The wind is howling, the valley views are becoming obscured with dust, it’s been a hot day, but I’m at the top of a great ride on the Avimor trails! This is my first ride up here on these trails and unfortunately it took drastic measures to persuade me to be here. My good friend Andrew Shaber has been telling me that I need to get out to Avimor and ride for a couple of years now. Somehow I always weaseled out of this one. I don’t know why I didn’t want to ride it, but I just couldn’t get psyched for it.
Over the weekend I let Andrew borrow my GoPro to shoot footage of the Coyote Classic that he was riding in. We’re sitting there talking about it and he is telling us about his rough race, due to the flat tire that he had. I then asked him how the video was. He got a sheepish grin and said, “well that is some more bad news”. The long and short of it is that the camera mount had broken and the GoPro became the “Little Lost GoPro”… AGAIN. But this time, it is truly MIA.
And, that is why I’m up here riding the Avimor trails today – and enjoying every minute of it. I’m trying to find the proverbial needle in the haystack and not having any luck. We have an idea where some of the likely exit points are, like the 40 mph DH section down into Spring Valley Creek. But the picture in my head of the poor camera hitting the ground at 40 mph is showing me a scene of bouncing way off trail and landing in a bush, a hole or maybe just shattering itself on a rock.
Anyway, back to the trails. This loop is 15+ miles long and has 2,000 vertical gain. Although the trails are not technical from the perspective of high risk terrain features, there are plenty of rocks, boulders, snakes and cow-pies (in places) to keep you on your toes. Although the SWIMBA team and Avimor have done a fine job in developing many sections of this loop, there are still several miles of it that are basically primitive – it just follows cow paths and game trails. For me, this is a big plus! I’m always looking for more primitive types of rides. The other thing worth mentioning is the lack of people and the abundance of scenery. Very few riders and at the top end of this ride you are looking directly at the Bogus Basin area.
Only downside at this point is the primary DH section from the top down into Spring Valley Creek is not true single track. For the most part it utilizes an old 4wd roadbed. In that regard it is similar to the Hard Guy ride in Ridge to Rivers. I have included some photos and the GPS map with some of the key waypoints flagged. Where is the video? Oh, that’s right no GoPro!
Photo Gallery, (click on photos to enlarge):
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- At an elevation of approximately 5,000 feet, this photo shows the scenery is worth the climb at Avimor.
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- View down Willow Creek from near Sheep Rock. Beautiful spring shrubs in the foreground.
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- Afternoon cold front brings heavy dust to the valley, obscuring the views.
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- Single-track section from Willow Creek Pass to Sheep Rock.
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- Now we know where Sheep Rock got it’s name!
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- Sheepherder camp at Sheep Rock.
GPS Data (Avimor Sheep Rock Loop):
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