Well, 2011 was another great year I did more than 1000 mtb miles, many miles were done on new trails, and many were done on some old favorites. I took an equal amount of foto’s on the trails.
Here are a few of my 2011 favorites, some I just like, others bring back fond memories. All in all 2011 goes down as another great year, and will hopefully continue through 2012.
This Top 5 Mountain Biking Destinations in the USA is based purely on my personal experience I have gained while traveling around the USA for the past 5 years riding the trails.
What is a Trails Destination?
This Top 5 is put together with the following in mind. If you had a weeks vacation, and would like to ride at least FIVE different trails in that week, all within a 20 mile radius, then in my books these are the best places to use as a base to get the best rides.
This list is NOT a list of Best Trails ( for the Top 15 Best USA Trails 2011 click here) and as I mentioned above it’s based on my personal opinion and based only on the places I have been.
TOP 5 MOUNTAIN BIKING DESTINATION’S IN THE USA
Henry W Coe State Park – Gilroy / Morgan Hill – CA
The Henry W Coe State Park offers miles and miles and miles of the sweetest fast flowing singletracks a mountain biker could ever wish for.
The trails are well maintained and marked, but definitely not over done, and a map is definitely needed. All the trails start in the valley, and no matter what trail combination you choose, you will spend the first couple of hours climbing, and I don’t care how fit you are, you will be walking your steed quite a bit on the way up. However, the trails are so fantastic, even the brutal climb puts a smile on your chops, Why?.. ‘cos you know the downhill is gonna be out of this world!, and worth every second of the strenuous climb.
These are rolling hills, so it’s definitely not just an up & down trail network, however even the rolling hills start up high.
Looping, lollipopin’, out & back, you name it, the world is your oyster on the Henry Coe, and you can easily spend days exploring these fantastic trails.
Trail Stats & Information
Nearby Town : Gilroy – Morgan Hill
Length: Your call, but remember a Coe mile is very strenuous
Trail Type: Loops, Lollipop, Out & Back.. you name it!
Skill Level: [My Opinion] Technically *challenging. Physically demanding – mental
*Note – I say technically moderate, ‘cos although there are no technical obstacles, the big problem is speed. The trails are very narrow, and extreme speeds are possible. Certain sections of trails are very bumpy, and 2 ft ruts appear out of nowhere.. and if you get caught out at high speeds, it ain’t gonna be beneficial to you!
The Pro’s :
The Cons :
Moab – UT
I’m a huge Moab junkie, I love the Moab trails, and for 5 years running I have spent the month of October on the Moab Trails.
You could easily spend a couple of weeks here, and ride a different trail every day.
The Moab trails aren’t just fantastic, they are unique, and not just in the USA, but in the World.
A handful of my all time favorite trails are Moab Trails, Hidden Valley, Porcupine, Poison Spider, Gold Bar and Amasa Back and the world famous Slickrock Trail are just a few.
Riding on slickrock is a fantastic experience every mountain biker should at one point experience. Moab is without any doubt the Mountain Biking Capital of the World, and attracts more than 150,000 mountain bikers from around the world each year.
Trail Stats & Info
Town : Moab
Trails : some of the worlds best trails ( in my opinion) can be found in Moab. Some of my fav. trails are Hidden Valley onto Moab Rim, Porcupine Trail, Poison Spider down Gold Bar, Amasa Back – Rockstacker and the Flat Pass trail.
Pros :
Cons :
South Lake Tahoe – CA
The South Lake Trails are in three words FAN TAS TIC !
Probably my all time favorite trail is in South Lake Tahoe the Cold Creek – Star Lake – Armstrong Pass – Corral Trail is the “Viagra” of MTB Trails, if this doesn’t do it for you, then nothing will.
The thing I personally like about the Tahoe trails, is you have to earn your reward, the saying “No pain no gain” definitely goes for these trails.
The trails are brutal, technical, scenic and damn right fun.
The majority of the Tahoe trails are fairly technical, and physically demanding with a lot of climbing.
Trail Stats & Info
Town : South Lake Tahoe
Trails : If like me you like pretty technical and demanding trails, then Tahoe is definitely for you. The section from Freel Pass all the down Armstrong and Corral is probably the best ride you will and can ever experience. 100% pure mayhem and adrenalin pumpin’ fun on a mtb.
Pros :
Cons :
Sedona AZ
Sedona offers some fantastic and unique trails, for all levels of experience.
The scenery Sedona has to offer, is fantastic, and Sedona is perfect for mountain bikers.
There is a large choice of trails in Sedona, suited for all levels of experience.
Some of my favorite Sedona trails are – the Highline Trail, Munds Wagon down Schnebly Hill and the Slim Shady- Llama -broken arrow loop.
All the above trails I mention are pretty technical and very demanding. If you prefer to takes things a lot easier on the trails, no problem, there are a lot of easy trails to choose from.
Trail Stats & Info
Town : Sedona
Trails : A wide range of trails to choose from, from very easy ( Bell Rock) to very challenging (Munds Wagon Trail)
Pros :
Cons :
Bozeman and Missoula MT
Bozeman and Missoula in Montana are just 120 min. from each other, and they both offer some fantastic trails, so in my my books they count as one.
Missoula has the Rattlesnake Recreational Area that offers some nice technically easy but very strenuous trails, well worth a day or 2 of trail riding.
Bozeman also offers some fantastic trails in the Hyalite Peaks area. These trails are scenic, and some of the trails are very strenuous and very technical, the The Hyalite to South Cottonwood Trail is a prime example of this.
Another fantastic MUST DO trail in Bozeman is the 28 mile beauty “Bangtail Divide” a trail that should be on every mountain bikers list.
Trail Stats & Info
Town : Bozeman & Missoula
Trails : Two destinations for the price of One. Fantastic range of mtb trails, all levels from Easy to Mental
Pros :
Cons :
Product Description
If your favorite trail throws as many sweeping downhill sections at you as it does long, uphill lungbusters, you probably spend a lot of time changing your saddle height along the way.You can thank Crank Brothers for making the adjustment process faster,easier and a heck of a lot more convenient. With four inches of travel, the Joplin 4 adjustable seatpost lets you set the optimal saddle height for whatever type of terrain you encounter. With just a flick of the handlebar-mounted remote, you can instantly lower your saddle for descents, and just as quickly return it to the perfect height for the next climb–without the hassle of dismounting and fiddling with your seat post collar. Just unweight, flip the remote and put the power to the pedals.
Specs :
Diameter : 30.9, 31.6
Length : 398mm
Material : Aluminum
Offset : 20mm Weight : 590g
Trail Performance :
This is my first ever “Dropper”, and it took me quite some time to decide to spend about $230 on this seat post.
I purchased this seat post back in June 2011, and have tested it on +400 mountain biking miles. The first couple of times I hit the trails, I completely forgot to use it, or the truth be told, I didn’t know quite how to use it.
Of course I knew I had to drop gravity on a downhill section / obstacle, however it wasn’t that easy on the trails.
I started to think that maybe I had wasted my money on this “gadget”. Slowly and bit by bit I started to get the hang of things, and things started looking up.
Now 400 miles and 3 months later, I don’t even have to think about things, my eyes, brain and thumb are fine tuned to work together, and in a fraction of a second I drop whenever needed.
I have heard and read a lot of negative things about “droppers” , breaking off, too slow, not dropping, not popping back up etc. Touch wood, I have not had any issues at all with my Joplin 4R , it has always worked a treat.
It is difficult to explain the benefits of a dropper to someone that has never used one, but now that I have one, and know how to use it, I would not want to be without one again. Like most things in life, you only start appreciating things when you know how to use them properly.
The Crank Brothers Joplin 4R Seat Post looks sharp, it was easy to install ( although mine was installed by Hub Cyclery in Iydllwild CA ) it takes about 20 min. to install.
The thumb lever is very easy to use for both drop and lift.
I highly recommend the Crank Brothers Joplin 4R Seat Post, it is now part of my riding experience, and I would not like to revert back to a permanant saddle.
For more info about the Crank Brothers Joplin 4R Seat Post visit : Crank Brothers
