See the ride page HERE.
09-03-2024 -- TNR-MTB Ride Report - Murphy Dome Scenic Scoot - NOT!
Report by Eric
This ride is the last on our official schedule so that we can take in the glorious autumn colors and the incredible views from atop Murphy Dome. Yeah, that didn't quite work out this time.
We did see some really nice colors. They were absolutely saturated. Literally. And so were Dean and I by the time we got done.
Only two of us did the ride. Not surprising. It was raining with low clouds when we left town and was the same atop the dome. Nonetheless, we forged ahead! Why? Why not! And it was a great ride! Though we did considerably less stopping to chat than we normally do on these rides.
At the start we were channelling Paul Simon as we were slip-sliding away down the muddy, slimy trail. Fortunately, the chunky, rocky descents were free of mud. No crashes! And we could see our destination high point through the clouds.
We hit the road (aka 14-mile Trail) that heads down to the Chatanika and dodged lots of puddles (or rode through them). We stopped briefly at the rock bench to soak up some views. Or, at least, we soaked up something.
Then it was more rough road riding until we got to the other four-wheeler trail that bookends this route. Neither of us made it all the way up the steep, rocky climb, but we didn't overheat either! We headed out to the incredible viewpoint and were blown away by the view. Or maybe it was the breeze that had been a headwind the whole way. It was stronger up high.
Heading to that high point we also saw signs of work, probably from the proposed wind farm. It's sad to contemplate how that wind farm will change the views up there. But if you're an alternative energy proponent (as I am), there is the silver lining of a lot of clean energy going to Fairbanks.
Turning around, the headwind became a tailwind, which was a blessing, but we had a bunch of downhill to do. Downhills are always fun, but on a night like that, you long for the uphills so you can get warm! Especially, Dean, who wasn't wearing any gloves!
A ways back on the road we heard some shots and figured someone was doing target practice. Nope. Some guy got a moose! We had just been by there and hadn't seen anything. Dang!
Then it was a climb back to the vehicles. My bike must have decided that I needed more exercise because the front 2x decided to stay in the big chainring. Ufda! I got warm on that climb!
As soon as we got back to the cars, we grabbed snacks and quickly said our goodbyes. Once we stopped riding we quickly got chilled and were longing for the soon-to-warm interiors of our vehicles. (Internal combustion engines are good for some things, after all.)
Next week we start our unofficial rides. We will be heading to the Ester Dome Singletrack Trails. We're trying something new this year. We plan to ride some and do some trail work, like brushing. Help improve the trails for ourselves and anyone else who uses them. Feel free to join us. We'll meet at the trailhead (Mile 1 Ester Dome Road) at 6 p.m. next Tuesday. You don't need to be an FCC member, because these aren't official rides. Bring some loppers or a small saw. Something you can carry on your bike. Let's hope the colors are not as saturated next week.
09-03-2024 -- TNR-MTB Ride Report - Waterford Trail Plus
Report by Eric
The colors are out! The weather is wonderful! What a great time to go mountain biking!
We had an awesome ride on the trails this week. The Waterford Trail is in great shape. Thanks again to whoever trenched out the bigger puddles in the flat spot. Still some puddles to navigate there, but much less than there were before.
The four of us were feeling strong, so we cranked steady to the top of the Waterford Trail, then headed out onto the pipeline. We zipped along that and stopped briefly at the top of the El Dorado Creek Trail, which we would be riding up in a short while.
We pedaled hard up the power line trail that parallels Old Murphy Dome Road. I was feeling stronger than I had a right to be given the lack of training I've had this summer. I was cranking uphill chatting almost the whole way. I'll blame it on the week of "high-altitude training" I got from a trip to Idaho. Some of the chatting was with Ben, who told us about Surly's new Moonlander, a fatbike with 6.2-inch tires. Whoa!
We all had a blast descending the connector trail down to the El Dorado Creek Trail. Plenty happy to do that rather than turn off onto the O'Connor Creek East Ridge Trail (aka Spanky's), which we had done just a couple of weeks before. Popping out on the EDC Trail, I mentioned the old cabin that used to be there, which led to a short discussion on what a "great" cabin is. Great for living in? Or great for looking at and being reminded of Fairbanks's history.
We also discussed Ben's new ride, a full suspension Trek, that he just got. He's not sure how the relationship is working out. He says that when the suspension is engaged, he can't tell that it's engaged. But he said it doesn't have some of the drama of past bikes, which can be good. We talked about the benefits of having a bike that allowed you to live the "drama of the trail" as opposed to the "drama of the bike."
We climbed the ED Trail while miner Kurt told us a little of the recent mining activity that had taken place in the valley. Short answer, a miner poked around but didn't find enough color to make an operation down there worthwhile.
We popped out onto the pipeline, which caused Dean to swivel his head as it dawned on him that we had just been there a short time before.
We headed back on the other top leg of the Waterford Trail, which allowed us a nice view down the pipeline with glorious tree colors on either side. Then it was an awesome bomb back down to the cars. Well, mostly awesome. I tried to keep up with Ben and was doing a pretty good job until we got to the puddles. Ben navigated them well, but I miscalculated on the second one. My front tire slipped out. But no worries, since I was able to step off and save a fall. Except that my foot slipped out, too. Splat! But no one was around to see it, so it didn't happen, right?
We've got one more official ride coming up next week. We're heading a little way out of town to the top of Murphy Dome. We do this ride in large part for the awesome views, especially this time of year. Fingers crossed for another night like last night!
Photos by Eric and Ben
08/27/2024 -- TNR-MTB Ride Report - Moose Mountain Motoring
The Tuesday Night MTB Riders were without their main leader this week, but they still cranked out a good ride.
Jonathan started late but managed to catch up to the group at the top of Moose Mountain. After descending down Old Murphy Dome Road it took a couple of tries for the group to find the "Rabbit Trail," which is a somewhat-hidden and rough singletrack off OMDR.
After descending that, the group forged through the swamp at the bottom and then made their way back to the cars. Ah swamp! There's nothing quite like it! From Jonathan:
""My swamp water infested shoes smell so bad that my wife exiled them outside till they get cleaned."
Pics by Jonathan and Dean
08/20/2024 -- TNR-MTB Ride Report - Pandora Pounding - Plus!
Nutcrackers and Spankings
Report by Eric
Several of us are feeling pretty sore and tired this morning after the ride last night. Sometimes you just gotta have a kinda stupid ride!
This is one of our longest and hardest rides when ridden as planned. Then we added some more.
After climbing the Waterford Trail, which we agreed was a nice cruise up, and rode the pipeline to Old Murphy Dome Road (with everyone declining my offer to lead them the "short" way back via the El Dorado Creek Trail swamp), Kurt talked us into heading over to his mine road, which he has talked about quite a bit. That road drops north off Old Murphy Dome Road into the Vault Creek/Babe Creek valley. It's a steep drop and so a steep climb back out!
"It's just an eighth of a mile to the bottom," Kirk said. "It's just a half-mile up Old Murphy Dome Road to my road."
Yeah, right, Kurt. We rode almost a mile from the pipeline to Kurt's road and then dropped down to the bottom. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to check out Kurt's mine, which is a ways down the valley once you get to the bottom. So, we turned around and ground up, up, up. It was all bikeable at a gruntingly slow pace. The grind picked off most of us. But those who pushed, got back on their bikes near the top to make sure they finished in saddle.
Glenn made a point to tell Kurt that "Mr. Jips" (Glenn's name for his GPS) recorded 1.1 miles between the bottom and top.
"Or, well, what I meant was…." Yeah, save it, Kurt! We did the climb! More than 600 vert of it! (Not including the climbing we had to do just to get to the climb!)
Thanks to Jonathan, that climb (and the descent) is now a Strava segment: the Knutbuster of Vault Creek. Average grade 15+%.
Then we rode back to the original -- already long -- route.
We climbed the bumpy power line trail that parallels OMDR until we got to the El Dorado Creek Valley connector trail and followed that to the Spanky's Trail intersection.
Spanky's is officially the O'Connor Creek East Ridge Trail. It was dubbed Spanky's by the late great Rocky Reifenstuhl, who used it as part of a race course. If you're a runner or hiker or use the trail in winter, you won't understand why it's called Spanky's. But if you're a biker, you'll know! This may be the rootiest trail in Fairbanks.
We rode it fast, trying to make up for lost time. Kurt was using Jonathan's fatbike, since he was considering buying it. Jonathan kept it in good shape and it looked new at the beginning of the ride. It looked more "broken in" after Spanky's.
When we got the trail intersection near Vista Gold Subdivision, I put the choices up to a vote: take one trail and do a lot more rooty trail, ride to the road system and then peel off for a rooty trail descent to Toboggan, or ride to the road and just bomb down to Pandora and then Goldstream back to the car. It was already about 10 p.m. The vote was unanimous. Bail! Bail! Bail!
So, we had a fast ride back to the cars for some well-deserved drinks and snacks.
It will be interesting to see if this "much loved" route makes it onto next year's schedule.
Pics by Eric, Jonathan, and Dean
08/13/2024 -- TNR-MTB Ride Report - Cache Creek Cranking
Report by Eric
We had our first official ride on the Cache Creek route. Last year was the first year for the route, but we didn't do an official ride because it was too smoky. This year it was chilly and humid. What a difference a year makes!
It's a nice route with a steady, easy-gradient ride to the top of the ridge that includes a nice trail portion in the middle. This trail looks to be a subdivision road that was roughed in but never used as a road. Makes for a great trail! Thanks to whoever is keeping it brushed out.
This year I led us the right way (last year I took Tony down a wrong trail for a bit before figuring things out) and we topped out on the trail that takes off from the end of Abraham Road. We headed away from Abraham on the rolling that soon led us to a bombing nearly-two-mile trail descent.
The bombing descent even had an explosion. Unfortunately, it was Glenn Gambrell's back wheel, including the derailleur. Apparently, the crash was impressive, but only Kjell saw it and he didn't have his GoPro with him! Bummer. Oh, and Glenn survived. Not even any blood.
After the descent it's just a short 6-or-so miles back to the cars. (Apparently, Jonathan hasn't yet learned that my "almost there" may include a few miles.) I hustled ahead and came back with my truck to give Glenn and his dysfunctional bike a ride back to the cars.
Next week is Pandora Pounding, that includes one of the rootiest trails in Fairbanks!
Photos by Jonathan and Eric
08/06/2024 -- TNR-MTB Ride Report - Pedro Dome Pedal Pushing
Report by Eric
Fun ride! Six of us. Matteo was new to the rides. He had a great time and brought a lot of positive energy. Fortunately, the clouds cooled things down so the climb wasn't nearly as hot as it might have been.
We tried once again to find the old Sluicebox 100 route, but again failed. Saw where it was at the base of the dome along the mining road, but couldn't figure out how to connect to it. Somebody's gonna have to go up there sometime and hike up it. The new motocross trails up there keep throwing us off. We took the motocross trail to the left last year and didn't find the Sluicebox route. This time we took the motocross trail to the right and still no luck.
The motocross trail to the right is great until it dumped us onto an old fall-line mining road full of steep drops and chunky rocks. A couple of the guys braved those drops and survived. It's doable but you got to have some intestinal fortitude and a willingness to possibly get bloody. The rest of the ride is just fun downhill, with some easy ups to keep you honest. Kirk especially had fun with the downhills since he arrived at the ride with only his front brakes functional. Yikes! He survived, too.
Pics by Jonathan and Matteo
07/30/2024 -- TNR-MTB Ride Report - Ester Dome Exploration (aka The Revolt Ride)
Report by Eric
This new ride went well. We did very few trail portions that are on our ride schedule. Amazing how many trails are on Ester Dome. Several of the riders had not been on some of the trails we did, so that was cool.
This ride was Dave's idea, after last year's revolt on the Alder Creek Loop Ride. That ride was Eric's idea and our last great swamp ride. But Eric was out of town last year, and Dave sent him strongly worded texts during the swampy part of the ride (it was long) informing him that the ride would no longer be a part of the schedule. The rest of the crew on that ride agreed. Strongly.
So Dave came up with this ride, though it was mostly undefined. Then Dave got his hip replaced and couldn't lead the ride. Oh well.
Eric put together a route, sort of on the fly. Everyone said they liked it. Glenn said it might be his favorite ride of the year. (He was on the Alder Creek Ride last year and mentioned that several times. So, maybe he was just making sure Eric doesn't find another swamp ride to put on the schedule.)
We started with six riders, including a new rider, Noah, and a rider we hadn't seen in a while, Kjell! We followed the Equinox Marathon route all the way up to where the route comes out on Ester Dome Road by Henderson Road. (Though Garrett had to turn back to make an important meeting.)
After some discussion of options, we headed up to the Corner Singletrack and went down to the JARR trail. We moved some trees off that one (and others on several other trails). Yay, handsaws! Still a couple that need a chainsaw. Then did JARR extension down and over to the Equinox Trail, taking a mining road off that trail that took us over to the top of Happy Ridge Trail. Then we climbed Henderson to get to the upper drop-in for Happy Ridge Trail. Then a fun bombing ride down Happy Ridge (with a couple of stops to clear trees and once to climb over a tree that needs a chainsaw). The back to the cars via St. Patrick and Ester Dome Road.
And despite the rains in other places in Fairbanks, we got not a bit of rain!
If you don't know these trails, you'll have to start joining us! Many aren't on Trail Forks, though you can see them on the Strava Heatmap. Nah. Come join us. We might even get lost and find some more trails!
P.S. Just added what we did this year to Ride with GPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47817829
07/23/2024 -- TNR-MTB Ride Report - Ester Mine Mingle
Report by Eric
It was a hot one! A perfect day for climbing to the top of Ester Dome!
Dean and Nikki liked the heat so much they biked to the start! Most awesome! Glenn was still feeling the effects of his Sunday bonk, so he dropped out on the Eva Creek Trail. Good choice as the climbing was tough! That left five of us to finish the ride.
From the Ester Community Park we went up the Eva Creek Trail (a bit overgrown and needing three trees cut out) to Four Corners, up the mining roads to the Corner Singletrack, and then up Ester Dome Road to the top (with a side trip through the Alder Tunnel). Up, up, up, up. Sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
Views were awesome from on top, but too much haze to see the Great One.
We bombed down the Equinox Marathon Out-and-Bank to the first knoll and then took the gravity trail to Tri-Con Mine Road/Trail. Nikki really tested the gravity on the gravity trail when she stepped into a hole while trying to stop because Kurt, who was in front of her, balked at a steep drop. Or maybe she was just being lazy and wanted to lie down with her bike. Whatever the case, those behind walked the steep drop because the gravity was clearly higher than normal.
On the Tri-Con Mine Road/Trail, Dean tested the gravity when his front tire washed out in a tricky rut. Yep, the gravity was still working. Fortunately, Dean, like Nikki before him, wasn't seriously hurt.
We followed Ready Bullion Creek Trail through the creek bottoms, which were hardly swampy at all (disappointing Eric) and on the climbs back up to Azurite Road. Apparently, the gravity slacked off during that part. How else can you explain Ben's awesome climbing demonstrations?
Another trail down to Quartz Road and then back to the cars for drinks and snacks. Another great ride! (And the practically skeeter-free summer continues. Weird. And nice!)
Dean even rode back home, blood-stained leg and all!
07-21-2024 -- Special Report: Gold Discovery Run Sign Pick Up Ride
Report by Eric
Eric, Glenn, and Garrett (Tuesday Night MTB Riders and FCC Board members) headed out Sunday afternoon to pick up the signs from the Gold Discovery Run. In the recent past, Tyson Flaharty has done this on his own, but he was otherwise occupied. So, it took three of us to do what Tyson normally does!
It was gorgeous day and we had a mostly great ride. Neither Glenn nor Garrett had been on this ride before, so they enjoyed seeing new trail. The trail used to be on the TNR - MTB schedule, so Eric had done it many times before.
We parked at the end-of-pavement on Gilmore Trail road and then biked to the Gilmore-Cleary Trail (aka the Trapper Trail). The trail was in unique shape. Eric brought his "wet" shoes, but no one got wet feet! We did have to ride the middle of a couple of puddles, but they were only a couple of inches deep. Someone had trenched drainage ditches for a couple of the deeper puddles (thanks to whoever did that) and the rest were so low that it was easy to skirt them on the edge. Guess the dry beginning of our summer made an impact. The skeeters were also nearly non-existent! At times Eric wasn't even sure this was the same trail!
The trail skirts Fort Knox mine, so in several places you get to see the rock piles on the edge of the mine. We could hear mine activity, but saw only a couple of pieces of equipment at work (including one of the ore-hauling trucks from Manh Cho). However, we did see a lot of equipment on the trails. We ran into several motorized groups out enjoying the trail. Everyone was very polite (including us!).
We rode up the GDR race start (on the mine road), then turned around and collected signs on the way back. The only down side of the ride was that poor Glenn bonked. He hadn't paid enough attention to his pre-ride nutrition and hydration. He tried to play catch up with water and snacks, but it was too late. He was a hurting unit at the end. But he made it to the end of the trail! And he only puked once!
Our other sign pick up ride happens September 22, when we pick up signs after the Equinox Marathon. Come join us!
07/16/2024 -- TNR-MTB Ride Report - Ester Dome Singletrack
Report by Eric
Eight of us enjoyed the ED Singletrack trails this week. Weather started nice, then we got a good rain, which made the brush soggy and some of the corners greasy. No big crashes, though.
We started at the Ann's Greenhouse pullout and made a stop at Dave's house to get him to come and play. (He's on hiatus this season due to a hip replacement.)
Then we headed up St. Pat's and went clockwise on the Outer Loop. We went up the Henderson Drop-In and up Henderson almost to Ester Dome Road. There we took a well worn in social trail back down to the bottom of the Henderson Drop-In. Most of us hadn't done that one yet (the entrance is a bit hard to find), but we thought it was an interesting little singletrack, with twists and a couple of challenging little hills.
We followed the Outer Loop to the Inner Loop and followed that one clockwise, making sure to do a lap of Helter Skelter (which is interesting to do when it's greasy). Fortunately, by then the rain had stopped. It could have been greasier
We finished the ride with the rest of the Outer Loop, with a little side trip to Tight and Twisty. (It needs some love. We got one tree but another one could use a chainsaw. Several of the corners need brushing and the whole thing could be raked.)
Saw two or three other biking groups out on the trails as well as a couple of runners. It was the place to be last night!
Photos by Eric, Ben, and Jonathan
07/0/-9/2024 -- TNR-MTB Ride Report - Circle-Fairbanks Trail Tramp
Report by Glenn
A Non-Loop Loop Ride
Weather was craptastical. Only 3 of us showed up. Two of us had ridden the whole trail before, so off we went. At the 4-mile mark we went to what we thought was the trail head. It wasn’t, so we started working back up the road. After scouting and finding multiple Eric-type terrain trails, we headed back up the hill. (Eric was off on vacation.)
We did find some interesting things like an abandoned building and Chevy, not on a levy. We still had fun, got some miles in, and did not get lost. A very successful ride! Once I got back home I looked at last year’s ride, and it turns out we did not go far enough to get to the trail. We were off by at least 800 meters.
07/02/2024 TNR-MTB Ride Report - UAF Hidden Trails Trot
Report by Eric
New Hidden Trails
The lack of smoke was a definite plus for the start of this ride. But we also got to check out some new trails!
We first headed over to check out the new ski sprint trails being put in on the hillside between the Butrovich Building and the Patty Center. The we worked our way back to the current ski trails with a diversion onto an old ski trail segment that was cut off when North Tanana Drive was extended over to West Ridge years ago. Several people had no idea that had once been part of the ski trail system.
We worked our way over to the other side of Ballaine Lake but first took a side trail off the main trail. Eric was going to make it a very short diversion, but Ben was leading and led us until the trail started petering out. He and Eric knew that's what the trail did. Ben figured everyone would just turn around, but Eric was excited about a bushwhack through the trees back to the main trail. Yeah, it was stupid, but it was stupid fun! Well, at least Eric thought so.
On the other side of Ballaine Lake we took a narrow trail that connects the Skarland 6-Mile trail to an old road behind the archery range. (Far behind!) That trail is getting even too stupid for Eric, with lots of downed trees and a sinkhole to navigate, but we followed the old road until it turned into a nice singletrack trail that led us back to the Skarland 6-Mile Trail. Success! New trail for us!
Next, we headed over and checked out the new fire interpretive trail. (You can read about it in this issue of the IATN.
We took the section line trail back to Yankovich, starting too soon on that trail, which required some near-swamp navigation, but that's what happens sometimes when Eric is leading.
We followed the Equinox Marathon Trail over to the Large Animal Research Station, where we got to see some wood bison and musk ox. Then it was a visit to the tight-and-twisty trails in the northwest corner of the UAF North Campus before heading back to the cars -- with a bit of playing on Bicycle Bumps first, of course!
Great night out on bikes!
06/25/2024 TNR-MTB Ride Report - Birch Hill Bombing
Report by Eric
Low Smoke, High Fun
Heavy smoke earlier in the day endangered this ride, but things changed in the afternoon and by early evening the Air Quality Index was less than 150, so the ride was a go!
This is always a fun ride and some of the trails were new to Elaine and Matt. Matt even discovered the filter feature (a double hump jump) almost too late. A quick grab for the brakes resulted in a minor crash but saved him from a major crash. But as Matt commented: "But is it really a ride if you don’t end up with at least one scrape and covered in dirt?"
The flow trail needs a bit of brushing and some leaf-raking, but the jump trail is in great shape. So good that you really need to watch those approaches. But if you do that sure is a fun trail!
Chinook and Blackhawk are still in good shape, and the climb at the end up Cliffhanger and Sunnyside is always a gut-buster.
The relatively low skeeter year continues, but we did need some bug dope. But it's nice not having to inhale a bunch on the climbs.
Next week is the UAF Hidden Trails Trot!
06/18/2024 TNR-MTB Ride Report - Eva Creek Event
Report by Eric
A Ride of Introductions
The night was beautiful and the group was riding strong, so we kept going.
We had planned on turning around a little earlier on Ester Dome Road, but we decided to head farther up and introduce some of the riders to a couple of new trails.
First we did the Alder Tunnel, the short section of trail that the Equinox Marathon now uses to bypass the Ullrhaven summit. That was new to a few. They loved the tunnel feel and the gorgeous view midway.
Then we headed over to the Alder Chute Alternative, the switch back trail down the section line about a quarter-mile west of the Equinox's infamous Alder Chute. (The top part of the Alder Chute is on private land and while the landowner allows the Equinox Marathon to use it, that section of trail is otherwise closed to the public.)
The Alder Chute Alternative is a wild ride down on a bike! Steep, bumpy, sharp switchbacks! Tons o' fun! That was new to a few of the riders, too. They all said they liked it…after they unpuckered.
The ACA kicks you out on to the upper part of the Farmer Mine Trail, so we followed that to bottom of the Alder Chute and rejoined the Equinox Marathon route down the lower part of Farmer Mine Trail. We followed that (with a little side jog) down to Four Corners and then took the Eva Creek Trail back to Ester, where we started. First, though, we admired a piece of mining equipment along the Eva Creek Trail. Kurt, a miner, gave us his insights on it.
The Eva Creek Trail, by the way, has a little reroute by the driveway about halfway down. It's a little rough but bikeable. The reroute is legal and has the advantage of routing trail users away from the house at the end of the "Not a Road" Road.
The ride went smoothly until Glenn's back tire started mysteriously losing air. Fortunately, using teamwork we got him going again. Eric had a tube of Stan's. Ben had a valve core remover. And Glenn had a small rechargeable air pump. The fix wasn't permanent, so Glenn had to limp back to the cars, but at least he was riding.
At Ester Park, over drinks and snacks, Chris told us stories about his epic winter rides years ago. One time he biked the Dalton Highway. Another time he and a friend wanted to bike the Yukon Quest Trail, but his friend couldn't cross into Canada (it's rumored there was some misunderstanding with the Queen of England), so they headed down the Taylor Highway (unplowed in winter). His stories included explaining how they pulled their gear behind their bikes on sleds and when the snow became too deep, they put their bikes on the sleds, donned snowshoes, and pulled the sleds and bikes behind them. Epic!
Photos by Eric, Jon, and Ben
06/11/2024 TNR-MTB Ride Report - Skarland 12-Mile Skootch
Report by Eric
Dancing with a Storm
The dark clouds looked ominous. We were supposed to head in that direction. The forecast had called for scattered showers and thunderstorms, but most of that activity was supposed to be farther east. Ah well, nothing to do but forge ahead and hope.
We got luck for quite a while. The first thunder and lightning was far away. Garrett counted it out.
Fearless leader Eric got the group split up early on, but was able to find the lost souls. (Or was Eric lost?) Then once we got out to Ballaine Road he got Equinox Marathon on the brain and started to follow that route. He probably would have kept going, except that Ben knew things weren't right and started asking questions. Oh yeah, we're doing the Skarland 12-Mile! Fortunately, all we had to do was get on the other side of Ballaine.
There we found the commuter trail in the woods. Eric stopped at the power line trail and longingly looked down into the swamp, but Ben and Nikki had already ridden ahead to Herreid Road. Eric mentioned the swamp to the rest of the group, hoping for some eager faces, but he saw none and decided it was better to keep the group together anyway.
Somehow we picked up a black lab companion that wasn't too bike savvy. It had no collar. Nikki took a pic and posted it in a Facebook lost pets page.
Above Pearl Creek Elementary School we could see the thunderstorm had showered the area just before we got there. That made the power line climb a nasty mud climb. Traction was an issue. Even walking. Fortunately, we all made it up to the rooty trail. Ah, yes, wet roots. Love it!
The thunderstorm was now booming and flashing lightning a lot closer, but it still wasn't right above us. Then we came across piles of hail in the trail. Just missed that one, too! We did get some light showers now and again, but nothing bad.
We made it to the top of Ballaine with doofus dog still accompanying us. Fortunately, on the other side he must have recognized something, because quit following us and headed back.
We made it to the Large Animal Research Station (Musk Ox Farm) and noticed that the wood bison were gone. Off to be reintroduced into the wild!
By then we had gotten more showers, but still not horrible. We crossed Yankovich and made the rooty climb. Gotta love those wet roots! At the top, we bombed down and took the really rooty trail over to the T-Field. (Eric decided not to take the group down into the swamp and across Smith Lake. What a nice guy!)By then we were in a steady rain. So…more wet roots! Yay!
From the T-Field we headed straight back to the cars. Everyone was soaked. Chips and drinks were had, but conversation was short. Tony noticed the skies over his house looked sunny. Shoulda done the Rosie Creek ride this week!
Pics by Jonathan, Matt, Ben and Eric
06/04/2024 TNR-MTB Ride Report - Skyline Ridge Skedaddle
Report by Eric
With 13 riders we were bound for some bad luck, fortunately it was all minor. And the good luck outweighed the bad by far!
After some drenching downpours in late afternoon, the rain stopped a little before our ride start. The trails were damp and the roots slick, but we the rain also cooled the air a bit, which was nice since this ride starts with a lot of climbing.
Some were new to the route, so we got to introduce them to some fun stuff, like the climb up Death Gully hill (aka Skarland Downhill Ski Slope) early on. And some chose the to take root-filled Deep Secret to Ski Boot Hill while others chose the Skyline Ridge Connector.
We took Skyline Ridge Trail to the top, bombed down Secret Trail, back up Skyline, then down After Hours, up Overtime, down Heart of Darkness, then back to Pearl Creek Elementary School via the Moose Trail to La Rue Lane trail and Skarland Trails.
(All these trails can be found on Trail Forks.)
The skeeters weren't too bad unless you stopped. But if you kept moving, they were fine. The wet roots, however (and there are many especially on Secret, After Hours, and HOD), proved challenging. We had a lot of tree-huggers on the ride last night! Fortunately, we got back to the start with only a little blood.
Several people biked to the start and then biked home! That's impressive!
Trail Forks
https://www.trailforks.com/region/skyline-ridge-park-33981/
Photos by Matt and Ben
05/28/2024 TNR-MTB Ride Report - Roșie Creek Ramble
Report by Eric
Tony started leading this ride since ride leader Eric was late (helping a friend with an emergency). But Tony knows these trails well, so the group was in good hands.
Eric caught up when the group was at an intersection. Take the high and dry road or go through the swamp? Eric encouraged the group toward the swamp, but they would have none of it. The high road it is!
We did what is becoming the standard for this ride: Flodin Road - Viereck's Loop - back to Flodin - Harrington's Long Shot - Alden's Pine Road - Lookout - Otter Slide - and Alden's Pine Road back to the beginning. (They are all on Trail Forks: https://tinyurl.com/59p76uyd.) Only this time, Tony showed us a little trail that runs just below Long Shot all the way to the Beaver Slide and Lake Trail. Rideable, if a bit brushy in places. Eric was excited because it had some swamp! We learned it is called Live Trap.
In the past we had made this trip wetter and longer by dropping down onto the Rosie Creek Winter Trail, a good swampy slog fest! Eric asked several times for takers, but no one wanted to go swamping. Nikki did some swamping, but that's because she started from home in the Rosie Creek subdivision and peeled off when we got to the lowest intersection to head back home. She sent a pic of her bike in swamp, which made Eric sad that he wasn't there.
The big long climb up Alden's is a tough one. Some were huffing and puffing and talking about needing to get into shape (naming no names here). We are happy to help kick some butts into shape on these rides!
All in all, a great ride. Cool temps, few bugs, and no rain.
Photos by Nikki and Eric
05/21/2024 TNR-MTB Ride Report - Bonanza Bluffquest
Had a great first Tuesday Night MTB Ride last night! We had 10 total riders. Some regulars from past years and some new faces, too!
Bonanza forestry road is in good shape. We headed down, down, down to the Tanana River. Fortunately, as we approached the river, we ran into some big puddles. Some even looked a bit like swamps, so Eric was happy. We got to ride some old-style corduroy road, too!
We took a look at the river and lingered only until the skeeters found us. Took them a while. It’s still just the big, slow ones. So they didn’t bother use when we were moving, even on the long climb back to the parking area.
But first we took a quick side trip to the bluff and its amazing views.
We discussed possibilities for making this route a bit more interesting. It will take a trail clearing/making party or two. We’ll see if we can get them organized.
If you like to mountain bike, check out our schedule HERE.
Next week: Rosie Creek Ramble
