Schooled on Rabbit Mountain

[jtrops]

I went for a quick MUni ride today, and thought Rabbit Mountain would be a nice ride. First of all the climb just about killed my lungs, and then the loop was more technical than I remember. Things are very different on one wheel. I boffed a boulder and did the biggest drop in my limited uni experience, 20"+. I rode most of the trail and had more UPD's than I can count. I pretty much only walked to the next good place to mount, and I became less selective as the ride progressed.

In all it seems like a good trail to challenge my skills. Enjoyable, but not easy. This trail will be my goal for the near future.

A great ride, super fun, great views, and a good challenge.

I'll take pix next time I go.

Jerry

[MuniSano]

Enjoy these early experiences! Trust me, if you stick with it you'll one day go riding the same loop and wonder why you thought it was so hard! Great job! I'd love to do some Colorado Muni again; not in the cards this year though

[pkittle]

Yeah, it's a different world on one wheel, especially when you're just starting out. I'm now riding trails on my KH36 that I used to be intimidated by on my 24. It just gets better & better!

[jtrops]

I was contemplating a 26", and now I'm glad I went with the 24". I can't imagine doing anything like this on a 36, but who knows maybe in time. I've taken my 29'er on mellow XC trails, and it was fun and easy. I always considered the Rabbit Mountain trail more of a trickier XC ride than anything. More about picking good lines and commiting than a lot of drops, and jumps. Anyway, like I said, really different on one wheel. Good lines on a bike don't necessarilly translate to good lines on a uni. There are a bunch of banked corners that you can just ride through on a bike, but they were useless on the uni. I had to take more direct lines which put me in small rock gardens with slots and drops.

I had the tire pretty hard when I started but quickly dropped the pressure, and it made all the difference.

If I can I will try to get out there again today. It should be in the 60's today, maybe even 70, and the trail will be a bit drier. It's nice that the trail is only 15 minutes from my house.

[vinnya42]

Ya I can attest to the steep climb to get to the trail, it is steep and very loose gravel. The the loop is very rocky in lots of sections, I walk there a lot. Rabbit mountain has beautiful views and a nice breeze.

Get your riding in today since it will be snowy and windy tomorrow.

[jtrops]

I went out the next day, and had a better go of it, but the climb was still a killer.

I learned a couple of things:
1. Even though I did that big drop and rode it out, I wasn't so bold the second time and ended up bailing before I hit the drop.
2. Reading the trail is somewhere between finding a good line on a bike, and in a kayak. I found that if I glanced some of the rocks they would steer my wheel into a good line similar to the way water will steer my boat when I lean into a pillow.
3. The large volume/soft tire absorbs far more than I would have thought, and I am able to ride over a lot of terrain that I was sure would throw me.

I did bring my camera, but in my excitement to get out I failed to check the batteries. I was all set up for a beatiful view of the trail in the foreground with the Indian Peaks as a backdrop and... Nothing. Better luck, and prep, next time.