Follow the Road to Arcylon (No Lycra)
This article originally appeared on Pinkbike http://www.pinkbike.com/news/road-to-arcylon-no-lycra-2016.html
I’ve always thought the name Arcylon sounded vaguely Hellenic like it was the name of an ancient Greek city-state. But the truth is much more indicative of the intention of this trail, and a little more clever. Arcylon, when spelled backwards, reads “no lycra.” Which is appropriate for a trail that can be considered one of the crown jewels of the Park City area freeride trails. Road to Arcylon (which is its actual name) was a cooperative project between Park City's Basin Recreation organization and the volunteers at WAFTA (Wasatch Area Freeride Trail Association), and the result of that project is a fast, flowy trail with plenty of rollers, jumps, and berms.
But unlike many of the unsanctioned bootlegger freeride trails we’ve all ridden, Road to Arcylon is built to high standards for safety, accessibility, and progression. None of the features are blind and they are all marked with signs indicating more difficult features. There are b-lines around all of the bigger features, making the trail rideable for those who are still reluctant to lift their tires off of the ground.
If you hit all the features, the trail is intermediate to advanced difficulty. None of the features are huge, but to hit them well requires a good dose of speed and commitment. That’s what makes Arcylon such a perfect trail to build confidence. It’s challenging enough to put some fear in you but progressive and safe enough that you can build your confidence quickly. If you just flow with the trail and trust the speed it gives you, you’ll clean everything like a boss.
Another element to the progressivity of the trail is the fact it’s relatively short at about ¾ of a mile with a one-mile up-trail that takes you back to the top. This short distance and the fact that it’s fun as hell encourages you to lap it until your legs give out, riding it cleaner and faster every time. Road to Arcylon is best ridden on a trail or enduro bike, but I’ve seen people ride it on everything from full DH rigs to twenty-pound XC hardtails. The ride to the top is hard enough that you’ll appreciate a bike that you can pedal uphill, especially after the fourth or fifth lap. Being at a lower elevation than many of the other freeride trails in the area means it’s usually rideable by early or mid-May depending on the snowpack, making Road to Arcylon the perfect early season trail to get your jumping skills dialed before hitting the bike parks.
Road to Arcylon on Trailforks: http://www.trailforks.com/trails/road-to-arcylon/
