XC, Trail, All-Mountain, Enduro, DH, DJ/Slope, Urban?
Is there a type of riding you wish you could do/do more of but don’t have it locally?
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Mostly short, non-technical XC since that’s what I have near home. It’s dull but it’s better than nothing. The fun riding is all at least an hour away, usually more like 2-3 hours. I wish I lived closer to the mountains so I could spend more Saturdays doing long trail rides. At least I have a riding buddy now, and we managed two long rides last year.
The Boundary Trail near Mount St. Helens is at the top of my bucket list. Maybe next summer. (I say that every year.)
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7015840/boundary-trail-1A few years ago I rode a pretty epic loop ride near there. Looping was easier logistically for me because I didn’t need two vehicles.
- Start at Lava Cave TH (check out Ape Cave pretty fun, bring bigfoot repellent)
- Take Ape Cyn to windy ridge plains of Abraham (insane scenery)
- Windy ridge is a good lunch spot (overlook the lake, 360° views)
- Get on Smith Ck trail (a crazy crazy freeride style descent in loose surfy pumice pebbles)
- Finish on FR83 ext (pain cave / death march climb)
- Back to Lava Cave
Its pretty much an all day ride and a nice adventure.
Second option: Out and back from Lava Cave to Windy ridge on the plains of Abraham trail.
Have you done this one?
Thanks for the tip! I haven’t ridden in that area yet, but I’m dying to get there.
Its definitely a pretty special area. I am not a local but I do live in the PNW within driving radius.
There isn’t much to add except that for riding conditions we are increasingly caught in the crossfire in this area.
Factor #1 is that trails take a long time to get cleared because the vegetation grows fast and snow pack at elevation doesn’t melt until June so that workers can do the log outs after winter storms. Trails up high are slow getting running.
Factor #2 is that we have a pretty high annual risk of wildfire, smoke and trail closures. Once a fire starts it usually gets contained pretty fast but they never go out until snow comes the next winter. So by the end of summer as the trails are opening we are almost always dealing with choking smoke, haze and closures.
Last time I went to Mount St Helens I ran into multiple layers of these. Old fire damage closing trails, snow blocking access and current fires closing campgrounds, roads and all kinds of chaos in the area.
So sniff around and get the latest updates before you commit to a big mission in that zone. I am increasingly of the view that every inch of bike trail will burn in a wildfire during our lifetimes. They take a while to bounce back. (5-10 years post fire). So its worth making it happen sooner rather than later.
I am increasingly of the view that every inch of bike trail will burn in a wildfire during our lifetimes.
Yeah, it’s tough. A few years ago I had to cancel a bikepacking trip outside of Naches due to a big fire. And another favorite spot by Lake Chelan burned recently, too.
I have been exploring eastern WA/OR much more than the Cascades since I moved back to the northwest. The terrain isn’t as dramatic, but the riding season starts sooner and there are far fewer people. Last time I was at Umatilla Rim we had the trailhead all to ourselves. And it was before the fire season had a chance to get going.
I ride Enduro. I used to live in a secret location that had a locals only bike park that was some of the hardest steepest riding anywhere, lots of gnarly gravity riding.
I now live in the mountains in a tourist destination MTB town. It’s great having the crazy access to good epic rides. There are tons of rad tourists but not many permanent higher level riders living here.
It’s rad but I miss the pucker factor of the zone I used to ride. Locals here build to a lower level which is great for visitors but doesnt scratch the itch. Solution is to build some new harder trails. This will be a solo labor of love, the local scene doesnt have the kind of riders who would chip in. There is a lot of opportunity but it’s also extremely challenging to get out there and pioneer an entire new riding zone solo.
I built on a couple of semi advanced rides this past summer and even they are not really getting ridden, and that’s below what I want to go for next. Lol
Urban and trail. Snow riding I miss since moving to lower mainland BC; only had 1 or two days (in many years) where the snow studded tires were useful.
I live in Finland and ride about 4 months a year in snow and sometimes there’s a lot of it. Not a fan personally. I even bought an eFatbike so that I can ride year around but I simply just don’t find it very enjoyable. I feel that there’s more freedom in summer riding since in the winter you need to stick to the trails people have walked on. It’s usually also dark when I get out so I can’t really even see around me. Just feels so lonely and miserable out there alone in a pitch black forest.
I randomly went down a YouTube rabbit hole looking at mountain bike footage in Scandinavia. I have never visited but it seems like it has to be THE most under-rated or under-acknowledged riding areas on the planet. So much of the footage online appears to be world class terrain.
Is it really insanely good?
Why hasn’t it blown up as the premier bike mecca?? Any insight into what holds it back from a tourism vantage point?
Theory I came up with: the riding is so incredible gnarly it can never really be mainstream?
Finland is not part of Scandinavia.
I don’t know if it’s that good because I don’t know what kind of trail you’re talking about. What I ride is mostly forest roads and single track in pine/spruce forests. I guess if you’re into technical trail riding then it’s a good spot due to all the exposed rocks and boulders from the ice age and I’m personally quite lucky to live within riding distance from few nature preserves with lakes and exposed bedrock which is quite nice place to ride in expecially scenery-wise.
Here’s a quite typical trail around where I live.
XC and trail is what I ride mostly, luckily that is what’s available close to me.
