Mountain Biking Northern California's Best 100 Trails

by
Delaine Fragnoli
and
Robin Stuart

Fine Edge Productions, 1995, 302 pp.
ISBN: 0-938665-31-6

Genre: Non-Fiction
Subgenres: Outdoor Activities / Mountain Biking
Reviewed: 2/1/2002

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

Welcome to Mountain Biking Northern California

As the birthplace of mountain biking, Northern California holds a special appeal to mountain bikers. It was here that the sport's pioneers transformed the balloon-tired bike into the mountain bike. In doing so they revolutionized both the bicycle industry and backcountry recreation.

No one who has experienced Northern California's trails should be surprised by this. There is plenty of inspiration to be found in the area's natural lands. From the rolling oak woodlands of San Jose to the fabled headlands of Marin, from the volcanic splendor of Mt. Lassen and Mt. Shasta to the holy quiet of a redwood forest, from the alpine serenity of Lake Tahoe to the granite glory of Yosemite, there is scenery and terrain for all abilities and tastes. It's hard to look at these areas and not want to get on a bike to explore them!

Working with land management personnel, bike shop employees and local trail experts, we have compiled Northern California's top rides, many of which have never before been documented in print. We can say with confidence that this is the most thorough, wide-ranging mountain bike guidebook yet published for the area.

Synopsis

Mountain Biking Northern California's Best 100 Trails is a book of mountain bike rides in Northern California. There are 100 rides in 14 different sections (chapters). On the inside cover (both front and back) is a map that covers the entire northern half of California with each section outlined and numbered in the chapters.

At the beginning of each chapter is a description of the area and a wonderful map that shows you where each ride is located in that section or county. Each trail has a Overview, Distance, Difficulty, Elevation, Ride Time, Season, Map, Comments, Driving Directions and Route Description. 

The four Appendixes in the back of the book cover the following: The Care and Feeding of a Mountain Bike, Roadside Repair, Basic Skills for Mountain Biking, and Agencies and Visitor Centers.

Each ride can range from just one page to up to three. The map of each ride is somewhat helpful, but lacking in any kind of detail. The most useful part of the ride is the Route Description. The Overview is useful for letting you know what the ride is all about. 

Review

I have used Mountain Biking Northern California's Best 100 Trails for years. I have hauled it on many a ride and ever really only ran into a few problems. The book is heavy and can weigh you down a little if you drag it along with you. But I never really minded much. I found this book to be a really good source for the SF Bay, Truckee and Lake Tahoe areas.

Having also used the Mountain Biking Marin book, I found that since I used this book first, I preferred the layout of this book. Overall, this is a great book that can take you to many great rides in each of the 14 parts of Northern California that this book discusses.

In my opinion, the rides in Mountain Biking Northern California's Best 100 Trails are good, some are even great, but I know a few awesome rides that should have made it into this book.