Mountain Biking State of Affairs

After a winter of big snow storms and strong winds, the mountain bike community rallied to get our beloved trails up and running. Lots of leaf blowing, tree cutting, and patiently waiting for things to dry has yielded good conditions across most of our terrain. Some recent rain has pooled up in spots delaying the finishing touches on Charlies and created a short term closure on Hurricane (the trail). Some areas over near High School loop were a little effected by some logging, but are up running okay at the moment. Consider throwing a change of clothes in your car and a pocket saw in your bag while exploring. As always, giving a donation to Ride Noco to support their needs while maintaining the network helps the cause or consider coming to an upcoming trail work day!

Hurricane Zone:

The season started out well with the lower trails (Sendero and Tornado) requiring minimal work to get up and running. Some shovel finesse improved the first few loose corners at the top of Sendero. The rest is running clean and fast as ever. Expect the same high speed roots, compressions, and corners that you’ve come to know and love. Tornado and Red Tail are rolling quick with berms and doubles up for grabs. Looking to party train with your buds down Surf’s up? Keep in mind that Charlie’s still hasn’t opened. The trail is roped off right after the entrance to Kandagnar. Not quite feeling the gnar? Bang a left and circle back to the kiosk for another sampling of North Conway’s finest. Looking to get Rowdy? Drop into Kandagnar and savor all the roots, chunk, airtime, and slab you have been dreaming about all winter long.

Other Local Favorites:

We’re going to keep adding updates here throughout the season to share some of our favorite adventures and keep everybody posted on the conditions. Although it’s still early and the general vibe of most rides can be summed up as “wet”, there are some good trip reports already!

Chris and some friends had a good day hiking up to the summit of Kearsarge and dropping in the backside. Plenty of steeps, tech corners, and loam to make the 2600 feet descent thrilling. A long pedal up the Chatham side of Hurricane Mountain Road gives ample time to savor the moment before dropping into the Hurricane zone for another lap. 

Caleb enjoyed a sunset cruise down one of Bear Notch’s more casual offerings. A cool 1300 feet of pedaling and hiking leads to a mixed paced descent comprised of low angle slab, some rollers, tight loamy turns through the pines, and some proper fast chunk. After the trail flattens out, ample swimming holes present themselves to tame the heat and humidity.

Greg has been sampling the finer things in life aboard his gravel bike. Read his trip reports for some suggestions here!

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As always, please reach out to chris@ridethewhites.com with any questions