Sawtooth Mtns, Idaho

[seenvic]

It is the real deal. Hard to describe, but at times it made Pisgah look like Romper Room.

Take the techie rocky area on Wine Creek, make that the whole trail, put some exposure on it, and make the 283 end about 1300 feet higher than Key Br. and finally put it all at 8,000' elevation and you have the trails in the Sawtooth Mtns. Oh yea, throw in some gulley erosion for good measure. Scree fields, boulder gardens, extreme exposure, creek crossings and a herd of sheep were several of the things making it all interesting.

Best time I have ever had on a bike, and also the most scared have ever been on a bike. I walked up some steep stuff that was hard to even walk up. Every now and then, a section of a 7 mile DH would be so nasty, I'd have to walk it for fear of dying trying to ride it. Yea, 7 miles - all downhill. Going so fast, it was hard to control the speed w/ disk brakes. But control was key as it could be death around the next bend. there was just no telling what was coming next.

I signed up w/ Western Spirit Cylcing and got more than my money's worth. The food they prepare is over the top....it's borderline fine dining. The camp sites are great. The riding is downright heinous at times, but still fun. The views are incredible.

I can't wait to return.

[Tony]

Sounds like Sawtooth caused the adrenaline to flow. Was your trip rated for a certain skill level of rider? I've been thinking I would try one of these western trips someday, but I'm not the down hiller type. Good to hear a favorable rating for the tour company you used.
Tony

[seenvic]

Tony,
The trip we did was for experienced riders. Me and MB were the only (maybe one other guy) that had never been on a trip w/ Western Spirit before. It took about 4-5 conversations w/ the staff before we were told to look hard at the Sawtooth Trip. I had to sell them a little.
The catch is this: WSC is going to vet the canididates for the "hard singletrack" trips pretty hard. If you sign up for an "easier" trip, it could be that you will thrive on the trails, but someone else in your group is in over their heads - way over their heads. If so, they could really slow the group down. For many sound reasons, WSC keeps the group together. This is a good idea and fortunately for us, I thought our time spent waiting on others was reasonable. At times, a few riders were waiting on me as well (with still more riders coming behind me.) Also, in my research, several of the trips have little to no true singletrack. I didn't want to be riding all fire service roads, no matter the scenery.
From my experience, I will go w/ WSC again. I will try hard to make it a "private" tour. I need 10 riders to do that, and think I could prolly get 5-7 from here and contact the riders I was with from Marin County, CA and see if they can't fill the rest of the slots. If I could pull this off, we could simply ask WSC to take us on a total custom tour with rides to match our style and ability.
After looking at the printed itinerary, and reflecting on the routes we took - our guides mixed up a couple of the rides to create longer days than what was in the itenirary. I am glad they did.
My advice would be to go w/ at least one other familiar face w/ similiar ability as you have. Also, I'd be wary of going anywhere over 9,000' elevation. The elevation hit me hard at about 7,000', while I never really notice it in Pisgah (aprox 4,000').

[ted]

I just wanted to recommend another tour company in Bend, Oregon that you may be interested in. Go to www.cogwild.com for more information and details. They have rides for all skill levels and all of the rides are 85-95% singletrack with elevation not being a factor. Don't get me wrong, there will be plenty of climbing if you desire but the altitude won't be a factor. If you call, try to speak with Woody. The best time of year to go is between April or May through September with the later months being slightly hotter.