Trail Maintenance and Slick Sticks

If you have ever hit a "slick stick" you know how painful that can be. A "slick stick" is that twig, branch or stick that hidden (most times) and runs almost parallel (in the worst case) to the trail. Hitting one on a downhill (especially in moist situations) results in an unsuspecting and often painful crash (I have a perma-lump on my hip from one of these). That is why it is important (I feel) to watch out for other mountain bikers and take the time to stop and do trail maintenance when you see something not right (or dangerous).


For example, yesterday I went for a ride up the 700 to the 760, then climbed up "Rocky Road" then to "Stick in the Eye" and then down to the ''Cork Screw". I had to stop at least 20 times to remove a number of "fall downs." The heavy wet snow, wind, and the rain really did a number on the trees.

What a Difference a Day Makes

I take back everything I said yesterday. I did the same ride as yesterday but in reverse, and when I got to the top of Dimple, I was amazed all the snow was gone! 8" of it. Horse and Dan's are a river as there is so much water coming down. The morning was one of the worst days I have ever road in, and then the afternoon was sunny. What a crazy day. At least now you won't have to worry about snow getting in the way of your ride.

Dimple in the Snow

Started at the Lester Ave gate and road up Dan's this morning. The trail was in good shape for the first half, then a little muddy at "The Diving Board", it was only the last 200 feet where the snow or slick ice made it tough going. On top there is about 8". Went down the road on the back side and if it wasn't for the cross country ski tracks I would have been walking as the snow was very deep and I followed the track all the way to Horse, then back down to the car. Above 800 ft you are going to find snow for the next week I would guess.

Christmas Morning - 6:15 a.m. the Saddle

Took the high road from the saddle up to Vineyard Mountain. There is/was 3" of new snow in the parking lot. For the first third it was pretty easy only 3" to 5" of new snow, then it got deeper. If it wasn't for a truck that drove up before, I wouldn't have made it. It is a weird feeling to be peddling and have your peddels hit the snow on each side. There was about 8" to 10" of snow on top if you got outside of the truck track. Snow was good and tacky, not slick, good traction with low air pressure. Took 30 mins to get to the light tower, 15 mins to get down. Back for Christmas breakfast by 7:15 a.m.

One Tough Race - Iditarod Trail Invitational

Check out this link for the Iditarod race on bikes from the NY Times. Now that is snow riding, look at the size of the tires. Makes we want to try it. Watch the video to get a real feel for it. I would like to find out the specs of the bikes. They have a 350 mile version or the 1,100 mile version of the race.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/sports/othersports/24ultra.html?_r=1&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Here is the official website:

http://www.alaskaultrasport.com/alaska_ultra_home_page.html

Snow Riding In Corvallis

First off, snow and Corvallis just don't go together, it happens so rare, but when it does it is beautiful except for those of us who like to Mountain Bike. Take today for example, since it warmed up on Sunday, my brother and I thought it would be possible to ride up to Dimple from Oak Creek. Think again. The Oak Creek gate is just that much higher in elevation. We met at 7 a.m. and it was already starting to snow again, plus there is still 4" of snow at the gate and it got worse as we climbed. We made it 1.15 miles from the gate before we had to turn around (it took us 30 minutes to get that far). Going up was slow, slick and a good workout. One thing that helped to get as far as we did was to let out a lot of air from our tires. The worry is that if the snow stays around for any length of time, riding is really going to be impacted for the holidays.

Mary's Peak Loop

From the Woods Creek parking lot take fire road to the start of the East Rim trail to the parking lot at the "top" of Mary's Peak, then take the North Rim trail down.

Vineyard Mountain Loop (from the Saddle)

This is the loop starting at the Saddle and taking the high road up to Vineyard Mountain, down to the 5-way then on the low road past the quarry and back to the parking lot.

Welcome to CMB

The CMB was created as posting point for mid-valley mountain bikers to schedule rides, connect with riders, and post maps, and whatever else comes along.

12/20 - On the road to UpRoute, but only got a mile in.