Leadmoto: if you are insinuating that the valley center bike park is the answer, then you only prove my point more valid. How did that build turn out anyway? Poor drainage, running up hill if i remember correctly. And no, it is not cool at all, no nock against the builders or those that enjoyed it. But I didn't like it.

A_street: you are absolutely right, the point of building is pushing boundaries. Not just sending massive doubles but very technical drops to berms to rock garden, and as you build you question the ability to even ride the line.

Bankerboy: I gather you work with sdmba a lot and are involved with the black mountain build. Frst, much respect to you effort and hard work out at black mountain. So here is my question, you are working on one of the largest hills in San Diego county, why can't we make a legal top to bottom run? Double black diamond stuff, tech, fast, Gnar... You get the idea. Additionally, why haven't sdmba as an organization support more gravity aspects of the sport?

SDMBA is a volunteer organization. People with full time jobs, families,etc, many of them remarkably generous with their free time, meeting officials and doing trail work when they could be riding.

There is a long story to tell as regards SDMBA and gravity riding. But speaking solely as an individual member, I'll say that in all of the advocacy and board meetings I have attended, and that makes a lot of them, gravity oriented riders aren't much of a presence. In a volunteer organization, mission has a way of following membership. So the answer is pretty simple: if more gravity riders get involved and sacrifice time to the tedious and unglamorous work of advocacy, you'll see SDMBA do a lot more work in this regard. I'm a xc/trail guy myself, but have mucho respect for all kinds of riding and would love to see more gravity riders showing up at the monthly advocacy meeting and helping form teams to really develop a long term strategy for gravity riding in San Diego.

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If you want a downhill trail on Black Mountain, it is ready for you.

Step up.

It has been posted several times in the past that there is a real opportunity. All you have to do is get in contact with Ranger Ed Christensen. The scar on the west side of the mountain, sometimes called Black Widow is ready and ripe for a DH trail along the lines of La Costa. I don't approach it because it is not my discipline. You have to commit and go through the approval process. You cannot show up with shovels tomorrow. You want trail specific for yourself, you have to advocate for it. Welcome to my world.

You ask why we don't advocate for you? I ask why don't you advocate for you? We are a volunteer organization specializing in what we know. I know cross country and AM. My idea of a good time is getting a massive 3 inches off the ground. I don't do downhill. How could I possibly advocate for you? We both enjoy riding bikes but the similarities stop there. If I got a downhill trail that I thought was adequate, you would not be satisfied. We need riders who are willing to commit to advocacy. That means long haul.

If you are truly interested, pm me and I will give you more information.

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The world does not revolve around you but your actions impact us all!

Black Widow would be a good place to start or maybe down to the hang glider port.
Truly, the issue with DH as I see it is unless you have a shuttle it gets to be work pretty quickly. To get to the top of the fire road to ride down BW is about 2 miles, maybe a bit further. Then you ride down BW and that takes about 1- 1 1/2 minutes to do even for an old fart like me that's not fast at all or try to be. For me, it's not worth it. I just did it last Sunday with my son after riding for 2 hours up there. Having to go back up that fire road twice is not my favorite ride.

It's been talked about in meeting before but like BB stated above, nobody steps up on the commitment.
Having a DH run there might be easier to get going than you think since things have moved pretty well with trail building lately.

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Fear the Yeti
"Go ride your bike today, don't let the old man in.."

Mike

On a typical black mountain ride I pedal the fire road at least twice just because I want to do black widow prior to doing miners or any other trail. It's not so bad. With modern 'duro bikes having 65* head angles they are more than capable of handling what local "dh" stuff can be thrown at them.

You guys use the word "downhill" in a strange sense to me. Doesn't every mountain biker enjoy pedaling to the top and letting gravity do the work to get down the hill? We all should be banning together and advocating for a set of trails that range from easy green trails that kids and families can enjoy to double blacks that are steeper and have equal features.

Proposing new trails is one thing. Proposing new trails that follow a rating system and are designated one way is a completely different thing. Not every trail should be multi use. to limit liability, squirrel catchers are a great way to keep people from riding trails that their skills can't handle

This is getting to long to type on a cell phone.

dude that is blazing fast! my PR is 3:28

Spread the word. This map clearly defines the private property at TW that is now off limits. Keep a copy of this in case somebody tries to ticket you for being at the top of the hill, which is clearly NOT off limits.

Is there a pic of this from further away by chance?

If you look carefully at the far right side you can see the tip of the Meadowbrook cul de sac.

You are looking at the bottom of the mountain in the lake area.

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The world does not revolve around you but your actions impact us all!

I got that part, just curious where the far bottom left portion starts.

Look at google earth or just a satellite view of the area. I believe that trail that starts in the bottom left is the sand bag jump line. As long as you can ride around the private property you still have 2/3 of the hill that you can come down and connect to the way up trail. There is really only one climbing trail in that area. Most of the trails that come down to the dam cross it twice. That is what I mean by 2/3.

The part I am trying to figure out is if the trail junction is located in the bottom left "arm" is coming from Iola Way or Dorathea Terrace, can't tell. I was never that good in Land Nav

The bottom left arm is nowhere near Dorothea Terrace or Lola Way. As A-Street said, it was the Sandbag Line. ALL of that red area is right near to and visible from the cul-de-sac at the end of Meadowbrook. I zoomed in when I made that map because it is such a small area relative to what can still be ridden out there without trespassing.

Nevertheless, here is a zoomed-out map with accurate plotlines and ownership labels that I made last night and sent to the SDMBA along with the zoomed-in map posted here earlier. This info is all a matter of public record. As you can see, there is still a far greater amount of open space out there to ride and, uhh, evolve......

Anyone know if the ticketing area includes the XC trails coming up from poway road over to the concrete pad?

The only real area in the red is near the fence line and south. So where the step up on berms and below a little is still good but Those trails past that, that lead into the bowl are going into private land, like berms lower or split rock. The exit of trees/insanity, are going to lead into the private area from what I can tell. Anyway you hack it if you don't go back up from the step up on berms you are going to lead into the private land.

Lola, AA, bowel movement, those upper trails that exit differently are fine.

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