Turn-by-Turn Description of the 2024 Dodge City Cycles Bike Course

We’ve alluded to a slightly refreshed Dodge City Cycles bike course for 2024, and we’ve even showed you a map you can follow out on the trails (view our Standard or Sprint pages for details). For those of you who like words better than images, though, here’s a turn-by-turn description.

This route features some technical trails, although the techiest bits form last year have been removed. I’ll let you decide whether that’s good news or bad news. Nonetheless, we highly recommend that you pre-ride the Dodge City Cycles Bike Course if you have the chance. Please note, however, that the course will be unmarked until race day, and that you’ll be riding at your own risk.

Like the Cumberland trails and want to support more trail development and continued access? We also highly recommend that you show your support and purchase a United Riders of Cumberland membership.

Dodge City Cycles Bike Course description

View interactive TrailForks map: Standard/Relay Course    Sprint Course

Note: The following describes the Standard Course. For the Sprint course, just eliminate the entire “Upper Loop.” Sprint athletes will turn left at the top of Buggered Pig instead of right, and then pick the description back up with the “End” section.

Beginning:

1. Start: BodyNetix Transition Area at Comox Lake
2. Follow the highway for just over one km, then duck into the trails. You’ll never see another road open to traffic on this route!
3. An unnamed access trail will take you to the trailhead for Coal Creek Trail (AKA China Creek Trail). Don’t forget the quick left then right midway to stay on the access trail!
4. Follow Coal Creek Trail past the bottom of DCDH, over the walking bridge and down into the Chinese Heritage Site (near the disc golf course and Jumbo’s Cabin)
5. Hang a right just before the gate, ride over the boardwalk and climb the access trail toward the top of Mama Bear. Relish the fact that FINALLY you can start climbing!
6. After the short steep climb, hang left toward Mama Bear, and then follow the access trail (the one you’re on) all the way to Davis Lake Main logging road.
7. Turn right, and then turn right again after about 200 metres into Two and a Juice
8. At the end of Two and a Juice, turn left onto the Buggered Pig Climb
9. Climb Buggered Pig all the way to the end at Davis Lake Main, then turn right over the bridge. (If you’re doing the sprint, you’ll turn left here.)

Sprint athletes only:

1. After turning left onto Davis Lake Main, veer left onto the trail that cuts the inside of the curve in the road and then crosses Davis Lake Main and continues on the other side.
2. Turn right onto the 50:1 Access Road, which is where the small trail you’re on ends.
3. Turn right again not far after onto the Entrails Access road.
4. Turn left onto Entrails, and then right about 100 metres further ahead onto Rugburn
5. Continue on Rugburn for about 250 metres, then turn right on Scat. Now skip ahead to the “End” section of this article, where you’ll rejoin Standard course athletes.

Upper Loop (Standard Only):

1. Not far after the bridge, turn left toward Sobo No Michi (the Climbing Trail), the stay right when you get to the end of Broadway to stay on Sobo No Michi.
2. Climb, climb, climb!!
3. Stay on Sobo No Michi (the Climbing Trail) all the way to the top. There will be several times where you cross small roads, but just keep going straight. At one point you’ll pass a large map sign and head downhill for a short stretch, then you’ll cross Sykes Bridge. Just after Sykes Bridge stay right to remain on Sobo No Michi.
4. At the top of Sobo No Michi (you’ll know because there’s a bench and a great view), turn left onto New Vanilla. Shout “Wheeeee!!”
5. Spit out toward the right on the road at the bottom of New Vanilla, then follow it about 150 metres before veering left onto Funky Vanilla
6. Cross the road at the bottom of Funky Vanilla and go up Vanilla Climb.
7. Continue straight ahead at the top of the climb onto Old Vanilla.
8. Continue straight across the access road to stay on Old Vanilla.
9. After the rock roll, hang right to stay on Middle Vanilla.
10. You’ll spit out onto the Allen Lake East Spur road, which you’ll follow down (to the left) a couple hundred metres until you turn left on Trestle.
11. At the fork, turn right (upward) — this is the opposite of the way you would have turned in past years.
12. Follow that trail straight past Swamp Monster and Crafty Butcher, then make a sharp left on the Rugburn Access road.
13. Continue straight onto Rugburn
14. Turn right on Scat.

Sprint athletes rejoin the course here:

End:

1. Take Scat all the way to where it ends at a small logging road (50:1 Access Road), then turn right.
2. Turn left onto Brat and take Brat all the way to the end at Davis Lake Main
3. Turn left at the bottom of the trail onto Davis Lake Main, then cross the Soggy Biscuit Climb straight onto Black Hole.
4. After a small bridge, turn left onto No Hole.
5. At the intersection with Kitty Little, turn right to stay on No Hole
6. Cross Black Hole and continue straight onto Space Nugget.
7. At the bottom of Space Nugget, go straight across the logging road (Davis Lake Main), through the concrete blocks and over the bridge onto Colliery Line.
8. Follow Colliery Line past the pump track and dog park all the way into Village Park. This will be Race Central and Extreme Runners T2!
9. Go to Cumberland Brewing Company for a treat, because you’ve earned it!