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| Kevin on Xanadu (going wrong way on trail) |
Rain, rain, rain. It's been a little wet at Snoqualmie Pass. In typical fashion we started looking east for a dry spot to ride. Cle Elum, wet, Yakima, getting wet, Leavenworth, not wet since 6 am! Leavenworth the mecca of mountain biking. Unfortunately not! It should be a better place to ride, but trail development seems to be way too complicated when dealing with the federal government that controls most of the hills above town. Leavenworth originally had Freund Canyon, an old road turned to trail. They have slowly been getting approval to expand that network. Then there is the renegade unapproved trails like Xanadu and Tres Hombres. Despite riding every year in Leavenworth we have always shied away from Xanadu due to it's reputation of being a little burly. Well today with funky weather we checked it out. It runs along the spine of a ridge through a burned out forest, so the soil should get enough sun and wind to dry out. The pedal starts up Derby Canyon Rd, then hooks left onto a gated logging road that is a little more trail like. The trail itself drops down the ridgeline with banked corners and a couple sections of steep slickrock and trail. Overall trail is fairly rideable, but due to lots of use and not enough trail work it has a lot of braking bumps. Since the loop is only about 6 miles we hopped in the car at the finish and relocated to the Ski Hill parking area in Leavenworth. With soils getting dryer the Rosy Boa loop was great. The climb trail is sweet, followed by the roller coaster downhill of Rosy Boa then finished on 4 The Boys. Definitely enjoyed Rosy Boa better than Xanadu, but glad we finally ticked off Xanadu. This was a good way to combine two rides that alone are not very long.
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| Francine still on her bike |
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| Trail 2 - Bike shot on Rosy Boa, Leavenworth Wa. |
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| Francine on Rosy Boa |
