Riding Mammoth Mountain
So I was in California for my wife’s family reunion, but I had a couple days to burn before I head back to PA to join them. My original plan was to cycle down the California coast from Crescent City to San Francisco but those plans were ruined when I learned that U.S. Air’s bicycle baggage fee is $200 each way. My fault for not checking in advance, but come on. That’s ridiculous. So I traveled here without my bike.
After some wishing and washing, I decided to head up to Mammoth Mountain. Mammoth is an outdoor recreation area in the Sierra Mountain range in California. In the summer, there is hiking, cycling, and paddling. In the winter its skis and snowboards. Late August is a good time to visit. At that time, they are at the leading edge of the shoulder season so the trails are not crowded and accommodations are still available.
Since I am bikeless (screw you U.S. Air!) I rented a Norco Fluid - 29 inch full suspension four inch travel cross country rig from Footloose Sports for 51 bucks. Footloose is a pretty good shop, and I think the price was fair. The bike was in good mechanical order, and they were kind enough to put my own pedals on and adjust the suspension. I’m not crazy about their you break it you buy it policy. I understand why they do it, but its pretty easy to damage a mountain bike and sometimes things just break because they are due to break, and I’m not sure its fair to have the consumer so directly cover that. But the shop did say that repairs would be at cost and they seem like straight shooters so it’s probably all fine. And some consumers are downright abusive. Some of the other shops have optional insurance you can buy for $6 that covers most things that would break from normal use on a trail. I think that approach may be better.
Image: The bike at rest in the shade.
The Bike: The Norco Fluid outfitted like this one is about a $2000 machine. It performed very well. It was quick on the climb and handled very well on descents at speed. It was my first time on a 29er and I was impressed by its ability to absorb chatter and washboard. I love my 26” Ellsworth, but I think my next buy will have 29 inch wheels.
The Norco was also equipped with the Fox Float CTD (Climb-Trail-Descend) rear shock. This shock has a lever with three positions. You move the lever to the position indicated by the type of terrain on which you are riding. In the Climb position, the rear suspension is held almost completely immobile for the maximum power transfer to the rear wheel. In Descend mode, the rear suspension is fully active to maintain control as the bike moves quickly over rough terrain. The Trail position is in between for running on moderately level terrain with a balance of pedal efficiency and shock response. I was happy to see that the CTD feature made a huge difference in the performance of the bicycle through the various types of terrain. If I get a new bicycle, I will be looking for CTD as I am already a fan of Fox. In fact I may even look to upgrade my Ellsworth.
The Trails: Mammoth has everything from family friendly bike trails to hard core double black diamond descents. My style of riding falls somewhere in the middle so that’s what I rode. My first foray was heading up from the Village and climbing up the mountain on the following trails - Uptown, Break Through, Lincoln Express, Lower Skid Marks, Juniper, and Downhill. This ride took me three hours so I coasted back down to Mammoth Lakes to relax and eat some lunch. The ride varied from about 8,000 to 9,000 feet so I was pretty winded through a lot of it.
After lunch, I decided to ride again so I took the shuttle and gondola up to the top of the mountain for a beautiful ride down. There is no way to ride to the top of the mountain, and even if there was I didn’t have the energy or time to do it. The ride down was on the back side of the mountain on Off the Top and Beach Cruiser trails. I took a 15 minute break at the Adventure Center and then rode the Downtown trail back to the Village and then onward via road to Mammoth Lakes. I really enjoyed the ride down. The trails are technical enough to be exciting but still very negotiable even if I were on a hard tail. Many of the switchbacks are banked - some even with concrete and these are a lot of fun since you can really lean in hard with speed and keep the momentum up.
Final Words: The 29 inch wheels live up to the hype at least for my style of riding. I also give the Fox CDT rear shock high marks. The trails of Mammoth Mountain and the infrastructure to support the trails and the riders is quite simply awesome. The fact that they support double black diamond riders, families with kids in trailers, and everyone in between is quite good.
I turned my rental bike back in today, but I think I’ll rent another one tomorrow and try to pedal a few more trails before heading back south.
Image: Giant eagle attacking bicycle
In the mean time, go out and find your adventure!