Spots> Ashland Oregon Scene Report.
by Jason Van Horn
posted 6/23/08
After Inga gets the entire shuttle bus crew to pose for pictures doing elbow taps, we headed down Bull Gap. The Bull Gap trail is an old fire road that is more like double track now. Its fast and the few miles of fire road go by pretty quickly. Unfortunately both Izaak and I flatted, so we ended up taking a break to fix bikes right off the bat. Flats repaired, we continue hurtling down Bull Gap and continue from the Bull Gap trail head up the single track climb. This is the major climb in the Super D course, and my little brother is putting some serious time on me. We're taking it pretty mellow, but at this point, I'm questioning my fitness and a more than a bit concerned with my ability to throw down on Sunday's Super D event. Living in the Bay Area at sea level does not prep one at all for riding at Elevation. In addition to that, my weekly rides at Pacifica do not constitute "training rides" by any means.
That isn't the point of the riding here in Ashland though. Most of the riders I hang with there are fit as a by product of what they do for fun: riding their bike. As the trails are accessible from multiple points in the city of Ashland, many of the riders simply ride their bikes up to Four Corners to ride them down. Most of the good single track is located on the lower half of the mountain anyway, due to the fact that snow covers the upper half much of the year. However, the locals have been busy in the last few seasons, and a number of new trails are popping up on the upper part of the mountain. I never got the word on how official they are, but they sure were fun. After stopping at a seriously scenic stopping point to enjoy the view and regroup, we began the fun stuff- the rolly, fast, twisty single track, that is what trail riding is all about.
Izaak, Inga, and Jason pose during a rest point at the top of the first and only major climb on the Horn Gap Trail.
After ripping this next section of single track, it drops you back onto the fire road. The fire road section is fast and fun, and includes lots of little hip jumps, jibs, and berms on the way down to Four Corners. However, this is where Izaak takes us off the map to sample a taste of the new stuff the locals have been working on. It is super fun stuff, and I'm loving the loose, two wheel drift action in the corners, as well as the jedi-tree dodging action that is going on. We're hauling ass, until my back wheel locks up when I pick up a majorly huge branch in my rear wheel. Fortunately, I lock the back wheel in time to avoid any damage and we're back on our way. Eventually the trail spits us back on the road a few turns up from Four Corners.
Inga on an unnamed section of trail sweetness
At this point the rider is presented with two options: Cat Walk and Marty's Trail. Both drop from Four Corners in parallel trajectories that are alternately fast, tight and flowy. Cat Walk is the official route of the Super D, so we drop down that way. I'm not sure of the legalities of Marty's Trail. Marty's Trail is the most feature ridden trail on the mountain. It also is the only trail that fully will utilize the longer travel of a full blown downhill bike. The rest of the mountain is best suited for a 6inch travel all mountain bike for the most part, unless you are into sending it on the hidden features. When I lived here, I was rolling a full blown DH rig, but a 7 & 7 freeride bike like my demo 7 or a slope style-oriented bike like an SX Trail would be the money for ripping the trails here regularly.
Izaak flying down the Catwalk trail
Catwalk to Toothpick is the trail they hold the Ashland Downhill race on, and it is fast. My favorite section of this trail is the beginning section, where you drop in, and bang through a rock garden, with some fun turns leading into a rollable double that requires the ride to keep on the gas to clear. We fly down this trail, with Izaak in the lead. As a local, he knows this trail inside and out, and is railing, even with his Santa Cruz Heckler in full XC mode complete with XTR wheels and 100mm Thomson stem. The dirt is in good condition this time of year, with decent traction, and is fast rolling. It gets a bit more dusty later in the summer, and therefore a bit more slippery, but at this point our tires are hooking up pretty well.
where Catwalk meets the Toothpick Trail
Catwalk drops you off an ends at the Toothpick Trail, which also serves as the connecter for two fire roads. When I lived in Ashland a few years back and we were stuck pedaling up, we would ride up Tolman Creek Road from my apartment in town. (see map) Yes, Ashland is one of those towns where you can cut out from your front door and ride. (After living in San Francisco, one tends to miss these simple things) On those days where you didn't have the juice or desire to pedal it up to Four Corners, we'd cut off the fire road on Toothpick and pedal over to Caterpillar. Toothpick is another flowy trail with a bit more ups and downs, as opposed to Catwalk, which is pretty much downhill for its entire length. Both are loved by the classic trail rider set, although the fast berms and the wide open speeds will bring a smile to anyone's face. As one can see from the photos, each trail is well marked, making it easy for the out of town visitor taking the a shuttle to find his way down.
Inga inches / emerges from the Caterpiller Trail
Caterpillar is the next trail on the way down the main route most riders take. It behinds with a slight climb, which isn't that much of a climb, but always felt like one on a downhill bike. The trail features more of the same, riding, with the addition of a few log rides here and there. Once Caterpillar turns downhill, we turned on the gas and began flying down the mountain. Caterpillar drops you on the White Rabbit Trail, which then drops you into BTI. BTI drops you off just above Lithia Park and the city of Ashland. Since we parked at the Ashland Shuttle Service on Tolman Creek Road, we had a bit of a pedal across town, for a total of 17 miles or so for the day.
