I'll pay. $3 bucks for the experience. Totally worth it. I used you ride here years ago, early 90's on a rigid. Been road for some time. Getting back into MTN & trail riding. Finally got out today on the Roscoe 9. Great rest, no falls and only two stops. Very rugged. I had about two hrs before sunset after work and so glad I went. Brought back memories and now at 53 I was feeling a bit intimidated but after the climb to the top and a few outter trails it turned out to be a conference builder. Thanks for putting this out there!
Just rode Rockville today. Some trails were closed due to the rain but it was still a lot of fun. Some really technical sections (at least for my ability). I was so happy that I invested in a dropper post!
Just moved up to the bay from Laguna Beacg. Struggling to find some solid trails. Been watching for years and now I get to rewatch old videos to find new places to ride! Thanks for all the effort over the years!
I went to Rockville years ago but did not know the area real well and just went up the main trails up to the lake and towers and thought it was just some fire road up to some towers all of these years and never went back. Anyways I had no idea and these trails are really close. Just getting back into MTBing and live close but I thought skyline and Calistoga were mostly what we're in the area. But this looks like a good technical trail. Thank you for your channel I hope it works for you I have really ramped up my riding this year after years out of the sport and this is a great guide to these trails. It feels like a friend is taking us out to their favorite loop so thanks.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! I love hearing these kinds of stories. Crockett Hills and Peña Adobe in Vacaville are also fun rides close by! No better way to get in shape than climbing these damn hills!
What a trip watchin' this after all of the more recent videos. I've been here since the beginning, but I haven't gone back and watched some of this older stuff in a while. I'm headed back out to Rockville for only the second time and was getting some of your routes figured out. The bars on your old bike remind me of my old bike. Damn they look narrow! And the sometimes shaky video...You have come a long way Brian!!
Love Rockville! I also don't like going down those switchbacks on cave trail. Rockville is also one of the best places to ride in the wet. great vid as usual!
Thanks for another great vid. I love to see them as I shall never see them for myself. I shall be glad to get out on my Giant hardtail but we've had awful weather in England and I need to clean it which will probably take me a week as I got it so muddy. An old man needs his pleasure haha. Des P
Thanks, Des! There are always reasons we create to stop ourselves, but I hope you (and everyone reading this) know it's not that crazy to hop on a plane, get a hotel, rent a car and rent a bike. It takes time, money and planning. But it's possible, and when you're sitting there at the top of a climb above Lake Tahoe on a perfect summer day you will just laugh to yourself and think "I would have just been sitting at home!" But I'll keep making videos of my rides for you guys to come along until you get to that point!
Great vid! Im out here every other day after work if im not on the road. Hopefully ill see you out there one day! After watching this im glad that its just not my bike being noisy on those same trails
The trail he was on where he said, "don't wanna break my derailleur hanger today" has been nicknamed by those who frequent Rockville as "Derailleur Destroyer" hahaha. I've broken multiple hangers there
First time I rode Rockville I hated it. Poison oak, barbed wire, coyote warnings, and something about killer bees or wasps. It's growing on me and your vid almost made it look fun. haha. I didn't know that you could ride Unknown trail. I always turned around when I came up to it. Now I might have to give it a go.
Nice opening shot. Btw what does the your channel abbreviation stand for? I'm guessing the XC is for cross country, and BK is your initials? Anyway, keep up the good work.
Do you do any racing? I will be doing my third MTB race this weekend. Citizen class again. This is my second full year of MTB'ing and I am 41 so I know I will never be competitive, but I just always say I am just racing myself. Love your videos and if you don't mind suggestions for topics, maybe talk about training, tips, techniques for serious beginners training for and entering races.
Thanks for the love! I haven't raced in a couple years, but I did enjoy it at the time. That's the perfect way to put it, you're always racing yourself. One of my long term goals would be to race in the Leadville 100, but my whole lifestyle would need to be adjusted for that kind of training. Always open to more topics! The one thing that stuck out to me when I raced is that the dudes in the 50+ class always looked GREAT. They might be 65 or 70 but you wouldn't know it from how healthy they were. I was never sure if it was the mountain biking that kept them healthy, or if they had great genes so they could KEEP mountain biking into their 60's and beyond.
Going up Devil's Backbone, that is hell. Recommend Unknown Meadow to anyone new to MTB, very fun and flowy, the only downside is it is pain to get to it as it sits in the back corner of the park.
I'd like to see another video in Rockville, when you get your new bike. I'm kind of hoping it's either a Bronson, or a 5010. What have you done to stop the GoPro wind noise? Thanks for the videos!
Glad you're enjoying the vids! If I could get my hands on any of these demo bikes for more than one day I would take them to Rockville as a proving ground. I bought this Camkix windscreen: amzn.to/28STAyP I still need to do some tweaking, as it doesn't fit over the gimbal properly and caused some of my shots to look crappy because I couldn't see where the camera was pointing. I'm thinking I will cut it up and just put the foam over the mic.
Rockville (appropriately named) would make a good proving ground, because you have ridden it a lot. It would be nice if you could get both the Bronson and the 5010 over a weekend, or something. You'll have to do some "sweet talking." I got the top spec 5010, had it for just over a year, and it was definitely the right choice for "me." It's a good all-rounder. Thanks for the link to the windscreen!
Hey BK.. Was just reading about your Yeti getting stolen.. that sucks. I'm really sorry about that. I hope somehow that jerk is caught. Btw, I don't know if short travel 29ers are your thing, but either way you gotta test ride an sb4.5c ..I did last week and it absolutely blew me away. Man, I wish I could afford one.
Thanks, Manny, life goes on! I may be able to get a couple bucks from insurance, but I'm not holding my breath. You know, I haven't ridden many 29ers at all. Just another kick ass bike to add to the "must ride" list.
It is pretty much all beginner with some intermediate, very tiny park, heavy traffic from hikers, riders and cows. weekday is the best time and come early
Super nice park and mtb trails! I still say that for the type of riding I see you do, you might want to demo a 29er. It was mind blowing for me when I demo'd a 29er after a few years on my old 26er. Great video!!!
+klamer kl My bars felt so narrow after riding all those different bikes in Whistler (check out my channel if you haven't seen those videos). Doesn't look like Specialized has any demo days in my area this summer.
I've shredded slick rock Utah back in the day on 26" tires. 27.5 is more than enough unless you don't want to learn how to tackle obstacles. 29ers are for people who don't want to make the effort to pick the best lines.
I thought I was going to get one more year out of the Yeti, but it was stolen a couple nights ago. Forgot my garage door was open, brutal mistake. I'll be able to ride my dad's Stumpjumper for now as I figure out what I'm going to do next. The Bronson is definitely at the top of my list. Time will tell.
+BK-XC wow that really sucks to hear dude. I know so many people who have gotten their bikes stolen and it is usually never their fault. good luck finding it
Thanks, man. Definitely my fault. It was the night before garbage day, so that's when a lot of random people are walking the streets digging through the garbage. It was like taking candy from a baby. Definitely possible that it could wash up, did the police report and everything.
+BK-XC What!? That's so awful dude :( I left my garage door open all night a few nights ago, and when I left for work that morning my heart was hammering until I saw that my bikes were still there. Close call. Sorry for your loss man, that was sweet bike and I know you've spent countless hours with it.
It was a damn fine bike, I was planning on retiring it and mounting it on my wall! Hopefully some kid ends up with a sweet ass deal from a crackhead and has a ton of fun riding it.
Samantha Arreguin// its perfect for a hardtail. This is my local park about 20 minutes from my house. Something like a diamondback hook/line/syncr series is great or a specialized pitch/ rockhopper
BKXC awesome man, one of my buddies is a big fan of yours, we both grew up in Vallejo too. I just recently back got into riding after some personal recovery, and I’m at Rockville park at least twice a week, maybe I’ll see you out here sometime. You seem like a real good guy, and I’d love to buy a shirt or somethin. Either way, ride safe brother, I’ll see you out on the trails.
I'll pay. $3 bucks for the experience. Totally worth it. I used you ride here years ago, early 90's on a rigid. Been road for some time. Getting back into MTN & trail riding. Finally got out today on the Roscoe 9. Great rest, no falls and only two stops. Very rugged. I had about two hrs before sunset after work and so glad I went. Brought back memories and now at 53 I was feeling a bit intimidated but after the climb to the top and a few outter trails it turned out to be a conference builder. Thanks for putting this out there!
Glad you found it!!
my favorite place to ride. my son's too. great vid! we watched it after we rode rockville today to see what we missed.
Nice! Lots of different opportunities!
Just rode Rockville today. Some trails were closed due to the rain but it was still a lot of fun. Some really technical sections (at least for my ability). I was so happy that I invested in a dropper post!
Good stuff! It's a great place to get better and better on the technical stuff.
Just moved up to the bay from Laguna Beacg. Struggling to find some solid trails. Been watching for years and now I get to rewatch old videos to find new places to ride! Thanks for all the effort over the years!
Looks cool man kinda desert low pace but tricky rocks and stuff ! Nice job man 👍🏽👍🏽
Tons of tricky rocks!
Enjoying your journey! Keep taking risks and living the dream bro...
I'm going to try this out tomorrow. Thanks for the video.
My home town park! This is kind of crazy to watch 😂. Grew up jumping sketchy rock faces and chasing cows!
I enjoy all of your vids and the commentary. They're intelligent (Not many are these days, LOL) and informative. Thanx.
Thanks man! I try my best
I've been off the trails for a week. I couldn't imagine going 10 years without riding.
Definitely! Didn't really fall in love that first time.
I went to Rockville years ago but did not know the area real well and just went up the main trails up to the lake and towers and thought it was just some fire road up to some towers all of these years and never went back. Anyways I had no idea and these trails are really close. Just getting back into MTBing and live close but I thought skyline and Calistoga were mostly what we're in the area. But this looks like a good technical trail. Thank you for your channel I hope it works for you I have really ramped up my riding this year after years out of the sport and this is a great guide to these trails. It feels like a friend is taking us out to their favorite loop so thanks.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! I love hearing these kinds of stories. Crockett Hills and Peña Adobe in Vacaville are also fun rides close by! No better way to get in shape than climbing these damn hills!
What a trip watchin' this after all of the more recent videos. I've been here since the beginning, but I haven't gone back and watched some of this older stuff in a while. I'm headed back out to Rockville for only the second time and was getting some of your routes figured out. The bars on your old bike remind me of my old bike. Damn they look narrow! And the sometimes shaky video...You have come a long way Brian!!
That's great!! Have a blast out there.
I'm planning on checking that out this weekend.
It's a good one!
only mtb trail ride that I actually watched throughout, thx for vid, never been to rockville 👍
Glad you enjoyed it! Plenty of more videos to come!
Love Rockville! I also don't like going down those switchbacks on cave trail. Rockville is also one of the best places to ride in the wet. great vid as usual!
Thanks, man! You're right about Rockville being a nice place to ride when it's wet. Oat Hill Mine trail in Calistoga as well.
+BK-XC oat hill is on my mountain bike bucket list, never been but it looks awesome! I'll have to check it out this summer.
It's a great ride. I'll be doing a video about it here sometime this summer.
Yooooo i did not know a famous youtuber like you rode my local park!
Haha it's my local park!
Thanks for another great vid. I love to see them as I shall never see them for myself. I shall be glad to get out on my Giant hardtail but we've had awful weather in England and I need to clean it which will probably take me a week as I got it so muddy. An old man needs his pleasure haha. Des P
Thanks, Des! There are always reasons we create to stop ourselves, but I hope you (and everyone reading this) know it's not that crazy to hop on a plane, get a hotel, rent a car and rent a bike. It takes time, money and planning. But it's possible, and when you're sitting there at the top of a climb above Lake Tahoe on a perfect summer day you will just laugh to yourself and think "I would have just been sitting at home!"
But I'll keep making videos of my rides for you guys to come along until you get to that point!
Great vid! Im out here every other day after work if im not on the road. Hopefully ill see you out there one day! After watching this im glad that its just not my bike being noisy on those same trails
Thanks, man! Hahah, it's chitty chitty bang bang out there.
BKXC your the only RUclipsr that I know in the bay
That dude that eats a ton of food is in San Jose, Matt Stoney
The trail he was on where he said, "don't wanna break my derailleur hanger today" has been nicknamed by those who frequent Rockville as "Derailleur Destroyer" hahaha. I've broken multiple hangers there
Hahaha yep!
First time I rode Rockville I hated it. Poison oak, barbed wire, coyote warnings, and something about killer bees or wasps. It's growing on me and your vid almost made it look fun. haha. I didn't know that you could ride Unknown trail. I always turned around when I came up to it. Now I might have to give it a go.
Hahaha yes, it's an acquired taste. It's where I get a lot of my technical skills.
Cool video. I’m just wondering if you do group ride in Rockville for beginners? I’m a newbie and I would be happy to ride with you as a beginner.
Upper Tilley and Manzanita trails are great for hiking... wonder if you ran them with your bike
Yep yep!
Awesome. Those are my favorites. Great views right above those cliffs :)
Nice opening shot. Btw what does the your channel abbreviation stand for? I'm guessing the XC is for cross country, and BK is your initials? Anyway, keep up the good work.
+Eden Hill Thanks for the love! Yup yup, my initials, Brian Kennedy.
Haha, yep. That and British Knights shoes, but I don't know if they're around anymore.
Hahaha, that's damn good.
Do you do any racing? I will be doing my third MTB race this weekend. Citizen class again. This is my second full year of MTB'ing and I am 41 so I know I will never be competitive, but I just always say I am just racing myself. Love your videos and if you don't mind suggestions for topics, maybe talk about training, tips, techniques for serious beginners training for and entering races.
Thanks for the love! I haven't raced in a couple years, but I did enjoy it at the time. That's the perfect way to put it, you're always racing yourself.
One of my long term goals would be to race in the Leadville 100, but my whole lifestyle would need to be adjusted for that kind of training.
Always open to more topics! The one thing that stuck out to me when I raced is that the dudes in the 50+ class always looked GREAT. They might be 65 or 70 but you wouldn't know it from how healthy they were. I was never sure if it was the mountain biking that kept them healthy, or if they had great genes so they could KEEP mountain biking into their 60's and beyond.
I’m going tomorrow it looks like a good trail
Nice!
Going up Devil's Backbone, that is hell.
Recommend Unknown Meadow to anyone new to MTB, very fun and flowy, the only downside is it is pain to get to it as it sits in the back corner of the park.
Definitely!
I'd like to see another video in Rockville, when you get your new bike. I'm kind of hoping it's either a Bronson, or a 5010. What have you done to stop the GoPro wind noise? Thanks for the videos!
Glad you're enjoying the vids! If I could get my hands on any of these demo bikes for more than one day I would take them to Rockville as a proving ground. I bought this Camkix windscreen: amzn.to/28STAyP I still need to do some tweaking, as it doesn't fit over the gimbal properly and caused some of my shots to look crappy because I couldn't see where the camera was pointing. I'm thinking I will cut it up and just put the foam over the mic.
Rockville (appropriately named) would make a good proving ground, because you have ridden it a lot. It would be nice if you could get both the Bronson and the 5010 over a weekend, or something. You'll have to do some "sweet talking." I got the top spec 5010, had it for just over a year, and it was definitely the right choice for "me." It's a good all-rounder. Thanks for the link to the windscreen!
+Master Zilch Definitely! It would be killer to have both bikes at the same time.
Ive ridden there and it's friggin aweosme, wish I saw u tho
Nice!
Hey BK.. Was just reading about your Yeti getting stolen.. that sucks. I'm really sorry about that. I hope somehow that jerk is caught. Btw, I don't know if short travel 29ers are your thing, but either way you gotta test ride an sb4.5c ..I did last week and it absolutely blew me away. Man, I wish I could afford one.
Thanks, Manny, life goes on! I may be able to get a couple bucks from insurance, but I'm not holding my breath. You know, I haven't ridden many 29ers at all. Just another kick ass bike to add to the "must ride" list.
Hey Brian, which trails in this park would reccomend to a beginner?
It is pretty much all beginner with some intermediate, very tiny park, heavy traffic from hikers, riders and cows. weekday is the best time and come early
it must have sucked if you had Huffy's
It was pretty tough!
Do you plan on racing in the Rockville Enduro this year?
If I'm in town that day I will! They need to get some promotion going because I can't find any info anywhere. Will it be on Halloween weekend again?
Oct 29th. Sign at the entrance.
I live in Davis, CA. if anyone around is heading up to the trails I need a ride. haha.
Andrew Givens let's do this!
Super nice park and mtb trails!
I still say that for the type of riding I see you do, you might want to demo a 29er. It was mind blowing for me when I demo'd a 29er after a few years on my old 26er.
Great video!!!
I totally agree.
+Hollis Prince Thanks, man! Definitely 29er terrain out there.
+klamer kl My bars felt so narrow after riding all those different bikes in Whistler (check out my channel if you haven't seen those videos).
Doesn't look like Specialized has any demo days in my area this summer.
I've shredded slick rock Utah back in the day on 26" tires. 27.5 is more than enough unless you don't want to learn how to tackle obstacles. 29ers are for people who don't want to make the effort to pick the best lines.
What width bars are on your bike ?
Shoot, I actually don't remember. This bike was stolen.
when do you think you're gonna get a new bike? bronson right?
I thought I was going to get one more year out of the Yeti, but it was stolen a couple nights ago. Forgot my garage door was open, brutal mistake. I'll be able to ride my dad's Stumpjumper for now as I figure out what I'm going to do next. The Bronson is definitely at the top of my list. Time will tell.
+BK-XC wow that really sucks to hear dude. I know so many people who have gotten their bikes stolen and it is usually never their fault. good luck finding it
Thanks, man. Definitely my fault. It was the night before garbage day, so that's when a lot of random people are walking the streets digging through the garbage. It was like taking candy from a baby. Definitely possible that it could wash up, did the police report and everything.
+BK-XC What!? That's so awful dude :(
I left my garage door open all night a few nights ago, and when I left for work that morning my heart was hammering until I saw that my bikes were still there. Close call.
Sorry for your loss man, that was sweet bike and I know you've spent countless hours with it.
It was a damn fine bike, I was planning on retiring it and mounting it on my wall! Hopefully some kid ends up with a sweet ass deal from a crackhead and has a ton of fun riding it.
What kinda bike did you do this on? Can it be done one a hardtail?
This was a full suspension. Rockville is tough on a hardtail but you can do it. It's just more practice and building a good foundation of skills!
Samantha Arreguin// its perfect for a hardtail. This is my local park about 20 minutes from my house. Something like a diamondback hook/line/syncr series is great or a specialized pitch/ rockhopper
Damn dude you really are a local, do you still ride out here?
All the time!
BKXC awesome man, one of my buddies is a big fan of yours, we both grew up in Vallejo too. I just recently back got into riding after some personal recovery, and I’m at Rockville park at least twice a week, maybe I’ll see you out here sometime. You seem like a real good guy, and I’d love to buy a shirt or somethin. Either way, ride safe brother, I’ll see you out on the trails.
Riding Rockville tomorrow for the first time... kind of nervous as my skill and fitness levels suck.
It’ll be fine!
just ride the mostly flat areas, fun stuff, it is a very tiny park, can't really go fast with all the hikers and cows
Do you live in farfield amigo .???
Vallejo!
I live in concord i hope some day i meet you and one those trails
I'm in moraga ! Let's rip some trails
@@joshrose3482 maybe in my play ground josh Lime ridge in walnut creek ✌🏻
@@alexlamy1271 or mine JMP
Basically stay left and your golden lol!
dude my house is in vid
lol
Sorry but I'm not paying just to ride my bike