Saturday June 5th looks like a pretty busy day for mountain bikers. On the west side there is the MS fund raising ride sponsored by BBTC. It looks like it should have a lot of riders. At the same time Leavenworth has its annual Bike and Brew race up Freund Canyon. They claim its an 1800 foot elevation gain. I think it might be a little less. Still if you run sport class its two loops and over 3000 feet. Round and Round is putting on the WIMS race in Cle Elum also on Saturday. I am guessing this course will be fairly flat along the lowest point of the Cle Elum ridge. Is anyone doing any one of these events?
This forum has gotten kind of quiet since Josh got booted off.

Is anyone doing any one of these events?

Planning on being at Leavenworth again.

Planning on being at Leavenworth again.

Are you going to be running it with your single speed? The grade is pretty steady so it might be decent for the right gear. I didnt beat too many people at the Boneshaker but I saw a couple of single speeds there. I think I finished 13 out of 13 finishers in my group. I think there were a couple who didnt finish so maybe I beat them? I am sure it was the bike that led to the lousy showing. :o

Are you going to be running it with your single speed?
Did it on the SS last year, 36x20, and somehow managed to come in third in the Sport Vets. Hopefully it'll be just a bit cooler this year during the race.

I ran third last year in my division, but third also happened to be last place also. I was in second until the down hill, my old rigid frame is not something you want to go down hill fast on. There is one spot on the downhill where I think the whole bike lifted off the ground. My son was the third fastest of all riders in sport. I am taking my FS unfortunately the Giant VT is the Buick of mountain bikes. I am thinking of running the loop today-maybe I can get under an hour.

I'll be racing the cle elum WIM in the sport 19-29 class. It's a bummer that there's 3 XC races in one day.

I was in second until the down hill, my old rigid frame is not something you want to go down hill fast on.
Oh, I don't know ... the SS I ride is full rigid. Just need the biggest front tire you can find at the lowest air pressure you can get away with.

I was at the 24 hours in the Old Pueblo and maybe it was becasue of the distance but all the SS bikes had forks that I saw. That course is a bit rocky. The loop around Freund Canyon is a bit overgrown right now. Two loops in about 2:20 in a bit of mud. Even a long travel fork cant keep you from flipping. I went over the bars on one of the water breaks, first time on that course.

I will be in the Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee area the week of June 7. Are there any good xc trails in that area? I will have my family with me so if there are some easier ones that would be great. If you could post some web links for me to take a peek at I would appreciate that. Thanks in advance.

Mark

Go to Das Radhaus in Leavenworth, thats the local bike shop, its behind Mcdonalds. They can help with information on some of the easier stuff. In Wenatchee they have a river trail that is popular with families. West of Leavenworth there is also a fairly level, easy trail running on a gravel road, the Wenatchee River Trail. Go 10 miles west of Leavenworth past the Tumwater campground. Turn right at FS7906 and then turn immediately left on FS 175 and park. You can bike up this trail about 4.5 miles. It runs along the river. The real classic mountain bike ride is looping Devils Gulch up and down Mission Ridge. That trail is listed here at MTBR.

Go to Das Radhaus in Leavenworth, thats the local bike shop, its behind Mcdonalds. They can help with information on some of the easier stuff. In Wenatchee they have a river trail that is popular with families. West of Leavenworth there is also a fairly level, easy trail running on a gravel road, the Wenatchee River Trail. Go 10 miles west of Leavenworth past the Tumwater campground. Turn right at FS7906 and then turn immediately left on FS 175 and park. You can bike up this trail about 4.5 miles. It runs along the river. The real classic mountain bike ride is looping Devils Gulch up and down Mission Ridge. That trail is listed here at MTBR.


Thanks, I'll check it out. I am also interested in the race course that will be run on Sat. 6/5. Is the course open for riding after the race? I race sport level, old man category ,(40-49) here in Idaho but I can't get to Leavenworth until the 7th. Thanks in advance.

Mark

The race course is Freund Canyon, which is a misnomer because you pretty much go straight up a hill for 4.3 miles at about an 8% grade. You then go down for four miles. The fun part or maybe the bad part is the water bars, take one too fast and you wont be coming down on your bike. To get there take the road out of Leavenworth to Plain, dont know the name but it swings past the high school. After a couple of miles you will see a sign for Freund Canyon. Turn left onto a dirt road. It will look like you are on a private drive, go past the houses and the mini saw mill a fairly short distance. There is no parking lot. People just park on the side of the road. A lot of people park where the trail sign is. The direction of the loop is counter clockwise. You will come down the trail where its marked Freund Canyon Trail. Start your ride on the fs road by the sign. Continue up the road for 1.25 miles or less depending where you parked. The road then turns to single track You will go up another mile or a bit further, when the trail forks at what kind of looks like your near the top, take the right fork and continue on another two miles. At about 4.6 miles there is another fork, stay to the right and go down the hill. If you parked where the sign said Freund Canyon you will come out to where your car is. . If your in the old man category that puts me in the old, old man category. If you run sport you probably wont have much of a problem with the Freund Canyon Loop. The sport class runs it two times. My son who is fairly young clocked it in 43 minutes per lap. Experts run it in 39.. I would be extremely happy to go under an hour.

The race course is Freund Canyon, which is a misnomer because you pretty much go straight up a hill for 4.3 miles at about an 8% grade. You then go down for four miles. The fun part or maybe the bad part is the water bars, take one too fast and you wont be coming down on your bike. To get there take the road out of Leavenworth to Plain, dont know the name but it swings past the high school. After a couple of miles you will see a sign for Freund Canyon. Turn left onto a dirt road. It will look like you are on a private drive, go past the houses and the mini saw mill a fairly short distance. There is no parking lot. People just park on the side of the road. A lot of people park where the trail sign is. The direction of the loop is counter clockwise. You will come down the trail where its marked Freund Canyon Trail. Start your ride on the fs road by the sign. Continue up the road for 1.25 miles or less depending where you parked. The road then turns to single track You will go up another mile or a bit further, when the trail forks at what kind of looks like your near the top, take the right fork and continue on another two miles. At about 4.6 miles there is another fork, stay to the right and go down the hill. If you parked where the sign said Freund Canyon you will come out to where your car is. . If your in the old man category that puts me in the old, old man category. If you run sport you probably wont have much of a problem with the Freund Canyon Loop. The sport class runs it two times. My son who is fairly young clocked it in 43 minutes per lap. Experts run it in 39.. I would be extremely happy to go under an hour.



Thank you very much for the info. We will go try that one as well.

Mark

Anybody else except me and JRA for the Bike and Brew. I am hoping a few riders show up. At the Winthrop race I was planning on kicking ass and taking names, but I think the only name that got taken down was mine-for last place in my flight. Anyway its a great race, after the race they have the beer garden and you can contemplate your training leading to either your great race or not so great race.

This forum has gotten kind of quiet since Josh got booted off.

Booted? Can you tell what for? Washington forum is QUIET....

Josh was over in the downhill forum when things got out of hand over a fork overhaul that was apparently botched. So the moderator kicked him off after the discussion got out of hand. We could use him back over here anyway.

[QUOTE=borregokid]The race course is Freund Canyon, which is a misnomer because you pretty much go straight up a hill for 4.3 miles at about an 8% grade.


Borregokid,

Thanks for the great info. We rode the course and loved it. The climb actually wasn't too bad and the downhill run was a blast! :D My wife and 14yo son went and while we didn't break any speed records on the way up, we enjoyed the views and had great weather to ride. The next day we did Devils Gulch with a descent down Mission ridge. Awesome riding! My wife and son weren't too pleased with the creek crossings, I just reminded them how great it was to be outside and not working or going to school and they smiled. That ride was a little long for them but they were happy when we finished up. Thank you for the input. Happy trails

Mark

Lots of great riding in the Leavenworth area. A lot of it might not be open yet. Try to pick up Mountain Bike! Northwest Washington by John Zilly. Look for the Lake Wenatchee rides.

I know Lower Chiwawa is open. It is roller coster singletrack stuff...lots of fun.

Edit - Just realized my response was too late...hope you had fun!