But fret not — we've done enough pedal-testing to find the best of the bunch, no matter if you prefer ripping down singletrack mountain bike trails or a leisurely weekend jaunt downtown.
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In this case, it's a post from Singletrack (and also covered by Boing Boing) looking at a particular crossroad in the United Kingdom that leads to a large number of accidents between bicycles and cars.
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Singletrack was founded in 2001 by Chipps Chippendale, Mark Alker and Shaun Murray. The magazine is currently published six times a year in both print and a variety of digital formats. In 2011 Singletrack published its first eBook - a collection of the previously published columns of Mike Ferrentino. Singletrack grew from an earlier web site, GoFar, an acronym for 'Get Out For A Ride', which ran from 1998 to 2001 and was founded by Matt Wenham along with many contributors from the uk.rec.
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Starting in 2010 the organizers reverted to the original start (Fernie) and finish (Canmore) towns with a new route that will include more singletrack and less road that earlier years. The first day is a timetrial on the singletrack trails around Fernie. Days two and three are also on Fernie singletrack and include well-known local trails such as Porky Blues. Day four starts with a bus ride from Fernie to the North Fork Recreation Area and finishes in the Little Elbow Campground.
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Singletrack issue 2, Summer 2001 Singletrack is a UK-based mountain biking magazine and web site. The magazine is aimed at more mature mountain bikers and intended to provide a counterpoint to magazines such as MBUK which are aimed at a younger audience. It is based in Todmorden, West Yorkshire.
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Singletrack trails are often realigned to help improve the recreational experience while protecting the watershed from excessive sediment delivery into the creek.
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This discipline is similar to mountain biking, where the Dirtsurfer is ridden off-road down varying grades of tracks, from forest roads to technical singletrack.
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There are approximately of paved pathways through Rouge Park. In addition, the Michigan Mountain Biking Association and Student Conservation Association have developed a hiking/mountain bike singletrack trail.
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The Oleta River, situated north of Miami, drains the northern Everglades into Biscayne Bay, allowing freshwater to reach the Atlantic Ocean. Today, it is the only natural river in Miami-Dade County that has not been dredged and channelized. Its seven miles (11 km) of shoreline are largely undeveloped, making the Oleta River Corridor a vestige of wilderness in a matrix of urbanization. Between the Everglades and Biscayne Bay, over six miles (10 km) of trail have been developed for use by off-road vehicles: slightly more than a mile of expert singletrack, a half-mile of intermediate singletrack, almost three miles (5 km) of novice singletrack, and more than two miles (3 km) of paved pathway.
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The preserve has become a destination mountain biking trip, with over 25 miles of trails, mostly singletrack. The trails provide a wide mix of difficulties from beginner to expert.
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There are many miles of mountain biking singletrack available at Pocahontas for a variety of skill levels. These narrow trails feature log hops, tight turns, water crossings, and rock gardens. The park uses a ski style grading system to mark the singletrack, that is different from other trails in the park. There are 3 distinct trail systems in the park, Morgan trail system, Lakeview trail system, and the newest system, Swift Creek trail system.
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NICA's mission "develops high school mountain biking programs for student-athletes across the United States".Fast Times at Singletrack High, Michael Roberts, Outside Magazine (print and online editions), Sep.12, 2013.
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In May 2012 the Specialist Media Show awarded Singletrack a Media Pioneer Award for its approach to combining digital and print into a combined publishing strategy. Singletrackworld.com won best website 2013 awarded by Bikebiz trade magazine.
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The main route is a loop through the towns of Featherville, Ketchum, Stanley, McCall, Cascade, Crouch, and Idaho City, with an optional spur to Boise. The main route is bidirectional, but the singletrack routes are only mapped counterclockwise.
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The BC Bike Race is a seven-day mountain bike stage race held in British Columbia, Canada, traditionally held in early July. Six hundred racers ride an average of 50 kilometres a day on race routes that are 75% singletrack.
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In summertime, there is singletrack biking, Burke Bike Park, hiking, Hang Gliding, Paragliding, golfing, swimming, climbing, horseback riding, canoeing, kayaking, and fishing.skiburke.com/the- mountain/ Burke Mountain from Lyndonville View of the west side of Burke from Pudding Hill in Lyndon.
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Bicycling on the Detroit RiverWalk This is a list of trails and greenways in Detroit. The trail types vary from natural surface singletrack to asphalt shared-use paths. In many cases, trail projects include on-road bike lanes and signed shared road routes.
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This featured on BBC Yorkshire. Todmorden's local newspaper is the Todmorden News owned by Johnston Press, now merged (since October 2015) with the Hebden Bridge Times from the neighbouring town by the same publisher. Singletrack Magazine, a national mountain biking magazine, is based in Todmorden.
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Annat (Scottish Gaelic: An Annaid) is a small village at the eastern end of Upper Loch Torridon in Wester Ross, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is about 2 km south-east of the village of Torridon, on the A896 singletrack road.
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The forest, also known simply as "Demo", is home to a series of mountain biking trails. Many of the singletrack trails course down ridges, largely on old logging road cuts created when the forest was first logged beginning in the 1930s. These routes were adopted as part of the recreational trail network when CAL FIRE acquired the property in the early 1990s. Additional singletrack trails were established through CAL FIRE's collaborations with local mountain biking clubs in 2000 (Braille Trail) and 2015 (Flow Trail.) The trails have grown into some of the most popular in the California Bay Area and attract bikers from around the world.
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Early fall leaves on Quillinan's White Trail "singletrack" near the former NIKE missile site in Ansonia, Connecticut between Moulthrap Brook, Twomile Brook and Osborne Lane. Naugatuck State Forest is used for fishing, hiking, hunting, target shooting, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, mountain biking, climbing, geocaching and trail running. The forest is crossed by several Blue-Blazed Trails including the Quinnipiac Trail and Naugatuck Trail (including the Whittemore spur). Mountain biking trails include fire roads in the various blocks, as well as several miles of singletrack trail in the Quillinan Block that were created in cooperation of the DEEP State Forester's office, the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA), and Thule Corporation.
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The Levis/Trow trail system is a 34-mileClark County, Wisconsin. Levis/Trow Mound Recreational Area. network of trails in Clark County, Wisconsin, United States, west of Neillsville, used for hiking, mountain biking, and cross- country skiing. It consists of two types of trails, doubletrack and singletrack.
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Accessed on August 23, 2007.howies Interview , Issue 18, Singletrack Magazine, 2004-12-15. Accessed on August 23, 2007. Howies T-shirts often have images or slogans with political or environmental themes and are screen printed by hand in a workshop located at the brand headquarters.
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The Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route is an off-road bicycle touring route in central Idaho. Developed by Adventure Cycling Association, the route consists of 518 miles of mostly dirt roads and 227 miles of optional singletrack, with access to more than 50 hot springs.
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The hilly, Piedmont mountain biking trail crosses numerous bridges and offers scenic views of Duluth and the bay. The trail is recommended for both beginner and intermediate riders. In 2014, a reader poll conducted by Singletrack magazine named it the best mountain-bike trail in the eastern United States.
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The Hobbit's Tale is a solo supported ride through Welsh singletrack and bridleways with some connection sections of road. The route is in total 721 km long (448 miles), 22,300 m of ascent (73,162 feet), and it should take a fit athlete 48–52 hours to complete, with support.
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The trails are often used for singletrack mountain biking. TMTA members are walkers, hikers, road bicyclists, mountain bikers, horseback riders, and outdoor enthusiasts interested in developing and preserving multi-use non motorized trails throughout the greater Tehachapi area. The group meets monthly and communicates via their Facebook page regularly.
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Located three miles from I-475, Lake Tobesofkee Recreation Area has three public parks named Claystone, Sandy Beach, and Arrowhead. Besides facilities for fishing, camping, boating, and tennis, the parks have three white sand beaches for swimming or picnicking. Arrowhead Park includes several miles of singletrack mountain biking trails.
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From 2005, the UK race was sponsored by Kona, having previously been sponsored by Shimano. The race sponsor for 2008, 2009 and 2010 was Endura, a cycle clothing manufacturer based in Livingston, Scotland. For 2011 Singletrack magazine was the headline sponsor. The Australian race sponsor from 2006 to 2009 was Kona.
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The top can be accessed by either riding up singletrack, or by shuttling via the road. Australia's first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup was held in Cairns in 1994-1995. followed by the World Mountain Bike Championships in 1996 and again in 2017, placing Cairns on the map as the premier Australian mountain bike destination.
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For 2013 it moved to a new location less than 40 miles from Eastnor on private land which has never been used for cycling before, Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire. In 2019 the race moved to a private location in the center of the country with a new course with much climbing and great singletrack.
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The doubletrack is groomed for cross-country skiing in winter. The singletrack is popular with mountain biking enthusiasts in summer and autumn.IMBA Epics: The Rides: Levis-Trow Mound Epic, Neillsville, Wisconsin The system is named for the Levis and Trow mounds that the trails circle and ascend. The mounds are monadnocks on the fringe of the Driftless Area.
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Pajarito now has a snowmaking system and it is producing snow. Season passes are available with discounts available for early season purchase. In summer, Pajarito hosts numerous special events, many involving mountain biking. An extensive network of single and double track mountain bike trails criss-cross the mountain, including a new singletrack trail going to the summit.
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In the summer Canada Olympic Park is open for the sport of mountain biking. The high-speed chairlift is used with bike racks on the chairs. There are numerous trails on the hill's west side, complete with north shore ladder stunts and singletrack trails. The east trees just contain regular trails, with minimal stunts and jumps.
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A network of mountain bike trails, the Highland Wildcat Trails, have been built on side of Ben Bhraggie. This features black and red graded routes, going from the summit of the hill down to the village of Golspie, including the longest singletrack descent in the UK at around 7 km. Ben Bhraggie features in a sentimental Scots song Granny's Hieland Hame.
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The Blue Sky Marathon is a series of trail races held outside of Fort Collins, Colorado. The current lineup of races includes a half-marathon, a marathon, and a 50K. All races start in Horsetooth Mountain Open Space in Larimer County; the majority of the race is on singletrack trails, although individual sections range from gravel paths to technical rocky terrain.
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Old-growth forest near Flume Trail, Moon Lake ParkApproximately of purpose-built mountain bike trails also provide opportunities for hiking, cross-country skiing, orienteering, and nature watching along a stacked-loop trail system. Trails range from wide and smooth to narrow, rocky and technical singletrack. There many optional rock overs with go arounds. The park features Deacon Trials Area, a mountain bike trials and skills area.
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The Michigan Mountain Biking Association and Student Conservation Association developed a hiking/mountain bike trail in Rouge Park on Detroit's west side. This 3-mile trail is beginner to intermediate singletrack. The Detroit Fitness Foundation built the Lexus Velodrome at Detroit's Tolan Park in 2017 which opened to the public in January 2018. The outdoor Dorais Velodrome is no longer suitable for track racing.
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Notable highlights on the route include the Sawtooth Mountains, the White Cloud Mountains, the Boise Mountains, the Salmon River, and the Sawtooth, Salmon-Challis, Boise, and Payette National Forests. The route also takes the riders near several wilderness areas, including the Hemingway-Boulder, the Sawtooth, the Frank Church River of No Return, and the Cecil D. Andrus–White Clouds Wilderness, which effectively bars cyclists from the White Cloud singletrack option.
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It was designed by Joe Prisel with families in mind, and constructed in over 3 months. With 45 trails in of the cavern's space, it is the world's largest indoor bicycle park. The of trails (over interconnected) include "jump lines, pump tracks, dual slalom, BMX, cross country, and singletrack" and signs to indicate the difficulty of the trails. Bike rentals are planned to be offered in the near future.
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The Wombat 100 is an endurance mountain biking event held each year since 2008 in Wombat State Forest, in western central Victoria, Australia. The main race is set on a 100 kilometre course with minimal repetition. The exact route changes each year, but usually features roughly equal parts of singletrack and firetrail/dirt road, with no asphalt. Categories include men, women, elite, veterans, juniors (on a much shorter course) and cyclocross.
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Another form of bicycle snow travel is called Skibobbing or ski biking which replaces wheels for skis. Bikepacking, is the synthesis of mountain biking and minimalist camping, simply put, bikepacking. It evokes the freedom of multi- day backcountry hiking, but with the range and thrill of riding a mountain bike. It’s about exploring places less traveled, both near and far, via singletrack trails, gravel, and abandoned dirt roads.
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In 2006, Wiens founded Gunnison Trails, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing singletrack trails on public lands adjacent to Gunnison, Colorado. In 2008, Wiens began representing Ergon Bike Ergonomics, a German brand focused on producing ergonomically designed grips, saddles, packs and more. In 2011, Wiens began working with the Leadville Race Series as a consultant and ambassador. In 2012, Wiens created the Mountain Sports program at Western State Colorado University in Gunnison.
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He is also the organiser of the Todmorden cyclocross race, held every year since 2009 and based on a well-established event that used to take place in the town. Chipps moved to Todmorden in late 2001, coinciding with Singletrack getting its first office. He has been a resident ever since and now calls it home, despite his southern upbringing. Chippendale was awarded the Cycling Media Legend award at the 2015 Cycling Media Awards.
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Cross-country cycling is defined by the terrain on which it is performed. XC courses and trails consist of a mix of rough forest paths and singletrack (also referred to as doubletrack depending on width), smooth fireroads, and even paved paths connecting other trails. Until recently cross-country trails were deemed "easy" or "intermediate", due to the concept that this discipline of mountain biking relies more on physical prowess than technical ability.
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The course changes every year and is a surprise. Because of the volcanoes, the island holds several microclimates of jungle, dry tropics, tropical beach, and cloud forest. The race course winds through singletrack, dirt road and sand as it passes towns, villages, coffee, cocoa bean and banana plantations, cloud forest, volcanic trail and white sand beaches. The race begins with a pre-race meal the night before and ends with a post-race awards banquet.
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Moss growing on a rock in the park Town Run Trail Park is a natural resource park in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The facility is owned by Indy Parks and Recreation and was made possible through donations from Martin Marietta Aggregates, Mr. Oliver Dougherty, and R.N. Thompson Associates Inc. It is located near the White River on East 96th Street between Keystone Avenue and Allisonville Road. The main attraction at the park is a singletrack mountain bike course.
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From Eagles Nest, the course runs back to the bottom of the chairlift, below. With approximately of fast singletrack, rock gardens, a wall-ride, tight switchbacks and multiple drops and jumps, the Cannonball Run is one of Australia's longest downhill courses. The Cannonball Run is host to many races through the summer months, including national rounds, state rounds, the National Interschools Mountain Biking Competition. Track engineering has made a significant difference to the sustainability of downhill mountain biking in a sensitive alpine environment.
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Tip: stick to the trail on the slanted side of the guideposts. The Maah Daah Hey Trail is a 144-mile (232 km) non-motorized single track trail that runs from USFS Burning Coal Vein Campground 30 miles south of Medora (), to the USFS CCC campground 16 miles south of Watford City (). The Trail winds through the Little Missouri National Grasslands in North Dakota's Badlands to form the longest continuous singletrack mountain biking trail in America. Nine fenced campgrounds are accessible by gravel surfaced roads.
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The Gold Mint Trail provides miles of technical, rocky, gently-climbing mountain bike riding alongside the Little Susitna River. The "16-mile trail" is a steep downhill, 2-mile long (3 km) bike trail with of drop that was built in 2013, in between switchbacks of the Hatcher Pass road, starting at mile 16 of the Hatcher Pass Road. At Government Peak Recreational Area, a few miles (several km) south of Hatcher Pass, there are in three loops of singletrack, bermed, flow-style bike trails.
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The forest includes of hiking trails, almost of cross-country ski trails, of equestrian trails, of snowmobile trails, of off-road bicycle trails including of singletrack trail, and 750 campsites. All units include a portion of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and most units have horse/snowmobile trails. Several areas of trail loops for hiking, biking and skiing can be found in the northern and southern units. Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive is a scenic route that winds across southeastern Wisconsin, and through all five forest units.
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The Hobbit's Tale route starts in Cardiff Bay, at the Celtic Ring - the start of the Taff Trail. It finishes in the same location, moving northwards along the Taff Trail through Brecon, onto Llyn Brianne, to Machynlleth, Coed-Y-Brenin, Porth Madog, and into Caernarfon by the castle - before heading back along a similar route, deviating to find the best singletrack in each area, for the homeward journey. Many of the locations for the Hobbit's Tale are remote, with no amenities, so good navigation skills and GPS tracking are required.
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Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve, in Burnsville, Lakeville, Savage, and Credit River Township, features a hilly cross-country ski trail system and a hilly singletrack mountain bike trail, maintained by Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists. The mountain bike trail is probably one of the most challenging trails in the Twin Cities due to its long climbs and rapid descents. The trail also includes natural and man-made obstacles such as rocks, wooden bridges, logs and stairsteps. The park reserve, at , also includes of horse trails, as well as bird watching.
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Caliente is home to extensive outdoor recreation opportunities. As of mid-2020, there are approximately 30 miles of purpose- built singletrack mountain bike trail in and around town, bringing mountain bikers from across the country to enjoy the wild, isolated Nevada desert. There are thousands of miles of motorized off-road track and trail, and several large motorized races and events are hosted in Caliente each year. Rainbow Canyon and Big Rocks Wilderness offer a wide variety of rock climbing routes, while nearby Eagle Valley Reservoir boasts fishing and boating.
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With the right equipment and design, recumbent bikes can be used for riding unpaved roads and offroad, just as with conventional mountain bikes. Because of their longer wheelbase and the manner in which the rider is confined to the seat, recumbents are not as easy to use on tight, curving unpaved singletrack. Large-diameter wheels, mountain gearing and off-road specific design have been used since 1999. Crank-forward designs that facilitate climbing out of the saddle, such as the RANS Dynamik, also can be used off-road.
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They range from long fire road climbs and descents to tight, technical singletrack. The diversity in the trails makes them good for everyone from strong beginners to expert mountain bike riders. The trail network is changing over time as CAL FIRE conducts timber harvests in different areas of the forest. Old logging cuts (and the trails on them) are evaluated for long-term impacts to the watershed and steep sections are modified to limit erosion by either obliteration and recontouring, installing drainage structures, applying a top coat of hard crushed rock, or other measures.
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Since the early 1990s, Thredbo has been popular during the summertime for recreational and competitive mountain biking, attracting serious racers from across Australia and overseas. There are kilometres of cross country singletrack and firetrail around Thredbo Village, the Thredbo golf course, and other trails connecting Thredbo to its neighbouring villages. Two local businesses operate cross-country mountain bike tours from Thredbo and across the Snowy Mountains region. Thredbo is host to the world-renowned downhill track, the Cannonball Run, which is accessed by taking the Kosciusko Express Quad-Chairlift up to Eagles Nest.
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Cyclocross in Portland, Oregon Clothing is similar to that of road racing. However, since cyclo-cross is a cold-weather sport there is an emphasis toward warmer clothing such as long sleeves, tights, knickers and arm and leg warmers. While many racers will use standard two-piece road kits, there is a very strong preference to wear one piece skinsuits to maximize freedom of movement. The other advantage of skinsuits is that they are tighter, preventing the jersey from getting caught on stray tree branches during some singletrack sections of the race course.
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Mountain biking The forest is a popular destination for mountain biking, and has several marked trails ranging from those suitable for families, to two red trails for experienced riders. The forest also has hundreds of miles of singletrack, several black-graded bomb holes and a steeply undulating section called "The Beast" at the end of the Lime Burner Trail. National cross-country cycling races are held in the forest. There is also a recently formed organisation called TIMBER (Thetford Improved Mountain Biking EnviRonment) which aims to work with the Forestry Commission to improve the mountain bike trails in the forest.
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The first trails in the mountain bike trail system were built due to an alliance between Dakota County and Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists (MORC). After the success of the original trails, the system was expanded to include nearly 12 miles of beginner, intermediate, expert and double-expert trails. The trails, which are groomed and maintained by MORC, are mainly hard-pack singletrack and include many obstacles including roots, rock gardens, log piles, berms, bridges and jumps. A new paved parking lot, changing rooms, bathrooms, picnic area, and a mountain bike skills park were added in 2012.
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The three of them created Singletrack in 2001 with Chippendale as founding editor. He is still the editor and regularly writes and photographs for it. Chippendale is generally credited with popularising singlespeed mountain biking in the UK - an idea he claims to have stolen from Bike magazine's editor Mike Ferrentino - and is a collaborator in The Outcast, an underground singlespeed fanzine. He organised the UK's first Singlespeed National Championships in 1995 (Stow on the Wold) and subsequent ones in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001 (all in Cheddar, Somerset), culminating in organising the Singlespeed World Championships in Afan Argoed in 2001.
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The western section of Taylor-Massey Creek and the southern portion of the western branch are surrounded by parkland (see also: Toronto ravine system). In more recent years the retreat of the industrial plants and rail infrastructure has freed up room which is now being turned into bicycling trails, which now extend from the shore of Lake Ontario northward in several directions to provide some 30 km of off-road paved trails. While Toronto is fairly flat in general, local cyclists have developed a number of technically challenging singletrack trails throughout the area, following the main trails.
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Following the Continental Divide as closely as practicable and crossing it 30 times, about 90% of the GDMBR is on unpaved roads and trails and requires basic off-pavement riding skills to complete. The unpaved portions of the route range from high quality dirt or gravel roads to singletrack mountain bike trails to a few short sections of unmaintained trails which may not be possible to ride at all. The GDMBR has over of elevation gain and loss for the rider to contend with. While most of the GDMBR is off the pavement, the route does not require highly technical mountain bike riding skills.
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Off-road trails often incorporate a mix of challenging terrain, singletrack, smooth fireroads, and even paved paths. Trails with an easy or moderate technical complexity are generally deemed cross-country trails, while trails difficult even to experienced riders are more often dubbed all-mountain, freeride, or downhill. Downhilling is particularly popular at ski resorts such as Mammoth Mountain in California or Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, where ski lifts are used to get bikes and riders to the top of the mountain. EuroVelo bicycle routes are a network of (currently 14) long-distance cycling routes criss-crossing Europe in various stages of completion, more than was in place by 2013.
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Carcross Tagish First Nation Parks and Recreation Branch Pamphlet In addition to its spiritual importance, the mountain was also an important source of food, medicines, and refuge. During the early quartz mining period, an extensive network of trails were constructed on the mountain to connect the many silver claims with Carcross and/or Windy Arm. In 2005 the Carcross/Tagish First Nation took back the mountain in its land claim settlement and set out to restore some of the old trails and make them accessible for public use and enjoyment. Through a programme called "SingleTrack to Success" an extensive network of mountain bike trails have been developed on the lower slopes of Montana Mountain.
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The TransRockies is an annual 7-day, 400 km mountain bicycle race from Fernie, British Columbia to Canmore, Alberta. Described in its early days as the "toughest mountain bike race on earth", the TransRockies had a reputation for tough climbs, long days, relentless mud and highly changeable weather. Since 2010 the organizers have reorganized the route to increase the portion of singletrack and decrease the potentially boggy and muddy sections, while maintaining the spectacular scenery and wilderness riding that the race is known for. Attracting riders from all over the world, the race has grown from 67 two-person teams in 2002 to a sold-out fields of 225 two-person teams in 2006, 290 teams in 2007, 240 teams in 2008 and 118 teams in 2009.
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Like some other mountain biking areas, there has been controversy around trail access on Mount Tamalpais for mountain bikes, both in terms of environmental impact and the safety of other trail users. As a result, bicycles are generally restricted from narrow, single-track trails, though bicycles are allowed on most fire roads. However, through the growing connections of trails established by the Bay Area Ridge Trail, mountain bikers have access to multi-use trails such as the Dias Ridge Trail. In addition, the non-profit Marin County Bicycle Coalition is playing a growing role to improve access for mountain bikers to singletrack and multi-use trails by working collaboratively with the Marin Municipal Water District, which manages 18,500 acres in the Mt. Tamalpais Watershed, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and other organizations.
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While the Great Divide Trail is a recognized hiking trail, only portions of it are officially recognized by Parks Canada and therefore is often not signed and occasionally not even an actual trail - merely a wilderness route. At present, the Great Divide Trail is about 75% singletrack, 10% wilderness route and 15% old roads and ATV trails. The GDT passes through five National Parks: Waterton Lakes, Banff, Kootenay, Yoho and Jasper; nine Provincial Parks: Akamina-Kishinena, Castle, Castle Wildland, Elk Lakes, Peter Lougheed, Height of the Rockies, Mount Assiniboine, Mount Robson and Kakwa; four wilderness areas: Beehive Natural Area, Kananaskis Country, White Goat Wilderness Area and Willmore Wilderness Area; and four forest districts: Bow/Crow, Cranbrook, Golden and Robson Valley. The Great Divide is the major hydrological divide of North America.
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Races usually consist of many laps over a short course, ending when a time limit is reached rather than after a specific number of laps or certain distance; the typical length for senior events is one hour, with 30 and 45 minute races for lower categories being the norm. Generally each lap is around 2.5-3.5 km and is 90% rideable. Races run under UCI rules must have courses that are always at least 3 m wide to encourage passing at any opportunity, but sections of singletrack are common for small races in the US and Great Britain. A variety of terrain is typical, ranging from roads to paths with short steep climbs, off camber sections, many corners and, a defining feature, sections where the rider may need, or would be best advised to dismount and run while carrying the bike.
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