A gypsy and her list obsession

[Norm]

Interesting as we are planning to ride Endless Brook Saturday. I’m told Porcupine is the one to hit. Last year we hit the section north of that. Both are SVT.

Tunnel Ridge is on my possible list for Monday. Been hearing about Rochester for a few years and saw that LD post on IG recently and it looked awesome. Is that like 4 miles out then 4 miles back?

 

[roc]

Interesting as we are planning to ride Endless Brook Saturday. I’m told Porcupine is the one to hit. Last year we hit the section north of that. Both are SVT.

Tunnel Ridge is on my possible list for Monday. Been hearing about Rochester for a few years and saw that LD post on IG recently and it looked awesome. Is that like 4 miles out then 4 miles back?

i’ve never ridden Rochester, but you’ll be passing green mountain trails in Pittsfield, that place is definitely worth checking out. With your kind of legs, you could probably do both, in the same day, no problem. I would have to pick one or the other.

 

[Norm]

i’ve never ridden Rochester, but you’ll be passing green mountain trails in Pittsfield, that place is definitely worth checking out. With your kind of legs, you could probably do both, in the same day, no problem. I would have to pick one or the other.

We did GMT a few years ago. That’s the other option for that day. I’m told they’ve built new stuff since I was there last.

 

[roc]

We did GMT a few years ago. That’s the other option for that day. I’m told they’ve built new stuff since I was there last.

I haven't been there in a few years, so I don't know about anything new. But I've been there a few times and really liked it.

 

[JDurk]

I did a little mini Vermont trip last week. Is there a 'Riding in Vermont' section on this forum?
I have debilitating tendinitis so I'm doing more XC riding than I would prefer to. Lifting my front wheel at a DH park makes me almost want to throw up in pain.

Day 1 - Tunnel Ridge
Very cool DH trail built by LD Trailworks. We climbed up and rode down the same trail. Hopefuly in time that will be changed. Honestly it was fun in either direction. I appreciate folks that build real climbing trails, but I think this was meant as a DH. Looking forward to following these buidlers to see what they do.

There were two scenic look-outs but we blew right by both. Second pic is the best view shot I got
View attachment 187700
View attachment 187707
After the Tunnel Ridge trail we went and did the Sap Boilier loop. It was not machine built like Tunnel Ridge, but was a nicely built older loop.

Day 2 - Killington - tendinitis was so bad that all I could do was stand and hold on.
View attachment 187701

Day 3 - Woodstock Vt. Mount Peg trials. I liked the terrain a lot. There were several double tract connectors, but that would be my biggest complaint. I felt there was some variety. The climbs weren;t stupid steep and the DH were fun. Plus, there were some very cool stone art projects at the parks. We were since informed that the Ascutney Trial system was what we should have ridden.

From town we went to Eshqua Bog to see the bloooming Lady Slippers. After that we went to WhistlePig Distillery to buy some Whiskey.
View attachment 187706
View attachment 187702


The last day, on the way home, we rode some 'Slate Valley trails'. I guess that is what they are called by the locals. According to Trialforks it was called the Endless Brook Trials.

Day 4 - Endless Brook Trails. I had a good ride but I feel like I did one too many down/ups. The trail that I would cut out is called Hardy's Hill uphill. It was IMO boring and open to the sun, I loved Rocky Ridge as a DH trail.

I was at Slate Valley Trails last week as well, stayed at Lake St. Catherine S.P. Did portions from the Endless Brook Trailhead on Tues and Thurs, Wed night did the weekly group ride at the Fairground Trailhead. Pretty awesome location. Did you get to the overlook there?

 

[JDurk]

Interesting as we are planning to ride Endless Brook Saturday. I’m told Porcupine is the one to hit. Last year we hit the section north of that. Both are SVT.

Tunnel Ridge is on my possible list for Monday. Been hearing about Rochester for a few years and saw that LD post on IG recently and it looked awesome. Is that like 4 miles out then 4 miles back?

Yes, Porcupine for sure. Hit that last Wednesday before leaving Poultney. I would do the upper portion before sending to the bottom, hit Upper Birdie, loop back and do it all the way at the end.

 

[chemgirl]

Interesting as we are planning to ride Endless Brook Saturday. I’m told Porcupine is the one to hit. Last year we hit the section north of that. Both are SVT.

Tunnel Ridge is on my possible list for Monday. Been hearing about Rochester for a few years and saw that LD post on IG recently and it looked awesome. Is that like 4 miles out then 4 miles back?

Yes porcupine. I feel we went both up and down it. I really enjoyed the Ledges trails and Harry’s Hop too. Kinda reminded me of Port Jervis.

Comparing Rochester to porcupine, Rochester was way more fun. Yes, Rochester was a 4-5 mile out and then back. I would get bored riding it often, but worth riding if in the area for the day.

 

[onetracker]

I did a little mini Vermont trip last week. Is there a 'Riding in Vermont' section on this forum?
I have debilitating tendinitis so I'm doing more XC riding than I would prefer to. Lifting my front wheel at a DH park makes me almost want to throw up in pain.

Day 1 - Tunnel Ridge
Very cool DH trail built by LD Trailworks. We climbed up and rode down the same trail. Hopefuly in time that will be changed. Honestly it was fun in either direction. I appreciate folks that build real climbing trails, but I think this was meant as a DH. Looking forward to following these buidlers to see what they do.

There were two scenic look-outs but we blew right by both. Second pic is the best view shot I got
View attachment 187700
View attachment 187707
After the Tunnel Ridge trail we went and did the Sap Boilier loop. It was not machine built like Tunnel Ridge, but was a nicely built older loop.

Day 2 - Killington - tendinitis was so bad that all I could do was stand and hold on.
View attachment 187701

Day 3 - Woodstock Vt. Mount Peg trials. I liked the terrain a lot. There were several double tract connectors, but that would be my biggest complaint. I felt there was some variety. The climbs weren;t stupid steep and the DH were fun. Plus, there were some very cool stone art projects at the parks. We were since informed that the Ascutney Trial system was what we should have ridden.

From town we went to Eshqua Bog to see the bloooming Lady Slippers. After that we went to WhistlePig Distillery to buy some Whiskey.
View attachment 187706
View attachment 187702


The last day, on the way home, we rode some 'Slate Valley trails'. I guess that is what they are called by the locals. According to Trialforks it was called the Endless Brook Trials.

Day 4 - Endless Brook Trails. I had a good ride but I feel like I did one too many down/ups. The trail that I would cut out is called Hardy's Hill uphill. It was IMO boring and open to the sun, I loved Rocky Ridge as a DH trail.

While here riding GMT, I stumbled accross two maps for trails in Woodstock VT. I will need to check out the Mt Peg and Aqueduct trails (as well as the system in Rochester VT). Thoughts on riding these areas…

I did a little mini Vermont trip last week. Is there a 'Riding in Vermont' section on this forum?
I have debilitating tendinitis so I'm doing more XC riding than I would prefer to. Lifting my front wheel at a DH park makes me almost want to throw up in pain.

Day 1 - Tunnel Ridge
Very cool DH trail built by LD Trailworks. We climbed up and rode down the same trail. Hopefuly in time that will be changed. Honestly it was fun in either direction. I appreciate folks that build real climbing trails, but I think this was meant as a DH. Looking forward to following these buidlers to see what they do.

There were two scenic look-outs but we blew right by both. Second pic is the best view shot I got
View attachment 187700
View attachment 187707
After the Tunnel Ridge trail we went and did the Sap Boilier loop. It was not machine built like Tunnel Ridge, but was a nicely built older loop.

Day 2 - Killington - tendinitis was so bad that all I could do was stand and hold on.
View attachment 187701

Day 3 - Woodstock Vt. Mount Peg trials. I liked the terrain a lot. There were several double tract connectors, but that would be my biggest complaint. I felt there was some variety. The climbs weren;t stupid steep and the DH were fun. Plus, there were some very cool stone art projects at the parks. We were since informed that the Ascutney Trial system was what we should have ridden.

From town we went to Eshqua Bog to see the bloooming Lady Slippers. After that we went to WhistlePig Distillery to buy some Whiskey.
View attachment 187706
View attachment 187702


The last day, on the way home, we rode some 'Slate Valley trails'. I guess that is what they are called by the locals. According to Trialforks it was called the Endless Brook Trials.

Day 4 - Endless Brook Trails. I had a good ride but I feel like I did one too many down/ups. The trail that I would cut out is called Hardy's Hill uphill. It was IMO boring and open to the sun, I loved Rocky Ridge as a DH trail

While here riding GMT, I stumbled accross two maps for trails in Woodstock VT. I will need to check out the Mt Peg and Aqueduct trails (as well as the system in Rochester VT). Thoughts on riding these areas?

 

[chemgirl]

While here riding GMT, I stumbled accross two maps for trails in Woodstock VT. I will need to check out the Mt Peg and Aqueduct trails (as well as the system in Rochester VT). Thoughts on riding these areas…

While here riding GMT, I stumbled accross two maps for trails in Woodstock VT. I will need to check out the Mt Peg and Aqueduct trails (as well as the system in Rochester VT). Thoughts on riding these areas?View attachment 189734View attachment 189735

I love maps!! As a kid, my dad would give me the big-ass 3ft x 3ft map and tell me to navigate how to get to a specific place. Are those in a book?

 

[chemgirl]

I would like to use this forum to document my trips, since my memory of places disappears so quick. I’m a little behind…..

St George, Utah.
If you are looking for a bike trip, add this place to your list.

I really enjoyed this place. I visited here in early March. The weather was unseasonably windy and cool, but still fine for riding. St George has exploded as a retirement town, so numerous golf courses and mountain bike/hiking trails are being built. According to TrailForks, there is an entirely new trail network system in place since I was there in March! Just a couple years ago, St George was considered an affordable place to retire, but everything I saw was in the 800K+ range….so affordable to some. I also hear that the development is exceeding the water supply, so retirement here may be filled with droughts and very expensive water bills.

As for the mountain biking, the scenery was great. I’m more of an evergreen, PNW type person, but I can appreciate the high desert scenery. Not only does St George have the painted plateaus, and Zion in the background, but black mountains and ‘sand castle’ (any geologists can provide the correct term) mountains. The scenery was stunning at times.

St George is quite a mountain bike mecca now. I didn’t even get to half the places I wanted to, but that gives me a reason to go back.

1. My first ride was the Zen Trails in the Green Valley section. This is a very highly rated and recommended loop. The trail head for this loop was less than a 5-minute bike ride from the condo we rented. The trail reminded me very much of Arizona. No trees, but with cactus and brush breaking up the rock. The trail was very well marked for a stage race that was taking place the following weekend. This loop was well worth it.

View from the far side of the loop with the town in the distance:

The trail varied from clear obvious trail, to marked rock slap:

2. My 2nd ride was the Bearclaw Poppy loop also in the Green Valley section. This was a much more beginner friendly trail system. It reminded me of a several mile long pump track. It was worth the experience, but if I return to St George, this is not a repeater.

The Bearclaw Poppy trail viewed from above from the Zen trail. Those little white lines down there is Bearclaw Poppy.

This pic shows the pumptrack like nature of the trail:

 

[chemgirl]

3. My 3rd ride was a loop in the Hurricane Cliffs Trail network. The most highly recommended trail in this section is called Jem, particularly Jem DH. So, we rode a loop to incorporate the trail in the downhill direction. I must admit, I would have been way more comfortable on and bigger bike, some pads and flat pedals on the Jem. The Jem trail was a short gnarly enduro run in the middle of 20 miles of very tame XC riding. It seemed out of place. The rest of the Hurricane Cliffs network went up plateaus and the circumnavigated the tops. Some of the climbing had some scary exposure. I was a super windy day, so that added to the adrenaline.

This pic is trying to give a perspective on the elevation:

4. My 4th ride was Gooseberry Mesa, my favorite!! I loved this place! There was a several mile, bumpy dirt road to get to the trail head, but worth the drive. This Mesa had all sorts of variety. Some trails had trees and plant life with rooty single track like we are familiar with on the East. But it also had lots of rock slab. At times I felt like I was on a different planet made of all rock. The only indication as to where to ride were the arrows painted on the rock. Get off track and fall off a several thousand foot cliff! The South Rim trail had some serious exposure. In one of the pics below I tried to capture the elevation. I’m quite afraid of heights, so it was a exhilarating just to take some of the pics. In addition to rock slab, it had loose rock, boulders, crevasses, etc. If I lived out there, this would be my go-to spot to ride.

Height Perscprctive:

The dot out in the distance is me:

Loved these poc marks in the rock, felt like being on the moon:

Big boulders:

I really wanted to ride Barrell Roll and Suicidal Tendencies in the Santa Clara River Reserve section, the Guacamole loop, the Wire Mesa, and the Grafton Mesa, but we ended up doing more hiking than I originally thought. In addition to these areas, there are numerous areas (Snow Canyon State Park, Desert Canyon, Rhythm and Blues, Red Cliffs BLM, Little Creek Mt, etc) that I didn’t have time to even consider. Needless to say, you could spend a few weeks here and never ride the same trails.

 

[chemgirl]

As a bonus, 45 mins from the condo was Zion National Park. After visiting, I kinda kicked myself for not bringing my kids to more National Parks growing up. I had a such a wonderful day at Zion. We drove from the bottom entrance all the way to the top entrance (exit) and back. We stopped at two different places to hike. We didn’t get there early enough to be allowed access to the Angels Landing hike but witnessed plenty of beauty. The hikes we did were congested, but I hear that is typical of National Parks post-covid.

Zion hiking pics:

Good chance I will be back in St George one day.

 

[JimN]

St George, Utah.
If you are looking for a bike trip, add this place to your list.

I was out there in early March 2019 with a coworker after a work trip to Vegas. We had both been to Sedona recently, so we were like, "where should we ride after this trip instead?" He came up with Hurricane/St George, which I didn't really know anything about. I think I'd heard of Hurricane and Gooseberry Mesa, but I didn't really know about anything else. Unfortunately, Gooseberry Mesa still had a little snow and a lot of mud, so we weren't able to get there. Fortunately though, there was a surprising amount of other trails.

Zen and Holy Guacamole were probably my favorites. I did Barrel Roll and Suicidal Tendencies and they were also really good. We stayed in Hurricane right near these trails they just called the Boy Scout trails. I rode them a few times, and while it was a small spot, the riding was great. Some steep ups and downs with some good gnar. I didn't actually make it to Zion, so I definitely need to go back.

 

[pixychick]

Thanks for sharing! Gooseberry/Zion has been on my list.

 

[rottin']

It's been 12 years since I rode most of the trails you mentioned in St. George, but agree that my favorite at the time was Gooseberry Mesa. Loved seeing your pictures and your thoughts! We camped on the mesa for a few nights and rode everything out there...would love to go back and do it all again on a 29er--we had 26in last go around.

And this past April my wife and I hiked Zion as well! Love that place too! Funny, it was tough driving through St. George en route to Zion and not have a bike to stop and ride lol...

 

[chemgirl]

Still playing catch-up

Snowshoe, WV and Bryce, Virginia

Over Memorial Day I took a mini trip down to WV and Virginia. First stop - Snowshoe. This was my second trip to Snowshoe; my first time was two years ago with my son as we drove him out to college. I was very excited to return here as I had a lot of fun the first time but did not have the time to ride everything. It is big enough that one day is not enough to ride everything there.

This trip I wanted to allow myself two solid days of riding the park. We drove down on Friday in torrential pouring rain. When we got to the park Saturday morning, it was still raining. Everyone we saw was covered head-to-toe in mud. Most folks you couldn’t see the color of their clothes or bikes or determine any facial features. Can you say MUD!! Conditions were so bad we decided not to ride. After driving 7 hours to ride, that was a very hard decision, but conditions were that bad.

We rode on Sunday. The trails were not optimal, very slick and muddy with a lot of standing water. I still did not get to ride all the trails I wanted to because the trails were riding so slow, and the park was pretty busy since many of us did not ride on Saturday

I really like Snowshoe. It is a fairly large resort with two functioning lifts in the bike park. Each lift serves a different mountain face. I think the tech trails are phenomenal and provide a lot of variety. I also really enjoy the flow trails. They are very well-built offering jumps for all levels/abilities. There is a trail called Skyline, which is a tame, blue flow trail which I really enjoy. However, there is one tabletop on this trail that sends you in an awkward trajectory. I remember from riding two years ago that it sent me weird, so it was in the back of my mind. This time, as I’m shredding down the trail, I still took it too fast and for a split-second I feared for my life “holy shit I’m going to crash hard” as I landed on my front wheel. Thankfully I was able to keep the rubber side down, but it gave me a huge fright and put my nerves on edge for the rest of the weekend. Future note don’t go full send down Skyline until you know which tabletop I’m referring to.

Muddy

I would love to have ridden Snowshoe for a second day considering I have yet to ride it all, but we needed to head home. On Monday we rode Bryce to break up the long ride. Bryce is a very small park that often gets a bad rap. I don’t mind it and appreciate these little downhill parks for short-riding days. Bryce just gets a lot of traffic for how small it is since it has no nearby competition. Massanutten would be the closest lift-access park, and I highly recommend Bryce over Massanutten (which has the slowest chair lift in US).

This was my second time to Bryce as well. There were two new trails built since I was there last, but most of the trails at Bryce have a very similar feel to each other as there is no variation in terrain to work with. Several trails have man-made wooden features to add some variety. One of the new trails has a few rock sections, but nothing any New Jersian would bat an eye at.

On Monday, instead of rain we had extreme heat. Bryce has very minimal tree coverage and is open to the elements.
90 degrees in May

These parks are not places I need to visit every year, but I’ll go back in a few.

 

[chemgirl]

Well, I let this blog fizzle.....more like die and bury. Between work demanding a full-time commitment out of me and three different health problems surfacing over the last nine months, that combination has kept me off the bike. So now I'm in the worst fitness I have ever been in since birth, sigh.


But in four weeks my job is over, and I get to return to riding as my full-time hobby. My travels and exploring our planet will return!! The health issues won't go away, but I'll learn to live with those.

As to my gypsy travels, I’ve checked Hawaii off my states list. Thanks to @goodvibe and @Sevenz , while I was in Oahu I did some exploring on both MTB and Bikibike.


I rented a Bikibike, the island equivalent to a Citibike, and did some exploring in the ‘less desirable’ part of the island. With neighborhood after neighborhood of multimillion dollar homes, it was interesting to see where all the homeless lived. Every homeless tent or ‘car house’ had multiple pet dogs they were feeding??? I even saw dogs tethered to suitcases (didn’t feel right to take pics), WTF. I have to say, if I ever become homeless, Oahu is where I’m going.

 

[chemgirl]

Oahu, Hawaii

I headed over to Kailua on the northern part of the island to mountain bike. I rented a Diamondback FS Mtb from The Bike Shop in Kailua. They had other bikes available, but the Diamondback was the only size Small they had. When I reserved it, it never occurred to me to check the tires….I just assumed the bike would be set up for the local terrain.

I picked up the bike and it had tubes! Crap, the first thing I think of is ‘what if I flat’? Throughout the ride I will be descending like 1000 ft of terrain; I do enough down hilling that I know I’m going to flat! But they reassured me that all I needed to change a flat was taped to the downtube. So, I headed out on my adventure. A non-cyclist friend was with me, but she opted to head in the opposite direction and hike the hills adjacent to the ocean where I had hiked the previous day, but it’s always a comfort knowing that someone is relatively nearby to come get you in case the inevitable happens.

I had about 2 miles of road to get to the trail head. It was easy riding with a significant bike lane the whole way. Once I got to the trail head it was simple to find. The planned ride consisted of roughly 500 ft of climbing followed by a descent. Turn around and do it all in the opposite direction. The trail was machine built, in perfect condition, with many switchbacks to make the climb bearable for even the most out of shape folk like I am at the moment. The weather was perfect, about 75 degrees. Not too humid. Deeper into the ride I encountered some rock amongst the perfectly groomed trail. The rock was small and scattered as opposed to large and smooth, more like Chimney Rock than say Sterling.

The views were beautiful. Blues and greens! No bugs. Heaven!!

I started to descend after the first climb up and it was sweet flow! Little lips here and there to make air. Some larger drops that I didn’t do considering the unknown landing and the short travel bike I was on. The elevation was considerable enough to get in a flow.

Then I made a little air and felt a thud. Hmm, did I just bottom out the shock? A minute later, felt the same thing. FUCK, I have a flat. I’m not a super aggressive rider, but I knew from the get-go that there was no way I was going to be able to ride down this freakin mountain without flatting. The jumps are just too tempting!! So, I get to the bottom and I’m flat. I’m on vacation and there is no way I feel like dealing with a goddamn tube. I think the last time I ran tubes on a bike was 2014 or earlier! So I rode back through town until I was fully riding rim, then I got off and walked the bike the rest of the way to the shop. All in all, still happy with my ride.

I only rode a mere 20% or less of this trail system. If I ever go back I will spend more time riding there…..with my own bike.

 

[UtahJoe]

Thats awesome....I have ridden on Maui and Kauai but not oahu.....really was amazing. Glad to hear there is some nice ST there now

And I always bring my own repair stuff (minus co2s...figure the TSA won't like those in your bag)....I dont think I have ever rented a bike with tubes and didnt flat.

 

[Patrick]

Saw ya on 78 w/bike!