Video: A Mile of Continuous Rock on Quebec's New 'Slab City' Trail

Mar 29, 2020
by Gabriel Gakwaya  

Slab City // Sentiers Du Moulin's Newest Trail

Slab City is a single black diamond trail located at Sentiers du Moulin, a fast growing enduro mecca located just 15 minutes outside of Quebec City, Canada. The trail bears its name from the off-grid Californian community and reflects the unique experience anyone will have venturing past the trailhead. Only punctuated by a few ladder bridges and some rock arrangements, the trail truly feels like you are riding down a mile of continuous rock, weaving its way through the forest. Its porous granite offers phenomenal grip and rides incredibly well even in wet conditions. Born from a partnership between Sentiers du Moulin, Velo Solution Canada and the local volunteer group LBCycle, Slab City is part of a big expansion project known as the Maelstrom trail network. This new zone will offer more than 12 miles of world-class riding by spring 2021, adding up to the existing 25 miles of trail that already make Sentiers du Moulin a must go for enduro enthusiasts on the East Coast. The unique mix of geology and topography offered in the Maelstrom zone is one of a kind and the type of riding you wouldn't expect to find on the east coast of Canada.

Watch Slab City's visionary and trail builder Nic Sauve ride the trail he dreamed up.

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Slab City est un futur sentier de niveau avancé faisant partie de l'offre des Sentiers du Moulin, un incontournable pour l'enduro situé à 15 minutes de la ville de Québec. L'ouverture officielle de ce sentier sera annoncée au début de l'été 2020. "Slab City" est tiré de la communauté marginale Californienne du même nom pour établir un parallèle avec cet endroit mythique offrant une expérience unique au monde à ceux qui s'y aventurent. Ponctué de seulement quelques ponts de bois et enrochements, le sentier est constitué d'une seule dalle géante de granite sur 1.5 km sillonnant la forêt. Le granite poreux qui constitue ce sentier offre une adhérence phénoménale et permet d'être roulé sans crainte sous la pluie. Née du partenariat entre Sentiers du Moulin, Vélo Solution Canada et le groupe de bénévoles local LBCycle, Slab City fait partie du projet d'expansion "Secteur Maelstrom". Ce nouveau secteur offrira près de 20 km supplémentaires de sentiers de classe mondiale s'ajoutant aux 40 km existants qui font déjà la renommée des Sentiers du Moulin. La géologie et la topographie unique du "Secteur Maelstrom" caractérisent une offre unique au monde pour la pratique du vélo de montagne.

Regardez Nic Sauve, concepteur et aménagiste de ce sentier, roulant les dalles de Slab City.


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Author Info:
zeGG avatar

Member since Jul 9, 2008
13 articles

59 Comments
  • 40 1
 I loves ridin' in kwee-bec.
  • 6 0
 so do you watch Letterkenny?
  • 14 0
 @jerome: Thats a Texas sized 10-4
  • 5 1
 great fishn in kwee-bec just gotta watch out for the degens from up north
  • 30 0
 At least they don't have to worry about braking bumps forming!
  • 25 0
 Looks like an awesome ride...Don't take it for granite.
  • 12 0
 That is a rock solid track!
  • 7 0
 Looks great! Was hoping to make that area my annual summer MTB trip. But that depends on this virus situation and if I ever get back to work.
  • 9 1
 I bet that's fun after a rainstorm
  • 17 0
 This granite is super grippy even when wet.
  • 4 0
 just be carefull on the wooden bridges
  • 2 0
 It's like riding on wet 40 grit sandpaper... which is to say, it's awesome.
  • 2 0
 @SebasFlat: do NOT crash...sandpaper!
  • 6 0
 Last I saw of Nic Sauve he was a pro snowboarder...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEzvZ5KGwP8
  • 3 0
 the same nic sauve, he ride a bike and snowboard
  • 6 1
 So cool... looks like the old Hiking trails here in NH that I actively seek out to ride... www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPUpSj_azFs
  • 3 0
 Daaaaamn. That looks amazing, props to the builder/unearther. Pretty high consequence crashes? Like sandpaper?

Do people who ride this kind of terrain or slickrock just run normal tires at normal pressures or something more specific (like semislicks to maximize contact patch)?
  • 1 0
 I have a friend who swears by Hookworms. He's a weird guy. But he climbs everything.
  • 1 0
 @rip8569: Oh damn, that's severe. Like, be only on rock or die. Maximum grip on slickrock and zero grip if you accidentally hit dirt?

Crazy.
  • 1 0
 @VTTyeahyouknowme: actually he does amazingly fine with it on dirt. He's a good rider for sure
  • 4 0
 I hope I have a job still after covid to be able to go back to Sentiers Du Moulin, been going there from the opening of LBC1 and every year after, it truly is a special place!
  • 5 0
 That kinda trail must be great for maintanance. Build for eternity (as long as people use it)
  • 4 0
 This is how I felt blasting down the neighborhood sidewalk as a kid, popping off every crack and gapping tree lawns.
  • 5 0
 Tabarnack que c’est beau! Vraiment hâte de rider ça!
  • 1 0
 I can't imagine riding that without gloves and pads. I guess he's super familiar with that trail but I'm not as confident that I would never have an off while riding that. We are talking about skin graft -level road rash on that stuff!
  • 4 0
 Damn talk about sustainable trail building, looks sweet!
  • 6 2
 Somewhere out there, the language police are suiting up...
  • 4 0
 World Class Riding..who needs to leave home Smile
  • 4 0
 Wow. Need to ride Quebec again.
  • 2 0
 What a ton of work to make this roc nude and pure!! Great job quebecors, all your trails smell a true respect to mother nature and a true love for our sport, keep moving.
  • 1 0
 Thanks !
  • 2 0
 Link to the complete trail here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo-R9t5nZwI
  • 2 0
 So you had to dig all the earth on top till find the rock underlying it all the way?
  • 1 0
 The organic layer on the surface was very thin.
  • 3 0
 @SentiersduMoulin: Incredible how the wood can find grip with all this vegetation... that would be rock 100% here in catalonia.
  • 2 0
 Man that is original and creative on the part of whoever built that trail! Sweet!
  • 2 0
 I really need to ride that!
  • 2 0
 very nice images and edit
  • 1 0
 I hope no one got close to that caterpillar in those closeup. Those things are pretty poisonous.
  • 2 0
 just go ride slick-rock, 10+ miles of rock Wink
  • 2 0
 they should do a race when it rains
  • 2 0
 This trail looks like it Rocks!
  • 2 0
 Thats a low maintenance trails if ive ever seen one!!
  • 3 0
 Love the soundtrack...
  • 2 0
 criss! nice double à 1:10
  • 2 0
 tire brands shall produce slick tires now for this specific trail Smile
  • 1 0
 How long till someone posts a video riding it on a old school 10 speed complete with Lycra a one of those cage Helmets.
  • 1 0
 Makes me think of The Ribbon trail in Grand Junction, Colorado. That is the biggest slab trail I have ever seen or ridden.
  • 2 1
 Looks like a blast. How are you know?
  • 1 0
 @zeGG When was this filmed ?
  • 1 0
 Not since the fall, at least.
  • 2 0
 The shooting was done last September and the trail officially opens this summer
  • 1 0
 last September Wink
  • 2 0
 They probably still have a good amount of snow right now if that's what you wanted to know... lol
  • 2 0
 Paved Big Grin
  • 1 0
 Reminds me of the trails around Yellowknife, NWT.
  • 1 0
 #RideQuebecCity: 'nuff said
  • 1 0
 now







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