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Blue Mountain Bike Park

54K views 480 replies 44 participants last post by  LarryFahn 
#1 · (Edited)
I didn't see any recent discussions in this section, so I thought I'd start one.

Who rides here?

For new riders, here's a really good overview of what to expect at Blue:

Not knowing your background, but i'm guessing since your ride a 575 you're not a buff-trail-xc-kind-of-rider and have some experience getting your tires off the ground, i'd contribute some general comments like this

- rent a dh bike, save the pounding of your 575 the first time around. particularly the brakes. DH oriented brakes with 8" rotors are a different class than trail-bike brakes. Some experienced riders are using stuff like XT and XTR Trail instead of DH brakes like Saint or Zee or whatnot but I do not advise that for a first timer as you're going to want to heavily moderate your speed until you get the feel of how things work. Just like on snow, speed builds quickly. Sometimes too quickly.

- rent/borrow/wear full protective gear. You're likely going down a few times on your first time out. I always wear at least helmet, elbow, knee guards, and full-finger gloves.

- work the mountain west to east, that's the general progression of severity - note the word *general* as there are "clench" moments on most trails

- do not launch any dirt or drop or feature without scoping it out before-hand. Landing areas vary in how to handle them. Rocks move. Trail crud is. Some landing transitions are easy to over-shoot.

- Chainsaw and King Tut (western side) are two of my favorites and a lot of fun, with a few finish options for variety. Beware of projecting rocks the size of Smart Cars on the lower sections though, easy to clip a handlebar or knee or hip.

- Moto and OCS (eastern side, lower) are probably the most-rock-gnar-natural sections, steep and rocky. very easy to endo. Formula is less steep but still steep enough to be fast. The rock drop entering the second part of OCS can NOT be rolled, it must be dropped. There is a go-around you can use the first time (?) to scope it out though, safely.

- Ewok Village (towards bottom, visible to east from lift) is a fun jump line BUT be wary of DH bikes on it as the suspension can easily have you pitched wacky, some of the 'tables' are very short and steep. Feels more built towards DJ bikes than DH bike and assumes commensurate skills. All 'tables' are rollable though.

- Empire (eastern-most) is an excellent example of worked Free-Ride trail, not rocky, but pain could be large if you screw up on one of the features. Not all features can be rolled, some must be dropped/jumped. There are go-arounds though so you can scope it out without putting yourself in the e-room.
 
#7 ·
I do, I probably know another 6-12 people in the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton area that ride there somewhat between regularly and irregularly.

I know some other people from outside my local area that ride there also, probably a total of ~20 people in the 'dh' community I directly know. There's a ton more.

Blue has done great in improving itself over the last couple years. Pretty good ride value if you ask me. Only down side is you'll get sunburn easily from sitting on the lift, I know people who keep a floppy cap in their pocket to swap out with their helmet for the lift ride.

And others have said it, but fun can be had on anything from a hard-tail to a full-on dh bike. I've seen it all out there. Scariest was the Walmart bike being rolled off big drops. Ack!
 
#12 ·
Nice pun, haha.

I'll be there with my Dutch colleague (if you see someone really tall, it's probably him). It's his first time there too. Unfortunately he's going back to the Netherlands in about 2 weeks and I'm losing my riding friend.

I ride a black and silver Scott genius LT and have a red helmet.
 
#15 ·
I wish I saw this sooner, I went this Sunday. I have never rode that bike park before and had a blast. Now it makes sense why Tim said about my tall friend I was with, I think he thought I was Jonezed7.

Anyway I had a blast and I'll be there a few more times this year for sure. Honestly I cant wait to go back. Figure I'll ride it the rest of the season and maybe look into a full on DH bike for next season since I live 5 minutes away.
 
#18 ·
Rode saturday and Sunday this weekend for the first time in a little while

Didn't get a chance to see the new additions but they did a nice job of clearing trail sections in between the closing time for the spartan race.

Wish we got some rain during the week, seemed fairly dry minus a few shaded spots and very loose. Or maybe it's just not riding there in a month that made it seem that way

Have seen a bunch of beginners and newer people there the last two days which is great. Saturday I relieve they said they rented out all of their bikes. I have seen plenty of hardtails there recently as well
 
#19 ·
I might be up there again this saturday, also considering going to mtn creek though. I hope to make it there once more before the GES race weekend.

The trails at blue are almost always dry and loose, even after it rains, though it is supposed to rain on Friday, so hopefully there will be a little moisture left in the dirt.
 
#20 ·
A buddy and I are going there for the first time in Sept. How difficult are the easy/moderate trails? Is there a particular trail that is better/more fun than another?
 
#21 ·
Bear had a really good write up in this thread

http://forums.mtbr.com/pennsylvania/blue-mountain-memorial-day-970519.html

It's just dependent on your skill level and type of riding you have done before. Beginner trails still have drops, twists and turns that will send you for a loop if taken the wrong way

Best suggestion is take a slow lap through them first then go back to the ones you enjoy the most and rip up. Happy yummy is one of my favorites along with wild turkey

Maybe ask someone to show you around, lots of friendly people. Sorry tired or else I'd do a better write up
 
#28 ·
Thanks for the replies! What about tires, between the Specialized Ground controls and the Captains, which would be better to run with there?

the Captains are 2.2's and I have 2.1 & 2.3 GC's
 
#30 ·
Thanks for the replies! What about tires, between the Specialized Ground controls and the Captains, which would be better to run with there?

the Captains are 2.2's and I have 2.1 & 2.3 GC's
What kind of bike do you have?

Start on the green and go from there. There are basically two ways down for each blue and green trails. Hit all of those first and if you are confident you can try miles of smiles. There are some features you can bypass and a few steep sections, but nothing too crazy. Just go slow your first time down any new trail there. If you are confident on miles of smiles then hit up the blacks. IMO Moto is the hardest trail on the mountain. Oh, and you can totally roll down Ewok Village, it just tables.
I really regret not doing miles of smiles. Ewok is a lot of fun to ride through.

Hopefully I'll be able to go up again next weekend.
 
#29 ·
Start on the green and go from there. There are basically two ways down for each blue and green trails. Hit all of those first and if you are confident you can try miles of smiles. There are some features you can bypass and a few steep sections, but nothing too crazy. Just go slow your first time down any new trail there. If you are confident on miles of smiles then hit up the blacks. IMO Moto is the hardest trail on the mountain. Oh, and you can totally roll down Ewok Village, it just tables.
 
#31 ·
yeah, we're definitely doing the slow roll through first, talking with my friend we may stay on the green trails for most of the day, unless they're super easy. We only live 2 hours away, if we like it, we'll head back to hit the others.
 
#34 ·
yeah, the HG, 1st time doing downhill on a mountain, we have a lot of elevations where I ride in White Clay Park, the downhills there are pretty twisty and hilly, and on the edge.
 
#39 ·
Entirely you're call. As long as you're aware of what's ahead of you, you'll be fine.

Most importantly, have fun.
that's the main goal :) I do appreciate the advise

any thoughts on the two tires i mentioned?
 
#40 ·
That's actually why I asked about the bike. Downhill tires are usually wider (2.4-2.5) and more grippy for better braking and cornering vs rolling speed.

I'm not an expert by any means, but pick the ones with better traction and a grippy front tire for good cornering.
 
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