For a somewhat newish rider like myself, who’s never ridden McIntosh Run yet, would you folks recommend going with somebody familiar to the trails? Or are they now “refined” enough for solo riding? Just trying to gauge if I’m setting myself up for a bad time if I trek out there on my own sometime in the next week or so. For reference, I’m pretty comfortable riding places like Nine Mile River and Shubie Park, but haven’t really tested my skills at MRWA, Whopper, etc.
EDIT: Not that I mind tagging along with other riders (in fact I think I’d prefer it). I’m just anxious to give MRWA a try and get my riding season started.
The trails are reasonably well-marked, but it’s still possible to get turned around in there. With Trailforks on your phone it would definitely be less of an issue, especially if you try to plan a route out first. Might be worthwhile to join an ECMTB ride next time they host one there. You may also be able to simply go to the trailhead on a weekend and meet up with someone.
A tour is always nice, but if you go alone maybe start at the Norawarren end in Herring Cove on your first time out. Norawarren Parking POI | Trailforks
The navigation from there is pretty straightforward, though I still recommend having Trailforks. Ride the little loops then head out West Pine, cross the bridge and ride Duck N Run. These trails are probably the best ‘test’ if you are ready for more too, as they are generally easier than the granite areas in Governors Brook (the granite is easier than it looks, just an acquired skill). Duck N Run gives a bit of that granite flavour.
The granite stuff in Governors is where newbies get turned around, especially where paint dots are worn off.
Note that the trailhead maps are out of date. New ones are coming soon, hopefully. But Trailforks is totally up to date.
I do the predominance of my riding there in the summer time but mainly from the Norawarren end where for the most part there is only one way to go until you get to the heart. I have found myself getting turned around in the past, in some areas of The Attic, especially when riding after dark, fortunately in this are you can still see the houses and streets and its more of a confusion of which way does the trail go on these rocks to get me to where I want to go as opposed to where am I, sort of situation. Watch the trail reports on here, as I would imagine a lot of the Norawarren stuff will need a few days to dry out after all the rain we have had.
Joining a group ride would be helpful for you, ECMTB does rides there and starting in the next few weeks the Sportwheels weekly rides will be starting which will alternate locations but will include rides at Mcintosh run (check out the group here if interested Sportwheels Weekly Rides ) and watch on here for the weekly ECMTB rides as well, I would recommend going to group rides regardless of the location as it will give you a chance to make new riding friends and ride with more experienced riders which will help you progress as a rider. Also having the chance to follow along for a guided ride can help you see some of the better places to ride in that system and prevent you from taking a wrong turn and getting into something beyond your skill level or feeling like you are lost.
So I tried out the Norrawarren end today and was pretty surprised at how quickly the difficulty ramps up. Norra and Warren were both fine (skipped Joe Cocker), but started to get overwhelmed while heading out West Pine. I struggled to maintain any sort of flow and in general had a bit of a tough time. Any pointers from you more seasoned folk on how to ride this section?
Line choice pays off, while I find it less intimidating than the stuff off of the Osprey trail head with less aggressive drops, West Pine is a pretty relentless chattery rough ride, once you get to Duck N’ Run things are a little less chattery and then you start transitioning into more and more granite. You probably would enjoy Joe Cracker and as well as at the opposite end, Clark Kent but myself when I first started back to riding after a 13 year break found myself a lot more comfortable riding West Pine than the Osprey, Attic, etc. After a few months of doing that I know find myself pretty comfortable riding the blue stuff off the Osprey trail head, definitely had lots of wipeouts last summer and fall but was happy there was at least some dirt to fall into for slightly lower consequences. Following other riders during a group ride as suggested previously would certainly help you out to show you improved lines that what you may be choosing and how to approach features you may be struggling with.
While it may be a bit less exciting if you find West Pine and maybe the other stuff overwhelming at this point stick to the stuff you are more comfortable with and build your skills, as you get faster and improve your timing and abilities on the bike you will be able to progress to more difficult terrain.
Good advice above.
Run numerous laps of Nora, Warren and JC --until you feel you can carry speed without much effort – is good prep before jumping into West Pine. Sharpen the knife, so to speak.
You probably bounced off everything with those psi
FYI I’m 205lbs and running a FS bike tubeless with ~24psi in the front and ~27 psi in the rear. Working my way lower but this works well so far and great grip for steep climbs and enough stability for the faster parts.
Unless you’re as big as me, those pressure need to come down dude! i’m 6’7" and in the neighborhood of 275lbs and I run 26psi front and 32psi rear on tubeless or 35psi on a tube.
This was ~ 24 psi on the entrance to the new trail and wouldn’t want to get much lower… tire pressure makes a huge difference to your ride so get a good digital gauge so at least that part of your setup is consistent.
Thanks for the advice . I actually have a decent digital gauge but I just neglected to measure my pressures lately because I’ve just been doing more easy rides to shake the winter rust off. I’ll do some pressure tweaking before I come back to try the trails again.
I just got my new bike and the shop had my tires at 15psi when I picked it up.
I pumped them up to 30 (cause I liked a firm tire on my 26ers) and found it a bumpy ride and had major traction issues. I figured I should lower the pressure and what people are saying here confirms it. I’m about the same weight (210 ish) and on a 29er, so I think I’ll try 25psi or so and see how it feels.
When I was 170lb, I ran ~20 and 22ps because Stan Kozatiek of Notubes told me to. I figured that was gospel truth and it was.
I’m now much fatter and slower and run mid 20s. I’ll go up a few PSI for the rare times I’m in a place with high speed turns so my tires don’t roll off the rim.
The Norawarren trailhead is a good place to dial in tire pressures and suspension setup, especially for newish or returning riders. There is a mix of chatter, smooth surfaces, a few ledges, all within a few 100m of your car. Ride a few laps, tweak, etc…
@EMat, from your photo in other post, it looks like your new ride is a Growler with 27 plus tires. They run lower pressures so 15 psi may be in the ballpark.
. I actually have a decent digital gauge but I just neglected to measure my pressures lately because I’ve just been doing more easy rides to shake the winter rust off. I’ll do some pressure tweaking before I come back to try the trails again.