Left Hand training session with TVR
Today was session No. 3 in Terminal Velocity Racing’s pre-season program. We hiked and rode at Left Hand Canyon OHV Area, and it was a great adventure.
No photos today. The little camera is AWOL.
Terrain: Steep, rocky, mostly raw and occasionally groovin’ singletrack.
Weather: It started off about 20 degrees, with two inches of fresh snow on the ground.
Duration: Three hours.
Mode of elevation gain: Feet.
Hiking: Burly. As if the steepness and length weren’t enough, the random mix of snow, slush, mud, gravel and boulders kept things interesting. Will it slip? Will it stick? Let me step on it and find out.
Clearance issues: We learned something about Intense Socoms and M3s. We had two Socoms and one M3 in the group, and mud built up so badly that their rear tires wouldn’t turn. The Intenses cleared just fine on the descent. The Demo 8 and 303 had no issues.
Sessioning: We hiked to the top, rode a short section, repeated that a couple times, rode through to the next section, worked on that for a while then repeated the pattern all the way to the bottom. The guys did a lot of hiking, and they were strong the whole time.
Focus: The rocks and roots were super slippery. Our mantra: Try not to hit the front of anything, but, if you do, stay loose and let it roll.
Riding: Zach, Yosei, Matt and Jake all rode really well. I’ve known these guys for a few years, and it’s awesome to watch their riding progress. They were pinning it through snowy rock gardens, railing muddy berms and just generally having fun.
New trail: We explored a trail that was recently re-opened, and it promises to be excellent. The bottom had flowy moto-style turns, and the top had steep rock-and-root faces. We got about 2/3 of the way up before we ran out of time. We all killed that descent: brakeless through the messy stuff, drifting through semi-tacky turns, mud flying everywhere, huge smiles.
Next week: We’re going back to Left Hand, and we’re starting with the new trail.
From sunnier days:
 Last year’s crew at the top of the hike. |
 Pro DHer Zach Griffith gets some. |
 Elliott Hoover earns his turns. |
 Wiley Robinson hit this weird quicksand at full speed — and went flying. This is a real photo. |
Get better and have more fun: Take a skills clinic with Lee.
For a guy who is unfamiliar with trails around Denver, Boulder, Golden, etc. any tips on some trailheads to knock the old dust off my Sunday? That trail sounded fun, I just need to find some stuff to train on.
For a downhill bike, I suggest an OHV area. Unless you ride during off times, it’s unethical to pin it on public hiking/horse/MTB trails.
So see REI or DOW for maps of said OHV areas then?
Yup.
Or start at the bottom of Left Hand, hike to the top and pick a way down. The trailheads have maps …
i hit up lefthand yesterday. it was dry and tacky, perfect condtions. just curious where the newly opened old trail is that you were talking about? i only sessioned the lower stuff from around five points didn’t head all the way to the top due to lack of time.
“We learned something about Intense Socoms and M3s. We had two Socoms and one M3 in the group, and mud built up so badly that their rear tires wouldn’t turn. The Intenses cleared just fine on the descent. The Demo 8 and 303 had no issues.”
The 303 has amazing clearance for a complicated suspension design. I like single pivots because they usually don’t have clearance issues but 303 is definitely on my list for riding in muddy areas.