Exploring The Granite Creek Snowmobile Trails

There are times when you can pour over the maps, zoom in with Google Earth, and/or read the snowmobile club websites for trail info, AND the adventure just doesn't pan out.  Today was not one of those days.  We scored.

M, near the turnaround for today's ride

Less than an hour north of downtown Boise is a large network of groomed snowmobile trails waiting to be explored on fat bikes and today we barely scratched the surface.  Ok, I cheated a little bit and found a grooming report on the Boise Snowmobile Club website which indicated that the area I wanted to ride just so happened to be groomed yesterday.   Is it wrong that when I arrive at a trail head with my fat bike and find fresh corduroy I have similar reaction to that of a skier on a powder day?

We parked at the Granite Creek Trail Head

M and I had only planned to be out for 2-3 hours so we weren't able to complete the entire 27-mile loop but the out-n-back we did was awesome.  In fact, I would say that this was quite possibly the most perfectly graded Forest Service road I have ever been on.  From the trail head, this road climbed at a steady 3-4% grade for nine miles.  I am pretty sure it kept going for another 3+ miles before descending but we had to turn around.

Note to Self:  Bring more clothes, a balaclava, & goggles for the long descent next time.

Why am I just now, on Feb 10^th, exploring snowmobile trails to ride the fat bike on?  Well, up until about a week ago we were shredding the local singletrack (in its glorious frozen and snow-packed state) on the fat bikes so there really wasn't any need or motivation to go exploring.  Now that the lower trails are in a slush/mud/freeze cycle, the choices are either road riding or heading to higher elevation and exploring on the fat bike.  Today we chose the latter and it was awesome.

Switchbacks!

Kenai kept it in L2 today and banged out an impressive 18 miles

                        

Kenai looks dejected because we made him stop for a pic

Fat Biking is not fun. Nothing to see here...

The fat bike stoke is HIGH right now and more exploration is imminent!

Camp Lynda 6.0b – Days 2 & 3

Waking up to a fresh dusting of snow here in Boise has sent me into desert singletrack withdrawals.  Last weekend’s Camp Lynda was a great break from the regular winter routine and a definite mojo-builder heading into the endurance race season.  Camp Lynda is always a great opportunity to ride with talented riders and push myself to ride faster and longer than I might on my own if I were out on a solo training ride.

A huge thanks to Coach LW for putting the camp together again this year!  

Day 2 - Quick Stats

TSS:  279.6

Moving Time:  5:05:00

Miles:  45.2 (mostly singletrack)

Climbing:  5,287

Route:  True Grit Race Course starting at Green Valley

Chasing the pack on Day 2 (Photo Jeff Kerkove)

Random thoughts from Day 2:

• Riding Zen once a year is not enough to learn it or get good at it.  
• Following Kenny Jones down the Bearclaw Poppy descent was awesome and resulted in perma-grin for the rest of the day.  Kenny knows all the little lips and jumps to hit. 
• The stair step on Barrel Cacti still scares the poop out of me

Day 3 - Quick Stats

TSS:  258.9

Moving Time:  5:24:00

Miles:  45.5 (mostly singletrack)

Climbing:  4,635

Route:  Barrel Roll, Sidewinder, Suicidal Tendencies (brand new trail), back to Green Valley via Stucki

The beginning of Suicidal Tendencies gets your attention.  I can't wait to see what the finished product looks like. (Photo Jeff Kerkove)

Following Chris Holley down the switchbacks on Suicidal Tendencies (Photo Jeff Kerkove)

Random thoughts from Day 3:

• Even when your body is tired you can coax it into riding for a long time…especially with extra coffee.
• The new Suicidal Tendencies Trail is so awesome and so different than anything else in the area.  Huge kudos to the crew building that trail.
• I finally nailed the techie section on Barrel Roll that seems to always get me. 
• Riding with KC Holley ensures that there will be NO lolly-gagging during the ride…and I dig that.
• Jeff and Kyle were the perfect ride buddies at the end and made sure I was thoroughly baked at the end of Day 3.

Jeff & Kyle drove from Colorado and maximized their riding time over three days 

Camp Lynda 6.0b - Day 1

The 6th Annual Camp Lynda is being attended in two sessions this year due to the crazy weather last weekend that prevented many of us from getting to St George, UT.  We are calling this weekend's version Camp Lynda 6.0b and I am stoked to be here! 

Day 1 - Quick Stats

• TSS: 380
• Moving Time: 6 hours 
• Miles:  60  
• Climbing: Either 6,298' or 7,831' of climbing (Depending on whether you believe WKO+ or Topofusion for elevation. I am going with WKO+) 

Glorious sunshine and dry dirt (Photo by Jeff Kerkove)

This is what an "Out-N-Back" with a kick in the nuts at the turnaround looks like.

There even was pink fixed-gear fatbike sighting...ridden by Fixie Dave himself

Day 2 of Camp Lynda 6.0b is a pre-ride of the True Grit 50-Mile course.  I plan on adding the Bearclaw Poppy section as well as Precipice + Sidewinder + Suicidal Tendencies instead of doing Barrel Roll twice to make it a 50-miler. I just hope my legs rebound quickly. Doh!