August 14, 2004

Experts

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Went out to Hollister Hills today with the neighbor kids.  I haven't been to HH in about 9 years and it will probably be that long before I go again. 

Back in January I was invited to the Dirt Rider 24 hour off-road test at Hungry Valley SVRA, complements of the Blue Ribbon Coalition.  I got to ride a couple of the test bikes around the "torture test" course that Dirt Rider had laid out.  Unfortunately the only torture the course inflicted was of the mental nature. I could have driven a jeep around most of the trails in Hungry Valley and a quad on the "expert" trails.  What I saw at Hungry Valley and again today at HH were roads masquerading as trails.  I think it is a real shame that this is what young riders are being taught are trails. 

I realize that HH provides a wonderful environment for new riders to hone their skills on relatively easy terrain and I am thankful that the State has provided this type of recreation opportunity. We need more SVRAs to accommodate our increasingly popular sport.  I was both surprised and pleased to see how many young kids on mini-bikes there were riding around the camping areas and mini-bike tracks. 

Interestingly, the "trails" were relatively empty.  We took the kids, who were riding a 50 and 70, around a blue square loop to the top of the park.  Later Dwight and I ventured out on the road network and eventually found Peat's Path.  It is shown on the HH map as a black diamond route.  It was built with a trail machine and was wide enough that quads could traverse it.  As I was riding it I started to write today blog entry. Usually it is not good to try to think and ride at the same time but this trail was so easy that I found myself catching up to and eating the dust of my riding partner.

Where is all this leading?  As I was riding Peats I reflected on all of the HH "experts" I have ridden with at Clear Creek. They are easy to identify - no hand guard or skid plates but a lot of mouth and pretty looking bikes.  I remember one HH expert who threw in the towel before we even left the Club property - said that we were crazy to ride in all those rocks..  Another got so frustrated from crashing that he started to throw large rocks at his Honda. 

CC can be very humbling to some people, especially HH experts.  Thus we should encourage the BLM to rethink their trail signing.  I propose that all SVRA type trails start with an R and that improved roads have a green circle, the 4WD roads have a blue square and Jeep roads have a black diamond.  That way HH experts will feel right at home in Clear Creek.  Of course we will have to warn them to avoid any route starting with a 'T'!