Opens Tomorrow

[TRIBE]

Hope my old legs can still make it up those hills.

:cool:

[gopherhockey]

I can't wait to ride it and see what all the hype is about... ;)


Will be fun to check out our new section of singletrack as well...

[Crash]

Any one ride out there today? For some reason I had it in my head that it didn't open until the 15th.

It is always humbling to find out how out-of-shape I am and depressing to realize the Fat Tire 40 is just around the corner......

[socrates]

Originally posted by Crash
Any one ride out there today? For some reason I had it in my head that it didn't open until the 15th.

It is always humbling to find out how out-of-shape I am and depressing to realize the Fat Tire 40 is just around the corner......

Gosh I had forgotten it opened today...guess I won't be riding Leb tonight...I'll have to check Murphy out since I live right there

[TRIBE]

Road at MH today!:banana:

Always a good test for my lungs. Hope no one is expecting a technical trail... its like LH before all the trail work, but a great roller coaster ride.

Had the trail all to myself.

Its a bit sandy in spots. The big climb is worn towards the top from vehicles (120 feet change in altitude and 16% grade according to my computer). Its easy to see why this trail remains closed until August.

Happy riding.:crazy:

[Crash]

Originally posted by TRIBE
120 feet change in altitude and 16% grade according to my computer

120 feet:mad:

Now that is REALLY depressing.

I agree, Murphy is not technically challanging in the least (aside from watching out for rutted erosion on the trail), but it always motivates me to get in better shape.

[socrates]

Originally posted by Crash
120 feet:mad:

Now that is REALLY depressing.

I agree, Murphy is not technically challanging in the least (aside from watching out for rutted erosion on the trail), but it always motivates me to get in better shape.

Oh my gosh is all I can say...rode it Friday night.....I'll agree it's a good work out...but that's about it

[BrightYellow]

Rode Murphy yesterday and indeed it is a workout, those hills are monsters! Make sure you keep up your momentum.

It reminds me of the old Lebanon in that there is not a single technically challenging piece on the whole trail. Unless you call climbing a 16%(?) grade with loose dirt technical. The little piece of singletrack was pretty cool... now, if it was only 10 miles longer!

Got stung in the freakin' eyebrow by a bee there too. The other guy I was riding with got stung in the leg. Damn.

[socrates]

Originally posted by BrightYellow
Rode Murphy yesterday and indeed it is a workout, those hills are monsters! Make sure you keep up your momentum.

It reminds me of the old Lebanon in that there is not a single technically challenging piece on the whole trail. Unless you call climbing a 16%(?) grade with loose dirt technical. The little piece of singletrack was pretty cool... now, if it was only 10 miles longer!

Got stung in the freakin' eyebrow by a bee there too. The other guy I was riding with got stung in the leg. Damn.

I don't wanna start us down the wrong path or anything but I don't see what all the fuss was about a few weeks ago...besides the hills the trail doesn't have too much to offer (In My Own Opinion)

[gopherhockey]

Originally posted by socrates
I don't wanna start us down the wrong path or anything but I don't see what all the fuss was about a few weeks ago...besides the hills the trail doesn't have too much to offer (In My Own Opinion)

I'm pretty sure that 99% of all riders don't care too much about that type of trail. There are just those select few that seem to need it to train or something. They all seem pretty vocal and upset at whats happened at Lebanon as well... by far a HUGE minority of riders though.

I think if we can keep those trails there and build new singletrack as well, we'll keep people happy. They can have their 3 months of rocky road riding and we can have our new singletrack ;)

I don't want to get anyone upset or anything.. but I was thinking to myself if maybe some of the people that like that kind of trail aren't skilled at obstacles (log piles, rock gardens etc.) but probably are very good at climbing. I don't mean to pick on that - everyone has their strengths... but, I remember one guy upset that Lebanon changed, then also mentioned he couldn't ride half the stuff here.

Anyway... I haven't been to Murphy yet and probably won't be in a big rush to do my one ride a year there.... I am eager to see the new stuff though.

[Crash]

Originally posted by gopherhockey
I think if we can keep those trails there and build new singletrack as well, we'll keep people happy. They can have their 3 months of rocky road riding and we can have our new singletrack

Rode there yesterday with Bright Yellow and I just don't see how Murphy, in its current state, is sustainable. All the ruts from last fall were gone - they are now covered up with a bunch of C5 (i.e. gravel). I wonder how much work that took? I'll be interested to see what kind of shape it is in by the end of the short riding season.

Great work on that new piece of singletrack. Keep up the good work :banana: :banana: :banana:

[socrates]

Originally posted by gopherhockey
I'm pretty sure that 99% of all riders don't care too much about that type of trail. There are just those select few that seem to need it to train or something. They all seem pretty vocal and upset at whats happened at Lebanon as well... by far a HUGE minority of riders though.

I think if we can keep those trails there and build new singletrack as well, we'll keep people happy. They can have their 3 months of rocky road riding and we can have our new singletrack ;)

I don't want to get anyone upset or anything.. but I was thinking to myself if maybe some of the people that like that kind of trail aren't skilled at obstacles (log piles, rock gardens etc.) but probably are very good at climbing. I don't mean to pick on that - everyone has their strengths... but, I remember one guy upset that Lebanon changed, then also mentioned he couldn't ride half the stuff here.

Anyway... I haven't been to Murphy yet and probably won't be in a big rush to do my one ride a year there.... I am eager to see the new stuff though.

But train for what...there's enough hills around here (not to far from Murphy) that have hills to ride up and down...look at 13, 18 or 42...

[SilverAthlon]

Or 160th on the west side of cedar for that matter, geez!

[TRIBE]

Wow, seems like folks are a little sensative about this trail.... feels like the roadie/mountain bike thing.... sure you can climb a hill, but can you do a wheelie on the teetertotter.... get over it, its a bike... have fun.

Peace brothers.

[socrates]

Originally posted by TRIBE
Wow, seems like folks are a little sensative about this trail.... feels like the roadie/mountain bike thing.... sure you can climb a hill, but can you do a wheelie on the teetertotter.... get over it, its a bike... have fun.

Peace brothers.

Tom,

Just to give you some background....there are a few people that believe the trail should be left alone....completely.....not even repairing the damage each year as they feel it isn't damage...then there's the majority of us that feel a single track would be better...but I'm sure 100% of us agree it's a bike...have fun

[TRIBE]

Originally posted by socrates
Tom,

Just to give you some background....there are a few people that believe the trail should be left alone....completely.....not even repairing the damage each year as they feel it isn't damage...then there's the majority of us that feel a single track would be better...but I'm sure 100% of us agree it's a bike...have fun

I didn't realize, thanks... I guess I should have, one of my riding buddies hates what's happened to LH (he misses the downhills).

[aarond]

I could not listen to all of this murphey bashing without putting a good word in!

Murphy is my favorite trail in town because you can ride it so fast! It has a smooth roller coaster flow that is unduplicated at any other trail around here. If you don't think that it is challenging enough, ride faster. Better yet, bring a single speed out there! There is no other trail around that has such magnificent climbs. I admit, I prefer single track trails to murphy's double wide action, but the other fine features just can't be beat.

I like to ride over funky obstacles sometimes too, and I really enjoy the farm in chaska for that, but it is not a very good workout. It seems like mountain biking is taking that direction. More show off with your buddies type stuff, and less challenging hill climbing lovin'. Are all the cross country riders gone?

[socrates]

Originally posted by aarond
I like to ride over funky obstacles sometimes too, and I really enjoy the farm in chaska for that, but it is not a very good workout. It seems like mountain biking is taking that direction. More show off with your buddies type stuff, and less challenging hill climbing lovin'. Are all the cross country riders gone?

I hate to say this but with all the climbs at the farm it's actually a really good workout...and I too enjoy cross country rides however with all the crushed stone and stuff I prefer the river bottoms over it (but my favorite is still leb hills)

[Dr. Guitar]

I wouldn't call Murphy a good cross country trail, but then again, I wouldn't bash it. What we have going in the metro is a very good variety of trails. Murphy is the best for speed. Hands down. It really works my heart, and lungs. But I like to keep it mixed up. Elm Creek is probably the best for an unrelentless singletrack. Leb for real technical stuff.

But if you want great ballence.. Battle creek. That's what I think when I think cross country.

Murphy is deffinatly the trail to go to if you want to get yourself winded, at more than one place on the trail. It's a nice change to blast your way around a trail.

[JayT]

Elm Creek is probably the best for an unrelentless singletrack.

I'm a little puzzled. Elm Creek does have a section of turf trail open to mountain biking, but I wouldn't discribe it as singletrack.

Also, If anybody is heading to Elm Creek beware of the construction projects going on there. Parts of the mountain bike trail are closed because of construction around the visitor center. The main park entrance is closed for (park) road construction. It's now detoured to a tempoary entrance.

The tempoary entrance is located off Zachery Ln north of 101st Ave on the east side of the park.

[noise_is_life]

I think he meant Elk River, I always verbally mix those up too.

[SickBoy]

ok, fresh off of a Colorado riding trip, I have to add my two cents in at this point.

First of all I'll say that I like both types of trails - technical singletrack and wide open stuff.

But honestly, there are a lot of Fat Tire destinations (i.e. the two I just visited - Durango and Crested Butte) where the majority of the trails are smooth, straight, non-technical singletrack and/or wider stuff. 80% of the race course at Durango Mountain Resort was Murphy type trails. Pretty interesting considering that the 1990 worlds held on that very trail is considered the birth of modern mountain biking. The trails that are there are generally trails on BLM land that started some other way, e.g. 4x4, 4 wheeler, MX, game trails, etc. and are NOT IMBA standard, 5 degree sidehill, 18 inch wide countour singletrack.

(not to mention that the climb at Durango was like the climb at Murphy except it was about 1,000 vertical feet from base to top with roughly the same average grade. 120 feet of climbing, pishaa)

I did a ride in Golden with my bro yesterday which was either A.) rocky as heck and way more technical than anything I have ridden around here or B.) Completely smooth, straight and packed hard as pavement.

So, what you may ask am I saying? I'm saying a lot of us who ride around here need to realize that mountain biking is by en large NOT like Lebanon Hills or the River bottoms or the Farm. Calling the dips into the ravine at the Farm "climbs" is heresy. Calling the XX loop at Lebanon or 95% of the stuff at the Farm "technical" is likewise. I think that we should not rip trails like the current Murphy trail because riding that trail just **might** come in handy for those times when you're riding elsewhere and find yourself on a trail like it. Climbing hills on the road does NOT provide the same type of workout that climbing Murphy does. Had I done a couple of rides at Murphy before heading our west, I might have been (god forbid) better prepared for the riding I'd be doing out there.

Sorry but after my recent trip I happen to think Leb (ALL of Leb) is way too easy and Murphy should not be changed, or at least the existing trail should remain open.

and we all know what I think about Murphy for cheq training.

Nothing ground breaking but something to think about.

[gopherhockey]

Interesting thoughts. I can't wait to go out to Colorado this fall and ride some of this highly technical stuff.

I will say that I have ridden Leb with many people from Colorado that wish they had more trails just like it.. so we must be doing something right. I think there are a lot of people that don't like the fire-roads and drool over our what we have done. Not saying they don't have any.. but I know if I go out to Colorado and it's all like Murphy I'll be happy to get back to our area.

What I always hear is that they are tired of climbing boring hills only to rush back down and not really get to enjoy the ride. THey also say that the ski resorts are starting to charge way too much for a summer pass and that downhill is starting to take the attention away from xc riding.

These people are always thrilled to be back in our area to go ride our trails... I guess there might be something to be said about experiencing what others have done and enjoying it as being something different.

To that point it is very possible that the best thing for Murphy is to have the best of both worlds.. that way we keep a little of everything for everyone in our area.