Good trails betwixt San Fran and Las Vegas

[Duncan]

Hello,
Not sure who's still reading here but thought I'd give it a crack.
I'm planning a trip to the Single Speed Worlds in Napa this August and it
almost coincides with a friends trip canyoning/hiking/cycling trip through
Zion and Bryce National Parks.

This leaves me with over two weeks to get from San Fran to Las Vegas in a
rental car so I was wondering what trails might be worth visiting in
between? I'm very keen to visit Yosemite again although not necessarily to
ride. I've been downhilling at mammoth mountain, are there good XC trails
there as well?
I suspect I'll be taking my hardtail so not so keen on the double diamond /
free ride north shore aspect but still like it pretty technical.
Comfortably Numb in Whistler was one of my favourite trails.

Cheers,
Duncan.

 

[Mike Vandeman]

On Tue, 6 May 2008 21:50:16 +1000, "Duncan" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Hello,
>Not sure who's still reading here but thought I'd give it a crack.
>I'm planning a trip to the Single Speed Worlds in Napa this August and it
>almost coincides with a friends trip canyoning/hiking/cycling trip through
>Zion and Bryce National Parks.
>
>This leaves me with over two weeks to get from San Fran to Las Vegas in a
>rental car so I was wondering what trails might be worth visiting in
>between? I'm very keen to visit Yosemite again although not necessarily to
>ride. I've been downhilling at mammoth mountain, are there good XC trails
>there as well?
>I suspect I'll be taking my hardtail so not so keen on the double diamond /
>free ride north shore aspect but still like it pretty technical.
>Comfortably Numb in Whistler was one of my favourite trails.
>
>Cheers,
>Duncan.

Highway 24 is rideable. Break a leg.
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
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years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

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[SMS]

Duncan wrote:

> I suspect I'll be taking my hardtail so not so keen on the double diamond /
> free ride north shore aspect but still like it pretty technical.
> Comfortably Numb in Whistler was one of my favourite trails.

I suggest that you look at the book "Mountain Bike! Northern California"
by Linda Austin. Look at the section for "East Bay Area" starting on
page 334. Lot's of good rides in the East Bay parks. I'd stick closer to
Berkeley, as it gets very hot further out in the east bay. Also look
at the "Gold Rush Country" section starting on page 141, and the "Around
Lake Tahoe" section starting on page 199. The ride descriptions are very
detailed, with both aerobic and technical difficulty listed. Again, I
highly recommend the east bay rides around the Berkeley area.

 

[Booker Bense]

In article <[email protected]>, Duncan <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hello,
>Not sure who's still reading here but thought I'd give it a crack.
>I'm planning a trip to the Single Speed Worlds in Napa this August and it
>almost coincides with a friends trip canyoning/hiking/cycling trip through
>Zion and Bryce National Parks.
>
>This leaves me with over two weeks to get from San Fran to Las Vegas in a
>rental car so I was wondering what trails might be worth visiting in
>between? I'm very keen to visit Yosemite again although not necessarily to
>ride.

There's very little legal off-road in the park( none? ). It's worth it to
bring your bike for an early morning jaunt on the roads though.
Park in Tuolomne meadows and ride up to the east park entrance
and back. I've made half hearted attempts to find stuff to ride
in the NF west of the park and found nothing much but relatively
short logging roads.

> I've been downhilling at mammoth mountain, are there good XC trails
>there as well?

Lot's, but I can't make any recommendations. Try some of the
local shops.

>I suspect I'll be taking my hardtail so not so keen on the double diamond /
>free ride north shore aspect but still like it pretty technical.
>Comfortably Numb in Whistler was one of my favourite trails.
>

There's the Tahoe Rim Trail and there is a lot of riding in the
Downieville area.

www.thebackcountry.net

has a pretty good online guidebook to the Tahoe Area.

http://www.yubaexpeditions.com/

has some trail maps. Google "downieville MTB" and you'll find
lot's of information.

_ Booker C. Bense