St. George Riding

The advantage of having a son who lives in St. George, is that when the weather is wet and cold in Corvallis, you can go visit him.  That is just what I recently did. While the Saturday ride group were finding rain, mud and snow on Forest Peak, I was in clear blue and 65 degree weather in St. George.  Started the trip by riding the Green Valley trail system which is just south of St. George in Bloomington.  This is a great system of rolling trails and a great way to get acclimated to the riding style needed for this area.

The next day, we drove about 30 minutes from Hurricane to the Gooseberry Mesa trail head.  We then climbed the dirt road up from the first parking lot and had one of the best rides ever coming down the North Rim trail, the Practice trail system, Drops and Ledges, and finished with the Windmill trail (this is a bucket list).  Coming from the Northwest where you lots of fire road climbs and sweeping downhill runs through the trees, this was more rolling terrain over "slick rock" (sand stone) that worked through the natural obstacles and along the North rim. The interesting thing is that a lot of the trail is marked by white dots on the rocks. You can't climb the rocks in Oregon like you can in St. George.  It was all it is advertised to be and more.  Just a great event.  Like riding in Bend, when you can hit these trails about a 5 days after a rain storm, the trails are in perfect condition and no dust.

The final ride is the Jem loop, which starts at the Over The Edge (OTE) bike shop in Hurricane (http://otesports.com/locations/hurricane/) which is a great place to get supplies and your bike fixed.  They also have an espresso machine. This is about a 20 miles loop with a little double track.  It is a very exposed ride, so it a good morning or late afternoon ride.

St. George also has some great bike shops like Red Rock (Specialized) and Bike Unlimited (Trek).  Pick up one of the great color trail maps at any of the bike shops.

Balancing Rock on the Green Valley Trail

Painted Hills - Green Valley Trail

1st Parking Lot sign

North Rim Trail as the sun is coming up, looking over the valley

Breath taking views - Gooseberry Mesa North Rim

Windmill Trail Head

Go Beavers!

Night Rides

If you live in Corvallis and want to ride year round, you have to invest in some good lights (see my "Things I Use" tab for some great cheap lights). With good lights you are not limited by the sun and you can see the trails by a "whole new light." (I know, I couldn't resist). Two recent events have brought this home even more to me.  The first was the first annual (I hope) "Phantom of the Woods" ride at Halloween.  The was an even put on by some of the riders from Peak Sports. You showed up at the ride (many in costume) and were given a map and the check points you needed to find.  At each check point, there were glowing pumpkins, strange decorations, and a task you had to perform before you could go to the next stop. There was also a large bag of candy at each stop to provide "fuel." There were about 15 riders who showed up, and the rest of you missed out! Stops included getting a tattoo and picking a bloody finger for a prize number!

The second event happened last Thursday on our weekly night ride. We left about 9:15 from the Oak Creek gate and climbed to the "Dan's" junction (where the roads meet on top). As we came to the top, Maggie the trail dog started parking at what seemed like a bear.  There were 6 of us, and you should have laughed at the conversations.  No one turned to leave, nor did we want to change our route (which required us to go by the "bear" who run and hunkered down about 10 yards off the road that we wanted to go on), because in reality we all wanted to see it. So we decided to go as a group and then the "bear" jumped up and charged on two legs! Again that split second of "fear" before two other riders came out of the woods and the bear took his head off.  It was just some of the other regular riders waiting for us with a gorilla suit. Well done and had us all laughing!

Night riding (with good lights) opens up a whole new avenue of adventure and experiences. We've climbed by a full moon to the top of McCullough without lights, startled deer, heard the coyotes, seen owls, and trapped rabbits in our headlight beam. Things you just doing get to do in the daytime.  And with good lights the riding is just as good and as fast (you drive your car 65 mph at night don't you?). Especially with bears in the woods and goblins in the trees.

Mary's Peak in the fall

It has been a good October for mountain biking. The rain has helped the trails be tacky, but not muddied out. Plus the rain hasn't come and knocked the leaves down. On the peak, going up the East Rim trail was awash in yellows. We started about 7:30 a.m. and it was about 50 degrees. As we climbed to the parking lot, the clouds rolled in and it wasn't really raining, as much as just being in a storm cloud. The 4 of us surprised the group of workers who were all bundled up standing by their cars as we punched through the trees.


All the downed trees (but one new one) have been removed from trail and it is fast and flowery. Some of the roots were moist, which made for a few slip outs. A few bumps, bruises, and bent finger, but most of all there was a lot of smiles and whoops. One of the best rides around and the sun broke out as reach the suburban. Perfect.

James climbing into the color on the East Rim trail

Ofer at the 2nd switchback on the East Rim climbing into the clouds



Ofer at the 3rd switchback "the Stairs" on the East Rim trail

Ofer on the North Rim trail



Corvallis to Coast (C2C) 2011

This year's C2C was on Friday, July 8th and was one of the best ever. While it has been raining almost all of June, the skies were clear and not to hot.  6 of us left the Bald Hill parking lot at 5:45 a.m. with a temp of 42 degrees (it was 65 when we arrived in South Beach).  The late rain made everything green, so there was lots of over growth on all the trails.  This was particularly true as we road down The Nettles trail.  It was very soft and muddy in parts and very over grown.  The Tunnel and the Tank Trap trails were also close in with some great mud bogs (especially The Tunnel).  At Harlen, we met up with Darin who had road in from Burnt Woods (because of a work emergency), so 7 of us climbed the Randall Saddle and dropped into the coast side.  The first few years we did this we had all full-suspension bikes, now we have 29's, 1x9, hardtails, and even one crazy impressive rider (Frank) who did it on a single speed full rigid (amazing). We took all the right turns this time and only had one flat. Stats are:

Time: 5:45 to 2:45 (9 hours)
Miles: 60
Saddle Time: 6 hours
Elevation Gain: 6000
Ave Speed: 10 mph
Bike Specs:
3- 29r
4- Hard Tails
1- 1x9
1- Single Speed

At the finish, time for a BBQ

Enjoying the flowers before the "Tunnel"

The Nettles Trail

Picture Point - looking at Yaquina Bay - all most there

Just a nice moring ride

All kinds this year - single speed front and center

Mary's Peak - Another reason to live and ride in Corvallis

I have mentioned several times what a perfect place Corvallis is for mountain bikers.  There is year around riding and within about an hour, even more of the best riding in the country. But the best part is the variety, from Black Rock groomed obstacles to the high desert riding in Bend, to the forests of the McKenzie Trial or Oak Ridge.  One of those gems close to us in Mary's Peak.

A group of us said good bye to the rain, the snow, and June by hitting Mary's peak.  We started at the Woods Creek parking lot and road the watershed road to the East Rim trail head, then climbed the East Rim to the parking lot and up to the top.  We finished by coming down the North Rim trail, which was in perfect condition, except for 15 large trees that were down across the trail (most in the top half).  This was a week before the 4th of July weekend, so I hope they get cleared soon. 

This ride has it all, spectacular views, great climbing, technical descents, even a log ride at the bottom.  It is a special place that is shared by hikers and bikers (and no horses).

Climbing the East Rim

Near the East Rim Bench

What a view

On Top

Riding the Roots on North Rim

Black Rock - One more reason to love riding in the Valley

Corvallis Mountain Bikers are lucky and they know it.  Where else can you ride out your back door right onto the trails (with elevation) and do it year round.  Or in a few hours each way ride more great stuff in Bend, Roseburg, Hood River, or the Coast.  But the best part is that in about 35 minutes we can be riding on Mary's Peak or Black Rock (Falls City, OR). 

Last Saturday a group of us (six to be exact) visited Black Rock on a perfect day.  It was 50 degrees, a little over cast, and the trails were perfect (thanks to all the trail keepers out there).  We went to the practise area and played around, then climbed to the top where we did the top section of Banzai Downhill twice, then did the next section twice, then took the third section down to the practise area where we played some more, then finished out with the forth or lower section to the gate and back to the cars.  We just got out before the 2nd "Flow" downhill race got started. 

There was nothing but big smiles all around.  We finished off the day with a "must stop" at the Bread Board for sticky buns and the best hot chocolate around. That's why we love to ride, and love to ride here in the Willamette Valley.

Group Rides, Dry (er) Trails, and Trail Side Maintenance

May is finally bring around some dry(er) days, but at least they are warmer.  I have actually been able to for a ride with nothing but shorts and a riding jersey. Lately we have had a number of people start coming out the the Thursday and Saturday rides, not sure why, warmer weather, drier trails, or improved priorities :-).  Whatever the reason, having a number of riders along is what group rides are all about.  2 or 3 riders, doesn't really feel like a "group ride."  Now, it is true that rides with larger numbers can take longer, but I don't mind that because it provides opportunities to catch up with various riders.  It is fun with a larger group to be in the back on a night ride and watch the lights weave down through the switch back like fireflies. Riding is always fun, but hitting single track with your friends, in warmer weather makes it all the better.

One of the topics on this last ride was trail maintenance around tubeless tires, while we watched Todd put a tube in his tubeless 29'r after pinch flatting after a session of riding across Scout creek instead of using the log crossing.  He made it coming down the trail and riding across, then he tried to ride back the opposite way.  Not sure what he hit, but it put a hole in the sidewall, which was fixed with a tube (the hole didn't need the Cliff Bar wrapper/dollar bill/or plastic 7-up 2 L bottle patch).

It was also fun having Maggie along for the ride, she is a great trail dog.  She also chased a deer and a Turkey which took off in flight (something you don't see much). Even with the phone loss (which was returned in a few hours by three OSU Forestry students who just happened to be on Forest Peak for a class and walked down Tunnel Vision and found my phone), which is another story on why by zipper was open on my pack.

Climbing the 130 - Todd, Maggie, Jason, Ray, and Wayne

Ryan on Tunnel Vision

Trail maintenance after Scout Trail creek crossing session