Go forth and ride, then bring back pics

[plugboots]

Hey Schralph, have you hit Silver Falls State Park? Pretty good riding there, and seemed resistant to weather.

[sethschmautz]

I've paddled sections of the Silver Creek falls East of Salem. A little lower than the big falls, but waterfalls nonetheless. They let you ride bikes in there?!

Seth

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[homemadesalsa]

My only trip to Ashland was end of May. There was still 5-6 feet of snow up at the top of the super D course. They had to plow it so people could access the singletrack. Timewarp wasn't accessible. Can't recall if that was a normal or big snow year, but I'm guessing only the lower trails would be accessible in March or April unless there's minimal snowpack. We couldn't hit any higher elev trails in Oakridge either. There were some snow drifts on the upper section of Alpine, though it was mostly rideable.

Haha thanks. Maybe we will go to Tucson instead. Other suggestions? Going for a big bike trip before I get my knee replaced.

[SchralphMacchio]

You think it would be nice in March or April?

Nice, yes, but as mentioned above somewhat terrain limited until early June. Last year was a big winter for Northern California, and the Siskyou range / Southern Cascades tends to track snow depth more with NorCal than with the rest of Oregon.

Save your Oregon trip for June-October. Mid-June has awesome conditions everywhere in the state and just starting to get into mosquito season, but some high elevation trails around Oakridge and Bend will still have blowdown and a little snow in isolated areas until the end of June. End of September into early October is the best time of year for an Oregon MTB trip. Everything is in play, no mosquitos, fall colors, moisture and cool weather.

Hey Schralph, have you hit Silver Falls State Park? Pretty good riding there, and seemed resistant to weather.

Ironically, I’ve only built trail there but not ridden, as I had a puppy with me who wasn’t old enough to ride. It’s very weather resistant, people ride there year round. I helped re-route a trail around a spring, in January 2 years ago while it was raining on and off, and we had people riding the new trail later that day.

It’s right in that discouraging driving distance from me of an hour and a half, which is too far for quick hits mid-winter and a longer drive than Oakridge once summer comes around. I need to make a point to get out there when I have a kid free day some time.

[SchralphMacchio]

Haha thanks. Maybe we will go to Tucson instead. Other suggestions? Going for a big bike trip before I get my knee replaced.

Tucson probably starts getting hot at the end of March, I’ll ask my wife as she went to U of A. But then the main canyon on Mount Lemmon tops out around like 9000’ and is north facing with water almost year round, so I don’t even know when that gets into play ... evdog?

You’ve already done NorCal, which is great that time of year.
What about combo’ing Grand Junction, Fruita, Moab around then?

[homemadesalsa]

Tucson probably starts getting hot at the end of March, I’ll ask my wife as she went to U of A. But then the main canyon on Mount Lemmon tops out around like 9000’ and is north facing with water almost year round, so I don’t even know when that gets into play ... evdog?

You’ve already done NorCal, which is great that time of year.
What about combo’ing Grand Junction, Fruita, Moab around then?

GJ, Fruita, and Moab are our easy go-to destinations. Somewhere new and cool- Tucson and AZ trail fit the bill there. Not going to Arkansas.

Evdog have you, or anyone ridden Mendocino in spring?

[SchralphMacchio]

I haven't ridden Mendo but I've hiked up there. Based on my riding in SF Peninsula and Santa Cruz, I think coastal redwood forests drain pretty fast after rains and should be in decent shape that time of year. You just don't see the same kind of blowdown and trail debris in redwood forests that you do in Doug Fir forests. I just don't know if any creek crossings will be a PITA. If you look at the ridelogs for Jackson Demonstration State Forest on various websites, people are riding out there year round. I *have* heard that navigation is a big challenge out there so GPS is strongly recommended. Lots of confusing logging road connectors to make the bigger loops possible.

Why no love for Arkansas? I'm thinking about going out there for the 2024 eclipse and doing some riding and camping. Our daughter will be 4, so she'll probably be killing the mini-pumptrack by then

Oh yeah, it's a long ass drive from you but I had fun in Asheville / Brevard North Carolina. Good vert, just as wet luscious (overgrown) and green as Oregon - but totally different wet season since the rain falls in the summer there. I think March/April is actually very dry out there and I heard it's a good time of year to visit but I'd confirm that by asking locals in the Asheville thread. Creek crossings there are like knee deep, slippery, and terrifying! Brevard is a *tiny* town and there is a ton of riding, easily can do a week riding something different every day. North Carolina mountain trout is super delicious, and the Blue Ridge Parkway is a historic and beautiful drive. And Sierra Nevada Brewing in Mills River, next to the Asheville ariport is a mindblowing compound. Not a good place to ride bikes if you have irrational phobia of snakes.

[plugboots]

I've paddled sections of the Silver Creek falls East of Salem. A little lower than the big falls, but waterfalls nonetheless. They let you ride bikes in there?!

Seth

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

Well you prolly can ride yer bike in the river, but they do have some decent trails that Scralph helped build. I think I rode the rim trail, and something else to get there, IIR. No more pics though.
I used to work around Eugene and then up and down I5, so staying in Salem made sense, and riding there and Black Rock seemed the closest.

[406]

or anyone ridden Mendocino in spring?

It should be fine. I did a ride little over a day after ~1" of rain and trail was perfect. Really only about 3 days of riding there, unless you find more than I did. I would suggest combining with Santa Cruz if you have a week. x2 on having gps tracks. No tech or gnar in Mendo, but fun trails and no people. Riding in the redwoods really is awesome, and I typically only get excited about high alpine or slick rock.

[kungpow]

MENDOCINO TRAILS ARE F-ING AWESOME.

Ok, I'll calm down.

Homemadesala - PM me if you want some beta though! I go there 4-5 times a year with a group of friends for camping and riding. As ^ mentioned....Just love the vibes and lack of people out in the woodlands. The riding IS mellow but super fun, and obviously incredibly scenic. I've seen Owls and a bunch of other cool shit out there. (And people for sure tripping hard on gooms).

Looks like I'll be making a trip to Ashland sooner than later for some riding and beer drinking... thanks for the Beta Schralph!

Some photos from our last trip to Mendo:

[forty]

Hey Schralph, have you hit Silver Falls State Park? Pretty good riding there, and seemed resistant to weather.

thats my neck of the woods, been some recent additions more info here http://www.salemtrails.org/new-page-3

I've paddled sections of the Silver Creek falls East of Salem. A little lower than the big falls, but waterfalls nonetheless. They let you ride bikes in there?!

Seth

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

the falls trails arent bike friendly, but there is a whole mtb trail network across the road, and another more freeride area a short ways away as well


my local play area is holding up well to weather so far, hoping to keep it running all the way through winter if possible

[evdog]

Tucson probably starts getting hot at the end of March, I’ll ask my wife as she went to U of A. But then the main canyon on Mount Lemmon tops out around like 9000’ and is north facing with water almost year round, so I don’t even know when that gets into play ... evdog?

Anything low down in AZ is prime in March, and getting warm to too hot in April, depending on weather patterns. Prescott and Sedona are great then too. The only thing that might not be in play is Flagstaff and Mogollon Rim which are above 7,000ft. Mt Lemmon is higher than that but I didn't see snow up there on AZT 300 or 750. I don't think the snow lasts long so unless there's just been a big dump Mt Lemmon should be in play. Tucson has a lot of good riding, everything from long distance xc on AZT south to the border and from Oracle to Picketpost, to gnar on Mt Lemmon (Lemmon Drop, CDO, Red Ridge, Sammie Ridge, Oracle Ridge) and lots of local systems that have mixes of desert flow and chunk. Search out my TRs here for ideas. I can help with more info if you decide to head that way. Lots of bikepacking opportunties as well - BCT, AZT, Schillingsworth's Queens Ransom loop, etc.

Evdog have you, or anyone ridden Mendocino in spring?

I've only ridden Mendocino in December. It rained hard overnight then clear and 50s during the day. I liked the trails but agree there's only a few days worth of riding without repeating stuff or maybe having a local to show you the secret stashes. It doesn't get hot there or too cold being on the coast. Beautiful area. You can hit other spots nearby like Annadel, bay area, then Mendo, and then head up the coast. Paradise Royale is not far from there and is a very cool ride. Then check out Avenue of the Giants. There is a ride at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, check out Arcata community forest and then ride the Ossagon Loop at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. That's about a 20mi loop that includes beach riding with a resident herd of elk, then return on the paved road through the Redwoods. After that head over to Redding which is still rebuilding from last year's fire. Lots of other stuff on Trailforks that I'm not familiar with too.


Another suggestion is to hit up SoCal if you haven't ridden here before. Temps should be perfect. The only rides that aren't open then are higher elevation rides like Big Bear. Depends a lot on what kind of snow year its been. Palm Springs should still be riding good with desert in bloom. Anza Borrego usually blooms in March. There is good riding all over - San Gabriel Mtns for big climbs and descents, Santa Monicas, Idyllwild, Santa Anas, coastal parks, Santa Barbara, Ojai, SLO, etc etc. Trails are only busy on the weekends, and we can point you to some lesser travelled rides for those days.

[plugboots]

[sethschmautz]

Winter

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[springsproject]

Caught the only 10 minutes of sunlight the other day.

[babybear]

Here is where I blew out my knee last Wednesday...

OK, so some pics. See the ladder on top of that rock, that's where i tumbled over, and grabbed the tree, and then fell onto the ramp.













My new Full Sleeve Tat, with ALL of the colors.







Seeing the surgeon tomorrow. Likely ACL and a bunch more.

just got around to watching the pinkbike Friday fails from last Fri and recognized the feature at around 3:08.......

[rideit]

Yup, that’s the one. Good eye.

[evdog]

From a couple local rides this weekend

[buttahflake]

From today in my basement

[El Kanone]

Hey butterflake
Is that zswift or pleating or another program?
I’m going to have to break down and get some system like that


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[buttahflake]

Hey butterflake
Is that zswift or pleating or another program?
I’m going to have to break down and get some system like that


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

That one is Rouvy, the Augmented Reality routes are freaking awesome. Cars go by, you go through towns, trains go past and the scenery is sick. Makes it easy to ride for well over an hour. It’s still new, so it’s not packed with riders, it’s quiet and peaceful. Zwift is the exact opposite.
I use Zwift also, and it’s great when you want to hammer, so many people on there at all times of the day. I did a fast group ride yesterday with 80 people, I was smoked by the finish. Zwift is cool, you can actually feel when your drafting, its wild.
I like Rouvy for easy rides and Zwift for hammering.
I’ve only had a smart trainer for 3 weeks, and I’m totally hooked.

[evdog]

Do you get run over or at least buzzed by the virtual oblivious motorists? Extra points for calling out the license plates of cars parked in the bike lane?

[rideit]

You are paying for Rouvy and Zwift?
Take a lap, trust funder!

J/k, curious as to why you are doing both. Are you on a free trial?
I can’t decide what to get for spinning after my knee replacement. Won’t be hammering for a long time, but I will want something interactive/immersive.

[buttahflake]

Free trial on Rouvy. There’s a new, free player out from RGT that looks very good. I’m gonna check that out also.
https://www.rgtcycling.com/

[Vt-Freeheel]

So many tar snakes on the right side of that virtual road, couldn't you ride on the smooth other side?