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Sunday 5/25 9am: ECdM/Skeggs Leaf Trail Ride

6K views 43 replies 23 participants last post by  audi0phile 
#1 · (Edited)
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.

Patty
 

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#27 ·
Redpine88 said:
Anyone know what happened to Skyline35?
I'm sorry, John. That was a communication break-down at my end. I was over with Plim and his co-worker Erik. Erik had left his riding shoes at home. Plim and I were persuading him to ride anyway while you guys were gathering, and eventually rolled-out. Erik did give it a go, and the three of us nice easy ride.

We did hit the Disneyland by-pass. I was impressed with the new trail - very fun!

///Charlie
 
#28 ·
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.

Patty
 
#30 ·
We rode from Swett Road, and did South Leaf, Virginia Mill, Lawrence Creek, Blue Blossom, Springboard, Crosscut, Timberview, Manzanita, Fir, down Resolution, then ECdM. I broke a spoke going down Resolution, so we skipped North Leaf, but otherwise it was a great ride.
 
#31 · (Edited)
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? :)
 
#32 ·
ForbiddenBeat said:
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.

Long live narrow hand-built singletrack trails!

Patty
 
#34 ·
knobbyknees said:
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.
Ok, good to know :). Thanks.
 
#35 ·
knobbyknees said:
...the new trail ...has the potential to wear in a lot like Resolution has. ...The new South Leaf Extension has large roots and rocks near the surface that are likely to become exposed as the tread compacts.
Thanks Patty for sharing the knowledge. It's good to know. I should go back there more to enjoy the smooth trail before it becomes too rough. We rode the new connector the first time today. Right after the tough South Leaf single track, it came as a very pleasant surprise to be able to just ride without having to get off. I loved it. I hope my skills will progress as the trail transforms so it is stays a smooth ride.:)
 
#36 ·
"Do people actually ride this?"

knobbyknees said:
I think generally the consensus is that South Leaf is the most technical legal singletrack on the Peninsula/South Bay........
I didn't wake up early enough to join the morning ride, but Tammy and I made it out there in the afternoon and decided to trace the route you guys suggested. We went all the way to the bottom to attempt North and South Leaf. North Leaf was loads of fun but once we got to South Leaf both thought, "DAMN! We suck! Do people actually ride this thing (both ways)??????" Your opinion reassured us that we still suck, but not as bad as we thought we were ;)

The new trail was awesome! But we also wondered how long it will remain that way before it gets washed out.

We made a wrong turn at the end while trying to find a way out and the climb out was quite brutal because we were so pumped out by then, but in all we had a wonderful time.

PEDAL POWER! RAH RAH RAH!

And now for a gratuituous goof-off-at-Skeggs pic....

 
#37 ·
I love south leaf, its one of the best trails in the park. I don't think I've ridden it "backwards", but upon reading this thread, its on my short to-do list. Let's do it.

We'll also be trying to climb up the creek backwards (drop down, heading east from the lower gates, back up towards skeggs pt). That's a significant challenge.

Rode Oat Hill mine yesterday with backpedal, Audi0 and wd, so I'm extra stoked to do short, horrifically technical climbs that make people get scrunchy face.
 
#38 ·
You want it . . .

You call it. Take just a tiny smidgen of your enthusiasm for purple spokes and tuxedo'd Sterlings, and start a thread. :D

PS. I'd also be happy to save gas and take Caltrain to Waterdog this weekend.
 
#39 ·
Nice avatar...lemme guess, found after a google image search for "bowtie dork?"

Anyhoo, I'm planning a leisurely ride at Skeggs on Saturday with my friend Geoff. Late start time though (12:00).
 
#40 ·
Sterling and I are on good terms these days. We rocked Oat Hill on Monday, and he's improving on the candor and quality of his snaps, so I'm easing off a bit. Eron, however - man that guy is a ball breaker. He's fast too so you can't really get back much at him. I have a way, though.

Ill call something up soon.
 
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