Reports of the new South Leaf Trail extension (replaces Disneyland) are that it's awesome. I wanna see for myself.
I've decided to hit up ECdM Sunday morning at 9am to do a slow climbing C level ride on the Leaf Trails. Looking for slow but technically skilled company. Also wouldn't mind joining a faster group and splintering off at the end of South Leaf. I need to be at work by noon.
My plan: Start at Gate 1, climb paved to Fir, drop Fir to Resolution, ECdM Trail to North Leaf, head south to try out the new South Leaf Extension, ride South Leaf to gate CM10, and return by way of the Leafs and ECdM trail.
I will be the Fat Bottomed Girl in the green Suby Outback, grey ano Enduro.
To see the rest of the map below click here.
and then click on the trail ratings map (pdf) on that page.
I'm curious, does anyone else have trouble making a few sections on the "old" South Leaf if you are going back towards North Leaf? Going down a lot of the steep sections is great fun going out, but if I turn around to ride it backwards. coming back up 2 or 3 of them I just can't do. Super steep with roots and very narrow. Do I suck, or is this hard for everyone?
I think generally the consensus is that South Leaf is the most technical legal singletrack on the Peninsula/South Bay. Mostly due to its narrowness and the steepness of certain pitches combined with rocks and roots. You'd need some real legitimate trials skills plus some serious power to get over some of the obstacles in the trail tread and be able to pedal away. I suppose if you could leap up onto a picnic table from a stand still, and turn 90 degrees on the top, you could ride south-to-north on South Leaf without dabbing. So, no you don't suck if you are a cross-country type of rider. If you fancy yourself to be a skilled trials rider then maybe you suck. Ask J. He can tell you.
It's interesting to see the changes to the old trail over the years. Certain drops going from north-to-south have been altered, with the trail being moved and realigned below the drops to flatten it out. Also use has widened the tread in a few places and made it easier to get around some protruding rocks. But damn, it's still really tough.
I also enjoyed riding the North Leaf trail after over a year of not visiting this side of the preserve. I was one of the people, along with Berry Stevens from ROMP, who helped lay out the trial alignment with MROSD about a decade ago. It's remained mostly in its original configuration, although they did install some rock waterbars where the trail lacked grade reversals.
I noticed that the new trail has way more grade reversals than the North Leaf trail, and more short, steep pitches. A nice blend in character from North Leaf to South Leaf. Also a few slaloms between trees that feels like Waterdog. It has the potential to wear in a lot like Resolution has. Remember when they built Resolution we complained you could roll a baby stroller down it? And now look at what we have! The new South Leaf Extension has large roots and rocks near the surface that are likely to become exposed as the tread compacts. I imagine they will go back and do some touch up to the trail as user error starts to indicate where the line isn't sustainable from a flow standpoint.
That was a fun ride. The new trail will break in to be almost as tough as the old South Leaf section. Lots of short steep power moves, and very narrow. The steeps aren't as long as the old South Leaf aka "Sammy Miller" which was built by the PITS moto guys who had a throttle to help them up.
Kudos to Craig Beckman from MROSD for laying out and building such a fine piece of singletrack that fits the character of that side of the preserve. A masterful blend of art and engineering.
I may have a slight adjustment to my plans. I'm thinking I'll park at gate CM08 and start from there at 8am, climb up to Skeggs for the 9am meeting time, and then ride down the Leafs with the group. That way my car is closer to the bottom and I'm more likely to make it to work on time. So I'll be at Skeggs at 9am, but not with my car.
The ride I was planning looks like 5.0 miles to the south end of south leaf, with about 780 feet of climbing and 1400 feet of descending. Return (if on dirt) is about 4.8 miles with 1420 feet of climbing and 450 feet of descending. If I go back on the road, the return is about 4.5 miles with about 1000 feet of climbing. My back will let me know if I can climb out on dirt. I might skip doing South Leaf backwards anyway, just because I don't like pushing my bike up narrow trails against oncoming riders.
Hey, did you know that Google Maps knows where Skeggs Point, Woodside, CA is? And I put a public waypoint at "gate cm08, woodside, ca" incase anyone wants to look it up.
Thanks for catching that. Yes, 5/25 Sunday. Fixed it.
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