CX’in the Nut

With summer coming early this year (6 months early) it’s been hard trying to force myself to stay in and do work, so instead of kidding myself I quickly gave up and rode some trails at walnut creek with cyclebum.

Being the ranting individual I am let me tell you what’s wrong with the nut before I tell you what’s right.

First off, it’s too damn far, something like 12 miles out of town. It doesn’t sound too terrible but a 30 mile road ride won’t leave you for much trail riding energy, especially since you won’t be riding a road bike out there. I don’t really mind being a pansy and driving the bike out there to ride, but it would definitely be a lot better if was ride to the ride-able (especially for ride imbibing).

Second off, people seem to mistake the trails there for extreme/downhill/british columbia trails. If you haven’t been before, the trails are pretty much rolling single track with some nice technical spots here and there. I’ve only ridden them on my cross bike and asides from a couple sections, most everything was rideable. A cross country bike would probably be able to handle everything. Yet every time I pull into the parking lot I see people with downhill helmets, downhill arm/knee pads, and downhill bikes. I went with my buddy Ray a while ago and on his 24″ rigid junker mountain bike he was able to clear everything he came across, including the root drop. I don’t mean to knock anyone’s style, but the only time those pads and full-face helmets are going to be useful is if I accidentally hit you backing out of the parking lot.

Third off, the network of trails is pretty well contained. There are definitely plenty of trails to ride, and looking at the trail map confirms there’s no shortage of trails, but they all lead back to each other and the parking lot never seems to be more than a 10 or 15 minute ride back. This was one of the things I first liked about the trail system since I would be able to take off with no direction in mind and not worry about getting lost but it’s kind of nice to go on a ride with different destinations, determining how good the ride was by how far out you went. Getting lost also sometimes makes for a good ride, or at the very least a longer ride (which equates back to a good ride).

Enough nitpicking though, walnut creek is pretty cool. The trails are super nice, well taken care of, and the creek crossings don’t get you soaked like the greenbelt (which is a plus when it’s cold out). The smooth windy trails cry out for more cross action, and the rockier sections let you see how much abuse the bike can take.

Here’s some walnut creek action from the last ride, taken from James’ flickr: