Mountain Biking
Forest of Nisene Marks SP

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Wednesday Night Rides in
the Forest of Nisene Marks SP

Mountain biking in Santa Cruz County
by Dave Smith owner of Shuttle Smith Adventures

The little town Aptos has a beautiful forest called the Forest of Nisene Marks SP.  It has about 10,000 acres of redwoods, streams, fire roads, and single-track.  In a nutshell – it has just about anything a mountain biker could ever want.  Scroll down for the rest of the story...

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The Details of the Ride

The Forest of Nisene Marks SP has many great rides, and they are even more fantastic when you share them with friends.  With that in mind, we have a local ride every Wednesday night throughout the summer. It's a great place to meet with other local riders. 

The experience and physical abilities of the riders vary greatly.  Some riders just want a fun ride, while others wish to challenge their own physical abilities.  The faster riders can make it up to Sandpoint in just under 40 minutes and that is cookin' fast.

We meet at the entrance of the Forest of Nisene Marks SP in the parking lot right behind the Epicenter Cycling Bicycle Shop at about six o’clock in the evening.  If you get there early, you can warm up on the new pump track and fine tune your bike skills.

The ride begins with pavement that turns into a base rock road.  Riding through the redwoods, you’ll travel about 3 miles on a semi-flat road.   It is a great warm up. Then the fun starts as we travel up an incline which is about another 3 miles of winding road to the top.  You'll want to pace yourself because once you hit the top of the incline, you will have another 3 miles of about 4% grade before you reach our destination at Sandpoint.  Once you make it, you'll be able to enjoy some great views.  In fact, on a clear Wednesday evening, you can look out over the Monterey Bay and see 80 or so sailboats racing from the harbor in the Wednesday Night Regatta.

When you are ready for the return trip, you can travel back down the 9 miles of fire road to the Aptos Station.  The whole ride is about 18 miles long and takes approximately a 1½ to 2 hours complete.

After the ride, it's always nice to stop in at the Britannia Arms for a little refresher.  Enjoy it -- you have earned it! 

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This article is written and submitted by Dave Smith owner of
Shuttle Smith Adventures – (831) 234-3383

Use this information at your own risk.  Explorer1.com / Digital Renaissance
take no responsibility for this content or how you use it.

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