Every year the weekend before Memorial Day there is a gathering of people from the MTBR Norcal Forum called May By the Bay. This year there were 6 rides, with the final three days rides at Annadel Park, Boggs Mountain, and Oathill Mine Trail. It’s an informal gathering with no official sponsors and it’s 100% free, even the camping at Boggs is free.

Fiona and I went to the Annadel ride on Saturday and rode at Boggs Demonstration Forest on Sunday and Monday. Both Boggs and Annadel are amazing mountain bike friendly parks with miles and miles of awesome trails. If you like fast buffed singletrack you can’t go wrong at either place. I’ve been riding at Boggs for 5 years and every year there are more and more trails there.

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Last year I rode at Annadel in Santa Rosa for the first time. I joined the festivities of May by the Bay, an annual mountain bike gathering organized through MTBR. Knowing that I hadn’t ridden there before, I asked for directions on recommended routes. Instead I ended up with a pair of guides who graciously showed me the way at my speed. I found Annadel to be a beautiful park with many trails that could be ridden by different experience levels. Definitely a place to have a map or guide the first time though. Even experienced riders could have a less than stellar ride without some prior information.

Now it’s a year later and I have the chance to ride there again, so off I go. I end up starting off the ride with about a dozen other riders in addition to the ride leaders of the year before. Even just a short time into the ride, I notice that instead of walking the climb, I’m still on the bike. And I’ll confess, looking back and seeing a couple other people behind me helped motivate me to keep pedaling. The route was very similar to last year’s. As I rode along I kept noticing that it seemed easier. I did walk some sections still, but I also was able to stay on the bike and clear some stuff that just seemed too hard just 12 months earlier. All in all I had a blast and felt glad to make it back to the parking lot at the end of the ride. A change of clothes and something cold to drink made a perfect end.

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MTBR sponsors several annual gatherings. One of the biggest in Norcal is May By The Bay and it’s going on right now. Last weekend they had some rides at Coe Park and in the South Bay area, this weekend (and during the week) they are moving north, I’m planning on participating in 4 rides over the next few days, at Rockville Ride on Friday, Annadel Saturday, Boggs Mountain Sunday, and I will be leading the Oat Hill Mine trail ride on Memorial Day. If you are interested in participating you can catch the buzz at the MTBR Norcal Forum or there is a MBTB 8 page which was put up by Fast Eddy.

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I just got an email and I thought it was an excellent question so I figured I would put it up here to share.

>Mr. Ogre, (I actually prefer just Ogre or Dennis)
> Great site! I love your trails descriptions… I was wondering if you could recommend your favorite summer trails.. I live in downtown sacramento and Salmon Falls, Granite Bay and Auburn are getting waaay too hot to ride this time of year.
> Can you recommend a cooler summer trail, temperature-wise? I don’t mind making a long drive.
> Also, what trails are the best to see some Redwoods?
> Any help is appreciated.
> Thanks!
> – Chris

Chris, you should head towards the coast, look on my website under North Bay or South Bay (East Bay is still pretty warm). Annadel is a great place to ride and has lots of shade. A lot of people really like China Camp, I don’t have a ride report but it’s a fun place to ride if you stick to the singletrack. Skyline Park is also a bit cooler than it is in the Central Valley. Since you want to see some redwoods, consider heading to Skeggs Point (AKA El Corte de Madera/ ECdM) or the Saratoga Gap Trail, or any of the South Bay Rides

In the other direction is the Sierras, Sly Park offers some good riding and there are tons of rides in the Lake Tahoe Area (I don’t have many Tahoe rides on my site but there are plenty out there). One trail in the Sierras that I really enjoy is Elicott’s Crossing, which takes you along the Rubicon River near Georgetown. Another great place to look is MTBSingletrack.com which has lots of Nevada City Area rides. I haven’t been able to explore that area much but it should be cooler than the Auburn Ravine.

Hope that gives you a few summertime options.
—Ogre

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I made a return trip to the Cannell Plunge, this time with a larger group, and with some people who were a bit faster than I am. We pushed a bit faster pace than I did last time and we also put in some bonus miles to Sherman Peak before heading down the Cannell Trail. Overall this was an incredible journey and the best ride yet.
I also had a great ride with Eric and Kelly at Annadel Park near Santa Rosa so I should have pictures posted from that soon as well.

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