Mammoth Mountain Bike Park

My very first downhill bike park experience.

At the top of Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes, California.

So I really wanted to write something meaningful this week but every time I sat down to write, I could only write a sentence or two without feeling overwhelmed and thinking too hard. So I decided to put that on the back burner and maybe I will finish that post for next week but for now, I think I will write about something fun.

Earlier this year, I wrote about mountain biking in general and hinted at writing more about the bike park my husband and I went to in Mammoth Lakes, California. Well, here it is, as promised!

Every couple of years, my family vacations in Mammoth Lakes, California. We LOVE getting away from the Arizona heat in the summer and sitting lakeside fishing, hiking to different lakes, kayaking, and bicycling. We usually go the week of July 4th so we get to enjoy the farmers market and fun events the town hosts to celebrate Independence Day.

My husband and I got into mountain biking a couple of years ago so last year as the first year we had an interest in biking on the mountain. Usually, we just do the scenic gondola ride up and down the mountain.

Our first runs

We started off on some pretty short and easy trails when we first got there because we had no idea what to expect from a downhill bike park when we were used to the desert landscape full of uphills and downhills. There were two lifts running at the time we went, one to the shorter trails, and the gondola all the way up the mountain. each trail was less than a mile long and we did seven or eight short runs before we went all the way up the mountain.

We did a few easy trails with big berms and a nice wick flow. We did some harder trails with chunky rocks and roots that were more technical. There was even a little jump park area that we hit a few times, and I nearly went over my handlebars on one ramp because I came in way too fast.

The trails at Mammoth Mountain are beautifully maintained so you can really put your bike to the test and not worry about being too technical or bumpy.

To the top

After a couple of hours of easier runs, we decided to head for the top of the mountain. The gondola ride was beautiful and took about fifteen minutes to get to the top. There were only two trials that started at the very top, one was a black diamond, and one was a blue. Obviously, we started on the blue trail. The top of mammoth Mountain is 11,053 feet so there are no trees and most of the mountain was just dirt. We started on the switchback trail on the backside of the mountain. We had beautiful views and were getting the hang of the switchbacks moving pretty quickly.

Once we got down into the Pune trees, we took a couple of different trails that cut around the side of the mountain and lead us back to the front side. We were loving the packed dirt and smooth trials through the trees, and then we came to a trail that was exactly like what we were riding in Arizona...needless to say, we were not thrilled. But, we got past it and took a medium-difficulty trail front and center down the middle part of the mountain. There were about twelve switchbacks tax couldn't have been more than 30 feet long so we really had to be in control and take those slow.

Another few trails around and down and we made it to the bottom. Our ride from the very top to where we got on the Gondola was about eight miles of pure joy and adrenaline. We weren't white ready to go home but we didn't necessarily want to go back up to the top because we knew a rain storm was coming in. So we decided to take a five-mile trail down into the town and then hop on a bus back up to the parking lot.

Down to the town

The trail we took was literally called Downtown. It was an easy trail that went in and out of the forest following the road down to town. It was cool, covered in shade, and we didn't see anyone else for that stretch of five miles. There was a little climbing just because of the nature of the mountain but for the most part, it was an easy "cool down" ride to end our day.

We finally made it down to the town and since we weren't exactly sure where we needed to be to catch the bus back up, we stopped at a shop to ask someone for directions. And that's when I realized, I couldn't get my shoe out of my pedal.

My broken shoe

My husband and I both have clipless pedals. That means that we wear special shoes with a device that securely clips into the pedal to keep your foot from moving and coming off the pedal. I know its sounds wrong but "clips" are actually the little cage you see on some pedals that you slide your toes into that helps to keep your foot on the pedal. Clipless means pedals without that front toe cage, but not flat pedals that have spikes on them to hold your shoe in place.

Anyway, back to the story. I stopped and took my left foot out first like I normally do but my right foot wouldn't come out of the pedal! Thank goodness I take my left foot out first otherwise I would have ended up on the ground in the middle of the street. I had to take my foot out of my shoe and leave my shoe attached to my bike! My husband tried to get my shoe off the pedal but he couldn't even get it out. We got directions to the bus stop which was just around the corner and I had to leave my shoes attached to my bike and tie the pedal up using my shoelaces so it didn't drag on the ground. I ended up riding the bus with one shoe which was one of the best memories from that trip.

What ended up happening is one of the screws came out of the metal device so it was twisting in the pedal instead of keeping the metal attached to my shoe and twisting out. Let's just say, I check the screws in my shoe a lot more often now.

We had an AMAZING time and we can't wait to go back next year! We actually went to o Sunrise Park Resort a few weeks ago so keep an eye out for that post coming soon! We also have plans to visit Big Bear in California and go to the downhill bike park in the next couple of weeks.

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