Building the Bachelor Bike Park- Season 3- Post 1- So it Begins Again

(Trail crew discussing the start of a new season of building on Mt. Bachelor)

June begins, and the low snow levels have allow us to once again return to the expansion of the Bachelor Bike Park. So begins our third season of trail construction. This is the earliest we have been able to start trail work since this project began in 2013. It feels great to be back at work on the ever expanding trail network that is becoming the bike park. We begin the building season on  2 new green trails off of the Sunshine Accelerator chairlift.  

With 2 machine operators working on the 2 new trails we spend our days chasing the alternating machines as they make their way towards their first goals of the season.

First Time Line FTL 1 of 2 green trails we are currently building to make the progression towards the rest of the mountain easier for our first time guests will wind down from Sunshine Accelerator back towards West Village Lodge. With fun turns and small jumps it will offer a mellow fun bike park experiencing that we were lacking last season. So far the trail is riding super sweet with great flow and no need to pedal to have fun.

Here’s another turn on FTL, this trail will also be a great warmup for more experienced riders to start their day on and prepare to move up the mountain towards the more advanced trails in the system.

The second trail we are building right now is unnamed but as of now we are calling it Level 10 Swizzle Stick Master (After a random sign we found in the woods the other day). This short connector trail will get you from Sunshine Accelerator to the lowest section of Lava Flow. With bigger turns in the trees this will be the next step in progression in the trail system. We connected this trail to Lava Flow at the end of this week and our now moving forward on making some more changes to Lower Lava Flow before we begin working on expanding the small skills area we started last season.

A couple of the sweet trail crew rides we will be using to test the trails this season. The crew has lost a few members and gained some new faces. New riders with different styles and mountain bike experience should add new flavor to the old trail crew, it’s looking to be a great season on the hill building this bike park.

(Dan getting some pre-season turns on Blade Runner)

Bikes and trails, summer has officially begun and I am looking forward to a great season of trail expansion in the Bachelor Bike Park.

 

3 Days of Single-track Slaying With the Boys from Eastside Preparatory School

(Rob and I had the pleasure of showing this group around the local trail systems here around Bend)

Last week I had the opportunity to guide three full day tours with a group of ninth graders from Eastside Preparatory School in Kirkland WA. Every year the students get to choose a week long trip for education beyond the classroom,  and this year they decided to check out mountain biking in Central Oregon.

For the first day of riding we took the group to Phil’s Trail-head where we went over bike fit and set up,  then we discussed proper braking techniques and linked it to the importance of respecting the trails and the tread. After that we went over trail love and etiquette before beginning our ride on the trail. We started the ride on Marvin’s Gardens and used it as an opportunity to see how the group rides together. From the get go it was clear that the riders were varied in abilities. Some of the students obviously ride mountain bikes but many of them don’t so it will be an interesting 3 days on the trail. From Marvin’s we rode up KGB to the “Flaming-Chicken” at the bottom of Phil’s Canyon and then rode up Expressway to Kent’s where we stopped and ate our sandwiches from Nancy P’s. After lunch we rode up Phil’s to the Voodoo intersection and then onto Ben’s.  When we hit the 300 Rd. We took a break before beginning our last real climb of the day up the 310 Rd. to the top of Lower Whoops where we took another break before dropping in on the first roller-coaster descent of the next 3 days. One by one with 3 seconds gaps between riders we dropped into Lower Whoops, but not before giving another safety talk about riding within your own limits and being safe while having fun. By the time we reached the bottom of the trail most of the boys were stoked, a few had crashed,  and one of the boys injured his wrist, but all seemed glad to have stuck it out and put work for a great start of 3 days of riding. Then as rain clouds began to shed precipitation on the forest all around us we began the last sections of our first days ride, down Phil’s through the canyon filled with puddles and onward back towards the shop motley crew of soggy bottom boys and men.

(The boys at the end of day 1, with a solid 30 miles under their belts)

Day 2, we meet again at the Cog Wild office to load up the van and head out into another long day on the trails. Today we decide to ride out of Swampy Lakes Sno-Park so after a short drive out of town on the Cascades Lakes Highway we unload the van in the parking lot, break out the map and go over the days route back into town, and then we head out into the woods. The morning begins with a nice climb up an old logging road before it begins a traverse around Swampy Lakes to the Swede Shelter. Unfortunately we beat the Sawyers out to the trail and we had quite a few dismounts to portage fallen trees, luckily this only lasted for a mile or two before it sorted itself out and we got back on cleared trails.

(One of the boys riding Sector 16)

After a snack break and some photos at Swede Shelter we headed down Sector 16, which can be a challenging trail for adults riders,  and proved to be a challenge for many of the boys. We rode on through the morning stopping for lunch at Shooting Star Shelter where we gathered our wits before beginning the days first real descent down Upper Whoops.

(Shooting Star Shelter)

(Lunch with the boys)

After lunch we enjoyed hero dirt on both Upper and Lower Whoops, the group was all beginning to show improvements in their riding and everyone was beginning to look more confident and comfortable on their bikes and in the woods. Their second lap on Lower Whoops resulted in zero crashes and everyone was excited to do it again having some idea of what laid down the trail. From Whoops we rode down the 300 Rd to Phil’s and then we descended Kent’s to the trail-head where we hung out and talked about cornering in the pump-track.

(Playing in the pump-track)

(Pump-track fun for everyone)

With time and energy to kill we left the pump-track and headed back down Marvin’s Gardens to the first technical trail feature a little log-ride that we all took turns trying to ride, it was really great seeing all the students and the teachers taking turns trying the log-ride and supporting each other in the experience.

(Teamwork on the log-ride on Marvin’s Gardens)

(Even when they didn’t make it they helped and encouraged each other to try it again)

It was awesome seeing everyone try new things and getting out of their comfort zones to expand their bike skills. After we all rode the logs a few times we hit the trail and headed back to town to put an end to day 2 of our 3 days of exploring Bend singletrack together.

(Getting ready to load up on our third and final day of riding together)

For our third day of riding we decided to take the boys out into the Wanoga trail system since we hadn’t yet ridden any of those trails. After a warm up at the pump-track in the parking lot we began our ride on Tiddly Winks, which got us all working. After the climb on Tiddly we traverse Kiwa Butte Trail to Tyler’s Traverse where we began our next climb of the day. Once we got to the top we took a break and then began our first descent of the day. The boys had wanted another lap on Lower Whoops but I think that Tyler’s gave them the stoke they needed. After Tyler’s we got on Larson’s Trail and rode most of it before stopping to eat our lunch.

(Lunch break on day 3)

(Posing while they grub on those yummy Nancy P’s sandwiches)

(Always pick a fun lunch spot to get them over how worn out they are)

(After lunch rock rides)

(Looking like a pro)

After lunch we ride on finishing Larson’s then riding the bottom of Tiddly Winks. After that we crossed the highway and started down COD. Part way down the group separated when some of the boys decided to turn down one of the brand new visitor center trails. With a smaller group I lead the boys with me down the new COD/ODP reroute, and then continued down COD to ELV. We the rode ELV to GS where we met back up with the rest of group then finished our last day of riding on Expressway and KGB, before rolling back to town. Three longs days of riding behind us, now all we had was memories.

(Some of the boys posing on Nessy)