Mountain Biking America
America boasts some of the best mountain biking in the world. I decided to do a road trip starting in California travelling across to Utah, Wyoming then back East to Idaho, Oregon and finishing in California. Here’s some photos of what I experienced.
My ride is my trusty Giant Trance Advanced 1 with Rockshox Pike 160mm fork and Rockshox Monarch with Debonair can shock on the rear. It performed flawlessly and I couldn’t have asked for a better stead for the adventure.
California
First stop was Mammoth Lakes.
Utah
One of the main reasons I came to America was to do the “Whole Enchilada” trail just outside of Moab, Utah. The trail starts at 9500ft and climbs to Burro Pass at 11150ft. Trail length is 44km to the main road and 55km back to Moab township.
The Whole Enchilada took me 6 hours 16 minutes with 4 hours 14 mins being moving time. It’s a ride where you stop and take on food and soak up the views.
Wyoming
I came to Wyoming to ride Grand Targhee Bike Park but it wasn’t to be. The cloud cover on the top of mountain forced the bike park to stay closed. Prior to coming I watched a video Australian mountain legend Jared Graves of riding some trails just outside of Jackson Hole. You park at the top of the pass between Jackson Hole and Victor and ride the trails down the mountain that run parallel to the mountain pass. Go to the stagecoach at the bottom and hitch hike back up to the top. Repeat.
While I was in Wyoming I went to one of the most famous National Parks in the world — Yellowstone National Park. On the drive up in the morning I was spoilt by the view of the Grand Tetons.
Idaho
Sun Valley in Idaho wasn’t originally on my radar but lots of people along the way told me how good the riding was.
It was nice to get back on the single tracks after spending time in a bike park.
Oregon
I proceeded to head back towards West back to Oregon which is renowned for having amazing trails. It did not disappoint.
One of the trails I read about which is touted as the best in Oregon is the McKenzie River trail. It was absolutely stunning. A bit of hike and bike in some sections but the scenery was mind blowing.
After speaking with two guys I went to a town called Oakridge in Oregon. Tiny town but with some kick ass trails mostly accessed by shuttle. Sounded perfect to me. The Alpine Trail is the flagship trail of Oakridge.
The Alpine Trail was my favourite of my trip. It wasn’t a ball buster and the views were scenic. It was fast, long and fun!
California
My last trail of my trip was the Downieville Classic. Almost all downhill with a few short sharp uphills but nothing too strenuous. It was too fast stop most of the ride and I had a long drive ahead so I really tried to get down as quick as possible with only one photo taken which is below.
The last of my time was spent in Los Angeles catching up with my long time friend and great friend Jonnie. Great to see you buddy!
I decided to treat myself a helicopter flight over LAX to finish the trip off. The pilot, Paul Cass from Star Helicopters said we had the best visibility all year when we went up.
Thanks America.