We started on the Diamond T Loop and rode to the turn off for Ridgeback 1. This is a great warm up. The Ridgeback trails are all well signed and maintained by the Calgary Mountain Bike Alliance. https://www.cmbalink.com/
Lovely trails in great condition.
At the end of Ridgeback 2, we stopped to rest by the creek. We rode back on Ridgeback 2 and then hopped on to Tom Snow instead of riding back on Ridgeback 1. We regretted this decision as Tom Snow was its usual muddy rutted sloppy mess. Note to self: always take Ridgebacks both ways and never Tom Snow. Never Tom Snow.
Park at Station Flats on Highway 66, west of Bragg Creek
Overall a terrific ride - 8.3 km and elevation gain 267 meters.
There are also Ridgebacks 3 and 4 which we did not ride. Maybe another day.
For maps and trail conditions, check out the Trailforks app.
One of my all time favourite mountain bike trails, Braggin' Rights starts at the West Bragg Creek parking lot. We sometimes acccess it from White Tail. I love it because there are long sections where the trail just rolls and the momentum from the down hill parts will carry you up the uphill parts and you can just glide along and enjoy.
Park at West Bragg Creek Recreation Area parking lot.
This trail never disappoints - 8.0 km and elevation gain 235 meters.
There are mulitple loops that can be done with Braggin Rights to increase the distance and elevation gain. I hope to do a few of them this summer.
For maps and trail conditions, check out the Trailforks app.
We are camping further down Highway 66 west of Bragg Creek and we wanted a shorter afternoon ride that was close to our camp. This one looked good on the TrailForks and it starts off nicely. A gentle trail through the forest. This is part of Ford Knoll Trail that parallels the road.
Dan and Uma head off towards the start of the climb. A climb that felt like it took hours. Most mountain bike trails have a lot of uphill but the uphill is broken up with stretches of down hill or flatter trail that allow you to recover and keep going. Not this one! Once the climb started, it just didn't let up. It gained most of its elevation in one long tortuous stretch.
This is one of the map signs on the trail. It gives you an idea of how old the trail is. If you zoom in, you will notice the sign marks hiking trails and hiking/equestrian trails. No mention of bikes. I was glad to be done this one. Will not return.
This map is from TrailForks. We rode clockwise.
Shocking that we only went about 6 km and 280 meters height gain. Felt like at least double that!
For maps and trail conditions, check out the TrailForks app.
Today I was riding on my own because Dan was recovering from a fall on Plutonian Shores mulit pitch climb. I decided to ride out from our campsite and find the Elbow Valley Trail. The Trailforks app shows that it starts just up the rode from the campground. This section is a bit rough and loose.
Some steep parts didn't inspire me. I think this trail is largely used as a connector. Many trails start or end from this trail. I wouldn't do it again as a ride on its own but I'm glad I checked it out.
After a long climb I got to this lovely meadow section between Ing's Mine and Moose Mountain road. Here I called it a day and turned back.
I started at the green dot. Our campground is down Hwy 66
13.9 km and elevation gain 384 meters.
For maps and trail conditions, check out the Trailforks app.
We started this ride on the Jumping Pound Ridge (Lusk Climb) trail. Emphasis on Climb. This trail is a quick 468 meters of height gain over just 3.9 km. Steep! Many switchbacks took us up to the ridge. It was tough but the trail was in good shape. Mostly smooth with a few small sections of loose rock and roots.
A helpful sign at the top of the climbing trail showed us our options. We chose to ride along the Jumping Pound Ridge.
The ride along the top of the ridge went through some pretty meadows. It was a really nice day. We decided to go back the same way and rode down the trails we had climbed. Super fun ride!
Trail starts off the Powderface Trail road
10.6 km and 552 meters elevation gain
We started at the light green dot. We rode past the dark green dot along the Jumping Pound Ridge Trail. We turned around before the top of Jumpingpound Mountain.