You need a dropper post.

KS LEV

I can't ride without a dropper post anymore. I would honestly give up suspension over my dropper on any trail. I'm not saying I would like to give up suspension, but if I were tight on money, I would gladly go hardtail or rigid rather than forego the dropper. And the lower I can get my seat, the better. My reasoning is I move around a lot while cornering and descending. I stay pretty well upright but my bike moves around a lot, pitching forward and laying over far more than my body does. I also drop my saddle a little when I'm trying to start moving on loose or technical climbs. It helps me get traction so I can ride instead of pushing my bike up if I have to stop for some reason(like my lungs are on fire).

You may have heard some horror stories about a dropper post blowing up on an epic trip. I've heard similar stories of hubs and derailleurs blowing up also. But some people look at a dropper as unnecessary, so they remember the story about a dropper that ruined a trip rather than an emergency bike shop trip for a freehub body that gave up.

Dropper posts need to be serviced just like suspension, drivetrains, or bearing units. It's true that it adds something else that needs to be serviced. But it helps you to enjoy the ride, and if we were all incredible riders that wanted to avoid servicing our bikes, we would ride singlespeed 26" bikes and have very few problems ever.

Thomson Elite Covert

Now that we've established that you need a dropper, which one should you get? Honestly, it doesn't matter. They all have their quirks and advantages. If you have external routing for cables I recommend the KS LEV. The cable is stationary so it doesn't move regardless of whether the saddle is up or down. If you have the option, always go for stealth, or internal, routing. If your frame can accept it, Thomson's Elite Covert or RockShox Reverb Stealth are my favorites. The Thomson feels more solid in the post itself, but I personally prefer the hydraulic actuation and remote of the Reverb. I've ridden both and both have comparable reliability in my experience.

RockShox Reverb Stealth

You need to make sure that whichever post you go with, you store your bike with the post extended. When it's down, it puts extra pressure on the seals and will cause them to fail prematurely. You also need to top off air pressure once a season on most posts.

I have found that when the post is quicker to respond, I use it more. I had a KS eTen on my fat bike a few years back because it was cheap and I didn't think it would matter much. But it was so slow to return to full extension that I only used it when I really felt I needed it. I ended up replacing it with a KS LEV.

If you're still not sure you would use it much, or if you have one that you only use occasionally, ride The Whole Enchilada in Moab. You'll see the benefit and start using it a lot more.

Fast Fat Bikes

With snow in the forecast on Monday, we decided to ride to the Ben Lomond saddle from North Ogden Divide. We were planning for maybe some rain in the valley and a blizzard on the pass up to Ben Lomond. There wasn't even a skiff in the valley and hardly a trace in the parking lot at the Divide summit. We encountered mud on the lower section, then packed snow, fluffy dry snow, and finally wind and frozen dirt with snow coming down.

We were all on fat bikes, one of us on Salsa's Bucksaw (affectionately known as the Hucksaw), two of us on Trek Farley's, and Matt on his Fat & Furious Carbon Fatty. All of us had suspension, dropper posts, hydraulic disc brakes, and 3.8 inch tires. Half of us had 26" wheels, the others on 27.5". (Aside from tire width, sounds like a traditional ride from a couple years ago)

Previously in these conditions, I wouldn't go out. It was either ride on snow on a fat bike or ride on dirt on a regular mountain bike. When I first started riding fat bikes on a Surly Pugsley, it wouldn't have been an option to ride up or down most of that trail. However, in the few years that fat bikes have become mainstream, they have also started to ride like regular bikes. It was amazing how a bike could just float over the rough, rocky sections, as well as those riddled with roots, grip on snow in turns, and hold a line in loose shale at full speed. It felt as smooth and fast as any bike I've ridden on that trail, and I've ridden everything from a Trek Superfly to a Fuel EX to a Slash to a Yeti SB-6c. There are a few drops on the trail that remind me that I'm on a hardtail, but with super high volume tires, it was never a harsh reminder.

Fat bikes have come a long way. They've always been fun, but now they are fast also. They extend the season...infinitely. I've ridden a lot of fun bikes, but I have never had one bike that I felt could actually do it all. The Trek Slash 9 and Yeti SB-6 have been close. I used them both for all of my trail riding. But the Farley 9.8 I rode on Monday makes it so that I can ride wherever and whenever I want. The massive footprint floats on top of mud so I don't tear up the trails in the wet and doesn't loose grip in the snow. It doesn't bounce around on super rocky technical sections or loose grip on off-camber rooty sections. You can also ride any angle on slickrock or float over sand in areas like Virgin, UT or Moab.

I have said numerous times that a fat bike couldn't be my only bike. I didn't say it as much after my first ride on a Trek Farley 8 with a Bluto. Now that I've ridden a Farley with 27.5" wheels on the super grippy rolling hills outside of Waterloo, WI and on one of my favorite local trails, I can say that it could be my only bike and I would be very, very happy. It is that awesome.

Metaphoric Fountain of Youth

Matt making good use of an e-bike.

I do not own an electric bike. I don't have plans to buy one. (But if I did buy one, it would be a Yuba Spicy Curry.) I really have no reason to be an e-bike advocate aside from working at a shop that sells them. I would rather sell the bikes that I plan to ride; the more people on 6-inch travel trail bikes, the more options and the lower the price. However, I also understand that the more people on bikes, the better. Giving people options that tear down the barriers to getting them on bikes will get more people on bikes. 

It will also bring more people that are willing to contribute to somewhere to ride their e-bike. That means more bicycle infrastructure, singletrack, paths, and group rides. I doubt that you're going to want to tuck in on the rear wheel of someone that just picked up their new e-bike, but the camaraderie is going to be the same. Also, imagine going for a 25-40 mile ride with your elderly parents and actually having everyone enjoy the ride. For those cyclists that weren't lucky enough to marry a spouse that shares their love of two-wheels, just picture climbing Mont Ventoux and both of you loving the experience. You could also go out for a LOTOJA training ride and take your spouse, yet still get more than just some extra base miles out of the ride.

There are also many former cyclists that haven't been able to ride like they used to because of injury or chronic illness. At The Bike Shoppe we've sold several e-bikes to customers that were previously regular customers that couldn't ride more than casually any more. One customer hopped on a Haibike RX 29 and pedaled a route he would take as a child. He climbed the hill to his former home and then to his old school. He purchased an electric mountain bike, but had no intentions of going mountain biking. He just like the extra durability. He also liked that while he was on that bike he didn't feel like an old man.

One of the first electric bikes we sold, the Stromer ST1, went to a regular customer's wife. He would ride with his sons often, but never with his wife. She took our demo bike out and he said he had to push it to keep up with her. We've heard from a few different customers that have seen them out riding together, him on a Trek Madone in a cycling kit and her on the Stromer in jeans.

So you may ask, why this all needed to be mentioned. Because I don't understand why so many people are in such opposition to e-bikes. I regularly read comments from organizations that have posted something about e-bikes. It's the same arguments, mostly regarding e-bikes on trails. People have this misconception that people on e-bikes are going to be running everyone else off the side of the mountain. The argument continues that those people will have access to places that is beyond their capabilities and battery range. But I want to ride with people that might not be able to keep up otherwise. I truly don't care if e-bikes are ever granted to access to non-motorized off-road trails as long as I can ride my non-motorized bike on e-bike trails, and I don't think they should have access to wilderness areas. I won't be able to keep up with an e-bike on the uphill and I would like to think that someone on an e-bike won't be able to keep up with me on the downhill. So I won't be riding with someone off-road anyway. I do want to be able to go on non-motorized multi-use paths. Otherwise, might as well buy a motor scooter. And that would suck.

Riding Lotoja as a Mountain Biker

 I'm a mountain biker. I most likely came to this conclusion because I prefer mountain biking to any other activity available to me, but also because I'm solidly mediocre at it which means I'm better at mountain biking than anything else I do. However, I'm setting my mountain bike aside for the next month and a half until September 14 because on September 12 I'm planning on riding a road bike from Logan, Utah, through Idaho, and into Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 

 By all means, this is a bad idea. Man was not designed to spend all day on a bicycle saddle. Also, instead of doing what I'm the best at, riding a mountain bike, I am spending all of my summer training to do something that leaves my body feeling broken and abused. Last time I was in this situation it didn't turn out especially well. I trained all summer and didn't even officially finish with a time to show my friends. I spent so long in the saddle that my Garmin battery died, so I assume I spent 36 hours pedaling because I have no official time to say otherwise or even a Strava file to verify it. I only had a beaten body that felt like I had been pedaling for 3 complete days.

 You may ask why I would sign up again. I guess it's because I don't learn. It could be because I feel like I have some unfinished business left on the road between Logan and Jackson. Maybe it's because Lotoja is our area's Tour de France. It's THE race for anyone that has been on a road bike or even aspiring to get on a road bike in the Intermountain West. But it is probably because someone asked me if I was planning on doing it and I said I was thinking about it. Before I knew it, I was signed up and riding my bike more. The only problem was that I got a new mountain bike this spring, but not just any mountain bike, the Yeti SB-6c. The ultimate mountain bike. It goes uphill and downhill. That bike is difficult to walk away from.

Nevertheless, until mid-September, I'm riding a Trek Domane with thru-axles and disc brakes; it makes me feel a bit less like a roadie. But there is something about riding over multiple state lines under your own power that gives you a feeling of accomplishment that is far different than any other feeling in the world. That may have been the reason I am signed up again, but I'm also craving Burger King in Afton and no one will give me a ride.

July Events at The Bike Shoppe

July is busy for us at The Bike Shoppe. We're starting our Peak-A-Week again. We've got a few events with Wildflower Outdoors, including their Wildflower Trailfest and 2 beginner mountain bike clinics. Yeti Cycles is coming with demo bikes. Not to mention the biggest event in cycling, The Tour de France is happening right now.

July 6-First Peak-A-Week ride to Lewis Peak. Starting from Windsurfer Beach at Pineview Reservoir 6:00pm.

July 7-Women's Beginner Mountain Bike Clinic with Wildflower Outdoors at Snowbasin main parking lot 6:30pm.

July 15-Peak-A-Week ride to Ben Lomond for Matt's Birthday. This will be a bikepacking trip so we'll be staying over night. Starting from Top of North Ogden Divide 6:00pm.

July 25-Peak-A-Week ride to Grizzly Peak. Starting from trailhead near Geneva Rock off of 3000 South and Highway 89 in Willard 6:00am.

July 21-Second Women's Beginner Mountain Bike Clinic with Wildflower Outdoors at Snowbasin main parking lot 6:30pm.

July 21-Yeti Cycles Demo at Rainbow Gardens 4:00pm-8:00pm. Bring Helmet, ID, and Credit Card. Free to public, but the credit card helps you to want to bring the bikes back.

July 30-Wildflower Trailfest Mountain Bike Race and Trailrun. Event goes from 5:00pm until 9:00pm at Snowbasin. Register at wildflowertrailfest.com

August 1-Last Peak-A-Week ride to Mount Ogden. Starting from Green Pond trailhead 6:00am.

Yeti Super Bikes

You've probably already read all of the reviews of Yeti SB-5c and SB-6c. They get great reviews because they are awesome bikes. In appearance alone, they stand out. With so many awesome bikes available, it's hard to stand out any more. But to be able to stand out in appearance and performance is an amazing feat.

The first thing I noticed was the acceleration. Usually that kind of instant gratification from stepping on the pedals is reserved for hardtails. But I was able to stay on the gas through rock gardens and roots. I pedaled up Taylor Canyon, (which is rocky in sections, rooty in others, and twisty all over), and never had to worry about adjusting switches, then I dropped the seat and never felt like I needed a more plush suspension coming down. That being said, I'm not sure there is a more plush suspension. The new fox 36 is an amazing fork and the rear wheel stuck to the ground the entire descent. Because the experience with Taylor Canyon was fairly early on in my ride I was afraid that it would be hard to get the bike up in the air. Usually a plush bike soaks up your effort to pop off of smaller lips and the likes. The first time I went to really get it up in the air I was startled because I lifted drastically harder than I was expecting. Usually a bike this capable for descents isn't as much fun on cross-country trails. They just mute the trail too much and so you have to ride it hard to really enjoy it. I always want something that will handle anything from Burro Pass down Porcupine Rim but also let me pedal up and around Snowbasin. I usually compromise. I have found the perfect bike for me. I had an SB-66c a couple seasons ago, it has been my favorite bike until now.

And for all of you that read these ramblings and were wondering what happened with the SB-5c that I was supposed to let you know if it were capable of satisfying my wants for a longer travel trail bike. It is adequate. But I had an opportunity to go bigger, and because I have a need to compensate, I took that opportunity.

May Events at The Bike Shoppe

May is Bike Month. So naturally it will be awesome. We have demos and group rides. There will be incredible things happening all over Ogden as well. We are also having a Strava competition for those that can't meet up with us. Join our club on Strava, The Bike Shoppe and Friends. We'll have prizes for the person with the most miles ridden during the month, the longest single ride, and the most elevation climbed.

5/7 @6:00pm - Ogden Trails Shin-Dig at The Front Climbing Club. This is a great event that helps raise money for trails in the Ogden area.

5/8 @8:00am - Ogden Mayors Bike to Work Day. Meet up with the Mayor at the northwest corner of WSU, west of the Social Science building. The group will ride with the Mayor to the Ogden Amphitheater (343 25th Street) for breakfast.

5/9 9:00am until 5:00pm - Electric bike demo at Rainbow Gardens. Haibike and Izip bikes will be there to demo. We will have lunch at noon.

5/16 7:00am until 1:00pm - Trek Demo and group mountain ride. Meet at Rainbow Gardens at 7:00am and you can even try a 2015 Trek. The demo will be going on from 7:00am until 1:00pm even if you can't join us on the ride or want to put some miles on a Domane disc or Emonda.

5/30 @7:00am - Group Road ride from Huntsville to Monte Cristo. Meet at Huntsville Park at 7:00am.We'll even have food to help make it enticing to get on your road bike at 7:00am.

Let us know if you have questions. Otherwise, we'll see you there!

April Events with The Bike Shoppe

We have some good things happening with The Bike Shoppe in April. We have already witnessed the premiere of the 7th installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, which is a difficult event to follow. We'll have our mountain rides each Saturday morning at 8:00 in April. We also have a family ride on Ogden River Parkway at 11:00 am on April 25. Then to help kick off next month, we'll be doing an electric bike demo on May 9th from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. Keep an eye out for the Grand Opening of our new service center expansion also.

April 11 8:00am-Mountain ride on Bonneville Shoreline north of North Ogden Divide. Meet at turn off on right shortly after you pass all of the homes as you head east on the Divide road.

April 18 8:00am-Mountain ride in Riverdale. Meet at Riverdale Bike Park at the end of Weber River Dr. in Riverdale. Turn south onto 700 West off of Riverdale Road and then take your first left onto Weber River Dr. then follow it to the parking lot at the end. Some of us will be there early to help with the community dig day at Riverdale's new pump track where the dirt jumps were. This mostly flat, but fun ride through the trees is great for those new to mountain biking.

April 25 8:00am-Mountain ride on Bonneville Shoreline north of 12th. Meet at Rainbow Gardens. We'll be riding under Canyon Road and heading north.

             11:00am-Family bike ride on Ogden River Parkway. Meet at Rainbow Gardens. We'll have                                 lunch available.

May 9 9:00am-5:00pm-Electric Bike demo at Rainbow Gardens. We'll have Heibike and iZip bikes available for demo. Bring your helmet.

Recreationally fast

I routinely hear people justify buying a lesser bike because they "aren't looking to win any races". Which makes sense. If you can't stand on top of the podium drenched in champagne holding an over-sized check, the extra money spent for more precise shifting or suspension that doesn't allow air to mix with the oil isn't a sound investment. However, the work and sacrifice to get to the level of receiving any monetary compensation for riding your bike is too much for most of us mere mortals. So what would be the benefit of getting fast for the recreational rider?

The biggest benefit of being able to ride faster is that you get to experience more in your limited amount of time. When you cover more ground, you see more, and therefore your adventure is more full. A ride usually reserved for Saturday when you have an open schedule can become the ride you do before work. Without argument, your day goes a lot better when you start it off looking down the Wasatch Front from the saddle of Ben Lomond peak.

Also, it's easier to sneak out for an hour when you know you can get a good ride in than to go for an hour and not even make it to the top of the local awesome trail. There is something defeating about having to turn around before you're ready.

Another benefit is that you won't need a week to recover from your Saturday frolic. You could even fit a couple significant rides into your week and still get your epic ride on Saturday. This can be attributed to better overall health and it will translate into eating and sleeping habits. So that brings us to how we can get faster. Here are the quickest and easiest steps to instantly get faster. Otherwise you have to do cross-training, which is all of the stuff that we started biking to avoid.

1. Eat Better

-This step seems hard, and it is very difficult to change your entire diet. However, food is fuel. The better the fuel, the better the engine runs. It's as simple as that. Consistently eating well is harder than just eating something good right before you head out, so start out eating well to fuel your rides. Who knows? You may even want to eat better. I'll let you figure out what fuel to consume, but whole foods are always a good thing. Carbs combined with protein and fluids with electrolytes probably will help also. Appropriate fuel varies depending on the ride.

2. Sleep

-This step is the most difficult for those of us with kids. but getting proper rest is crucial in order to have the energy to complete your ride. Then after you're done riding, you need to sleep again to recover so that next time you ride you'll be faster.

3. Upgrade Bike

-A lighter bike is going to make it easier to go uphill, but that's not the whole package. A bike designed for an intended use is going to accomplish the desired task better than a bike designed for something else. If you trailride a cyclocross bike, it will be light so it should climb well. But it's traction and geometry will slow you down. It may still be fun, maybe the kind of fun that near death experiences provide,but it won't be fast on a loose or technical trail. The Same goes for an 8-inch travel, dual-crown downhill bike on a smooth and flowy trail like Bonneville Shoreline. It will just be wrong for the trail and therefore, not fast. However, if you go with a mid-travel full-suspension bike it will be perfect for 95% of the trails out there and really good for the last 5%. The same applies to road bikes. A bike with endurance geometry will excel on the long rides, but not do as well as a climbing bike on North Ogden Divide. Just like mountain bikes, there are good road bikes that do it all. If you cater to the 95% of your riding, you will get faster with a better bike.

4. Upgrade Wheels

-This is easier than upgrading your entire bike and in some cases it's a better option than upgrading your entire bike. Better wheels will handle, accelerate, and even brake better than heavier or flimsier options. Lighter wheels should make you faster, but weight is only one aspect of what makes a good wheel. If you are on a limited budget, just upgrade your tires. Tires are the easiest way to make an immediate change in how your bike rides. Make sure you find the wheels and tires that are going work best for what you want them to do. 

5. Upgrade Components

-This is the least noticeable way to get faster, but still makes a difference. If you can crunch through gears while the hammer is down, you'll be faster. Upgrading to carbon handlebars and seat post will only make a little difference in the short run, but for the days you can go on longer rides those  "small" upgrades will help you feel fresher for longer and that will help you be faster. If you have a mountain bike and upgrade your suspension, you'll have more control which equates to more confidence and thus more speed. As Sir Isaac Newton taught us, more speed is directly related to being faster. And a dropper post on any bike will make you faster. ANY bike. Just ask me to prove it when I can build the Wikipedia page filled with my biased assumptions.

Now you can justify all the awesome stuff(including food and sleep) that will make you faster, because being faster lets you fit more riding in. And everyone can benefit from more riding. 

March Events with The Bike Shoppe

We've already had an awesome ride this month. We went from the trailhead in Pleasant View to Stan Thompson's Shoreline in Willard. It's a lot like the Bonneville Shoreline trail in Ogden, but taken to 11. It has steeper climbs than the rest of BST, but without being too much. It's much more technical as well. We rode it at night on the snow so it made it more difficult to find our way to the singletrack, but we found some additional good stuff. It was the perfect temperature to keep from overheating and we had a full moon so the lighting was great for spotting nocturnal creatures. We'll definitely be doing that ride again, but we'll have to wait for it to dry out now that the weather has turned back to Spring.

And because it's Spring, you need a new Yeti! Lucky for you, The Bike Shoppe is having a sale. We've marked down all Yeti 575 and Carbon SB-95 at 20% off! All Aluminium SB-95s are 25% off. Any other Yeti purchase this month gets you a dropper post and tubeless set up included.

If you are only 95% certain that you want a new Yeti, try one of our demos. Riding one will take that last smidgen of doubt away. Even if are only 5% convinced that a new Yeti is in your future, riding one will still make it easier to start a new love affair with a Yeti.

And if that isn't easy enough for you, we'll even bring you a demo bike on our group rides. This month we'll be riding on Saturday mornings at 8:00. We'll be riding Bonneville Shoreline this month starting on 3/14 we'll meet at the BST trailhead on North Ogden Divide. On 3/21 we'll meet at the mouth of Ogden Canyon and ride North. This is the trailhead across from Rainbow Gardens. 3/28 we'll meet at Beus Canyon trailhead.

We'll be posting everything that's happening each month so you know what to expect and where we're riding. We'll also post the results from regular wheelie contests as well, so practice up and you could be a winner!

Top 5 areas to ride dirt around Ogden

 The most obvious must ride trail in Ogden to any local is Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST). In the Ogden area you can ride from Beus Canyon all the way to Willard, mostly on dirt. And currently trails are being built to connect it entirely. I think the best sections are north of North Ogden Divide to Pleasant View and north of Ogden Canyon to Ogden Nature Center North. However, from Rainbow Gardens to Beus Canyon gets a lot more traffic and has really good flow. On any section of trail you should be well aware that there could be someone around a corner, but from Rainbow to Beus the chances of someone actually being there are very high.

The reason I personally like BST north of the Divide is because it is a fairly easy uphill with good sight in all directions and just enough technical riding to keep advanced riders entertained without being overwhelming to newer riders.

I like BST north of Ogden Canyon because there is less traffic and as you get further toward the Nature Center it gets quite rocky and technical. Most people will have difficulty past the intersection for Jump Off Canyon's trailhead. I only know of a couple of people that can ride the rocky, technical section out AND back. I think more riders will be able to do it as they try it on a fat bike, but on your typical mountain bike, you WILL get worked. This is part of the appeal to me. It's always challenging and I consistently have to walk less of it.

Another favorite among the locals is Ogden Bike Park (OBP). This has trails suitable for a 4 year old on 16 inch wheels and a coaster brake, yet it also has trails requiring 8 inches of travel and a dual crown fork. I have ridden OBP with my kids as well as with some of the most capable freeriders I know. It has every level of riding covered and it is constantly progressing because of the dedicated crew and locals that are willing to dig before they ride. Early this year the OBP crew built even bigger gaps and drops as well as two new pump tracks. I recommend these trails often to people that are just starting out riding on dirt as well as to people that want somewhere to take their bikes that usually require lift served or shuttle access.

I think the biggest thing OBP has going for it is all of the trails are one way only. That means that you can open it up and really rail the perfectly formed berms. You can also see most of the park from the top of the trails so you have a pretty good idea if someone is on the trail already or if someone is looking to come up despite the one-way only signs.

This is the first trail on the list that people might question your sanity if you enjoy it. Malan's Peak! It's a pretty short trail, but crazy steep with some insanely technical sections. Malan's is also a favorite among the hiking enthusiasts, so when we ride it we are perhaps overly accommodating so we can continue to ride it. I ride it because it's the only trail I am aware of that reminds me of the trails I grew up riding in Logan Canyon. Steep and technical can be miserable on the way up, but therapeutic on the way down. It usually takes me an hour to get up and about 15 minutes to get down. It is well worth it for roughly 15 minutes.

 Skyline trail to Ben Lomond's saddle is another personal favorite. It's another one that takes far longer to get up than it does to get back down. It has everything you could want in a ride; step downs, rocky sections, rooty off-camber sections, fast flow, and amazing views. When you ride it at night you can see all along the Wasatch Front, down into Ogden Valley, and up into Cache Valley. You can see mountain goats, moose, and deer on many of the rides up there. Plus the dirt and ecosystem change as you get further up. I can't relay how much I love this trail. Skyline is one of those trails that is physically demanding, but everything in life seems better after you've ridden it. It's one that you have to experience yourself.

The last place to mention is all around Snowbasin. If I had narrowed down this list to only specific trails, it would have consisted of mostly these trails and Skyline. If you start at Wheeler's Creek trailhead across from Pineview Reservoir, you can link thousands of vertical feet and pedal over 100 miles without taking the same route twice.

I think the routes most worth mentioning are the East Fork/Middle Fork loop, Sardine Peak Loop, and Ice Box Canyon. East Fork/Middle Fork is a fast flowing route that you can hit Ice Box Canyon on the way back down. Ice Box is steep, technical and beautiful. Sardine Peak ranks up there with BST as far as a favorite among locals, but because it's been the route for Xterra Nationals for a few years, it's on many rider's lists of must rides. I personally prefer to ride Sardine counter-clockwise, but because I made the mistake of trying to ride it that direction on a Saturday morning, I learned that most people like to ride it clockwise. Sardine is wide open for most of the ride because you have good visibility, but there are still some switchbacks and blind corners, and because it's a popular trail also, expect someone to be around that blind corner.

Let me know if you think there is anywhere I forgot to mention that you love to ride.