UtahMountainBiking.com's
most recent news stories...
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Princess Di Trail. Nice.
The Princess Di trail is a narrow singletrack east of Park City at
Promontory. If you need switchback practice, this is your trail. Fun,
challenging, nice views. 14.5-mile loop includes the paved Three Mile
Canyon, then Princess Di, then 4 miles of the Rail Trail. Read
more... August 2010 |
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South Canyon Trail.
Same trailhead as Princess Di, but not an exciting ride. Six or nine-mile
versions of loop using part of the Rail Trail. Add more miles to Princess
Di, but can't give it much of a recommendation otherwise. Read
more... August 2010 |
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Testing Fit and Function for
Large-group Newby Rides
Taking your scout troop on a cycling activity? Most of your boys will show
up with bikes that have problems. Rarely do their bikes fit their bodies.
Here's a system with a step-by-step process to fit and test a large number
of bikes in the least time. Read more...
August 2010 |
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UMB team member Justin Griffin wins
National Championship
In Granby, Colorado, Justin Griffin won the mountain biking National
Championship for the age 13-14 category. Utah Riders Keegan Swenson and
Noah Talley take 1st and 2nd in the age 15-16 race. Here's the story
according to Justin, with a re-telling from his Dad's point of view.
Read more...
August 2010 |
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ICup Season Winners
Twenty UtahMountainBiking.com team riders got to the season podium in
their categories. UMB won the IMBA trailwork trophy for another year.
Setting another new record for team points earned, the UMB ICup squad
permanently retires the 12-year championship trophy. Read more...
August 2010 |
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Rock the Canyons! ICup season
finale.
The last race of the 2010 Intermountain Cup season was held on a shortened
course at The Canyons on Saturday, August 8. The rain held off until the
afternoon for a fun morning of racing. Read more...
August 2010 |
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Basin Bash XC - the Snowbasin ICup race...
It was already toasty-warm and humid at the 9 am race start, as racers
headed out for a long race at Snowbasin. Tricky rock gardens and tight
turns meant an early end to the race for many riders. Read more...
July 2010 |
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The UtahMountainBiking.com race team
trailwork report...
Our race team does volunteer trail maintenance and construction. For the
2010 Intermountain Cup season, team members combined for over 240 hours of
digging, pruning, rock-hauling, tree cutting, and thistle chopping.
Read
more... July 2010 |
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Mill Canyon... time for an update!
2.5 miles of beautiful new singletrack trail was opened for biking this
spring at the top of Mill Canyon. It may change the way you ride in
American Fork Canyon. I took a new look at the old brutal Mud Springs -
Mill Canyon loop, and I'm changing my ride recommendation. Read
more... July 2010
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State Open Championships at Solitude --
ICup race #11.
The race loop at Solitude has plenty of climbing and a technical downhill.
The mountain gave flat tires and broken chains, and in exchange, accepted
offerings of blood and skin. A great day of racing for the
UtahMountainBiking team. Read more...
July 2010 |
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Snowbird! 23rd Annual Mountain Bout
Report
Crisp temperatures, sunshine, clean mountain air. And gnarly treacherous
trail in a brutal high-altitude race. Who could ask for more? The UMB race
team puts the wheels on the trail at Snowbird. Read more...
July 2010 |
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Red Canyon Rim... The Rim Trail.
This a fun ride along the rim of Red Canyon at Flaming Gorge. Nice
singletrack with some tech sections. 9.6-mile out-and-back, a little
climbing. Great views. Read
more... June 2010 |
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Swett Ranch Loop
This is a "what the hell, I'm in the neighborhood" type of
cruiser ride. Nice scenic views, low-voltage easy riding. Not something
you'd make a special trip for, but a nice mid-ride add-on while doing the
Red Canyon Rim Trail out-and-back. Read
more... June 2010 |
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Dowd Mountain revisited. Nice ride.
After 12 years, I made it back to Dowd Mountain overlooking Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
This time, I got data for a more detailed ride description, GPS tracks,
and a high-res topo map. This 10.5-mile loop is under-used. Read
more... June 2010 |
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Jackson Hole!
On the most technical course of the Intermountain Cup season, the UMB team
speeds over rocks and roots on the beautiful singletrack. Great individual
efforts help the team come away with another win. Read more...
June 2010 |
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Rush "unidirectional,
bicycle-preferred" Trail
One-way singletrack route from the top of Traverse Ridge (upper Clark's
trailhead). About half-completed, with the upper half ready to ride.
Connects to Canyon Hollow at bottom for now. Read more...
June 2010 |
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Sherwood Hills Race Report
The singletrack in the trees of Sherwood Hills had just the right amount
of moisture. The temperatures were pleasant as sunshine played over the
trailside flowers. It was a great day of racing on this fun and
challenging course. Read more...
June 2010 |
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Red Mountain DH: two descents
Expert riders will enjoy these ATV-track routes down a cuesta about 10
miles north of Vernal. Two descent options, approx 5 miles each, 1700
vertical. Option of strenuous XC loop for advanced riders. Read more... June 2010 |
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Deer Valley Pedalfest! Rainy! Cold!
Slippery!
After a cancellation and rescheduling due to torrential rains, the Deer
Valley ICup race was held Wednesday evening 6/16. Laughing hysterically,
the Race Weather Gods sent a cold front to drizzle on the shivering racers
as they waited to brave the slippery singletrack. Read more...
June 2010 |
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Rojo Trail - Fun tech slickrock!
If you've got strong legs and good tech skills, add the Rojo Trail to your
Vernal wish list. Usually done top-to-bottom after a DT climb, I rode it
out-and-back. So while my description follows the "official
route" there's no law says you can't do the fun stuff up AND down.
Read more... June 2010 |
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Dutch Hollow - Updated info with topo
map and track files
Dutch Hollow is a system of trails on the mountainside above Midway. A
downhill-only trail called Barrell has been added since my 2003 review.
Nice Cottontail loop for beginners, narrow tight twisty stuff for
experts. Read more... June 2010 |
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Lapoint trails! Corkscrew and
Racetrack
Just east of Lapoint (about 15 miles northeast of Roosevelt) are two very
nice trails that share a common trailhead. Racetrack is easier, with a
short and medium version. Corkscrew is 9 miles with an excellent twisting
and dipping descent. Read about
Corkscrew... Read
about Racetrack...
June 2010 |
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Flume Trail (Dry Fork)
Wow! What a great trail. I did a 20-mile epic and was hungry for more. The
Flume Trail offers great riding both uphill and down. Beautiful
scenery. A few tech challenges. And a history lesson. This trail makes my
"Must Ride" list! Read more...
June 2010 |
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Slippery When Wet
Another reason to head east to Vernal. With a trailhead at McCoy Flat,
Slippery When Wet is a 6-mile upper-intermediate loop through desert and
rock. The ride can be combined with Retail Sale, and if you do that, you
can also hit More Hoes or Fire Sale on your way to Slippery When
Wet. Read more...
June 2010 |
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Stan Crane Memorial. A great race in
Draper!
The Memorial Day weather was perfect for racing. After three races where
fear of the weather kept racers away, the turnout was huge. The trails
were in great shape and the new course layout was a blast Read more...
May 2010 |
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More Hoes
This is a fun technical singletrack loop near Vernal,
reached via Retail Sale trail at McCoy Flat. Most of trail is
upper-intermediate technical with
some advanced-technical sections. A few short climbs, one big climb to a
mesa with nice views. Read more...
May 2010 |
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Fire Sale Trail
Fire Sale is a 2.5 mile section of nicely technical singletrack that you
can substitute for about 1/2 mile of the Retail Sale loop. The ride I
describe here is 9.2 miles, starting at the McCoy Flats corral west of
Vernal. Read more...
May 2010 |
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Got Milk? And Cookies...
Have the urge for some singletrack, but don't want to work too hard? Go to
the McCoy Flats area near Vernal. Combining the Got Milk trail with And
Cookies gives the Milk and Cookies loop, six miles of unthreatening desert
singletrack. For rank beginners, there's a 3.5 mile loop that adds Combo
to And Cookies! Read more...
May 2010 |
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Hammerfest at the Hollow.
Soldier Hollow ICup race report!
The overnight rain and foothill snow frightened a lot of
racers. But those who showed up were rewarded with a fun, if
slimy, race on the slopes of Soldier Hollow. The UMB team
takes advantage of the low turnout to score a new record for
team points. Read
more... May 2010 |
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Jackalope Trail
This is an 8-mile loop west of Vernal. The clockwise loop climbs from the
McCoy Flat trailhead to a ridgeline that peeks at the farmland around
Vernal. The descent requires a bit of bike-handling skill because of loose
rock, but the overall ride is intermediate. Read more...
May 2010 |
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Sundance Spin. The Mad Dog Team rocks
their own party!
The trails were near-perfect, the weather was beautiful, and it's great to
be in the mountains again. Thanks to Sundance, sponsor Mad Dog, and the
Intermountain Cup Series for an awesome event. The Mad Dogs show some
teeth as they chew up the competition like an old slipper. Read more...
May 2010 |
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Serpendipity
This is a loop that starts on the Jackalope trail, then drops off the
Asphalt Ridge in a twisting plunge. It connects to Retail Sale for the
return to the McCoy Flats corral west of
Vernal. Read more...
May 2010 |
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Five Mile Pass ICup race report
The riders who dared to drive through the sleet and 34-degree temperatures
found that Five Mile Pass was dry and dusty. A bit cool, and with
schizophrenic racetime weather, but a great day. The UtahMountainBiking
team grabs another team victory in the Showdown. Read more...
May 2010 |
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Cholla Challenge race report
While the rest of the state suffered under an Easter snowstorm, the
weather in Warner Valley was perfect for racing. The UMB team celebrated
with a burger fry, an Easter egg hunt for the kids, and a convincing team
win Read more...
April
2010 |
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Intermountain Cup race season is here!
Desert Rampage report.
The 2010 Desert Rampage in St. George saw a huge racer turnout under
pleasant temperatures. The UMB race team fielded 60 riders and struggled
to win over 100 team points. And check out our cool new race jerseys!
Read more... March
2010 |
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Slush-fest Frozen Hog
Saturday February 6.
Lambert Park was blessed with rain and toasty-warm temperatures during the
24 hours before the 2010 Frozen Hog race. The hard-pack singletrack trail
turned soft. Deep and soft. Slippery and soft. Racers got a good calf
workout running alongside their bikes. (Think of it as exercise to improve
your run-up skills.) Even the doubletrack was tough riding. Can we say
2010 was the most brutal ever? Yeah, I think that's a safe assumption. UMB
race team members' results... |
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Final race of the Cyclocross season
In a snowy cold day at Fort Bueneventura, the UtahMountainBiking.com race
team slips and slides its way through the final race of the 2009 CX
season, finishing in 7th place. Read more...
December 2009 |
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Flintstone DH Trail
This is an expert mile down the northeast corner of Lake Mountain, with
man-made stunts and some pretty hairy natural rock drops. 4.7 mile loop
ride from Eagle Mountain's bike park. For experts only. Read more...
December 2009 |
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Cyclocross race 10 at Draper's Equestrian Center
Next to last race of the season. The weather is cold, with frozen ruts
down near the pond, but it was a great day to race. The UMB team gets some
good placements. Read more...
November 2009 |
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Mountain Ranch Bike Park
With a large skills area, pump track, jump line, and DH trails with
man-made stunts, Eagle Mountain's bike park is the biggest and best I've
seen in Utah. Even riders in Salt Lake valley will find it's
surprisingly fast to get there via Redwood Road. Read more...
December 2009 |
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2010 Frozen Hog registration is now
open!
UtahMountainBiking.com is pleased to announce that Bike Peddler (of
American Fork) will be the managing sponsor of the Frozen Hog. The race is
set for 9 am, Saturday February 6, with staging at the Bowery Pavilion in
Alpine's Lambert Park. Posted November 2009. Go
to FrozenHog.com |
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Double-Cross weekend at Wasatch and Wheeler...
The weather wasn't as bad as predicted, so the UMB Cross Team had a great
time racing Saturday in Heber at the Wasatch fairgrounds and in Salt Lake
at Wheeler Farm on Sunday. Our new CX team is in 7th place for the season.
Read more...
November 2009 |
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Frozen Hog 2010 will be Saturday February 6!
UtahMountainBiking.com is pleased to announce that Bike Peddler (of
American Fork) will be the managing sponsor of the Frozen Hog. The race is
set for 9 am, Saturday February 6. Preliminary
information... Posted
November 2009 |
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Germania Dirt Trail
This little dirt loop is (as far as I know) the only official dirt
singletrack on the floor of Salt Lake Valley. It's brand new. So what's it
good for? Winter riding. Family rides. Beginners. Cyclocross practice. The
trail is accessed from the Jordan River Parkway in Murray. Read more...
November 2009 |
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CX #7 at the Weber County Fairgrounds!
The UMB Cross Team hits the Weber course and despite a few flat tires,
manages to move up in the standings to 7th place for the season. Read more...
November 2009 |
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UtahMountainBiking is Mountain
Bike Team of the Year!
In a repeat performance, UtahMountainBiking has been named
Mountain Bike Team of the Year by Cycling
Utah magazine, in recognition of our trail work and
domination of the Intermountain Cup competition. November 2009 |
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25 hours of Frog Hollow
UMB team members Joel Quinn and Jake Weber were part of
this race. Joel's team took 1st place in the corporate
category. Jake Weber files the report. Read
more... November 2009 |
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UMB Race Team
news... |
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Trail review news... |
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2009 news stories... |
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2008 news stories... |
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Specials at the
UMB store...
Got some
news that belongs on this page?
Contact Bruce!
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