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Roger's pages were a great asset to the internet. They have dissapeared, and I don't know why. Does anyone reading this know Roger McGehee? The pages were retrieved from the Wayback Machine and archived at single-serving.com due to their popularity.
Buy Mountain Biking Northern California (Falcon Guide)
Roger, the author of all these pages, wrote a great book on California. Buy it here at amazon.com.
I am an older (60), strong, intermediate rider who loves to ride on singletracks, especially those that pass through natural areas, are scenic, are narrow, and are technically challenging. But I prefer -- and recommend -- trails that do not pound me to death and where I do not have to push or carry my bike more than 25% of the time. So on a technical scale of 1-5, I probably prefer trails which are about a 3+. I can get my bike over rocks and logs up to about 5 inches high, and can ride down drop-offs up to about 10 inches. As long as I have good traction, I can ride down quite steeply, but hate to ride steeply down (or up) on loose rocks.
These descriptions are not meant to be used alone. You should obtain a good map of the region when you arrive. Often trail guides will be available at bike shops. I am providing these recommendations because I have ridden these trails and have liked them and hope that you will like them too!
As far as I know, all of the following singletracks are legal, although some are closed seasonally. I encourage people to ride only on legal singletracks while pushing to get more singletracks open to us. The International Mountain Biking Association IMBA and local bike trail councils are working hard to open as many singletracks as possible. Please support these groups. In Marin County, contact the Bicycle Trails Council Of Marin . Here is a LETTER that I wrote to local land managers asking for them to consider opening more singletracks to mountain bikers and a LETTER to managers of Wilderness Areas asking them to open their trails to mountain bikers. You are invited to copy the letters and to add your signature of support and other comments, if you wish.
I also encourage riders to ride in such a way so as to avoid scaring hikers and horses (and other bikers). This usually means anticipating the possible presence of other users "just around the corner". I try to visualize a very large horse with a very large person on top -- ready to beat the crap out of me if I spook the horse -- around every corner. That tends to slow me down a LOT! I don't think that there is anything wrong with going fast, as long as it is not in someone's face... You are welcome to read my SUGGESTIONS for minimizing trail conflicts between various trail users.
Even though the impact of mountain bikes on singletrack trails has been shown to be less than that of horses, it can become significant if enough bikes are using the trails, or if people are riding poorly. (Allowing one's tires to slide appears to cause the majority of impact!) Please read my SUGGESTIONS for minimizing trail impact.
I have written a pamphlet entitled "A GUIDE TO SINGLETRACK TECHNIQUES, LOW-IMPACT RIDING, AND LOW-CONFLICT RIDING" for land managers, mountain biking clubs, and bike shops. You are welcome to use all or any part of it, and change it in any way that will better fit your needs.
And one more thing...I was having breakfast in a small Sierra Nevada community when the owner complained that business had been slow during the summer. I assured her that 400 mountain bikers would be showing up in a few weeks for a race. She replied that "all mountain bikers do here is eat bananas and pee in my back yard". Please spread your hard-earned money around a bit. If communities see that mountain bikers are an economic asset they will exert influence to get trails built or to open up local trails for mountain bikers. (Economic incentive works...) THANKS!
I hope to be adding LOTS of trails to this list regularly! Please check back later...
It may be helpful for you to know that, even though I have evaluated trails throughout California, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado, I live in Marin County, north of San Francisco, in California.
HAVE FUN!
Hints For Beginning Singletrackers
Minimizing Trail Conflicts On Singletrack Trails
Minimizing Trail Impact On Singletrack Trails
I have just written a book on all the significant singletracks in Northern California, which is presently available in most large bookstores -- on-line as well as in the stores. It is also available at R.E.I. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to have made it into many bike shops... It stresses low-impact and low-conflict riding, and all proceeds will be donated to IMBA. It includes maps and elevation graphs in addition to trail descriptions. I will keep the original manuscript on-line, but please realize that it has not been professionally proof-read and edited as has the book. Nor does it include the maps, elevation graphs, and pictures that are included in the book. A section entitled "Additional Rides" is included here to cover rides that were not included in the book or that have been researched after the manuscript was sent in. I will continue to update this section as I find more trails.
And FINALLY, if you do a ride and enjoy it, please let the land manager know that you did enjoy it and that the existence of singletrack trails is important to you!