Big Mountain Riding

The classic Candler's Bridge

Part II – click here for Part I – While a select group of riders continued to visit Candler’s Mountain, it fell out of the popular scene in the first half of the ’00’s. The introduction of the Derailer series – a group of races at regional parks like Peaks View and others drew attention to a faster, flatter style of mountain biking on tight, twisty singletrack. The big mountain gnarly rutted jeep trails and mud-bath action of Candler’s, and its questionable legality made it less desirable for social rides.

However, deep in the woods something was happening. A few really nice singletrack trails were crafted, and managed to remain unpoached by four-wheelers. This was mostly because of their side-hill nature, or the amount of big downed logs they crossed. And then, on a sweet, wet trail leading down a valley from the FAA tower hill, someone built the first quality bridges.

Always a favorite of mine, from the days when it was an exercise in corduroy riding through deep, rich black mud, the trail now added a little more Northwest flair to its already rain-forest-like dampness. It’s now called A Trail Too Far, but for awhile it was known simply as the Bridge Trail. Kudos to that bridge builder, who put in quality, natural wood bridges that are still going strong almost 5 years later.

The fast, flowing Luge Trail

Other classics of those middle years still live on in the modern trail system. I’ll use their current names, to avoid confusion. A favorite downhill run starts atop the Monogram hill and comes down Peak-to-Peak and crosses the Monogram Road to drop down Luge Trail. The Luge trail is an olden goldy, that I used to call Bobsled Trail – ride it and you’ll see. You can drop all the way down to the Route 460 off-ramp on Luge Trail, but be prepared for foot traffic, as it is a popular hiking route up to the Monogram. Off-season and mid-day are the best for fast descents.

Another favorite was an unnamed and unmarked trail that ghosted up a narrow valley and came out atop the front ridge, overlooking Lynchburg. It has been finished and is now part of Alternate Flight Pattern. It has some nice surprises, like a log crossing at the top of a sudden incline – don’t worry, momentum will carry you across – and some fun plank bridges. It is a commitment trail, like the best big mountain trails are.

An old favorite that has unfortunatelybeen sacrificed is the Lake Trail, which featured one of most fun sidehill descents of the LU Mountain Trail System. However, it came down from the sight of the coming Snowflex Centre, and it saw some of its last use during the 2008 Assault on Liberty Mountain race. The lower half is still open, but the top half had the challenging switchbacks and the very narrow sidehill singletrack. Here’s to the ghost of singletracks past.

The Lake Trail, A Trail Too Far and other’s are the type of trail that endears LU Mountain / Candler’s to the big mountain rider. These are trails that one can ride over and again, and have a different experience each time. Additionally, these classics present challenges that one can spend hours overcoming. These trails foster the evolution of the rider, who progresses from not even considering a section rideable to one day mastering it all with flow and style.

Getting low on A Trail Too Far

This evolution has reached a happy phase right now. While I may wax nostalgic for the wild and wooly days of railing rutted jeep trails and plowing through puddles that thought they were lakes, I take my hat of to Liberty University and what they’ve done with opening up the trail system. Now mapped and signed, and featuring new singletrack galore, the mountain is more of a mountain biking destination than ever before. Look for future posts highlighting some of the best big mountain riding the mountain has to offer in its proclaimed more than 60-miles of trails. ©Big Mountain Riding