Spin Cycle is a great little DH ride. This fast, swooping downhill singletrack is about 2 miles long, dropping 800 vertical feet. It finishes with a gooseneck whoop-de-do bucking-horse plunge down an aspen-filled gulley. Great fun.Unless you shuttle by car (and I'm not sure if that's legal), your ride will be several miles longer. Most riders do this ride on an XC or all-mountain bike, rather than a big gravity rig.

Spin Cycle isn't easy to find. Local riders have many ways to get there. Their favorite route is (as of 2008) closed due to construction. I recommend that out-of-towners crank up Little Stick from Deer Valley's Snow Park Lodge, then follow the singletrack from there.

If you're more adventurous, you can reach Spin Cycle from anywhere in town. I've outlined three other routes: (1) from the upper Deer Valley Lodge (to connect from the Midmountain Trail, upper Deer Valley, and other west-side trails), (2) from the Rail Trail via Skid Row and Solamere, and (3) from east side of the Deer Valley Snow Park Lodge loop road via the Village Trail (which offers also a loop over and around Snowtop at the upper Deer Crest gatehouse -- as in the DV ICup race course -- to extend the ride). Pick your poison.

The shortest ride is around 5 miles. This ride climbs Little Stick from Deer Valley, drops down Spin Cycle, and returns via the Village Trail (without climbing back up Pipeline for a 2nd lap). The shortest return route forks right immediately after the Deer Crest gatehouse onto the Gap Bypass.

There are two ways to do multiple drops down Spin Cycle. The "dirt loop" adds 4.7 miles per additional lap. On the climb back up from Spin Cycle, this loop forks onto the Pipeline trail, then climbs up the switchbacks to the top again. On dirt, it took me about 20 minutes to get from the bottom of Spin Cycle back to the top for another go.If you don't mind some road climbing, the road loop adds 1.5 uphill miles on pavement to your 2 miles of downhill. This is quick and fun. Once you get hit the bottom, it's pretty quick to crank back to the top on pavement.

I don't know if you can legally use a shuttle car for the "road loops" unless you're a guest of a Deer Crest HOA member. The gate at the bottom of Deer Hollow Road was open, and I didn't see a "Members Only, No Trespassing" sign. But this a private area. Shuttling to the top with a car seems like a fun option, but remember: I did not tell you it was OK.

Two passes down Spin Cycle (on the dirt loop) starting from Little Stick and returning via Village, is a quick and fairly easy 11-mile day on great singletrack. That's assuming you're a reasonably strong intermediate rider. Great stuff.

In Park City, follow the signs to Deer Valley Resort. After you turn past the Snow Park Lodge, turn left into one of the parking lots. If you're climbing via Little Stick (the most direct route), pedal back past the lodge and go to the gate on your left at the far end of the resort property, then start up the doubletrack. To find your way up via the Gap, find a non-closed route over the Gap. A singletrack rises between condos opposite the 3rd parking lot, but it's very hard to see from the street. You can also head north on the road, then turn R to reach the Deer Crest gatehouse, where you can pick up the trail (see above).