Tuckervill
05-29-2006, 04:57 AM
What are mountain biking trails like in your area? I'm interested in the condition of the surface you ride on.
I live in the Arkansas Ozarks, and so I have to contend with large flat rocks lurking just below the surface, along with the usual roots and mud and leaf litter.
In one new state park (Hobbs, if anyone's interested), the trail consists mostly of naturally occurring gravel--except the rocks are golfball-to-baseball sized! :eek: There were lots of quick little dips into gullies, and the gravel collects in the bottom and it was just too dangerous for me. The rocks moved and then you lost momentum to get up the other side. That was my first ride on my new Trek 4500, but I just didn't like it (I was also sick with the cold from he** that week, so that could be a factor).
At Devil's Den SP, the trails are rocky, but the rocks are buried in dirt, mostly not moveable, and then there are boulders, and rocks that form steps. The occasional giant root, then the shallow root networks that spread on the trail near the tops of the mountains.
I went to Vermont last summer and rode some trails on Mt. Snow. It was rooty, but not rocky. Nice riding. I've seen pictures of trails out west where the surface may have a boulder or two, or a root or two, but mostly it's sand or soft dirt. Of course those pictures are just one little portion of the trail.
I'll be in Albuquerque this September, and will probably take my bike. I'm looking forward to a different type of trail surface, just for the change of it. I'd like to be able to go long distances off-road, but that's impossible for me at my level of fitness if the trail is too technical. I may never get to ABQ again, so I want to enjoy any biking I do there (or on the way).
I have a feeling that we here may be having different experiences of MTB'ing in different parts of the country, based on the geological features of the area (of course!). But we might tend to assume that all trails are like the ones we know. I'd just like to hear other's trail surfaces described.
Karen
I live in the Arkansas Ozarks, and so I have to contend with large flat rocks lurking just below the surface, along with the usual roots and mud and leaf litter.
In one new state park (Hobbs, if anyone's interested), the trail consists mostly of naturally occurring gravel--except the rocks are golfball-to-baseball sized! :eek: There were lots of quick little dips into gullies, and the gravel collects in the bottom and it was just too dangerous for me. The rocks moved and then you lost momentum to get up the other side. That was my first ride on my new Trek 4500, but I just didn't like it (I was also sick with the cold from he** that week, so that could be a factor).
At Devil's Den SP, the trails are rocky, but the rocks are buried in dirt, mostly not moveable, and then there are boulders, and rocks that form steps. The occasional giant root, then the shallow root networks that spread on the trail near the tops of the mountains.
I went to Vermont last summer and rode some trails on Mt. Snow. It was rooty, but not rocky. Nice riding. I've seen pictures of trails out west where the surface may have a boulder or two, or a root or two, but mostly it's sand or soft dirt. Of course those pictures are just one little portion of the trail.
I'll be in Albuquerque this September, and will probably take my bike. I'm looking forward to a different type of trail surface, just for the change of it. I'd like to be able to go long distances off-road, but that's impossible for me at my level of fitness if the trail is too technical. I may never get to ABQ again, so I want to enjoy any biking I do there (or on the way).
I have a feeling that we here may be having different experiences of MTB'ing in different parts of the country, based on the geological features of the area (of course!). But we might tend to assume that all trails are like the ones we know. I'd just like to hear other's trail surfaces described.
Karen