October 1, 2006 Sunday
Riding Marlboro's Groomed Trails
After the back-breaking trail-clearing we did yesterday, we were ready to sink our teeth into the fruits of our labor - riding Marlboro's groomed single-track. Joining
Steve,
Ging,
Duds and
me this time were
Siegrid and
Padma. We all met up at Steve's at 9:30 am and started heading towards the trail.
Clay Road
Upon reaching the clay soil of the newly opened road, we noticed already that the past 24 hours of sun had measurably packed the terrain that made for much better riding. While there were still some portaging, most of the uphill was doable, although in some areas, it was better to carry, energy-wise. The climb was a good warm-up for the single-track.
Grading the Trail
The groomed trail was much-cleaner but still not 100%. It's one thing to clear the trail without the bike, and it's a different story when you actually ride the trail. Some sections had enough space for the bikes but not enough for the riders.
Further clearing had to be done. Some
logs still needed some chopping. Ging suggested carrying a 1 meter stick horizontally as we pass by the trail. Anything that hits the stick is removed. For the most part however, the ride was continuous until we reached the peak.
The Peak
No matter how many times I'd been to Marlboro Country, I never get tired of the
view. As if that's not good enough, the
wild horses came out of nowhere and galloped in front of us. We
chilled out, brought out our trail snacks and talked about other possibilities. Now, if there was just a pair of trees, it would be a perfect hammock place to chill out before the ride back.
Downhill Riding
The ride back was twice the pleasure. Since it's mostly downhill, it was practically
one continuous ride from the top until the dirt road. For that long one-way ride down, Marlboro is up there as a benchmark for trail riding.
Kiltepan
When we hit the main road, I thought that was it. But not for the hammer-girls. I was beat, but they wanted to continue the ride to Kiltepan. Hmmm...Kiltepan is a ride on its own...but these girls are pumped up. Off we detoured to Kiltepan...up, down, around the bend, and lastly, the Disneyland section where it becomes another continuous single-track ride from the very top to street level...sweet...really!
Ending Thoughts
Again, it's been another kick-ass ride-day in this magically enchanted mountain paradise. In most parts of the mountain biking world, you'd have to travel for hours to get this kind of trail riding. In Sagada, it's literally your backyard. Can somebody please pinch me?
--- TheLoneRider
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