Devils Pass MTB - 9.15.2013

On Sunday our good friend Toni was briefly passing through town on her way from Cordova to Norway. Combined with the great weather, we figured that this was a great chance to get out for a long ride. As Toni's bike was in Cordova, and with a late bike shop opening to collect Toni's demo, it was 1:30 before we were riding away from the trailhead on the Seward Highway. It seemed like deja vu all over again.

The ride started out with a mellow double track descent from the parking lot to the valley floor.


Then the single track started; a handful of steep switchbacks later and we were out of the trees and gradually climbing through the incredible views of Devils Pass.


Getting closer to the top!

Arctic Valley Bike Ride - 9.5.2013

For the last several months I've felt like I've been in a prolonged period of cabin fever. It started with a long period stuck on the boat in the Prince William Sound, and with rainy season now in full effect here in Anchorage I've been having a hard time breaking out of it.

I figured the cure I needed was some anguish on my bike. So, after work I headed just north of Anchorage to the Arctic Valley Road, drove a couple kilometers up the road and started riding towards the ski area. I immediately began to wonder if I'd made the right decision as heavy winds blew me all over the road. But, the views up Ship Creek kept me quite distracted from the tornado around me.


Winter is coming!!!


The initial planning from my desk had led me to believe that I could follow a road to a high point around 1,200 meters that would look down on the Matanuska Susitna Valley. However, upon reaching the fork in the road, the plethora of NO TRESPASSING and LIVE FIRE signs convinced me to just head towards the ski area. Looking south towards Knoya Peak and Ship Creek.

Heil - Hall - Heil MTB

Starting Elevation: 1,817 meters
Max Elevation: 2,054 meters
Distance: 49.0 km
Elevation Gain: 1,061 meters
Time: 4:40

Growing up riding on the Front Range of Colorado, we always wished there was a connector trail between Heil Ranch and Hall Ranch outside of Lyons. About 6 years ago the connector (Picture Rock) was finally built. Since then I've wanted to ride them together as one ride, and we've tried a couple times, but been shut down by extreme heat and the all too usual mechanical failures.

Yesterday I decided to give it another go. I've been back from sea level for 4 days now and got in one short ride the day before; before that I have not been on my bike in 6 months. Needless to say, these factors made this ride much more punishing than it needed to be - downright painful in fact. This was probably the first time in my life that I've been so tired that I have actually considered walking my bike downhill. That being said, it feels good to finally check it off the list!

I got off to a slow start when I arrived at the Heil Ranch trailhead without my backpack.


The chundery climb up Heil Ranch:


Done with the slow and loose rocks of Heil and onto the Picture Rock connector trail:

More Moab MTB - Thanksgiving 2012

Still feeling a bit groggy from the great american holiday of overeating, Rachel, Jordan and I headed out early last Friday morning for a long weekend in the desert. After a pit stop for supplies in Grand Junction, we were happily eating lunch under the warm desert sun by 12:30.

After lunch we checked out the Klondike Bluffs trail network on our bikes. Hoping to grab a campsite before the hordes arrived, we were a bit limited on time, but we still managed to ride Dino-Flow, EKG, Baby Steps North, and Megasteps. Unfortunately, as we did not ride the Klondike Bluffs jeep road we missed the dinosaur tracks imprinted in the rock along the road. Next time, I'd like to check those out. Overall, Klondike Bluffs is a far cry from some of our favorite rides in Colorado where continuous, long climbs are followed by screaming descents. The elevation change at Klondike Bluffs is minimal, making it a great place to go if you are not into suffering through long climbs. At the same time, the terrain is just technical enough so that anyone can have fun without having to walk their bike much. What I really like about Klondike Bluffs is the great views of the La Sals which rise out of the desert to the southeast. After riding both, I'd recommend the Magnificent 7 trails, which we rode back in October over the Bluffs - they provide similar technicality with more flow and even better views.

Rachel on EKG:


One of the more technical sections of Klondike Bluffs:


With a little light left, we hurried down to Moab, finding a great campspot at Williams Bottom. I'd highly recommend this campsite for winter camping - located along the river it faces southeast, providing awesome warm early morning light.

Saturday morning we spent the day checking out Canyonland's Island in the Sky. A day, let alone a lifetime, isn't enough time to see the incredible detail, beauty, and variety of Canyonlands, but we packed in many short hikes to see as many places as possible. Some of our favorites are below.

Murphy Point:


White Rime Overlook:


Aztec Butte:


Upheaval Dome:


All the sites we visited were amazing and easily accessed; I'd recommend all of them. I can't wait to get back and spend more time in Island in the Sky!

The next day we were up and at em early with plans to check out Arches National Park and then squeeze in a ride. With only a few hours to work with we saw only a few of Arches' plethora of sites. Arches is a juxtaposition of scales: Each arch is filled with infinite fingerprint sized detail, yet you have to crane your head back to see the top of the towering arch, and on top of that, the arch is dwarfed by the La Sal mountains rising out of the desert.

Turret Arch:


Double Arch:


After the sprint through Arches, we piled in the car and headed to one of our favorite trail networks: Fruita's Kokopelli Loops at Loma. I'd easily rate Loma as one of my top 5 rides: its technical, exposed, fast, and downright beautiful. There are few things like riding a bike on the edge of a 400 foot cliff that overlooking the Colorado River. I've done a writeup of this ride before, so I'll just share a couple pictures of how amazing winter in the desert is:

Mary's Loop:




Steve's Loop:


Cheers!

Jackson Bike Trip - August 2012

Back in August, Ethan and I headed up to Jackson for a long weekend of mountain biking with our good friend Erik.  On our way up we stopped outside of Cheyenne to check out the trails at Curt Gowdy. Curt Gowdy is a strange beast, generally it has the vertical of Fruita's 18 Road and, much like Buffalo Creek, is very smooth. Unfortunately, the lack of vertical prevents any long downhills, and sharp corners generally prevent high speed riding.

A lot of it looks like this:

However, it does have some very unique granite rollers:

Creatively, the trail designers at Curt Gowdy have taken advantage of the geology and topography of the area, designating "play zones" where you can generally just ride around wherever you want. Most of these are mellow, yet unique and fun. One the other hand, the play zone at the top of Skin and Bones is really gnarly, with big rock rollers and drops, some of the most technical XC I've ever ridden. I just kept hoping I wouldn't go flying off my bike into the surrounding boulders and trees. This is generally what it looks like:

For me, one of the highlights of Curt Gowdy was Hidden Falls, which you can jump into...

Photo: Ethan Vimont

I thought Curt Gowdy was good, but not great: there's not much topographic relief which is one of my favorite things about mountain biking. That being said, it has quite a bit of variable and unique terrain, everyone could have a good time riding there for a day. 

Curt Gowdy took longer than expected; with Jackson still hours away we had some catching up to do. Unfortunately, my car is limited at 115...

By 2 AM we were in bed at Erik's, looking forward to Phillips Canyon the next day. Erik was clearly looking forward to making us suffer, and suffer we did on the steep climb up the Old Teton Pass road to the start of Phillips. It was well worth it with miles of smooth single track back to Wilson. This is a great trail that I could ride again and again, not technical, but fast and gorgeous.

 

Erik:

 

After the long drive from CO the night before, Ethan and I were glad to relax the rest of the day and anxiously await a day of shuttling the downhill trails of Teton Pass the next day. These trails are INCREDIBLE: huge berms, gap jumps, stepups, stepdowns, rhythm sections, log rides, they have it all. Its been years since I've jumped on my bike; at the end of every run we were amped and thankful to still be intact. Some of the smaller features:

Photo: Ethan Vimont

If I lived in Jackson I would buy a downhill bike, a full face and armor...and let Erik lead me into all the big jumps.

That night we headed north of Jackson to camp at Shadow Mountain, even through the heavy smoke from nearby fires the Tetons were incredible.

 

A great campspot at the very top of Shadow Mountain meant we had to ride 100 yards from our tent for a classic descent to the valley floor. Like many of the Jackson area trails, this trail is smooth and really really fast. Ethan approaching terminal velocity: 

Flowy single track lower down:

Photo: Ethan Vimont

At the bottom, we hopped on the Shadow Mountain road, and headed back up for another lap before heading back to Jackson. 

After a short break at Erik's, we headed out for an afternoon lap of Black's Canyon on Teton Pass. A car shuttle to the top of the pass shortened the climb to just over twenty minutes. Angry that Erik had beat me up on Shadow Mountain that morning, I made sure to make the climb as painful as possible. Black's started with a serious of high speed, soft corners - few things are as fun on a bike as two wheel slides.

Before long we reached the valley bottom and miles of fast and smooth singletrack.

Even after months of drought, the protected valley bottom was still remarkably lush:

 

Black's Canyon is a must ride; its fast, scenic, and seemingly far away from it all. With a shuttle its virtually no work, leaving energy for another ride; or ride from the bottom of Teton Pass and get a great climb to go along with that great descent

Before heading back to Colorado we squeezed in one last ride up Storm King. Like, the other Jackson rides, Storm King features a crushing climb that quickly brings you above it all, followed by a fast and smooth descent. 

Gentlemen, thanks for kicking my ass everyday, next time please ride slower.

Moab/Fruita Fall Mountain Bike Trip

Last week, Matt and I headed out late Friday for a long weekend of riding in Moab and Fruita. As we headed through the Colorado high country, a dusting of snow reminded us that winter is just around the corner.


Driving through persistent rain, we headed to the 18 Road campground and trailhead (Map), hoping to find a nearby campsite that would be convenient for an early morning ride. However, Fruita is more popular than ever, every single campsite must have had 5 vehicles at it. Fortunately, there is free camping just east down on the road. Saturday morning arrived cold and dreary, note to self: 18 Road is not rideable after rain:


Quickly giving up on the mud of 18 Road, we headed toward the incredible scenery of Rabbit Valley (Map). From the Rabbit Valley Parking Lot, we road Trail 2 past the McDonald Trailhead to the West Rim Trail. Rode the West Rim Trail clockwise, then headed back on the Kokopelli Trail. Trail 2 is basically a very sandy road, skip it and park at the McDonald Trailhead. Next time, I'd also like to ride the East Rim Trail. The West Rim Trail does have incredible views...


...and is moderately technical, but being right next to very large cliffs makes it exciting!




Rabbit Valley sand:


Rabbit valley is scenic and pretty mellow, if you are looking for more climbing and technical riding with the same incredible views, Loma is even better!

From Rabbit Valley, we made a beeline for Moab to meet up with our friends Aaron and Amber. Needless to say, the views were incredible. The La Sals:


In Moab, we joined up with Aaron and Amber, who had a great campsite above Slickrock:


Sunday morning, Matt and I headed out to the famous Slickrock trail (Map):




What really surprised me about Slickrock was how challenging it is! That being said, it sure was awesome to see so many people giving it their all! I'd definitely recommend Slickrock, it's unique, beautiful, and challenging. Except for one move, the entire trail is rideable, but it's sure hard to believe just how grippy the rock is!


After Slickrock, we headed out for an evening ride at the Magnificent 7 (Map). If there is one thing that Mag-7 has, it's incredible views of the La Sals; I'd highly recommend riding it right around sunset:






In terms of riding, I wasn't blown away by Mag-7: primarily because there is not much elevation gain or loss. But, it's about as much fun as you can have on a mountain bike without doing any significant climbing.


Monday morning, we were up early for the shuttle up Porcupine Rim (Map). We had hoped to ride the Whole Enchilada, but muddy conditions from recent snow and rain meant that we had to start at the bottom of Hazzard County. Amazing views started right under the La Sals and continued for the entire ride.




Castle Valley:


Upper Porcupine Singletrack:


Porcupine Rim:






2:15 after leaving the shuttle, we were on Highway 128, and a short spin brought us back into town. Add a few more people to the group, and almost inevitable mechanical issues, and this ride could easily take 5 hours.


Kokopelli -> Upper Porcupine Singletrack -> Lower Porcupine Singletrack -> Porcupine Rim is a really really fun ride with virtually no climbing. It has a bit of every kind of descending: water bar booters, technical moves, turny singletrack, and lots of fast chunky riding. This ride would be better on a freeride bike, not because of any big drops or really steep moves, but it is so darn chunky-a trail bike really slows you down. Regardless, this is a great ride, throw in Burro Pass and Hazzard County, and I bet this is a top 5 ride.

Porcupine Rim went fast and the day was still young, so we went back to get revenge on 18 Road. Here's a full write up of the riding at 18 Road from last year. Western Zippity has been extended to add another mile or two of winding flat singletrack, but otherwise 18 Road is basically the same (and just as fun) as always.




The other side of Fruita:


Final thoughts:
1) Everyone should ride 18 Road, just not after it rains.
2) Loma is a technical and hilly version of Rabbit Valley.
3) Slickrock is awesome and challenging.
4) Magnificent 7 is beautiful, fun, and flat.
5) I can't wait to ride the Whole Enchilada.
6) Thanks for the great pictures Matt!