CALIFORNIA
Boy Scout Trail Mountain Biking
My roommate Sam is an experienced downhill mountain biker and she asked me if I wanted to give it a go. Considering my sad attempts at dirt biking, I was pretty nervous but I wanted to give it a try. She took me to a good beginner spot in Pacifica, called the Boy Scout trail. We walked our bikes up to the top of the trail, which had some really amazing views of Pacifica and Montara Mountain (which I intend to hike at some point as well).
I would guess it’s a mile or so to the top, I didn’t check my fitbit but it didn’t feel too strenous to walk the bike up there. The views from the ridge at the top are amazing! Plus it was around 7 PM and the sun was starting to set.
So from there we were able to see up the ridge toward Montara Mountain where there are other biking trails, I can’t remember what Sam said they were called.
One thing that did comfort me is how much traction a mountain bike has on dirt. It is bumpy but nowhere near as squirrely as a dirt bike. Also there’s no chance of your bike dying at idle, and I can touch the ground relativelye easily with my toes. I just hadn’t ridden a non-motor powered bike in probably a decade.
The Boyscout trail has jumps and drops but they’re all pretty easily avoidable. The first half to three quarters was very manageable for me as a newbie. I just had my hands on the brakes the entire way down. Sam would go off and do jumps and then wait for me to catch up!
In the middle there are some pretty intense looking jumps and and intersection with another trail:
After that part was when the trail got a bit more intense. There was one part where you have to pick up a decent amount of speed and pedal hard to make it up a hill. It got narrower in parts and had some sharp turns. I might’ve walked my bike down a particularly scary hill.
I nearly made it all the way down the mountain without dropping the bike, but of course had to drop it in the last 10 feet in front of some other people!
We got some much needed burritos at Guerrero’s Taqueria in Pacifica, got gas and headed home. The smoke from the fires in Butano and Pt Reyes made the drive home pretty spooky. It’s pretty scary, and I hope everyone is staying safe!