I Rode My Bike Today...

Stroll in the mountains today... Up one side, and down the front range- Upper Merrill, Middle Merrill and Sunset. I skipped El Prieto at the end and opted to take a detour to see the newly re-installed grave marker.

I also cleaned the initial climb for the first time... :p No dabs. Although there were a few spots that I wasn't sure I was moving forward. :gag: Extra slow mode today...

I only saw one other rider, and he was on a BSO- skidding around corners with one foot out like Evil Knievel. :facepalm:

Middle Sam Merrill :inlove:
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One of my favorite corners on Middle Merrill... :inlove:
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Photo of the inside of my pocket. There was also 9 minutes of video. Oops.
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Faust29 said:
Stroll in the mountains today... Up one side, and down the front range- Upper Merrill, Middle Merrill and Sunset. I skipped El Prieto at the end and opted to take a detour to see the newly re-installed grave marker.

I also cleaned the initial climb for the first time... :p No dabs. Although there were a few spots that I wasn't sure I was moving forward. :gag: Extra slow mode today...

Middle Sam Merrill :inlove:
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Photo of the inside of my pocket. There was also 9 minutes of video. Oops.
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How cool would it be to be buried along a trail for people to visit. I don’t think I want to be dressed or in a casket. Tamper at your own risk.
 
Faust29 said:
Now I'm wondering if they really have a clue where he is. The "new" marker is on the opposite side of the clearing that the temporary marker was on. We're probably walking all over him and don't even know it. :eek: :p
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Did I not read that he is buried elsewhere (or was moved elsewhere at some point) and that what has been restored is actually a memorial, not a burial site?
 
SnakeCharmer said:
Did I not read that he is buried elsewhere (or was moved elsewhere at some point) and that what has been restored is actually a memorial, not a burial site?
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I see there were rumblings about doing that 10 years ago, but I don't see any evidence that the idea went anywhere. The idea was to take his remains back to New York State... It seems like the idea was hatched during the period that access to the grave site was blocked by the land owner, and tempers were high. Those circumstances no longer exist after litigation...
 
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Quicky Brown Mountain climb and descend this morning before work. Felt great going up. I took a short break at the junction and noticed a new sign posted. I didn’t see anyone on the way up but a few arrived while I was resting. I continued the climb up to Ken Burton trailhead, my turn around point. Again, I saw nobody else. Never saw the sun the entire way up. On the return, I pulled over for a few who were climbing up. Back at the junction I decided to keep speedfest going so I turned right to head down the way I came up. There would be no El Prieto tech ride today. It’s been quite a while since I did this alternative to reaching the bottom and it’s a blast. I was hauling ass, but ever cautious for those who were surely climbing up and there was in fact, a few. 13.55 miles, 1857’ gain.

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Did a nice out and back , Oats peak trail M Montana de Oro, Morro Bay. Nice flowy single track, nice 4% 5 mi climb up and hauling the mail back down. Cooler near the bottom and warmer up top but not much more than 75°. Beach club deli after, 5/5 recommendation!

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Faust29 said:
Stroll in the mountains today... Up one side, and down the front range- Upper Merrill, Middle Merrill and Sunset. I skipped El Prieto at the end and opted to take a detour to see the newly re-installed grave marker.

I also cleaned the initial climb for the first time... :p No dabs. Although there were a few spots that I wasn't sure I was moving forward. :gag: Extra slow mode today...

I only saw one other rider, and he was on a BSO- skidding around corners with one foot out like Evil Knievel. :facepalm:

Middle Sam Merrill :inlove:
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One of my favorite corners on Middle Merrill... :inlove:
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Photo of the inside of my pocket. There was also 9 minutes of video. Oops.
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Middle Merrill looking good. I think I need a front range run soon.
 
Got out this morning after yesterday’s monsoon pounding. I don’t know how much rain downtown actually received but it was running 18” deep downhill in a few places and a foot bridge in Granite Creek was washed away.
Most other places, that would equate to no riding for a few days minimum but the DG soaks it up. The trails were actually getting dry & loose so the monsoon was a welcome treat....aside from this morning’s Mississippi level humidity. Other than that, fantastic riding conditions and I’ve never seen Prescott greener since I’ve been coming in 2014.

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SnakeCharmer said:
Did I not read that he is buried elsewhere (or was moved elsewhere at some point) and that what has been restored is actually a memorial, not a burial site?
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He was buried on top of the Little Round Top. Right between two power towers which were added latter after the LA aqueduct brought Power to LA. There are many old photographs. That Round marker looks like the original which was found a little down the canyon on someone's property.
 
Blackstar Tree Farm to Doppler Ball 18.09 / 2,352 87 / 66 degrees

On the way up, saw 5 other riders. On the way down, had the place to myself until 2 miles from the gate. At that point, started encountering groups of hikers. Beyond the gate, many cars parked along the road. Pretty sure they'd all come for the Perseids meteor shower. I did not see any suchlike things but sure was glad to get to ride. :)

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More rain here yesterday so we opted for a sure thing with The Dells. Aside from missing a turn and ending up on a full blown HAB hiking trail that @evdog would love, we had a great time until one riders bike went down with a bent hanger. We decided to bail so that she could get the bike fixed before our trip on Saturday.

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Laguna Coast Wilderness Park this morning. It was so hot and humid that I hemorrhaged sweat the entire ride. o_O I had to stop twice to wring out my gloves.

I held an eBike up on singletrack for about 5 minutes. :thumbsup: I heard his motor coming over the sound of my bell, but I just pretended he was not there and he never said anything. I would have let him pass if he had enough sack to speak up. :Roflmao

Old Emerald because it is more fun than BVD, down Emerald Canyon to the fence and back. Fence Line, Lizard, Camarillo and then back to Nix.

It was my first time on Lizard since the recent work, so I took it easy not knowing what to expect. Well, they did not ruin it. :confused: It is smoother than it was in spots and they put up some rope fences in an attempt to keep it reasonably narrow. Three hikers on Lizard, all out of the way thanks to the bell. Gotta love it. :cool:

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Did Backbone from Encinal to Mishe Mokwa this morning. I needed something where I could stack some miles in a relatively short amount of time, which this ride is perfect for. I think it's been close to a year since I did this one. I believe last time was in a smoke cloud with @Faust29 @SnakeCharmer and @UPSed. The trail is in great shape, other than a lot of tread work close to the top that, until it rains and gets packs, was super deep and loose in really inopportune spots. Otherwise was a really pleasant morning on the bike, with a group of 4 hikers as the only other trail users I saw. I felt good about the pace. I've never seen Strava give hardware for an entire ride, but it gave me a PR for the full pull. As always, views were immense and beautiful. 20.7/2538.

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Strange times in NC. Brutally hot and humid, but no rain for weeks. Record high temp in my part of the state is 100, so to get a week of temps in the 90's is unusual.

24 miles in Lake Norman State Park, 2592 feet. Was actually hotter in the shade of the forest than out in open where you could get a little air movement. Drank a Gatorade before I started. Emptied a 3L bladder of water during the ride. Came home drank a large fruit smoothie and another liter of water. Waiting to see when/if I next have to urinate.
 
Whiting & The Luge this morning. I was actually heading to San Clemente Singletracks as I have been wanting to try some of the new wood features out there, but I hit a traffic jam almost as soon as I got on the 5, so I detoured to Whiting instead.

The parking lot at Kaiser was jammed, so I figured the trails would be busy. It turned out to be not so bad ... other than a group of six hikers on Cattle Pond :( My "I love to hate it" Timberbell cleared a few blind corners again, and it also helped that I avoided Borrego.

I saw two deer very close to the trail. They had no fear, so I assume people must be feeding them. I scanned the trees above for big cats before snapping the pic. :laugh:

Not a soul on the Luge until I got to the flag where there were a couple of guys waiting on their buddy who got a pinch flat and bent rim. I do not carry a tube or repair kit, so I could not help. Bummer. I hope he did not have to walk out down the Luge, as that is a gnarly walk.

Humidity was a bitch again, and I was glad to get back to my car and suck down some Liquid IV. I might have to ride in the mountains next weekend if this humidity does not let up. Two rides in three days ... I don't even know what is going on. :cautious:

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Did a quick El Prieto loop this morning with @Sasquatch9billion. We set off at about 6:30 and saw very few others out, considering that it is a weekend. But they were there somewhere because the upper parking lot was slammed. We had big rain drops falling on us for the duration of the pavement warm-up before you get into the actual arroyo o_O. The climb went well. I decided to push a higher gear (than usual) and do a slow cadence grind up. We took a breather at the junction and then we set off on the fast/fun DH rolling toward the trail head. We continued past the TH and rolled out the the recently refreshed Owen Brown grave site. I believe that it was @Sasquatch9billion's first visit there. Nice job they did and the head stone is really neat. We snapped some pics and then backtracked to the El P TH. We dropped in just ahead of some hikers and had the usual fun run through. Several weekend hikers were encountered and the trail is more loose than it was on my last pass through. I say or think that to myself every time I roll through there. It's an ever changing trail. There is another new slide that needs attention. It requires a dismount and a HAB over it. Several smaller loose/slide sections as well. The lack of moisture surely plays a part in it.

10.0 miles, 1480' gained. Fun ride, company. :cool:

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