Cheryle and I want to send a big thank you out to everyone who came out to the ride last week. We both had a great time! Special thanks to Pam for showing the group the other half of Dead End Loop.
We are both going to Nova Scotia in August for my wedding so will not be around to lead rides on August 13th and 20th. If anyone wants to volunteer to lead a ride, please let me know!
Easy-Intermediate Ride
Date: July 23, 2009
Time: 6:30 pm
Place: the corner of Hwy 99 and Depot Rd
Ride Length: 1-1.5 hrs
Ride Leader: Cheryle
Route:
Up Sweet Judy and Rusty Bucket, down Wonderland. As always, Cheryle will alter the route to accommodate your abilities. If you are uncomfortable with the level of difficulty, please let her know!
Trails:
Sweet Judy & Rusty Bucket
These are single track, cross country trails, characterized by narrow, twisty, rooty bits and small technical challenges. More challenging when ridden in the uphill direction.
Wonderland
The trail is rough and bumpy with a lot of tight turns and narrow spots, but it isn’t terribly steep so it is a good challenge for an advanced beginner mountain biker or beginner intermediate biker. Recent trail work has smoothed out many of the more rough spots. It is best ridden when dry as it can get quite muddy and slippery when wet.
The trail parallels a small creek for a ways, this can be unnerving. Remember to look where you want to go-this will help keep you on the trail!
Wonderland has roots, logs, and a few bridges to cross. We will stop at any difficult sections to encourage each other.
Advanced Ride
Date: July 23, 2009
Time: 6:15 pm
Place: University at the intersection with the Diamond Head forest service road
Length: 2-2.5 hrs
Ride Leader: Jen
This week we are shuttling, so bring a vehicle if you have one! This is an advanced ride that is comparable in difficulty to last week’s ride on Recycle. It will be longer, but we are shuttling so there will be less pedaling.
Route:
Shuttle to the top of PowerSmart, ride down PowerSmart, Imba Smart, and from there we have a choice to ride Skookum to Pseudo tsuga or Word of Mouth.
Trails:
Upper PowerSmart
This is one of the classic downhill mountain bike trails in Squamish. When it was first built, it was designated a blue trail. Since then there has been significant erosion. Many sections of trail had a groove eroded down the centre and there were quite a few very gnarly rooty sections. This year there has been a lot of trail maintenance. They have rerouted some sections and smoothed others out. It is now fun to ride again! That said, this trail still has many technical and steep sections. If you enjoyed Credit Line, you will probably enjoy this trail.
Imba Smart
This is a technical single track trail that has a fair bit of descending but also contains some unexpected uphill- so keep your head up and look ahead! It twists and turns through a second growth forest and then into a clearcut. The corners are tight and there are lots of roots and rocks to keep you on your toes! It is comparable to Word of Mouth in difficulty, although the descents are less steep.
Pseudo Tsuga
Another classic trail, Pseudo tsuga is designated a Blue (intermediate) down-hill mountain bike trail. It winds back and forth across the hillside through a selectively cut forest. The most challenging parts of this trail are a few technical corners with steep roll-downs, and some steeper sections that tend to have loose gravel. These sections are interspersed with gentler single track so you have lots of time to “reset” between challenges. If you enjoy riding Roller Coaster, you will probably enjoy this trail.
Word of Mouth:
Definitely not a Squamish classic, but probably destined to become one! Word of Mouth was completed last winter, and the builders did a fabulous job. It is a little like Credit Line but with a lot more flow. Like Credit Line, it rolls down into valleys and up to ridge tops. However, the ups and downs are less steep and I find them a lot more achievable. Word of Mouth is rated as a blue trail on the map. I would say that is more towards the black end of the blue scale. It has some steep spots and tight corners that I can see being a challenge. That said, it is still a very new trail and so is still fairly smooth and forgiving. My favourite part of this trail is the bridge -watch out for the dip!
See you tonight!
Jen
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