Mountain Biking Links

Best rides I’ve been on:

Crested Butte, CO
Extensive singletrack networks leave town from all directions. Here epic rides are a dime a dozen… with such greats as Trail 401, Deer Creek, Dyke Trail, Teocalli Ridge, Strand Hill, Doctor’s Park, and Reno-Flag-Bear-Deadman’s Gulch there’re enough biking options to last for weeks of exploration. Home of the Fat Tire Festival every June and the Pearl Pass Crested Butte to Aspen mountain bike ride every September.

South Mountain Park Desert Classic Loop, Phoenix, AZ
Very technical (rocky) desert 20+ mile loop through cactus and boulder fields. Epic status but many parts on the ascent were too technical for me (such as the equivalent of rock stairs).

Flagstaff – Mt. Elden Loop
A long fireroad climb brings you to the top of a singletrack extravaganza. I went as fast as I could to escape an approaching thunderstorm but still had to get off a few times in the crux serpentine downhill. With lightning bolts all around and ice cube-sized hail, I took temporary refuge in a pine grove. Then the storm passed, very little precipitation, and the trail was dry and ready to go. I bombed down singletrack for a mini eternity before blowing out two tubes in a row. Unfortunately, two strikes and I was out – the last few miles of this descent I spent walking a fireroad. I need to go back with a good bike.

Hole in the Ground, near Boreal ski area, CA
What can I say, I screwed up. Todd had never been mountain biking before and Kevin and I were hungry for our first taste of Lake Tahoe singletrack. I picked this ride over others because it was on our way home and looked easier than some other well-known rides (e.g. Mr. Toad’s). The trail was hands-down epic, a 17-mile counterclockwise singletrack loop that’s the closest experience to backpacking that I’ve ever had on a mountain bike (the Pacific Crest Trail is actually right here). Make sure you stop to check out the lakes on the way… I only stopped at the first one but have heard the second ones are even better. Todd must’ve gone over the handlebars at least five times at the beginning, making several new holes in the ground, but by the end he too was loving the ride, outlasting even Kevin up the final hill climb. All around, epic!

Kingdom Trails, East Burke, VT
Finally, I got the chance to visit this IMBA Epic in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and am happy to report: it was awesome. After years of west coast mountain biking, I still had yet to find a great singletrack destination in the Northeast. The Kingdom Trails Association claims the network encompasses over 100 miles of trails and in that plenty of singletrack exploration lies in wait. A great reason to tune up your bike that’s been sitting around since you moved East from out West (if applicable).

Mammoth Mountain Bike Park, CA
A downhiller convention, full body armor is the norm… but don’t expect to earn any downhill here. There’re only a few loops lower down on the mountain with minimal climbing, but still these have some great singletrack (around Reds Lake). The best singletrack is downhill only (although I did see one guy huffing it up the wrong way to the summit on the ‘Off the Top’ trail). Worth a couple trips up the lift just to ride some of the amazing singletrack… there’re epic in their own right. Steer clear of the Experts Only downhill trails unless you’re fully outfitted for downhilling… my cross country getup made it a total of twenty feet down ‘Chain Smoke’ before I had to walk it.

Moab, UT
Only’ve been on the Poison Spider Trail here -- the Slickrock Trail was slick when I wanted to bike it. Nearby is also the 100+ legendary epic unbelievable White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park… haven’t done this either.


Other areas I’d like to bike:

• Idaho, Sawtooth Range
• Fruita, CO
• Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
• Maah Daah Hey Trail, North Dakota
• Other Lake Tahoe trails (Mr. Toad’s, Flume, Rim trail)
• Downieville Downhill
• South Yuba, Nevada City, CA
• Barr Trail, Pike’s Peak (13 miles from the summit!

Other Info:

IMBA epics

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