Singletrack Diva

We may have to dub Lori the Singletrack Diva. Two weeks in a row she volunteered to lead a singletrack ride on the Hillside. Last night's ride was not as long or as adventurous or as calamitous as the previous Wednesday ride. No one's bike broke, no body parts broke, no accessories broke as we pedaled around the STA trails again. The rain did start falling in the latter half of the ride.

We were treated to that phenomena that so many of us on the east side are familiar with - rain drops falling as the sun breaks through under the clouds from the west. We made it back to the parking lot in a down pour at 9:00.

singletrack & bad derailleurs on the hillside (w/ pix)

see the derailleur at the bottom of the wheel,

instead of the center?

Lori and Gloria had an aggressive singletrack route mapped out for our Wednesday ride. From Campbell Airstrip trailhead, they led us up Black Bear. Lori claimed this was the shortest route (other than the closed Rover's Run) to reach the STA trails by Hilltop. The first derailleur literally bit the dust on the lower portion of Black Bear when Bev's popped off. We helped her loop her chain around her pump to hold everything up for the long walk back to the trailhead. (Thanks, Anne and Wendy, for assisting her out).

Bev is still smiling, even though we've wrapped her chain

around her pump to keep the deraileur from dragging

as she walks back to the trailhead.

Maggi already knew that her derailleur had been bent but hoped to make it through the ride. Somewhere on the Queen Bee Loop, with a slipping seat and grinding gears, she realized the bike wasn't going to make it easy. The rest of us pushed on; and that did mean pushing the bike up and over some rooty and/or steep sections on the climb toward Prospect Heights.

With the various delays, the evening was getting late and the sun low. Lori and Gloria conceded a little bit of their plan and when we reached the Gasline, we headed down the Red trail instead of continuing up and around on the Blue. Jo-Ann said she did all the rock obstacles (but not the half log bridge). We reached the Hilltop parking lot at 9:30. Jo-Ann and I headed home on the street and the other five Divas pedaled back to Black Bear to descend to Campbell Airstrip.

Thanks, Lori and Gloria, for a challenging and fun ride!

will climb for brownies

Maggi serves Wendy's special brownies to Junior Diva Graylin

If the ride starts at Jodhpur trailhead, you have to expect to ride some hills. And we did. Without touching the Lekisch trails, we hit all the Kincaid Hills* on the Wednesday ride. The only thing that kept some of us going were two plates of fudgy brownies that Wendy made that were sitting back in my car. The siren call of those brownies, however, tempted us to drop Horseshoe Loop as a cool down and we finished off the Jodhpur Loop and hit the tailgate.

A few pedaled all the way to the top of Stairway to Heaven - here's Maggi doing it

and Bonnie worked it out, too

Katherine on the Hairpin

Thanks for the brownies, Wendy!

* so dubbed in Mountain Bike Anchorage, the best bike guide to the big city

shout out to Singletrack Advocates

Another happy face on the STA singletrack trails on Hillside.

Every time I ride the trails that Singletrack Advocates (STA) built near Hilltop, I can't believe I'm riding such quality singletrack less than 2 miles from my house.

A few Divas met on Friday morning to ride the STA trails. Lori said "Wow, was that ever a fun ride! Thanks Glo and Bev for showing Dawn and me the way. What a treasure to have this group of trails right in our own backyard, I feel so proud that we were able to contribute to it being built!"

I rode the trails with my husband today. He said it was like being on a ride at Disneyland, with the banked switchbacks and the short steep downhills that provide almost enough momentum to get up the next little hill.

If you haven't ridden the STA trails yet, what are you waiting for? Divas' next Wednesday ride will be there on August 26th, and watch the email list for other pick-up rides there. But don't wait -- go ride them and see for yourself what great singletrack is.

If you want more singletrack like these trails, there are 3 ways to get it:

1. Pay your Divas dues so we can make a club contribution to STA. Alaska Dirt Divas did contribute to STA to help build these great trails last year.

2. Join Singletrack Advocates .

3. Go to a Parks and Rec Commission meeting this Thursday, August 13th, at 6:00 at the Spenard Rec Center (2020 W. 48th Avenue) to say that you support the construction of more singletrack trails on the Hillside. These trails are not only great fun for biking but also for hiking and snowshoeing.

Powerline Nirvana

One of my favorite rides in the Anchorage area is Powerline Pass, so I was excited that a few Divas wanted to ride it the Friday before our scheduled Wednesday night Divas ride.

Six of us met at Glen Alps on Friday morning. The wind was sharper here than at our homes down below. We pulled on bright wind breakers and pedaled out of the parking lot before a dozen cars had shown up.

Stacey & Wendy take a break on the way up the pass.

Lori provides some color to a grayish day.

We paused for photos at the lake.

Lori conquers the big rock.

On Wednesday, eighteen Divas pedaled up the trail. A few rode all the way back down to Hillside at the end.

on the trail by the lake

Another group photo at the lake.

Another man wants to be photographed with Divas!

Jamie on the rock with the most fabulous lighting

fun and rooty

Veronica descends through the birch on Speedway

Lori and Jo-Ann co-led the first ride of July and decided to split the large group into two and to lead very different rides. In the introduction to the ride, Lori described the ride she was going to lead as fun and the one that Jo-Ann would lead as rooty. I think that both rides lived up to the adjectives, and I'd say that some of us even thought that Jo-Ann's course was rooty and fun.

When Jo-Ann outlined the route she was intending to take -- the dog mushing trails between the Campbell Airstrip and the road -- she happened to mention Speedway. A couple of us were curious and asked her to take us on that first. She warned us of the extreme rootiness of it, but we said we could always walk if it was that bad. Yeah, we did some walking. But the riding parts were great fun and the dog-mushing trails didn't seem very rooty after Speedway.

a train of Divas at the firebreak on Speedway

riding out of town

Bev on Resurrection Trail, August 2007

Divas escaped the big city this last week and pedaled beyond the city proper ...

Six of us started the week with a ride on Crescent Lake trail on the Kenai. Despite a few sprinkles here in Anchorage and over Turnagain Pass, we were dry on the trail. A little wipe with mosquito dope kept the bugs at bay as we pedaled through forests, along a canyon, and through mountain meadows.

Jo-Ann suggested a few years ago that Russian Lakes is the easiest of the Kenai rides, but I'd vote for Crescent Lake trail. For those wanting to get some backcountry singletrack on their odometers, I'd recommend this trail. It's only 6.5 miles to the end and it's an out-and-back, so it can be scaled to individual rider's ability and comfort level. Most of the trail is a smooth riding surface of dirt and spruce needles at a steady, manageable grade. Short portions are rooty and rocky and/or steep, and the canyon section can seem precipitous to those of us fearing heights. But overall, this is as easy as riding the Hillside singletrack trails. Our total riding time was just over 2 hours for 13 miles.

Despite the short distance and time, this ride was a good reminder to have tools and first aid along on any ride (cue Jamie to jump in now with some commentary!). Bonnie's chain broke about 4 miles up the trail. She and Jena installed a QuickLinks and she was able to finish the ride. Terrie isn't sure what happened, but near the end of the ride she did an end-oh over a large rock buried in the trail. Gloria had baby wipes for clean up and antibiotic cream for immediate healing. Terrie reports no major damage and she's done a great job covering up her black eye with makeup. She will be buying a new helmet ASAP, right, Terrie?

On Wednesday, 23 of us met in Chugiak/Birchwood to ride the Beach Lake Trails. Thanks to Terrie and Mary for taking two groups around the various loops (all hilly!). A little rain hardened all those sandy, loamy spots that usually suck the power out of a hill climb. As Terrie said, the "bugs were hungry" on the trails but almost absent from the parking lot where we enjoyed hot & cold tea, homemade cereal bars, cookies, and strawberries after the ride.

If anyone has pictures from either of these rides, please send to me and/or upload to the yahoo site so I can put a current photo with this post. Thanks!