I’ve been coming to Mammoth in the summer, every year for the past 4 years. I’ve spent time snowboarding Mammoth, hitting the hot springs, and biking around town, but not once have I taken a bike to the park.
I was pretty stoked when Molly brought up the idea to go there this weekend. From all of the videos that I had seen, it looked like there were a ton of trails that would be perfect for helping me get more comfortable in the air and on steeper, looser dirt. So we texted our friends to see if they’d be down to come along, and two days before we left, we went from a group of 3 to 7! Awesome to have your friends be so down for a weekend trip a few hours away to ride.
We originally thought we were going to head back to the hot springs, but ended up deciding on trying to stay closer to town. Little did we know that there are a good amount of access roads to National Forest land that lead to some pretty great camping spots. We weren’t sure which one we were going to go for, but we ended up finding one that was perfect to house our 5 vehicles, a tent, and a few hammocks. When we were finally all together and camp was set up, we shared a few beers under the string lights and were off to bed to be ready for the morning.
Molly and I were thankful to get a rooftop tent from Rubicon and absolutely loved sleeping in it. Sleeping in a rooftop tent has been the best sleep that I’ve ever had while camping. So when the sun came up blazing on Saturday morning, it was good to know we were well rested for the day.
It was a bit of a slow start to the morning, but the coffee was made and the brake bleeds were serviced right there at base camp. And as the sun got hotter and hotter, we started to move quicker and quicker to get to the bike park. It was a good thing we were only 10 minutes from the parking lot because we arrived right at 9 am. Lifts were spinning and (after a beer) we were ready to roll.
And here is where things started to go a bit south… On the first ride up, the group got spit-up. Molly, Leddy, and I got off mid-mountain, and the rest of the guys went to the top. It took us a few hours to meet up, but both groups went their separate ways to explore the mountain. It took us a little while to find some of the better trails. We went down the middle, down Kamikaze, and then finally found Shock Treatment and the Jumps on Pipeline. With our goal of riding together in the back of our mind, once we mapped out the mountain, we met back at the car for some lunch and we were ready to finally take a lap together.
We all got off at mid-mountain this time and were heading to Flow to get a jump lap in when I went off a 6” rock and my three-week-old E-Thirteen carbon rims cracked. And that just about called it for my day. The guys went off and took a few laps of Pipeline, Flow, and Smooth Operator, while Molly and I took an easier lap and called it good.
After everyone had finished up riding, we said our goodbyes to half of the group while Molly, Leddy, Curtis, and I went on to twin lakes to wash off. The lake was a beautiful and refreshing way to end the day. After my wheel going bust, I definitely needed something like this to pick me up. From the lake, we went on to Mammoth Brewing and then back to the campsite for beers.
Just as we were finishing up dinner, we got a call from Eric saying that his car broke down and was hoping he could meet back up with us while he waited for a tow. It was great to have him back and hang out, but we were really bummed that he had been sitting near his car by himself for almost 3 hours. Thankfully he was able to get a tow back to Reno the next morning so we hung around the campsite sharing stories and having beers to drink the pain away from the day.
Sunday morning was a much quicker start as I think we all were ready to make our way back out of town. We packed up base camp and we cruised into town to get a cup of coffee before heading out. Leddy went and played a round of golf while Molly, Curtis, and I made our way to South Lake for a ride and trail run. To be clear, Molly ran, Curtis and I rode.
And that ride itself made it all worth it. I was a little sketched out about the rim, but I tried to hold myself back a bit so that I wouldn’t do any more damage. Checked some ride photos off the list for the weekend and ultimately enjoyed the ride through all of the rocks, ferns, pine trees, and a gorgeous meadow on our way back to the car.
I wouldn’t say that Mammoth was ruined for me this weekend, but I definitely think I would bring a bike with a bit more travel so that I could appreciate more of the terrain. It felt like the first real weekend of summer 2021 and I can’t wait for more of them coming up. Especially Park City next week that’s going to be a week of riding, great friends, and being outside.
