[drastic.]

I remember meeting some fellow DH'ers at the base of cinderella a few months ago and having a small chit-chat with them, and they gave me some input about some funner 'unmarked' trails inside JMP. That kinda flew over my head, as i didn't pay attention because I was in glee from just coming down cindy, and ended up forgetting where the trails were at.

Went there today and found a good 4 trail 'run offs' off of sunset that looked like it was the makings of a DH singletrack. took them all, and all but one were just dead ends 50 or so feet down.
The other went further, but dead ended...So my buddy and I decided to work on it and touched up what was there, and drug out a line that was rideable (still needs to be groomed of the top layer loam).

Was pretty bummed we couldn't find anything out there today. Am I blind, or am I just not finding the right stuff out there?

 

[stoney]

Please do not cut illegal trails in the park. You have no idea how much time we have spent with the park district and City of Oakland to keep the park open of cyclists. If you want to cut trails go find somewhere with NO traffic, preferably in CC county. You don't pay to have these trails open - either through maintenance or taxes. Don't f* things up for the rest of us.

As for the guys referring to the illegal trails, they are probably referring to the marked 'no bikes' trails. They are marked as such because it provides bike-free trails for the equestrians and hikers. This was a major concession we (the activist cyclists) gave to keep the park open to bikes. Also, know that you are looking at a couple of hundred dollar fines if you get caught riding them.

As for the legal trails, you can ride Cinderella and Chaparral at speed only during off-hours (ie no weekends of after 4pm on weekdays). Big Trees to Palos Colorados to Sinawick is pretty fun, but drops you at the bottom of the park.

I HIGHLY advise against riding lower Palos Colorados (not just because it's illegal). Even when I was racing expert and semi, that trail scared the isht out of me. There is zero room for error and more than one person has died on it crashing (since mid-90's). There are a few 1ft wide sections on the edge of a 50ft vertical cliff. I fell off one of the 'slopes' (vs. cliffs) and tumbled down a 75ft ravine. In the process of tumbling the impacts were enough to shear both shock bolts and severely bend my handlebar.

Also, riding any of these trails on a DH bike is so far beyond overkill that it would be like driving an F1 car to the grocery store. If you can't ride those trails at speed on a 5-6" bike then you really need to work on your overall skills. I've done timed runs on Cinderella back to back on a HT DJ bike and 5" trail bike and was only 5 seconds (on a 2min trail) slower on the HT. On the DH bike, it really isn't that much fun.

Go to Pacifica or Tahoe if you want to ride DH trails. Joaquin Miller is not the place for big bikes.

 

[MikeD]

Don't **** up the nice trailbiking in JM by trying to make it some kind of DH park.

Ride the marked trails in accordance with the rules and respectfully of other park users, or lose it altogether. Facts of life.

Seriously, it's NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. In a small park frequented by the wealthy, foot-mobile, and local. What in the name of the hole in your head makes you think you'll get away with cutting pirate lines, or that your building might go un-noticed? As soon as someone's golden retreiver pulls him down one and he sees evidence of trailbuilding in a runoff, he'll know it's bikers and report it to park staff. Then Stoney is left trying to repair PR damage you created. And he won't win the fight. Then no one will be allowed to bring 2 wheels into the park. Because you're an asshole.

 

[OGRipper]

Please do not cut illegal trails in the park.

Word.

And if you decide to do it somewhere else, don't talk about it on the internet.

Making friends with locals is still the best way to learn the local goods.

 

[H8R]

I HIGHLY advise against riding lower Palos Colorados (not just because it's illegal). Even when I was racing expert and semi, that trail scared the isht out of me. There is zero room for error and more than one person has died on it crashing (since mid-90's). There are a few 1ft wide sections on the edge of a 50ft vertical cliff. I fell off one of the 'slopes' (vs. cliffs) and tumbled down a 75ft ravine. In the process of tumbling the impacts were enough to shear both shock bolts and severely bend my handlebar.

I didn't clear that trail till like my 6th time down it, and that was 10 years ago. That was on an XC bike, narrow bars. I got wider bars later which meant walking a few sections. (especially around that tree jutting out near the bottom). I had one buddy go down and some blackberry bushes saved his ass. (but not his bike)

That was before I even new that lower part was off limits to bikes.

But yeah, keep off the illegal trails. JM Miller isn't part of East Bay Regional district, it's a City of Oakland park which is why thy are generally cooler about bikes on marked single track. Don't fvck it up.

You want sweet legal singletrack? Santa Rosa.

 

[H8R]

BTW - Cinderella must be ridden down on a fully rigid bike with cantilever brakes to get the most out of it...

 

[MikeD]

BTW - Cinderella must be ridden down on a fully rigid bike with cantilever brakes to get the most out of it...

I taco'd a front wheel on my rigid off the last waterbar, which then jammed in the fork and flipped me over. Felt worst than almost any other crash of my life.

Park was definitely more fun on the rigid until that point.

 

[stoney]

BTW - Cinderella must be ridden down on a fully rigid bike with cantilever brakes to get the most out of it...

No Chapparal rigid 29'er, no care.

 

[stoney]

I didn't clear that trail till like my 6th time down it, and that was 10 years ago. That was on an XC bike, narrow bars. I got wider bars later which meant walking a few sections. (especially around that tree jutting out near the bottom). I had one buddy go down and some blackberry bushes saved his ass. (but not his bike)

I fell off at the tree and rolled all the way to the creek. Somehow by the grace of FSM I didn't hit the paired redwoods at the bottom and landed on my feet in the creek. Thrashed my bike really badly though. I seriously thought that fall was going to be the end of me.

 

[H8R]

No Chapparal rigid 29'er, no care.

Actually the first time I ever took a ride through JM (about 1997?) I was on a fully rigid Cannondale. Cantilevers. Flat bars.

Chapparel was the first trail I tried. That was painful.

 

[H8R]

Thrashed my bike really badly though. I seriously thought that fall was going to be the end of me.

Yeah that's the place where we discovered that titanium handlebars CAN be bent.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Please do not cut illegal trails in the park. You have no idea how much time we have spent with the park district and City of Oakland to keep the park open of cyclists. If you want to cut trails go find somewhere with NO traffic, preferably in CC county. You don't pay to have these trails open - either through maintenance or taxes. Don't f* things up for the rest of us.
As for the guys referring to the illegal trails, they are probably referring to the marked 'no bikes' trails. They are marked as such because it provides bike-free trails for the equestrians and hikers. This was a major concession we (the activist cyclists) gave to keep the park open to bikes. Also, know that you are looking at a couple of hundred dollar fines if you get caught riding them.

As for the legal trails, you can ride Cinderella and Chaparral at speed only during off-hours (ie no weekends of after 4pm on weekdays). Big Trees to Palos Colorados to Sinawick is pretty fun, but drops you at the bottom of the park.

I HIGHLY advise against riding lower Palos Colorados (not just because it's illegal). Even when I was racing expert and semi, that trail scared the isht out of me. There is zero room for error and more than one person has died on it crashing (since mid-90's). There are a few 1ft wide sections on the edge of a 50ft vertical cliff. I fell off one of the 'slopes' (vs. cliffs) and tumbled down a 75ft ravine. In the process of tumbling the impacts were enough to shear both shock bolts and severely bend my handlebar.

Also, riding any of these trails on a DH bike is so far beyond overkill that it would be like driving an F1 car to the grocery store. If you can't ride those trails at speed on a 5-6" bike then you really need to work on your overall skills. I've done timed runs on Cinderella back to back on a HT DJ bike and 5" trail bike and was only 5 seconds (on a 2min trail) slower on the HT. On the DH bike, it really isn't that much fun.

Go to Pacifica or Tahoe if you want to ride DH trails. Joaquin Miller is not the place for big bikes.

I still enjoy riding my DH bike there. It used to be way fun 10+ years ago when you were able to ride most of the trails, even though they were illegal. Back then, it was never strictly enforced. Now it is, but still fun none the less.

 

[stoney]

I still enjoy riding my DH bike there. It used to be way fun 10+ years ago when you were able to ride most of the trails, even though they were illegal. Back then, it was never strictly enforced. Now it is, but still fun none the less.

But you're old, slow, and you respect other trail users. Most people cutting illegal trails in a small park are not of the latter.