• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Mountain biking 2019

nay

dirt heel pusher
Skier
Joined
Dec 1, 2015
Posts
6,477
Location
Colorado
Did you get rained on, too, @nay?
I've ridden at Snowbird, and the trails remind me of Snowbasin--a bit rough around the edges as they were really designed with hiking in mind, not biking.

Rain stayed east and then north of us. Almost all of my really local trails aren’t mtb specific so we’re used to a lot of rocks and roots with washout sections and drainage berms.

I wouldn’t make an extra effort to ride Snowbird, but the trail flow was really pretty good so long as you didn’t mind the chunder at speed.
 

AmyPJ

Skiing the powder
SkiTalk Tester
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
7,835
Location
Ogden, UT
Rain stayed east and then north of us. Almost all of my really local trails aren’t mtb specific so we’re used to a lot of rocks and roots with washout sections and drainage berms.

I wouldn’t make an extra effort to ride Snowbird, but the trail flow was really pretty good so long as you didn’t mind the chunder at speed.
You lucked out with the rain for sure. Sounds like you were right at home!
 

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
42,624
Location
Reno, eNVy
I have been getting out a couple of times a week to ride. It has felt good to be back in the saddle..confidence and fitness is improving.
 

Erik Timmerman

So much better than a pro
Instructor
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
6,304
33CDF3E0-F212-4362-BDAB-B091C045A282.png
8A04BB30-8BF7-4180-BD21-17FBF3125D0F.jpeg
 

AmyPJ

Skiing the powder
SkiTalk Tester
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
7,835
Location
Ogden, UT
Nice ride, Erik!
I'm setting PRs since I started training for (and have since ridden in) the race, too. Bonus is on trails I've ridden hundreds of times! It's a nice feeling to know that it's possible to improve even with age. There are definitely days where my knees are really stiff, and I can tell I've got something going on with what feels like the MCL on the left knee, most likely a remnant from the crash that fractured my right tibial plateau, but I just keep at it. No swelling, just stiffness and mild pain that is intermittent.

It's hot and the air quality in the evenings is getting really bad, so I am very grateful to be able to ride in the mornings right now.

I will say that riding longer distances seems to be a really good way to improve speed overall, or at least to throw in about 2 longer (say, 13 miles or so) rides per week. My speed on the ride today averaged 7.4 mph, up from 6.7 mph just a few weeks ago.

Oh, and I put the 30 tooth chain ring on and rode with it this morning. I like it! It definitely gave me a little bit more power, dare I say, on the one steep pitch I climbed today. It's a gravel/dirt road that is washed out and just a mess, and it's quite long and gets steeper and more washed out the higher you go. I was able to stay out of granny on it and still felt like I had some oomph in my legs. Previously, I'd run out of gas even in granny. I'd still make the entire climb, but I was pushing max effort. Today felt a lot better.
 

nay

dirt heel pusher
Skier
Joined
Dec 1, 2015
Posts
6,477
Location
Colorado
Back home from LCC and spent some time sessioning lines in Ute Valley @ COS.

CEFBC766-9C62-499E-8B01-CAE31D6E3D40.jpeg


Nachos trail. Working on getting comfortable sweeping this turn on the outside. I am braking too much on the upper section.

F1FC67A1-D266-4FAE-8799-48C7DC8EE7E7.jpeg


This tight little chute drop is tough.

A182C100-DFD1-4AB8-88E3-675CE84406AD.jpeg


Almond Butter trail. Great pitch here and easier to pick lines. Can mostly let it run in here.

B18AAA83-38C6-44D1-B36A-F4B256ABA3C6.jpeg


Another chute drop. Maybe by end of season - no braking here.

5B5C036F-01DE-4510-9087-A413A279B311.jpeg
 
Last edited:

coskigirl

Skiing the powder
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
4,591
Location
Evergreen, CO
Got no mountain bike time last week but spent time on both the road bike and Peloton. I'll probably get something in this weekend, maybe a bit further from home but nothing during the week seeing as how I'm sitting at a hotel in Norwalk CT on a work trip right now.
 

Doug Briggs

"Douche Bag Local"
Industry Insider
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 9, 2015
Posts
7,484
Location
Breckenridge, CO
Back home from LCC and spent some time sessioning lines in Ute Valley @ COS.

View attachment 77265

Working on getting comfortable sweeping this turn on the outside. I am braking too much on the upper section.
View attachment 77267

This tight little chute drop is tough.

View attachment 77270

Great pitch here and easier to pick lines. Can mostly let it run in here.

View attachment 77268

Another chute drop. Maybe by end of season - no braking here.

View attachment 77269

That is some cool looking terrain. I just looked that up on mtbproject. Is that in Ute Valley Park or somewhere else? I don't know when I'll be in those parts but I think I'd enjoy that.
 

coskigirl

Skiing the powder
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
4,591
Location
Evergreen, CO
You could go clamming.

I would LOVE that if I had the gear and time. However, Wednesday night I'm meeting up with a couple of friends from the first online forum I was ever active on (Cooking Light) that I've never met in person for ramen. I joined that (now defunct) forum in 2003. Super excited to finally meet these friends.
 

nay

dirt heel pusher
Skier
Joined
Dec 1, 2015
Posts
6,477
Location
Colorado
That is some cool looking terrain. I just looked that up on mtbproject. Is that in Ute Valley Park or somewhere else? I don't know when I'll be in those parts but I think I'd enjoy that.

Yes, Ute Valley Park. The first pics in my post above are from Nachos. Here’s a POV vid (not me).


And then the from 4th pic above is Almond Butter. Another not me vid. This drop is a blast for the minimal work required to ride it.


And just hammering Nachos. I love watching vids of trails I’m working on where riders are not even bothering with brakes.

 
Last edited:

Josh Matta

Skiing the powder
Pass Pulled
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
Posts
4,123
Man that looks fun. Slick rock IE actually really grippy stuff or something else?
 

AmyPJ

Skiing the powder
SkiTalk Tester
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
7,835
Location
Ogden, UT
Those trails look challenging but very doable. I'd love something like that nearby that I could hone my skills on that kind of rock.
 

Josh Matta

Skiing the powder
Pass Pulled
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
Posts
4,123
Been to Gooseberry, Mesa yet?


Its very approachable slickrock style riding. Its tough but nothing it too scary their except for the stuff along the canyon rim.
Its IMO way more fun than Slickrock Trail in Moab, and way less effort as well.

 

AmyPJ

Skiing the powder
SkiTalk Tester
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
7,835
Location
Ogden, UT
Been to Gooseberry, Mesa yet?


Its very approachable slickrock style riding. Its tough but nothing it too scary their except for the stuff along the canyon rim.
Its IMO way more fun than Slickrock Trail in Moab, and way less effort as well.

Hoping to get there in the fall when it cools off.
 

nay

dirt heel pusher
Skier
Joined
Dec 1, 2015
Posts
6,477
Location
Colorado
Man that looks fun. Slick rock IE actually really grippy stuff or something else?

It’s fine grain sandstone, so not quite like Moab slickrock as it is fairly easy to scrub the surface (hence the water erosion contouring you can see in the pics and vid) but it’s pretty grippy.

This stuff tends to be found on and near the “Dakota Hogback” formations, and there is a lot of Front Range mountain biking in and along these hogback spines. Much of it is difficult and often not particularly enjoyable due to the sharpness of the ridgelines (hence “hogback”) and the need for trails to stay on a tight line with sharp shale and other crap all throughout the trails.

Geek out here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Hogback

NW Colorado Springs has neighborhoods and parks interspersed among these features. I used to live really close to this park, but I wasn’t mountain biking then. My son told me he was heading to Ute Valley, I was like “ok, but why?”, and he’d been pointed there by a local rider. Now I know.

I’m still close enough to make it a home base ride so pretty stoked about that.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado
I would LOVE that if I had the gear and time. However, Wednesday night I'm meeting up with a couple of friends from the first online forum I was ever active on (Cooking Light) that I've never met in person for ramen. I joined that (now defunct) forum in 2003. Super excited to finally meet these friends.

Way OT, but years ago in the outer banks, we waded in the sound with an upside down frisbee floating in the water. We dug our toes through the sand, and as we found clams, we put them in the frisbee. Got enough for a decent portion of clams casino!
 

Josh Matta

Skiing the powder
Pass Pulled
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
Posts
4,123
Short little cruisy clip from the local trails.

 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top