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Strawberry, California
Strawberry
is located 20 miles West of South Lake Tahoe on Highway
50.
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| Strawberry is a good place to ride if you
want to experience some extremely tough riding. From the town
of Strawberry you will go West (towards Sacramento) 1 mile to
42 mile tract. Get off the highway, cross the American River
and go right. Follow this paved road about 3/4 of a mile to
the second left turn-off. The turn-off should say Strawberry
Canyon. If you cross a bridge with a small creek running under
it you have gone 1/4 mile too far. Follow Strawberry Canyon
road a few miles to the Highway 88 turn-off (picture). This
climb is crazy. It was chopped into the side of a mountain that
is very steep and very rugged. It is a 4x4 road that is not
maintained-at all. Talking granny for everyone, yes everyone.
I would be very impressed to see even a World Cup pro make some
of these pitches with a middle-ring. This climb will take a
good long time to get to the top. Eventually it flattens out
after about 5 miles of very technical riding there is a parking
lot off to the right hand side and you can do one of three things: |
Option 1: You
can go right at the top and jump on a "barely a
trail-trail." It's there but it is hard to find.
This follows the ridge west for 2 miles and eventually
dumps into "Buck Meadows" (right). This section
of the trail is very hard to find and should not be
attempted without a good topographical map. You will
now drop back into Strawberry Canyon. You climbed out
of it when you got onto the Highway 88 trail. You will
have to backtrack about a half of
a mile out of Buck Meadows. You
do not have to go to Buck Meadows if you do not want
to (you can drop back into Strawberry Canyon before
you get to Buck Meadows), it is just really beautiful
in there. Keep your eye out for markers on trees that
will go back down into the canyon. This single-track
is unreal. It is as equally challenging as the climb
you just came up. Many places are almost unridable.
This trail will take you all the way back to where you
started and you will pass by the Highway 88 turn-off
sign where you turned earlier. This route makes the
ride a "loop."
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Option 2: You
can turn around at the top and come back down. This
is highly reccomended due to the possibility of getting
lost in the Buck Meadows area. Coming down that crazy
climb is about as fun of a downhill you can ride. There
are so many rock gardens and water bars that you will
be like a kid in a candy store. Several fast creek crossings
and technical drops make for some interesting terrain.
This downhill is well worth it. It makes the ride an
"out and back" but it is a great venture.
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| Option 3: You
can drop into the other side of the mountain and have
someone pick you up on the Highway 88 side. Get a topo
map if your serious about riding up there. There are
also many others rides up there on countless fire roads.
It is really an untapped mountain bike resource. Have
fun, get a map, and be careful. |
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