Mountain Biking in Mammoth Lakes

After our adventure in Kirkwood we were itching to try some more mountain biking. Lisa found Mammoth Lakes on the internet and we quickly realised why Kirkwood was empty. The longest run in Kirkwood was a couple of miles, but in Mammoth they have runs that are more than 8 miles long! For $39/day you get unlimited access to 70+ miles of dirt single-track, with a descent of 3,000 feet from Mammoth's summit! So we left work and headed out for the 5 hour drive! Unfortunately traffic had other ideas and we finally got to the Austria Hof Lodge 8.5 hours later! Lisa took over driving as we entered Yosemite and had the scare of her life when she rounded a corner to find a very large deer lying in the middle of the road. The car in front wasn’t quite so lucky and they’d hit the deer and completely lost the wing mirror and trashed both doors! The rest of the journey was pretty uneventful, and despite Yosemite being pitch dark, it was pretty cool to see the night sky from the comfort and warmth of the convertible. The next morning we got up, bought a pair of two-day passes, jumped on the bus and headed towards the Gondola. We then started to feel a little bit underdressed… There was hardly a single person who wasn’t wearing a crash helmet, body armour, leg guards and neck braces! What on earth had we let ourselves into! Ignoring our concerns we boarded the Gondola and headed up 3,000 feet to the Bike Park. And oh what a view from the the top, complete with snow!


(The View from the Top)	(Snow in Summer!)	(Which Trail Now?)

Our first ride was 8.5 miles down Off the Top connecting with Beach Cruiser, descending the full 3,000 feet (starting at 11,014 feet!). It took us about 90 minutes to reach the bottom with the GPS tracking our every move.

(3D view of our 8.5 mile ride down Off the Top)

(The Decent Down Mammoth Mountain)

The trail ranged from lose gravel, to sand pits, to windy root-riddled paths, to perilous bumpy rocks.


(Plenty of Options)	(A Quick Break)	(Still Stuck in my Cleats!)

After a quick, well deserved, lunch we headed out for another run down the mountain before heading back to the hotel. I was extremely surprised to find Lisa drafting me as I wound down the 3 miles of mountain road home at 35mph. Before heading home on Sunday we once again boarded the Gondola to redo our first run. This time completely surprised ourselves, we were only over taken once, and over took 3 groups on descent. We did it in 52 minutes, averaging 10 miles an hour and a maximum of 37mph!!! Completely exhilarating!


(Duck!)	(Lisa Flying Down Mammoth)	(37.1 mph!)

Our five hour drive home was filled with some excellent views of the Sierras, which we had completely missed in the dark on our way to Mammoth.


(The San Andreas Fault Line)	(Yosemite’s Half Dome)	(Flying through Yosemite)