The last time I road the Tiger Mountain Preston Railroad trail felt like I was riding down a river. I’d never been as wet and cold on a ride in my life. The ride today couldn’t have been different. It was a gorgeous, cloudless 75 degree day on one of Seattle’s most famous rides.
A smoother section of trail on Tiger Mountain courtesy of http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/photo282988.htm
The ride begins with a grueling 3 mile climb up a forest road. Once over, you enter the main part of the Tiger trail. It consists of about 4 long and straight segments (perhaps 7 or 8 minutes each) broken up by 3 or 4 switchbacks. The thing that makes Tiger so fun, besides being able to let loose on the straights, is the amount of gnarly rocks and roots through that hammer you throughout the ride. I’ve honestly never ridden anything like it. Two things are a must on the trail: a burly full suspension bike and a strong belief in the mountain biking adage that you are safer in dangerous terrain when you are going faster.
I felt good on the ride today, and it’s been great in my last couple rides as I’ve constantly noticed improvement in my riding. But watching my friend Adam create a 1 minute lead on me during an 8 minute segment of trail still reminds me of the amateur I am.
Tags: Mountain Biking, Seattle, Tiger Mountain
August 7, 2009 at 5:25 am |
[...] Mountain Thrilla By charliefrench I’ve written about Tiger mountain before, so I’ll keep this one brief. I dominated the ride last Sunday. A few [...]