I Rode My Bike Today...

Not much in the tank today, but it still felt good to be out there :)
#therapy

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Oaks day.. not too many people out.. some newbies.. some hikers.. perfect breezy day.. saw a gopher snake.. yesterday a big rattle snake at Peralta...
Easy loops.. hawk still in good shape.. p r ed hawk and didn't even know it..
Didn't feel fast.. ripmo vs pivot 429 trail..
I never pr anything anymore... Umm..
Oak trails still in good shape but getting looser.. summer fall oaks coming.. enjoy before it's gone
 
Last night's ride

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This rock is a major tourist attraction. There can be a 2 hr wait to take a pic there on a busy weekend. Not sure where everyone was, only 3 others here when I arrived. Trailhead was full so everyone who left the summit early missing out on an awesome sunset!

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Typical runout after >90* degree turn, with another 90* turn at my feet

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TNBS....

3 of us rolled out. very social pace all the way to Hidden Ranch.

@cajun caught and passed us in the bottom of Hidden Ranch. I was in story telling mode, so I just let him go. He dropped us like we were stopped. I gave him a few mins. Suz said something to the effect of “you can’t catch him”. Fine....there goes my social pace. Just before the 2nd Mariposa Sign I switched into chase mode. Took about 10 mins....but I caught the rabbit. It hurt....a lot.

we rolled out to Echo Point/10 mile turn again.

Back at the Beeks gate, a rider had his bike turned over, said it wasn’t shifting well in the top 2 cigs and asked if any of us knew how to adjust it. My group offered my services. Turns out a new chain was installed incorrectly through the RD. Quick fix and he was off.

typical fast run down.

good times.

20 / 2650’
 
mtnbikej said:
TNBS....

3 of us rolled out. very social pace all the way to Hidden Ranch.

@cajun caught and passed us in the bottom of Hidden Ranch. I was in story telling mode, so I just let him go. He dropped us like we were stopped. I gave him a few mins. Suz said something to the effect of “you can’t catch him”. Fine....there goes my social pace. Just before the 2nd Mariposa Sign I switched into chase mode. Took about 10 mins....but I caught the rabbit. It hurt....a lot.

we rolled out to Echo Point/10 mile turn again.

Back at the Beeks gate, a rider had his bike turned over, said it wasn’t shifting well in the top 2 cigs and asked if any of us knew how to adjust it. My group offered my services. Turns out a new chain was installed incorrectly through the RD. Quick fix and he was off.

typical fast run down.

good times.

20 / 2650’
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Oh, no no no....Let me correct you. I said, "aren't you gonna catch him?" I was surprised that you didn't hop on his wheel when he took off. I was even more surprised when after 5 minutes off hanging with Jerm and me that you said "do you think I've given him enough head start?" That's when I said, "what, you're going to go catch him now?" And to my disbelief, I grinned and felt lust for my studly man when you caught him in no time. Way to go baby! ;):inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove:
 
Mixed bag today. Shook up my normal Cheesbro route for some variety. The upper section of Sheep Corral has been trimmed, but not raked. It was treacherously slick in a couple areas resulting in some pucker moments that seemed to throw me off my game. Descended Cheesebro Canyon for the first time in as long as I can remember (aside from a sketchy self evacuation 7 months ago). Ended up walking the top part of the descent of The Wall, which I've rolled countless times before. Just felt off, and decided not to push it. Good judgement, perhaps, but it ate at me for the rest of the ride. My wife, sensing I wasn't stoked when we spoke at the end of the ride, was super pleased to hear that, so I guess I'll consider it a weird kind of win. The end of the ride was the new flow trail that I've been working to get dialed. It's the kind of riding (high speed cornering) that has been my kryptonite. After my ego blow earlier I was extra motivated to hustle down that section, and ended up PRing the bulk of it. Being a new trail it doesn't have an extensive Strava leaderboard but I know there have been a lot of fast riders hitting it, so I was stoked to see I was in the top half to top third for almost all of it. I'm typically not very competitive, but I kind of like the gamification of trails like that. Was a small bit of redemption from an otherwise humbling ride. 14.9, 2228.

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horsebikerider said:
Oh, no no no....Let me correct you. I said, "aren't you gonna catch him?" I was surprised that you didn't hop on his wheel when he took off. I was even more surprised when after 5 minutes off hanging with Jerm and me that you said "do you think I've given him enough head start?" That's when I said, "what, you're going to go catch him now?" And to my disbelief, I grinned and felt lust for my studly man when you caught him in no time. Way to go baby! ;):inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove:
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Love that! I get the same feeling for your man as he opens up the throttle when I'm behind him, chasing those heavenly cheeks.
 
I busted through the backdoor to Peavine Peak, 8229' el., on the hardtail. A little ST and loose forest roads on the way up. Started down some ST into Reno but was not too inspired by it so looped back toward the peak. Some interesting conifer and aspen stands on north-facing aspects, some water flowing in what otherwise feels like high desert. The grade and rocky, loose surface forced a good stretch of HAB on the west side of the peak (2x).

No pics – my phone decided to abandon my pocket on the ride. I took a little spill in the DG on some ST and was very hopeful it would be there. Considerable effort to get back to where that happened. No payoff. I would have driven back up there if my phone was find-able. Alas, it's on airplane mode. My last hope is that Bill picked it up, a 70-yo rider I chatted with near the peak. I called a LBS he mentioned and they are getting in touch with him. It was curious that I did not run into him on my way back up – he must have a different way down. But he definitely followed me down the upper ST.

A good albeit expensive ride. Around 32/5400. A handful of riders, one rattlesnake and one hawk seen on the trail.
 
horsebikerider said:
Oh, no no no....Let me correct you. I said, "aren't you gonna catch him?" I was surprised that you didn't hop on his wheel when he took off. I was even more surprised when after 5 minutes off hanging with Jerm and me that you said "do you think I've given him enough head start?" That's when I said, "what, you're going to go catch him now?" And to my disbelief, I grinned and felt lust for my studly man when you caught him in no time. Way to go baby! ;):inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove:
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Whoa!!! You guys need to get a room! :eek::D
 
mike said:
I busted through the backdoor to Peavine Peak, 8229' el., on the hardtail. A little ST and loose forest roads on the way up. Started down some ST into Reno but was not too inspired by it so looped back toward the peak. Some interesting conifer and aspen stands on north-facing aspects, some water flowing in what otherwise feels like high desert. The grade and rocky, loose surface forced a good stretch of HAB on the west side of the peak (2x).

No pics – my phone decided to abandon my pocket on the ride. I took a little spill in the DG on some ST and was very hopeful it would be there. Considerable effort to get back to where that happened. No payoff. I would have driven back up there if my phone was find-able. Alas, it's on airplane mode. My last hope is that Bill picked it up, a 70-yo rider I chatted with near the peak. I called a LBS he mentioned and they are getting in touch with him. It was curious that I did not run into him on my way back up – he must have a different way down. But he definitely followed me down the upper ST.

A good albeit expensive ride. Around 32/5400. A handful of riders, one rattlesnake and one hawk seen on the trail.
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Hope you get your phone back @mike!
 
SnakeCharmer said:
Hope you get your phone back @mike!
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Thanks, buddy! :)

At least it was the cheap one, and on a ride that was not too committing. As much as I ride with phone in pocket, I could be lucky. But those Endura Humvee shorts have the most shallow front pockets of any pants known to mankind. That was really pushing it, so I sort of had it coming. I will replace those shorts, but the phone will still go in the front pocket. And I'll make a point to, uh, check that pocket after I'm laying on the damn ground next time. :bang:
 
Strawberry Peak Loop with @Fueledbyex8, @Derkderkall, and @Sasquatch9billion. One word comes to mind more than any other: soaked

We met at Clear Creek Junction at 7am this morning. I was surprised at how many others were pulling up to use the trail considering the damp air and low clouds. We readied our bikes and gear and off we went up the 2.5 mile fire road grind to Jospehine Saddle, a real wake up call. After a short rest, we set off on the trail and it wasn't long before I brushed up against the first of hundreds of soaking wet overgrowth branches that plagued us throughout the ride. Derek would be my wingman throughout the ride. His new Spesh Fuse is really nice and he rides it well. Albert and Trinidad paired up most of the ride. Trinidad's new GG Shred Dogg is low and sleek! Albert reported having a sharp headache not far into the ride after we set off on the ST and he was thinking of going back but he toughed it out. I could see it in his eyes that he was in pain. Trinidad gave him some meds and later I gave him some electrolytes. The ride through Strawberry was fabulous even though we were completely soaked. All we could do about it was laugh. We saw a few other bikers and the usual weekend hikers as were rolled along. When we reached Red Box, we took a breather and got ready for some Gabrielino action. Somewhere along the way after we dropped in, Albert was feeling better. We encountered some large branches/small trees to clear off the trail as we went along but nothing major. There was at least one big tree that had fallen across the trail but it was elevated and you could duck down just low enough to get under it and pass after I took a minute to break off some branches that wanted to puncture any passer by. I think Derek went down somewhere along the way but nothing serious. It was squirrely out there in the wetness even though the dirt was magnetic. Dodging and ducking and juking to minimize making contact with soaking wet branches leaves you a bit off balance. We finished up and did the pavement grind up to the highway and back to our vehicles. Our bikes were absolute DG mudpies throughout the ride. Good times! :cool:

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Got to fulfill a dream last night (of the mtb kind)! I've ridden the Archipelago several times, & found myself wanting something different -so why not do a Dark Arch? I schemed to do it on a full moon, & last night fit the bill, albeit with bouts of rain thrown in. I dunno, 45+/- miles, 7:15pm to 2am, no folks about after Denks, lotsa rabbits & toads, 2 deer in Penasquitos cyn, & a bobcat in Lopez cyn! DA#1 is in the books!
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Looking down on Escondido, from Elfin:
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The creek before Cardiac Hill:
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Walleye said:
Got to fulfill a dream last night (of the mtb kind)! I've ridden the Archipelago several times, & found myself wanting something different -so why not do a Dark Arch? I schemed to do it on a full moon, & last night fit the bill, albeit with bouts of rain thrown in. I dunno, 45+/- miles, 7:15pm to 2am, no folks about after Denks, lotsa rabbits & toads, 2 deer in Penasquitos cyn, & a bobcat in Lopez cyn! DA#1 is in the books!
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Looking down on Escondido, from Elfin:
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The creek before Cardiac Hill:
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Atta boy.......that's how you go get at it.

Nice ride. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
I headed to SkyPark, but it was rainy and foggy all the way up the mountain. SkyPark was invisible due to fog & rain when I passed by. I checked the forecast "hour by hour" before I left and there was no mention of fog or rain, just "cloudy." That mountain has its own micro-climate. This is the second time that has happened to me. The last time, Exploration was sunny & dry, so I headed over there again.

Sure enough, no rain & no fog on Exploration. There was no parking at the bottom so I drove to the top. I had a good run down. There were two or three mud pits in the forest section, but easily avoidable. The rest of the trail was pretty dry. My GPS or Strava failed about halfway down so not sure of the mileage. I sort of wish I had dropped Exploration again, but the thought of that boring ride back to the top to end my ride was too much. I think if I had parked at the bottom I would have done it twice. Anyway, it was a lot of driving today for a short trail.

I figured the cloud bank might have moved from SkyPark since it was now two hours later ... but no such luck. The rest of the drive down the mountain was treacherous. The fog was so thick I could only see the yellow center line, and it was like that until I finally got to the double lanes. I have decided I am not driving up there again unless the forecast is showing nothing but "Sunny!" pics from 6 AM and throughout the day. I don't need that kind of stress in my life, LOL.
 
mike said:
Thanks, buddy! :)

At least it was the cheap one, and on a ride that was not too committing. As much as I ride with phone in pocket, I could be lucky. But those Endura Humvee shorts have the most shallow front pockets of any pants known to mankind. That was really pushing it, so I sort of had it coming. I will replace those shorts, but the phone will still go in the front pocket. And I'll make a point to, uh, check that pocket after I'm laying on the damn ground next time. :bang:
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That blows... I've never lost a phone, but my wife reminds me about the GoPro that was left behind in Oregon.
 
Ok... This was one of "those" rides. :p

I left Canada pretty early to make it to The Path Live Oak by 6:30 to meet @mtnbikej . Early enough that the Starbucks drive-thru wasn't even open. Oh, the horror. :eek: When I was walking out of the garage, it was drizzling pretty hard, so I turned around and grabbed the Showers Pass jacket. Spoiler alert- I should have used it, but never did. :facepalm:

Rolled into the parking lot about 6:28, and geared up... the temps were pretty nice, but it was already misting. It seemed really odd to be back in the old neighborhood as a visitor. Down the road and into O'Neill for the Hoffman-Homestead Trail and a quick jaunt up Monastery and down Live Oak onto the Aliso Creek Path. There was a huge tree down at the end closest to Cooks.

Up Modjeska Grade :gag:, past the STT/Luge entrance, and down into the Canyon. The parking lot at Tucker was open, but most of the spots were already taken. I think we were around 8.5 miles and 1200 feet by the time we started up Harding.

Harding became interesting real quick... The SE4 is a great tire. With the recently graded road, it quickly gained some mud weight. Visibility was never more than a couple hundred feet and usually a lot less. I've ridden up Harding probably 50 times, but couldn't tell where I was today. In the soup!

I try to avoid the pie plates on that climb, but the 42 and 50 were my friends today as the bike got heavier and heavier. :oops: I guess this is what it's like to actually pedal an e-bike... :gag: Fortunately, there was conversation the whole way, which made the climb go by quickly. We solved all of the world's problems on the way up... I'd post our conclusions, but sheriff @Mikie might ban me. :whistling:

The climb from Four Corners to Modjeska is getting interesting again... I ran into a nice trail running couple who asked about trails and distances. Nice chat, and the slower pace felt good for a few minutes. :thumbsup:

Wet Soupy Joplin Awaits...
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In the saddle I added the wind breaker and dry gloves... They were soaked through in the first 100 feet of Joplin. Even though we brushed the trail in February, it was pretty overgrown. To the point that we were beaten mercilessly with almost frozen branches and grass from top to bottom. :p Hard to see the trail in spots... Freaking awesome! I have video, but I may end up deleting the sound track. Between our freight train brakes and me repetitively saying, "I'm a f@cking popsicle...", the sound track is a little harsh. :D:p

The rocky sections in the beginning that had been dumbed down with dirt on the last ride with @rossage , @Tom the Bomb and @herzalot were back to their raw selves. And today they were also slippery... :thumbsup: :D All in all, though, it was an awesome descent. Cold, wet, steep, limited visibility, slippery rocky chutes, frozen fingers and toes, overgrowth, dark canopies..:inlove: Two miles and two thousand feet of craziness...

Old Camp... Largely unscathed, but soaked and frozen.
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STT was about the same as always, but Cadillac was a muddy mess in the beginning. To the point that the first few hundred yards were more of an uncontrolled slide in the mud. :D Fortunately, it gets rocky quick... I'll take the Cadillac finish over the Luge any day. Far more technical, steep, loose, and ever changing. :thumbsup:

This was all over us and the bikes by the end. It has the look and feel of baby poop.
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Back to the trucks for some dry clothes, and then this happened: :inlove::inlove:
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Absolutely awesome day back in the old hood with my riding partner... :thumbsup:
 
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Faust29 said:
Ok... This was one of "those" rides. :p

I left Canada pretty early to make it to The Path Live Oak by 6:30 to meet @mtnbikej . Early enough that the Starbucks drive-thru wasn't even open. Oh, the horror. :eek: When I was walking out of the garage, it was drizzling pretty hard, so I turned around and grabbed the Showers Pass jacket. Spoiler alert- I should have used it, but never did. :facepalm:

Rolled into the parking lot about 6:28, and geared up... the temps were pretty nice, but it was already misting. It seemed really odd to be back in the old neighborhood as a visitor. Down the road and into O'Neill for the Hoffman-Homestead Trail and a quick jaunt up Monastery and down Live Oak onto the Aliso Creek Path. There was a huge tree down at the end closest to Cooks.

Up Modjeska Grade :gag:, past the STT/Luge entrance, and down into the Canyon. The parking lot at Tucker was open, but most of the spots were already taken. I think we were around 8.5 miles and 1200 feet by the time we started up Harding.

Harding became interesting real quick... The SE4 is a great tire. With the recently graded road, it quickly gained some mud weight. Visibility was never more than a couple hundred feet and usually a lot less. I've ridden up Harding probably 50 times, but couldn't tell where I was today. In the soup!

I try to avoid the pie plates on that climb, but the 42 and 50 were my friends today as the bike got heavier and heavier. :oops: I guess this is what it's like to actually pedal an e-bike... :gag: Fortunately, there was conversation the whole way, which made the climb go by quickly. Pretty sure we solved all of the world's problems on the way up... I'd post our conclusions, but sheriff @Mikie might ban me. :whistling:

The climb from Four Corners to Modjeska is getting interesting again... I ran into a nice trail running couple who asked about trails and distances. Nice chat, and the slower pace felt good for a few minutes. :thumbsup:

Wet Soupy Joplin Awaits...
View attachment 65823

In the saddle I added the wind breaker and dry gloves... They were soaked through in the first 100 feet of Joplin. Even though we brushed the trail in February, it was pretty overgrown. To the point that we were beaten mercilessly with almost frozen branches and grass from top to bottom. :p Hard to see the trail in spots... Freaking awesome! I have video, but I may end up deleting the sound track. Between our freight train brakes and me repetitively saying, "I'm a f@cking popsicle...", the sound track is a little harsh. :D:p

The rocky sections in the beginning that had been dumbed down with dirt on the last ride with @rossage and @Tom the Bomb were back to their raw selves. And today they were also slippery... :thumbsup: :D All in all, though, it was an awesome descent. Cold, wet, steep, limited visibility, slippery rocky chutes, frozen fingers and toes, overgrowth, dark canopies..:inlove: Two miles and two thousand feet of craziness...

Old Camp... Largely unscathed, but soaked and frozen.
View attachment 65822

STT was about the same as always, but Cadillac was a muddy mess in the beginning. To the point that the first few hundred yards were more of an uncontrolled slide in the mud. :D Fortunately, it gets rocky quick... I'll take Cadillac finish over the Luge any day. Far more technical, steep, loose, and ever changing. :thumbsup:

Back to the trucks for some dry clothes, and then this happened: :inlove::inlove:
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Absolutely awesome day back in the old hood with my riding partner... :thumbsup:
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Your ride was better than my ride but my ride was awesome, so there!
 
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