grade is?

The 29 inch wheels really help with stuff like that. You just keep rolling along...

When I was riding up in Tahoe, I was psyched out the first few times by this part of Sawtooth trail. Then I just rode over it and was amazed, it went fine. That’s how it is for me with mtb, I refuse to do something a few times. And then one day I just do it and it’s fine...

It is a downhill the way I am riding it. Not steep probably 10 degrees. It was a lot harder the other way. The 29er does just roll over this stuff. My biggest problem is just getting tired. Even downhill it takes me energy to get over any rock. I am always fighting to keep up my momentum. Then I tire and get off my line and get my wheel in the worst spot. I wish I could blow through like the guys 40 yrs my junior do. Your picture looks like the exact stuff we love. I am sure I would get exhausted before the end, but that looks like fun. It looks like it gets tougher down farther. I would love to see if there are good lines or do you have to just power through. And as you say, this is more of a sport that you fight yourself as much as the terrain.

 

[heathpack]

So Park City was great. So great that we are in the process of buying an EOY even 2BR lockoff at Marriott Mountainside. Tons of great cross country trails, I was like a kid in a candy shop. The last day, I did an 8 mile 3300ish ft single track climb up to the Wasatch Crest Trail and then I rode that over to the Canyons. That might be the most beautiful trail I've ever ridden, right up there with the Tahoe Rim Trail anyway.



Then this past weekend, I went up to Mammoth Lakes, CA for a 2 day women's MTB camp which was excellent. Somehow I went from refusing to ride a 10 inch drop in Sat morning's skills session to riding a couple of black diamond trails Sat afternoon. The coaches were amazing. Sunday more skills then an easier afternoon ride, lots of switchback practice on that one. We had tons of smoke from the Yosemite fire, so not too many epic pics from Mammoth. Wish they had a timeshare up there, that's a pretty great bike park.



Next up: Big Bear, CA this weekend and St George, UT in mid Sept.

 

[Ironwood]

Wow @bluehende I think I could actually ride that. I have trouble with stuff like that on an uphill grade but that looks pretty flat. Any idea what that % grade is?

The 29 inch wheels really help with stuff like that. You just keep rolling along...

When I was riding up in Tahoe, I was psyched out the first few times by this part of Sawtooth trail. Then I just rode over it and was amazed, it went fine. That’s how it is for me with mtb, I refuse to do something a few times. And then one day I just do it and it’s fine...

Yikes....I'd have a lot of trouble navigating that on my hybrid with road tires. Followed friends through a new nature recreational trail this past weekend which they said was fairly flat, but the cinder hardpack was anything but....had to stand on the pedals a few times to get through. Nice meandering 10 km trail with offshoots, but not the leisurely ride I joined them for!

 

[bluehende]

So Park City was great. So great that we are in the process of buying an EOY even 2BR lockoff at Marriott Mountainside. Tons of great cross country trails, I was like a kid in a candy shop. The last day, I did an 8 mile 3300ish ft single track climb up to the Wasatch Crest Trail and then I rode that over to the Canyons. That might be the most beautiful trail I've ever ridden, right up there with the Tahoe Rim Trail anyway.



Then this past weekend, I went up to Mammoth Lakes, CA for a 2 day women's MTB camp which was excellent. Somehow I went from refusing to ride a 10 inch drop in Sat morning's skills session to riding a couple of black diamond trails Sat afternoon. The coaches were amazing. Sunday more skills then an easier afternoon ride, lots of switchback practice on that one. We had tons of smoke from the Yosemite fire, so not too many epic pics from Mammoth. Wish they had a timeshare up there, that's a pretty great bike park.



Next up: Big Bear, CA this weekend and St George, UT in mid Sept.

That looks beautiful. My problem would be after about 1000 ft I wouldn't be able to see and life would not be fun. Ah to be young and in shape again. By that I mean 55.

 

[heathpack]

That looks beautiful. My problem would be after about 1000 ft I wouldn't be able to see and life would not be fun. Ah to be young and in shape again. By that I mean 55.

Haha, I'm up on the Wasatch Crest trail and riding along and I keep running into all kinds of people who I didn't see on the trails on the way up. ???

Finally at one point, I roll up to a couple resting in the shade so I make some chit chat and eventually ask them what trails they came up. They tell me they took the shuttle.

Wut? There's a shuttle???!

Most mornings I climbed 4 miles/1500ish ft to get to the trails I rode. But you could also take the chairlift up (doesn't start until 10am and I wanted to ride earlier than that thought) to mid Mountain or shuttle all the way up to the Wasatch Crest Trail. You don't have to ride up (even though I'm glad I did...).

 

[taterhed]

Anybody that's interested: https://ridewithgps.com/ will let you look at trails just about anywhere.
It has all the data you need and is searchable.

A great resource if you have a garmin to ride with.
You can also track your rides and post them as well.....

 

[heathpack]

Anybody that's interested: https://ridewithgps.com/ will let you look at trails just about anywhere.
It has all the data you need and is searchable.

A great resource if you have a garmin to ride with.
You can also track your rides and post them as well.....

I like:
https://www.mtbproject.com/

and:
https://www.trailforks.com/trails/map/

Both of these have free apps you can download and pull up when you're riding, whether you have cell reception or not. Great for trails that aren't well marked.

 

[bluehende]

I like:
https://www.mtbproject.com/

and:
https://www.trailforks.com/trails/map/

Both of these have free apps you can download and pull up when you're riding, whether you have cell reception or not. Great for trails that aren't well marked.

getting lost is one of our biggest problems. I have a very good sense of direction so it has never become a problem , but man there have been a few anxious hours on the trail

 

[taterhed]

Especially when your mind unlocks and you just enjoy the scenery.

Now, where the h**l am I?

 

[heathpack]

So... we went to St George UT a few weeks ago. I was there for a conference but managed to get some riding in.

Then after, we went to Moab for a few days. One of the instructors I rode with this past summer at the Trek Dirt Series (women’s mtb clinic) lives in Moab. She’s a fantastic instructor and I wanted to ride with her again. “Technical climbing” was to be the subject of the day.

Ride 1, St George. Stucki Springs and Bearclaw Poppy. Easy fire road, followed by easy fun single track.

Ride 2, outside Hurricane UT, near Zion NP. Wire Mesa, great trail.

Ride 3: Hurricane UT. JEM trail, including a fun trail called More Cowbell. Ride up onto a mesa and then all around up top. So cool!

Ride 4: St George UT. Snow Canyon SP, just rode a dirt road and the bike path. There’s on mtb trails there. But amazing rock formations.

Then off to Moab.

Ride 5: Moan UT. Klondike Bluffs area. This was the instructional ride. Really learned tons. Wow that was hard. And we saw dinosaur tracks. What a great morning.

Ride 6: Moab UT. Dead Horse Point State Park. Rode all the trails there. This is Moab’s version of “easy”. Yes I rode right up these rocks! Using my new skills.

Ride 7: Moab UT. Navajo Rocks trail system. What great trails, loved em. So all over, 100% tired by the time I was done.

We also went to Arches National Park:

And to Canyonlands National Park. The little “trail” you can see if you zoom in is actually a road. Jeep road called the White Rim Trail. 100 miles, open only to Jeep and mountain bike. I want to take 3-4 days to camp out there and ride the whole thing.

We had such a great trip that even the dog was sad on our last day, she was just enjoying the trip too much.

 

[bluehende]

We are currently riding around Sugarbush in VT. Yesterday was dreary so we did not have the camera. After climbing close to 1000 ft on fairly easy trail I know I need to work on my wind. Here is today's ride.

Here it is farther up. This was last year and the leaves are much brighter this year. It gets a bit easier for a while.

And needless to say I make a valiant effort on this but do not make it all the way.

Tomorrow we ride this one. We are always glad to see this as this is the top of a 600 ft technical climb that gets us every time.

Hopefully we get some pictures today as it is supposed to be nicer.

 

[heathpack]

OMG on that rooty section. Looks "fun".

 

[wackymother]

I can barely stay upright on a bike, but I enjoy this thread! Thank you!

 

[bluehende]

From today's ride. It turned into a beautiful day. The wife and I going through the same spot

Most of the trail is like this.

 

[heathpack]

Ahh so green. So east coast.

 

[bluehende]

Ahh so green. So east coast.

It was kind of weird. The tops of the trees had all changed but down low it was all green. Look at the hill from the road and it is beautiful. Out in the woods other than the leaves down it looks like summer. Of course all that greenery meant some wet roots. Took me down twice today.

 

[heathpack]

My upcoming mtb trips are:
1. Sedona over Thanksgiving
2. Santa Cruz in April
3. Santa Fe in June

Then I’m trying to decide between Bend OR over Labor Day week. Vs Tahoe for 4 days next Oct followed by a week in Moab with 3 days out on the White Rim Trail

In theory I was going to try to exchange into Maui next Nov. But I might just find myself in Sedona or environs again...

 

[heathpack]

Tahoe is for a conference, normally I wouldn’t bundle Tahoe with Moab

 

[bluehende]

Here are a couple from today. Figured I would put a scenic or two in. VT in October.

There is an easier way to the right. This is about a 5 ft ledge.

Not all the trail is crazy

The annoying thing about pictures is no way to tell how steep it is. This is probably equivalent to an intermediate slope skiing

 

[bluehende]

We are now at Massanutten. A few pictures from today's ride. It was a dreary day with rain in the AM. The wet rocks really threw me. I rode like crap.

 

[heathpack]

Gnarly Bluehende.