Today was are first time at Hollister, nice park. We did stick to the green circle trails and my kids enjoyed it. That's the first time my daughters rode trails like that. Like to see them make the green circle trails connect at least at the Lower Ranch. My kids were talking about camping there soon. There was quite a bit of m/c there, but there was a few quads there.

BlackandRed, on the map for Hollister, there seems to be more circle green trails at the Upper Ranch, is that also open to atvs unless it's closed for special events? The booklet I picked up isn't clear on it. Also, how are the blue square trails for quads. Didn't venture on them due to the kids being with me. Thanks Dan

 

Hey Diver,

So at Hollister were those green trails really easy? NO steep hills, steep drops, etc.? I'm trying to go real easy until I get my safety course done in mid-May, and my problem is that it is always MC riders telling me it's no problem..but for them a steep hill isn't a big deal :-)

Thanks for any info. you might have.

 

bishbashers, They weren't steep enough that my daughters 14,11 and 8 wouldn't ride them, I did have to tell them to down shift while going down hill, that was just so, they could control their speed better and not soley depend on the brakes. We didn't venture off of the green circle trails, we'll save that for another trip.

 

Thanks Diver.....the only reason I ask is because I'm still not that great with remembering which brake to use at which times, etc. I'm getting better every ride, but by no means am I even close to an intermediate rider.

 

bishbanger, no problem, just remember when traversing a hill, use the brake that is on the uphill side. So, if your going down hill use the rear brake, if going up hill use the front brake. And remember to move your weight forward going uphill and backwards when going down hill. Happy riding[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Thanks Diver!

 

Rescue: I'm heading over to Hollister 4/30-5/2 with my local buddies...unless they back out...again. Upper Ranch is for the big boys to play on (Jeeps, 4x4 trucks, etc.) Also have an area for Odysseys and Pilots. During special events they allow some use by Quads/MCs. Not sure what though.

The green circle trails are almost completely flat. A few little dips, slightly winding. There are 3 of them. One is in the Adobe Section and overlooks Cienega. I can't for the life of me remember the name of it. The second one is Rancho Rd/Wood Camp Rd. Rancho is heading "out" to the back. Wood Camp is it's return road coming back almost completely across the park. The third rd. is Harmony Gate/Harmony Gate Return. Rancho/Wood Camp & Harmony Gate/Return are nice for easy rides through the trees. It's completely coverd in trees. Rancho / Wood Camp get nasty slick when it rains. So if you are in for some mud fun don't forget to hit it. Gets rough and whooped out something fierce when it starts to dry up. These trails are easy and wide. You can actually see the marks from the graders when they run them up there. I've been on Harmony Gate Return at 50MPH. It's dicey (went off once) but fun.

The Adobe Section is also flatter. The blue square trails are only slightly more difficult mainly as they are windier and narrower. But still easily handled. But watch for idiots going the wrong way or on crossing trails. This area has a huge amount of "Volunteer Trails". Trails that were made by people not following the rules of staying on marked trails. There are no black diamond trails over there that I know of. That is also where there is a hill for climbing if you are into that sort of thing.

The blue square trails are pretty easy. I've been riding less than a year and up at Miami (above Oakhurst) where I usually ride the green circles are insane in some spots. Quads can go on any trail at Hollister except for the double black diamonds which are single tracks or the designated areas (MX Track, TT Track, etc.) Some of the blue stuff is easier than others. High Rd. and Ridge Rd. for example are only slightly more difficult than the green rds. Some of the other blue stuff gets tougher because of steepness, narrowness and trail design (curves right after a "jump" (used to control water runoff)).

Some of the blue stuff is wide and fast (Ridge Rd.), but you need to keep your speed under control. I was running it in 5th and 6th. You know you're moving when you can pull a hill in 5th.

As for breaking, I started out that same way. Opposite brake to uphill. If something happens I follow that. But I've also started using my fronts more on down hills. The back end locks up and skids way too easy on hard pack with a dust cover. I prefer to have the front of the bike heading in the direction I'm traveling, not the rear.

I have a friend and his daughter (9y/o) was on an LT80 and it did just fine, considering the sloppy wet conditions. She only had one accident. She lost control going to fast down a slick downhill section. Scares the crap outta ya when you see a kid go flying by you outta control go almost off the trail, overcorrect and t-bone a tree. She walked away just fine and so did the quad. After that any downhill section we tethered her to him so she couldn't get out of control.

I'll definately second the weight shifting. It makes a huge difference. And lean to the inside of your turns. If you go to Hollister stop by the ATV track and watch.

And as for hills, I'll go down em. But it scares the hell out of me going up. I have a fear of flipping over backwards or getting stuck 1/2 way up. Everyone else I know that has hill problems is opposite. They don't want to go down it. Hills always look steeper than they are.

And welcome to the sport.

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Wow Black!

Thanks for the great advice! I have been practicing really hard on my weight shifting and have it down pat on the uphill/downhill, and am getting better on the turns. I'm trying to tackle banks next...always want to turn into the turn but on banks it is a bit different ballgame...plus the whole feeling of being slanted scares the beejesus out of me.
Been down a couple of hills and just put it in first and kinda coasted down...I know not the best to do :-( Practice is required for everything and this is no exception...it would be like giving a 16 year a car and letting them drive without training...just not a safe thing to do!
Our training is May 15th (the soonest we could get in) at Carnegie (not my favorite place after hubby totalled a quad on our first ride) but we'll just stick to the flat areas.


Also..when I was on the phone with the training people they mentioned a training out by Antioch....is there an OHV park out that way?

 

BlackandRed, I'll put those dates on my calender and let you know if I can make it. I think your referring to the trail that is called Field and Lower Field Road? It parallels Cienega Rd. We didn't make it on that trail. You were right about the other trails though. My daughters did enjoy the Ranco Road/Wood Camp Road trial alot. There were a few moguls on them, not like Pismo though. Next trip, we will definately try more trails. Thanks for the information.
I also learned that it is cheaper for us to ride @ Hollister for a day then locally. $4 a day versus $17 locally. Only down side is the 1 1/2 hr drive. But it's not a bad drive[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Lt.Dan

 

Hollister is cool if you just like to cruise around... But i prefer places like Miami Trails for Technical mountain trails.....

And yes im going to hollister at the end of the month wiht BlackandRed