I just bought a Strider training bike for my niece (almost 2 years old)!  I was

totally stoked on this gift, especially with the videos of the 2-4 year olds

riding logs and doing dirt jumps (http://www.stridersports.com/video.html). 

Awesome to see young children having fun riding on dirt.



Ryan K.

On Friday, Evil Steve and I took advantage of the dry November and

drove down to Bend to ride Phil's Trails System.  The parking lot

was empty until the 10:00 a.m. rush.  The temperature was reasonable

and we were able to ride without shivering the entire time.  Trail

conditions were perfectly firm and tacky allowing for 28 miles of

epic riding.  We rode up Ben's to Helipad, and down Storm King, CIA,

and ELV.  There were a couple of re-routes that we biked through,

including an intermediate skills park.  We finished the ride on

Kent's trail before enjoying beer and food at Cascade Lakes

Brewing.  The trails were so dry, our bikes were not dirty.



Sunday, Dallas and I did a couple of laps on 7 Streams at Post

Canyon.  The trails below 7 streams, closer to the trail head were

quite muddy and slippery, but they improved as we headed up towards

Family Man.  The stunts at Family Man were a bit too wet and

slippery to ride (but I doubt I would ride them if they were dry :)

However, the trails up there were firmly packed and we did two laps

on 7 streams.



Jill

Thanks Jill.  Sounds like fun, especially Phils.  Love that area.



I have a little report to share as well.  We headed over the river and through

the woods Wednesday night bound for my in-laws place in Redmond, WA.  We thought

we'd camp  in our van that night to break up the drive a bit.  We had stayed

once before at Millersylvania State Park south of Olympia and I had read that

there were some trails there, but hadn't had the chance to ride them.  When we

arrived at the campground at about 9 pm, we found the gate to the campground was

closed!  Our GPS indicated (incorrectly) that there was another entrance.  After

realizing it did not exist, we went back to the original entrance and tried the

gate which turned out to be only shut, but not locked.  In we drove and found

ourselves a spot for the night.  I woke up the next morning to 35* and prepared

to go for a ride.  I hopped on my bike and something felt wrong.  A quick

inspection showed my Fox Triad shock was "stuck down"!  D'oh!  My considerate

wife offered to let me ride her bike, so off I wen

t on her Santa Cruz.   After pumping up the rear shock and raising the seatpost,

I enjoyed a nice little ride.  The trails were pretty mellow, wide, gently

rolling "fitness" trails, but I was happy to be out exploring on a crisp foggy

day and enjoyed about 8 miles on not too muddy trails before returning and

continuing our drive.



Friday after Thanksgiving, I called Redmond Cycle first thing when they opened

and they said they could fix my bike the same day.  I dropped it off and they

called me that afternoon and said it was done.  $80 for the rebuild kit and

labor and I was on my way.  Now I had no excuse not to ride, plus I wanted to

test the fix while we were still in the area.  I had asked at the shop about

trails and checked the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance website and so decided

to ride at Saint Edward State Park

http://evergreenmtb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Trail:Saint_Edward_State_Park. 

This had the advantage of being relatively close and was new to us.  We had

previously ridden at Tiger Mountain and Tolt MacDonald, all of these trails are

listed by Evergreen under the heading of "Top 10 trails near Seattle".



Saturday morning we headed for St. Edward and were happy to have, if not actual

sun, then at least a lack of (much) rain.  We found the place easily enough and

set out riding.  It was a great trail system!  Combined with the adjacent Big

Finn Hill Park, there was plenty of interesting singeltrack in a relatively

small area.  By taking multiple loops we ended up with about 10 miles of riding

and didn't even get to everything there was to ride.  It was pretty muddy in

spots, but also totally rideable.  I would definitely like to return and

experience the trails in drier conditions.  My shock seemed as good as new, and

we had fun exploring a new trail system.



Happy trails,

Terry









-------------- Original message --------------

From: "Cheddar Shredder" <chick_j@...>

On Friday, Evil Steve and I took advantage of the dry November and

drove down to Bend to ride Phil's Trails System. The parking lot

was empty until the 10:00 a.m. rush. The temperature was reasonable

and we were able to ride without shivering the entire time. Trail

conditions were perfectly firm and tacky allowing for 28 miles of

epic riding. We rode up Ben's to Helipad, and down Storm King, CIA,

and ELV. There were a couple of re-routes that we biked through,

including an intermediate skills park. We finished the ride on

Kent's trail before enjoying beer and food at Cascade Lakes

Brewing. The trails were so dry, our bikes were not dirty.



Sunday, Dallas and I did a couple of laps on 7 Streams at Post

Canyon. The trails below 7 streams, closer to the trail head were

quite muddy and slippery, but they improved as we headed up towards

Family Man. The stunts at Family Man were a bit too wet and

slippery to ride (but I doubt I would ride them if they were dry :)

However, the trails up there were firmly packed and we did two laps

on 7 streams.



Jill









[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Scappoose is in good shape too.  The Headhunter trail is so much fun.







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Skiing at Timberline was really nice Sunday...Sunny, warm temps, no wind, but

very little snow. Nothing like skiing corn snow in November.



Bring on the Snow!!!







To: pumpclub@...: Dennis@...: Tue, 2 Dec 2008

10:49:41 -0800Subject: RE: [pumpclub] Thanksgiving Weekend Ride Report







Scappoose is in good shape too. The Headhunter trail is so much fun.[Non-text

portions of this message have been removed]













[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

That comment on Scappoose is what I've been looking for!  I know there's not a

guide or map (Nicht! Nein! Es ist Verboten!) but I've never been out there

without the mountain Goat guiding the way.  Which is Headhunter, and how do I

get on and stay on it?

Barry

Been meaning to send out this. Rode Nestor Peak and Buck Creek on Sunday.

The road climb up N-1000 is muddy from hunting and logging use. Plan extra

time for the climb. There was some blow down on the trail from N-1700 to

N-1000, but the tread was firm and the climbing was fun after the long dirt

road section. The descent from Nestor was great. The trail top coat is

pretty firm still. The switch backs are covered in leaves so watch your

speed. The third switch back after the switch back sign had a low hanging

branch. Lower Buck Creek loop is in terrible shape due to water line work. I

would have rather ridden road B-1000 to the tie in to Buck Creek trail from

Melroy Saddle. The descent from Melroy had a firm top coat and was as safe

as a steep rocky trail can be.



-eric





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Eric,



I must have just missed you. I rode Buck Creek this last weekend as well.







Thanks for emailing the trail report as I have been meaning to do that. I am

the trail site steward for the trail, and yes the waterline work set us back

a little.  However, they city of white salmon water dept is doing a pretty

good job of cleaning up after themselves. I have been assured, that they

will “try” to restore the trail.  However, we (mtn bikers) will need to

fine-tune it.  The good news is that they are almost done.  For those

wondering where this is, it is an 1/4 mile section of the lower Buck Creek

Loop.  99% of the trail is unaffected and the tred stays in good shape all

year.







Ride Suggestion – Next time you are up in the area you should try the Penny

Ridge which is located on the other side of the Buck Creek valley.  This

fall we did a work party up there and made huge progress reclaiming the

trail.  For a cardio challenge you can ride it as an out and back from the

lower Buck Creek.







On another positive note: I have been working with DNR letting him know what

could be done to improve the area. This year they have installed a new rest

room and made improvements to three trailheads / camping areas, as well as

they helped with our work party doing trail work.







FYI ~ Over the Christmas holiday I will be doing some “solo” trail work as

well as some riding.  Depending on snow levels I might lead a ride for those

who want to burn off some holiday calories.  More info to follow.







Here is the latest Buck Creek Map on the DNR website.







HYPERLINK

"http://www.dnr.wa.gov/Publications/eng_rms_buck_ck_all.pdf"http://www.dnr.w

a.gov/Publications/eng_rms_buck_ck_all.pdf







See you on the trail!







Ted D























    _____



From: pumpclub@yahoogroups.com [mailto:pumpclub@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf

Of eric aldinger

Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 11:55 AM

To: pumpclub@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: [pumpclub] Re: Thanksgiving Weekend Ride Report







Been meaning to send out this. Rode Nestor Peak and Buck Creek on Sunday.

The road climb up N-1000 is muddy from hunting and logging use. Plan extra

time for the climb. There was some blow down on the trail from N-1700 to

N-1000, but the tread was firm and the climbing was fun after the long dirt

road section. The descent from Nestor was great. The trail top coat is

pretty firm still. The switch backs are covered in leaves so watch your

speed. The third switch back after the switch back sign had a low hanging

branch. Lower Buck Creek loop is in terrible shape due to water line work. I

would have rather ridden road B-1000 to the tie in to Buck Creek trail from

Melroy Saddle. The descent from Melroy had a firm top coat and was as safe

as a steep rocky trail can be.



-eric



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]









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