I’d like to find some good mountain biking trails in the Sierras and Bay Area.

High Sierras… Downieville, Mr Toads Wild Ride, The Great Flume Trail.

All good stuff….

Bay area Napa’s Oat Hill Mine Trail at Calistoga finish the whole ride at 16 miles. Awesome, Annadel State Park, Henry Coe State Park, China Camp…. to name a few.

If you go at Sacramento Region… theres Salmon Falls, Auburn State Park Recreation area- Foresthill, Connector, Clementine, Confluence trails.
Enjoy the ride

I would like to do some mountain biking in mexico. I currently travel to Guanajuato a lot, but I am also interested in any other good Mexican mountain biking destinations.

Here’s bicimapas index and it looks like they have 3 routes with maps and fotos in the Guanajuato area

http://www.bicimapas.com.mx/Indice%20de%20Bicimapas.htm#Mapa

I’m not in great physical shape in any way; I’m 5’11" and 240 lbs. but I really want to try mountain biking, besides starting out slow what do I need to know?

The only thing you need to be concerned with is getting out and riding… Dont worry about starting slow or any of that. No matter how slow you start, you’ll still get hot and tired and wind up crashing eventually. That’s the beauty of mountain biking… you will crash, you will get tired, you will get hot… but, in the end, you’ll always come back for more just for the sheer joy of it all.

Dont worry about your weight, just get some water, a helmet and maybe some gloves and go ride. If you think something is beyond your skill level, it is… If you think something looks too dangerous, again it probably is. Your mind and body will tell you what to ride and what not to ride, you dont need to concern yourself with anything but enjoying yourself along the way. Once you get the bike handling skills and general riding down, you’ll know when it’s time to up your game… those things that looked like too much just starting out will start calling out to you as you ride… Just follow those instincts and you’ll be fine.

I am looking for a bike that I can use not only for easy mountain biking trails, but also for riding around my neighborhood. I have seen hybrid bikes and Im not totally sure what those are. Can someone please help me or point me in the right direction!!! Thanks

You sound like a candidate for a hybrid. They are called that because they are a cross between a road and mountain bike. The frame is similar to a mountain bike. Wheels are the same diameter as road bikes (700C) but narrower and tires have less aggressive treads than a true mountain bike. They often have front (and maybe seat) suspension, but they will usually have mountain bike style handlebars and gears. They are well suited to city roads, bike paths and hardpack trails, but being a hybrid are less suited to long, fast road rides than a road bike or to rough/demanding trails than a mountain bike. See the article at the link.

I’m just getting into mountain biking having just acquired a Gary Fisher model. I’m wondering what is the best online forum/website (online community of experts and fellow mountain bikers) for mountain biking?

www.MTBR.com or www.Pinkbike.com. I like pinkbike alot better, theres tons of stuff on there, BuySell, photos,videos,forum, and tons of other stuff.

just wondering what kind of shoes guys wear when they go downhill mountain biking. ive been watching some freeride clips and it looks like they’re wearing skateboarding shoes but I couldnt really tell for sure. thanks in advance for your help.

Im a big fan of clipless pedals, if you get Shimano M540 pedals and shoes to suit, you can try them out! If you cant get on with them, then use another pair of shoes as this pedal has a platform as well!

Worth checking out eh?

I have a camelbak that i use for mountain biking and a Dakine Heli Pro 20L. Could i take the blue camelbak thing that holds the water and put in in my heli pro? Or will it freeze? The heli pro can hold water poutches but i dont have a dakine reservoir.

I’m not sure about it freezing but I would try it. General those packs that hold bladders will except any bladder on the market unless u have a huge baldder.

I live in San Francisco, very close to the Golden Gate Park. I have a 2009 Specialized Rockhopper and I’m looking for places where I can go for mountain biking. I usually go to the Golden Gate Park and there is a trail along the Lincoln side of the park and I usually ride there. Do you guys know any cool mountain biking trails in Golden Gate Park or any other place in SF?

Bikes aren’t allowed on the trail along Lincoln. :\ Between cyclists riding on paths they’re prohibited from, riding on sidewalks, and seeming to not understand the concept of stops signs, etc… I often wonder if most are illiterate and unable to read the plainly written laws or if they’re just content being assholes. But yeah, the path you ride on? Bikes aren’t allowed (well, they are at the very Western end, until the bike path cuts away and crosses over and goes near the casting ponds, etc…).

Um, snarkiness aside, and giving you the benefit of the doubt, the trail at Lands End (well, the main trail, and most of it, anyway) is a nice enough one and allows bikes. Also, Mount Sutro is privately owned by UCSF (ie: not public, so state/city traffic laws, which bicycles are subject to, don’t apply) and doesn’t *prohibit* bikes (which, since it’s private property and they’re not prohibited, then obviously they’re allowed). Probably the best bet for mountain biking (lots of trails, hills, relatively rough terrain – perfect for mountain biking… just, obviously slow down/watch out when turning blind corners on narrow paths).

Anyway, here’s a map from the SF Bicycle Coalition of bike trails in the city (the green ones are the offroad trails that bikes are allowed on): http://www.sfbike.org/download/SF_Bike_Map_2009.pdf

My dad is impossible to get gifts for, so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas to get him. He enjoys hiking and mountain biking, and travels to national parks frequently. Any ideas for a gift?
He also enjoys wine.

Dose he have?

Handheld GPS
Camel bag ( water back pack )
Walking stick ( or walking poles )
Gift card for new boots
Good day pack
A year pass for the National Parks

saddle bags for the bike
Small repair kit for bike

most of these thing will work for both sports.
Good luck