Post-Super D Ashland road trip

After reading Mike’s great stories about the Ashland Super D race, my buddy Scott Jensen and I decided to do a last minute road trip up to Ashland to sample some of those fine trails. This also gave me the chance to visit some good friends I hadn’t seen in a long while.

Read on...It was a fairly short trip but we were able to punch in plenty of awesome riding during our two days we were there. The last time I rode in Ashland was back in 2003, so needless to say, this trip was way over due!


The original plan was to leave Friday morning, ride in the afternoon, ride all day Saturday and then drive back Sunday. Luckily I was able to get off work a tad early on Thursday, so we drove up that evening. Glad we did because that allowed us to get 3 shuttles in on Friday.


DAY 0
The drive up was pretty uneventful - other than a few stops for gas, we drove straight up I5 and got there in about 6.5 hours. Checked-in our hotel, got some grub and got a good night sleep in before a full day of shralping.


DAY 1
Before heading up we scheduled 10am, 1pm and 4pm shuttles with Ashland Mountain Adventures. AMA is an awesome shuttle service owned and operated by Suzanne and Bill, one of the nicest couples I've ever had the pleasure to meet. Originally from the Bay Area - Bill moved up to Ashland back in 2008 to start this premiere shuttle service. I remember the year because I had promised him that I would go up and ride with him. Doh! I cannot believe it took me this long to get my slow a-- up there, and let me tell you, after riding those trails I really regret not going sooner.


After seeing and reading the conditions during the Super D race - I was wondering if I should also pack some snowshoes, but Sue & Bill said the weather was starting up to warm up and snow was melting pretty fast. Unfortunately some trails at higher elevations were still covered under, so there are some trails we weren't able to ride - including Time Warp, which I was REALLY looking forward in riding. Oh well - gives me a good excuse to head back later this summer.


Bill was nice enough to take time out of his busy schedule and ride with us on both our 10am and 1pm shuttles. For the most part, the trails there are pretty easy to figure out, but nothing beats having your own personal trail guide. They don't call him "Wild" Bill for nothing - it was a fun challenge chasing him down the Super D course, which is what we rode on our first shuttle. I'm typically pretty conservative when I ride trails for the first time, but there was nothing conservative about our first run that day – when you ride with Bill, it’s all or nothing! Words cannot describe how much fun that was – the conditions, the trails, the camaraderie, the smiles, etc… it was simply perfect!



I cannot remember the name of all the trails but from what Bill was telling us, on our first run, we rode most of the Super D race course. The only different section we hit was a freshly cut trail that bypasses part of a double track fire road. This new sections was all single track and had almost 100 corners – it still had bark on it, but was sooooo much fun! On our second shuttle we did a few different trails with great off camber section and a few more jumps. Every time we ended at Lithia Park Reservoir and then pedaled back to the shop.


On our 3rd shuttle we did a mix of trails and once we got to Lithia Park, we climbed up this fire road to this single track trail Suzanne & Bill suggested we hit. When they said “short climb” I assumed it would be a few miles, but it ended up being a 7+ mile grind – which isn’t bad, but after a full day of riding and almost 50+ miles under our tires, it felt much longer than it was. The piece of single track we ended up hitting was so worth it though – too bad we were so tired and couldn’t give it a proper rip.


Total for the day was close to 60 miles with 17,500 ft of descending. From what I gathered, there are trails there for every level of riders – from DH/FR to XC. We had a kid on our shuttle with a full DH bike and others with short travel XC bikes. Our weapons of choice were 160mm bikes, which was perfect – efficient enough to make the climbs and capable enough to take the hits. The trails we hit weren’t the roughest, but they were still pretty challenging. Trails had a little bit of everything – a lot of corners, high speed sections (my GPS says we hit close to 40mph without trying), jumps, berms, loose dirt and rock gardens which were mostly natural terrain. No wooden stunts or ramps. Since there is a good mix of ups and downs, I highly suggest a dropper post – it’s such a nice component to have on those trails.


Everyone has their own idea of the “perfect trail” – some like slow techy trails, some love North Shore type stunts, some like trails infested with Do-or-die rocks and roots. I personally like trails that have speed, flow, some tech and a lot of CORNERS – corners make Acadian happy and these trails prevailed. Up until this trip, my favorite shuttle assisted tails were Downieville and Porcupine Rim Trail, but I know have a new benchmark. And this is saying a lot since there are many trails there that we couldn’t ride because of the snow. I hear Time Warp is Downieville’s Third Divide on steroids. Can’t wait to head back up to ride it.


DAY 2
On our second day we hooked up with some good friends of mine, Peter Hollingworth of www.Zedsport.com and Lewis Hollingworth of Unreal Cycles. Peter and Lewis used to live in the Bay Area and helped me out a lot when I raced for Planet-X, as they were the main US importers. Now they import other brands including Orange Mountain Bikes.


In the morning we went headed Talent to do some riding near Wagner creek. From what I hear, all the trails in the area have been built and maintained by locals. The trails were pretty damn sweet and consisted of twisty narrow single track, where some sections were barely wide enough for my shoulders, let alone my 710mm bars. I think one of the trails we hit was called Chuck Chips. Again – super fun morning on the bikes.



After that we headed back to Ashland to grab lunch and relax a bit before heading back to Ashland Mountain Adventures to catch an afternoon shuttle. The day was capped off with a super BBQ at Peter’s place.


DAY 3
Since I had obligations and needed to be home early, we didn’t ride. Hooked up with Peter and Lewis for brekkie then hit the road back to the Bay Area.

Like I mentioned earlier, it was a short trip but we were able to do plenty quality riding. If you’re planning on being in the Ashland area – do yourself a favor and schedule some shuttles with Ashland Mountain Adventures. You will NOT regret it!


BIG THANKS
Suzanne and Bill @ www.ashlandmountainadventures.com

Peter Hollingworth @ www.zedsport.com

Lewis Hollingworth @ www.unrealcycles.com



Bikes are cool! Get out, ride and go FLAT OUT!