[article] For mountain bikers, new ways to go fast

As mountain biking surges in popularity, federal land managers are building dozens of miles of special backcountry trails to accommodate adrenaline-junkie riders and cut down on crashes with hikers.

Dozens of one-way, so-called flow trails allowing bikers to ride downhill at breakneck speeds have been built across the U.S. in recent years, with more in the works. Many of these trails are built on Western public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. They are specially designed with jumps and berms to allow riders to flow unimpeded down the mountain without stopping, making the downhill-riding experience akin to skiing or sledding.

"It's like a luge," said 30-year-old Jeremy Newberg of Hailey, Idaho, after riding a flow trail called "Punchline" in the state's Sun Valley this month. "It's just awesome."

As well as thrilling riders, the trails provide a legitimate alternative to guerrilla trails carved out illegally in some areas. And supporters say the flow trails help solve what backcountry visitors say is a growing problem: bicyclists careening into fellow trail lovers on foot and horseback.

"Most trails, you don't know if someone is coming around the corner, but this you can trust going down," says Tiff Koehn, a 37-year-old, Spandex-clad corporate pilot, after hurtling down another Sun Valley flow trail called "Forbidden Fruit." It takes just three to five minutes to barrel down that 1.3-mile course.

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