Freeheel and Wheel / Journal

West Yellowstone, Montana's Premier Nordic Ski and Bicycle Shop

September 12, 2007

Mile Creek to Targhee Creek

Melissa mountain biked from the Mile Creek Trail, which is located off of Hwy 87 between Reynolds Pass and the junction of Hwy 287 to Targhee Creek. This epic singletrack climbs 80+ switchbacks to reach a high point at 10,000 feet. This high point sits just below Targhee Peak. We had 360 degree views as far as we could see. New mountain bike buddies Brian and Laura joined Melissa, along with good friend Jeff Wexall. After topping out we were excited to explore a new way down on the Targhee Creek Trail. The top three miles were very technical and challenging. We loved the views and picking our way down. The bottom three miles are incredible rolling singletrack along Targhee Creek. This section is awesome leaving us all with big smiles. The 17+ mile ride took us six hours with a long lunch and a few breaks to catch the views. A car shuttle is necessary, as you will leave a car at the Targhee Creek Trailhead off of Hwy 20 with the ride starting approximately twenty miles away at the Mile Creek Trailhead. We highly recommend this ride for any hard core junkies!

August 13, 2007

Standard Creek to Gold Butte Trail "Rachel's Birthday Ride"

The ride begins at the West Fork of the Madison rest area, aka Lyon's Bridge. We recommend crossing the bridge and driving to the West Fork Cow Camp and parking there. Ride up the West Fork road approximately two miles until the split for Standard Creek Road. Take the right up Standard Creek Road. Follow the main road for 6-7 miles until you reach a trail junction for Gold Butte/Cow Camp singletrack. A short climb up and over Gold Butte takes you to three miles of dreamy, downhill singletrack. The downhill included a few switchbacks and fast, rolling sections. This was an awesome hour to two hour loop. Great views of the Madison Mountain Range along the whole way.

August 4, 2007

Curly Lake Ride-Melissa Buller

This epic ride is the talk of the Montana mountain biking community. Description and map can be found in Beartooth Publishing's Montana Singletrack. Melissa met up with Helena and Missoula folks on the South Boulder Road just south of Cardwell. We camped about 12 miles up the dirt road adjacent to a beautiful creek. The ride climbs up the dirt road to the Curly Lake Trail. The singletrack starts here with a narrow buff trail climbing for hours up to Curly Lake and then on to the Devil's Lake Saddle. The climb tops out around 9800 feet with incredible views. From here you descend more great singletrack all the way to the Rock Creek Trail. One of the highlights of the day was watching Phil Hess and his daughter Erin, conquer the ride on their mountain bike tandem. With over 5000' of climbing this is truly an awesome feat. The loop may be the highlight of the summer- Check it out!

July 24, 2007

Lake Marie

Approximately 5 miles Level- Intermediate

Rating 4 1/2 out of 5

Would definitely do again and bring friends-Kelli Sanders

The trailhead is off of Sawtelle Peak, the easternmost peak in the Centennial Range. The trail starts by descending approximately 1/8 mile to a gradual uphill for a mile where we reached the first overlook of Henry's Lake and Targhee Peak. The trail continues up a short distance before we started to descend once again. As we enjoyed a clean singletrack trail, we were given the opportunity to capture a view of Mt. Jefferson, also in the Centennial Range. The last mile is quite rocky but rideable. The trail eventually peters out. Here is where we ditched the bikes and went for a hike. We did not make it to the lake but feel confident that it was attainable had we had another 30 minutes. We ate lunch with a beautiful view of Mt. Jefferson and headed back to the car the same way we went in. The entire ride took about 4 hours from West Yellowstone.

July 19, 2007

Women's Ride

Our group of six was led by Kelli Sanders. We started out climbing up the South Plateau Road and tucked into the Rendezvous Trails on the Dead Dog Loop. Our goal today was to work on shifting gears and Kelli led us to terrain to put these skills to work. As we approached large hills, she had us gear down to 1 (aka Granny Gear) and stay at 3 or 4 in the right-handed gears. We hopped off Dead Dog and picked up the Whiskey Springs Road to take us home. The ride took about 1 and a half hours and was enjoyed by veterans as well as newbies. Come join us next week! Women's Ride.

July 16, 2007

Rachel and Sara

Took a quick loop on the Rendesvous Trails. The biting flies are out so we didn't want to stop. A nice, fast workout before Ultimate Frisbee in the town park. We play Ultimate every Monday night starting between 6:30 and 7pm. All levels welcome. Come out and join us, or pick up a disk here and start your own game.

July 5, 2007

Rachel, Sara, and friend

What a difference since the last ride to Gobbler's Knob. The trail was very dry and a little dusty. The view is still great from the top. We rode about midday and it was quite warm. Our Camelbacks really saved the day.

July 4, 2007

Go Cruisin' with Freeheel and Wheel in the West Yellowstone Parade

June 22, 2007

Rachel, Melissa, & Kati

South Plateau Road. Mid-day we left the shop and headed up the South Plateau Road. We turned off onto a Forest Service Road heading towards the Knob. The first part of the ride was shady and cool but we quickly warmed up as we ascended. It took us 45 minutes to reach the Knob, where we stopped for water and enjoyed the view of town. We decided to continue on to make the full loop. The trail was green and full of wildflowers. We saw a few bear prints. We were back in town in under two hours and had a great ride.