heh heh... I've done a LOT of mountain biking over the years, but focussed on cross-country and for me most XC downhills are enough. I don't search out epic or difficult downhills. Yeah I've been mocked as a bit of a chicken... but hey it lets me get out and ride again another day. In any case, coming from a wuss (me) Sideshow is not technical. Sure it has consequences and you have to know your flow and gears, but it's not bad at all. That steep chute is only ~20meters in length and has a great runout plus with todays wide and knobby tubeless it's so much easier to keep it controlled there. The awesome thing about all of the Sideshow and trails headed west are that pretty much anyone can do them. They're awesome to ride fast and so your comfort with speed and flow really governs the difficulty level. Plus so many great spots to catch your breath and take in the valley and mountain views, especially during the fall color explosion.
For technical... I'd suggest 12 Mile Coulee has gotten more technical the last few years. A lot bumpier and rootier for sure. Oh and less gravel-bike friendly too (although do-able!)
I totally agree. Sideshow isn't over technical but it definitely plays mind games with the potential consequences. I'm not a great technical rider but steep rooty trails with tight corners are my nemesis. I'm getting too old to risk more endos ha.
IMO trails like Sideshow Bob have all the downside with very limited upside. It's not particularly fun, it's just a straight, fairly vanilla trail. Which is fine, usually it means you're out for a cruise, enjoying the views and some speed. Except you can't, because a tiny mistake on said fairly boring trail will send you to the hospital.
It's just like gap jumps. Why put the gap there? If you screw up, you're hurt, and your bike is broken. Make it a table top, you can still feel good about yourself if you clear it, but you don't die if you screw up.
The Following User Says Thank You to Bill Bumface For This Useful Post:
Sideshow Bob is for sure scary. I was sweating bullets on it last year and then it leads into that steep descent to the jumps. Definitely not a chill ride.
As I get older, I have less and less interest in the difficult technical mtb trails. I'm way more into flowy and fun versus technically challenging.
Recently, I was at that steep descent to the drop and three teenagers were there so I stopped. They asked if I was hitting the drop. Hell no. I’m going right and riding the brakes. Lol
The Following User Says Thank You to wwkayaker For This Useful Post:
I only discovered sideshow bob this spring. The first time I rode it, it felt like such a long stretch. It feels shorter now but not any safer. I agree with Bumface in that the risk/reward is largely weighted to risk. Yesterday, I noticed a 1-2 foot section of the trail has eroded either naturally or from someone’s tire dropping off the edge and that didn’t increase my confidence.
And those gap jumps west of sideshow aren’t for me either. It’s fun to watch others though.
Overall, the trails in Bowmont Park have been a really pleasant discovery for me this year.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to wwkayaker For This Useful Post:
I only discovered sideshow bob this spring. The first time I rode it, it felt like such a long stretch. It feels shorter now but not any safer. I agree with Bumface in that the risk/reward is largely weighted to risk. Yesterday, I noticed a 1-2 foot section of the trail has eroded either naturally or from someone’s tire dropping off the edge and that didn’t increase my confidence.
And those gap jumps west of sideshow aren’t for me either. It’s fun to watch others though.
Overall, the trails in Bowmont Park have been a really pleasant discovery for me this year.
I totally agree... make it a table top instead of a gap. Reduces consequences plus makes it learnable or at least somewhat rideable for the less brave.
Also above Sideshow there is a nice flowy trail all the way from the fence at Home Road to the valley. Fairly tame but pleasant and rarely has any other user conflicts.
For Bowmont... there are quite a few little segments both above and below the paved trail. Some work best directionally, or when tired. Definitely well worth the time to explore in each direction plus throw in a 12 mile lap. Now that 12mile has trails on each side of the stream it's even better however very often there are other users there so awareness and respect are essential.
The Following User Says Thank You to RichieRich For This Useful Post:
A few years back I crashed hard on a tabletop at COP. I now ride much more conservatively as the summer riding season is short, and I don’t want to miss any of it
__________________
If I do not come back avenge my death
couple of cycling observations after a morning ride:
- these bib shorts are becoming my go-to cycling shorts. I bought a cheap pair of pearl izumi's for around $110. Now that i am into them, i will likely spend more money to buy ones with nice shoulder straps
- was a little cool this morning, sort of wished i had knickers.......was trying to log a good strava time on the SE part of the rotary-mattaway pathway; however, a layer of frost on the wooden bridges over the swap caused me to back off the speed
i have now managed a few more rides with the garmin varia - if you are on the fence about buying one, do it. awesome bit of kit:
- the other day i was riding on mckenzie town blvd and i noticed that the varia will pick up multiple vehicles behind me
- this morning i was riding southbound on the pathway/sidewalk on the west side of 52nd st (a 4/5 lane road with a decent sized median lane) and i noted that the varia picked up vehicles behind me and they would have been 50 or more feet to my right (so not even coming up directly behind me).
looking forward to riding my altitude tomorrow as last week i noticed that the shifting was off and the bottom bracket was pooched (a little disappointing on a bike that is a year old with an XTR level BB). The boys at the bike shop fixed me up this week so i am looking forward to enjoying xtr level shifitng again........
__________________
If I do not come back avenge my death
Last edited by Northendzone; 06-11-2021 at 10:10 AM.
The Following User Says Thank You to Northendzone For This Useful Post:
couple of cycling observations after a morning ride:
- these bibs shorts are becoming my go-to cycling shorts. I bought a cheap pair of pearl izumi's. Now that i am into them, i will likely spend more money to buy ones with nice shoulder straps
- was a little cool this moring, sort fo wished i had knickers. was trying to log a good strava time on the SE part of the rotary-mattaway; however, a layer of frost on the wooden bridges over the swap caused me to back off the speed
i have now managd a few more rides with teh garmin varia - if youa re on the fence about buying one, do it. awesome bit of kit. the other day i was riding on mckenzie town blvd and i noticed that the varia will pick up multiple vehicles behind me. This morning i was riding southboaund on the pathway/sidewalk on the west side of 52nd st (a 4/5 lane road with a decent sized median lane) and i noted that the varia picked up vehicles behind me and they would ahve been 50 or more feet to my right (so not even coming up directly behind me).
looking forward to riding my altitude tomorrow as last week i noticed that the shifting was off and the bottom bracket was pooched (a little disappointing on a bike that is a year old with an XTR level BB). The boys at the bike shop fixed me up this week so i am looking forward to enjoying xtr level shifitng again........
Other "mandatory" gear includes:
Decent arm warmers, and leg warmers.
Knee warmers.
Thermal capri bib shorts
Undershirts
Lightweight vest
Toe warmers
Anyone else doing Highwood tomorrow? I’ve heard from at least a half dozen other groups that they’re heading out there. Sounds like it’s going to be a packed day of climbing.
I’ve been logging some serious k’s on my Ebike. These things are unbelievable.
For example I hit (if anyone is familiar with Fernie) stove-mushroom head-lactic ridge-stupid traverse-s bomb-broke back ridge-lazy lizard-home in under an hour. That’s probably a 3-4 hour ride for the average Joe, with sections that are practically unrideable for even the most competent bikers.
I’m all about the down and have always hated the climbs, so this thing is a total game changer for me. It’s faster than a chairlift and runs like a full DH on the descents.
I can’t recommend them enough.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Tron_fdc For This Useful Post:
Anyone else doing Highwood tomorrow? I’ve heard from at least a half dozen other groups that they’re heading out there. Sounds like it’s going to be a packed day of climbing.
I’m going out for the Longview leg, and to get one more summit before the highway opens on the 15th. Figured the highwood is better on a busy Sunday than being out on a busy trail on the mountain bike, so I’ll do singletrack on Monday when it’s hotter and not as busy.
You going out tomorrow? Going to hit the top once or twice?
I’m going out for the Longview leg, and to get one more summit before the highway opens on the 15th. Figured the highwood is better on a busy Sunday than being out on a busy trail on the mountain bike, so I’ll do singletrack on Monday when it’s hotter and not as busy.
You going out tomorrow? Going to hit the top once or twice?
I got out early and did a Gate to Gate to Gate starting from the South. I hadn't done it before so I might have overdone it on the first ascent. The North side is a grind when you get towards the summit.
It was a beauty day. We started before 8am so it was chilly until we got a few hills in. Heading down to the North gate was cold after sweating like crazy for the first hour and half. Almost had a run-in with some Big Horn (20 seconds into the video) during the steepest part for the descent. Even though I slowed down it still wouldn't have been pretty if they guy decided to run in front.
It was busy as hell when we got to the North gate around 9:30ish.
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to KTrain For This Useful Post:
I’ve been logging some serious k’s on my Ebike. These things are unbelievable.
For example I hit (if anyone is familiar with Fernie) stove-mushroom head-lactic ridge-stupid traverse-s bomb-broke back ridge-lazy lizard-home in under an hour. That’s probably a 3-4 hour ride for the average Joe, with sections that are practically unrideable for even the most competent bikers.
I’m all about the down and have always hated the climbs, so this thing is a total game changer for me. It’s faster than a chairlift and runs like a full DH on the descents.
I can’t recommend them enough.
Some serious beastly awful climbs in there. Even with the ebike I can’t comprehend how you did all that in about an hour.
Years ago the descent off Lactic Ridge we started above the valley cloud/fog layer - it was surreal. Wish I’d taken a photo. Anyways the descent down from up there solely convinced me that a dropper post was a necessity. Next time down with full 4” drop was one of the funnest DHs ever.
Full boost and charge the uphill as well as the DH. I’m in decent shape so I FLY up trails.
I just did stove-Eric’s-mic mac-phat bastard-mushroom head-moc assassin (WAY better than lactic which is pretty much un-climbable in a few spots)-stupid traverse-broke back. Bit of a hangover so I took my time, had it in trail mode and not full boost. My odometer had it at 18km total, probably took around 90 minutes?
I got to the south gate a little before 10, I couldn’t believe how busy it was. Cars parked maybe a km up the road. Then the top was like Disneyland. Figured they should have a lineup and photographer with Mickey ears on taking the perfunctory picture at the summit sign.
But it was an awesome day, and still fairly warm at the top, it can be pretty unpredictable and cold there on a lesser day.
I think I’ve decided the worst part of the route is the climb from the south for the last 10k to the summit, it just keeps grinding, and often has a headwind. And you keep thinking “less than 10k to go”, but it still takes a long time.
The climb from the North I don’t find too bad, doesn’t last as long, and before you know it your at the top.
