Niner R.I.P. 9, Maple Springs to Silverado Motorway

Thinking about a new mountain bike, so I rented a demo and went for a ride. It was a Niner R.I.P. 9, which stands for Roll In Peace. It was my first ride on a full suspension bike, so I wanted to do something challenging. I thought all the state parks would be closed due to the rain we had Thursday night, so I headed for the Cleveland National Forest. The trails there don't close when it rains, but there's little to do except climb, climb, climb. Although I've been putting some major miles on my road bike lately (124 miles last week, 178 miles the week before), I was definitely challenged by the unrelenting steep climbing offered by Maple Springs Road. This picture was taken about half way up to the Main Divide. 

This bike has hydraulic disk brakes, full suspension and 29 inch wheels (my current bike has none of those things). The brakes and suspension were of little benefit on the climb, but the big wheels made a difference - they roll over rocks and ruts instead of running into them.

About a mile from Main Divide, I met my friend Lauren running down from Modjeska Peak. She said there was ice and snow up there. We chatted a while, took some pictures, and then continued on our ways.

Here is Lauren posing with my bike. At the Main Divide I met another rider coming up Harding, and he took this picture of me by the gate. Don't I look like a roadie?

Check out the rainbow in the background. I could see rain showers in the distance, but managed to avoid them. The Main Divide Road is steep up and steep down, complete with ruts, rock outcroppings, and loose gravel. In other words, a nice test for the disk brakes and full suspension. Well, the disk brakes were great, because I found myself descending like a little old lady. Been away from this for too long, I guess.

This is the top of the Silverado Motorway, a rocky, narrow singletrack that drops 2,000 ft. in 3 miles. There are steep drop-offs right next to the trail, so you don't want to make any mistakes on this descent. I made it down the switchbacks, past the several landslides and washouts without any serious mishaps. It was pretty scary at times, what with the loose rocks and the skidding, but lots of fun, too. A confession: I've been up and down this trail on foot, but had never descended it on a bike before today. I hate to admit it, but I was too scared to go down it on my 20 year old steel hardtail. I had the confidence to do it on this bike.


To summarize, the bike was awesome! A little heavy, though, which I noticed on the climb. And I'm not sure if I actually got much benefit from the full suspension because of my slow speed while descending. On the other hand, I didn't feel too beat up afterward. That could be due to the full suspension. I think I'll try the same ride with a lightweight hardtail next time.

Here is an elevation profile of the ride. The total cumulative elevation gain was 4,068 ft. Distance was 16.4 miles.