Bike - Auburn

The start of the ride with the Foresthill Bridge above.

Thanks to the recent storms, we now have about five feet of snow on the ground. Nancy was jonesing to see some green grass, so we drove down to Auburn for a bike ride.

There are a number of trails near the confluence of the North Fork and Middle Fork of the American River. There’s also a lot of people at the confluence on a Saturday—mountain bikers, dirt bikers, hikers, horse riders, street bike riders and people just hanging out at the river.

The confluence area is noteworthy for the Foresthill Bridge, the highest in California (730’) and the third-highest in the country. It was built in 1973 in anticipation of a dam project that was abandoned a few years later.

How the Culvert Loop gets its name.

The beginning of the Culvert Loop descent.

A 30-foot gap jump, with Nancy just barely clearing the landing. Way to stick it, Honey!

We rode the Lake Clementine Loop (a/k/a the Culvert Loop) first. This trail is more for the DH crowd because you climb for three miles and then descend for three miles, and the descent is strewn with wacky jumps.

The trail is nice while it hugs the river, but then it switches to asphalt for the climb. I don’t think we’ll be riding it again; it’s only a six mile loop and a third of it is paved. However, if you’re into jumping, you can shuttle it with two cars.

On the Foresthill Divide Loop Trail.

According to park regulations, bikers must yield to mountain lions.

Since the Culvert Loop was so short, we drove up the road to another trail, the Foresthill Divide Loop. You can access this trail from the Culvert Loop, but then it’s about 26 miles, and it was too late in the day to go that far.

The Foresthill Divide trail is about eleven miles of rolling terrain, with lots of short climbs, but nothing too long or steep. We followed some locals who looked like they knew where they were going and rode it counter-clockwise. Good choice—the trail coming back on the north side of the road is a great singletrack, predominantly downhill, with smooth red clay and lots of banked turns.

The trail has grassy knolls interspersed with the trees on the south side, and the north side is all oak groves with occasional areas of manzanita.

We saw several signs of mountain lions—clumps of fur and piles of scat on the trail. Nancy was a little nervous. In a typical attack, mountain lions are alerted by the first rider to come by, and then pounce on the second, ripping out the second rider’s throat and intestines. You can probably guess who rides second ...

"Uh, sorry Honey ... Darwinism, you know. It’s just nature’s way of culling the herd. But the odds of an attack are so remote. Honey? Honey...?"

The trail is suitable for beginner/intermediate riders—carnivores notwithstanding—since there are no technical sections. Both loops together added up to about 18 miles.