I Rode My Bike Today...

Not today, but yesterday... Maiden voyage on the new drive train. Up Lower Sam, over to Sunset and down. Sunset is much more enjoyable with the 2.6s on the bike. A couple stops here and there- two hikers and a phone call.

I geared the bike easier with consideration for the extra weight versus the Chameleon. Lower Sam is still a grind. :gag:

11/2300

Love the views...
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Santa Anas in the distance, Lower Sam Merrill switchbacks, and the Altadena Golf Course on the right- 2000 feet below.
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Did the flatland after work. The gate was unlocked so down to the river I went.
I kept a good pace on this extended loop so no wonderful pictures.
The river is flowing good at the moment, but I think they are holding most of the water at the dam.
Not much elevation gain in the flatlands.
Kinda looking forward to riding hills this weekend.
12/589

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I rode today......yay!!!!!

With an expected trip up Harding this weekend, based on how I've been feeling the last several weeks, had me a bit concerned. So I decided to head out and recon the trail to see how I was gonna feel.

Rolled from Tucker Wildlife at 2:00. It was warm, but not bad. From the get go, the trail is slippery....not difficult at all to slip the back wheel under torque....even though I'm not saying I did that a handful of times.

As has been well documented, the first mile of Harding just sucks the life out of you....no warm up into a steep climb. Then it continues into mile 2 & 3. Mile 4 is still a little rough, but I get happy when I get to mile 5. Today mile 5-7 went by on the easier side. Got to mile 7 PONR and wanted to turn around, but pushed on. The last 1.5 mile to 4 Corners started to feel good.

Didn't hang out long at all, just turned back and headed down. It was quite chilly in the shade, really nice in the sun.

The wheel slippage on the climbs made for some serious sketchiness on the way down.

All in all, not a bad ride....definitely have felt worse out there.

18.5 / 3450'

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mtnbikej said:
Make sure you don't have too much tension on the cable. It might be pulling on the actuator just enough to activate the post....so it sags and won't stay down.
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I never would have even figured that until I realized the post was coming up on me today. Almost bucked me off down Lizards. I was 100 percent sure I slammed it for the first part, and then, "WTF?"

I will try adjusting the cable tension. Still not sure why the shop would have touched something I did not request ... I literally gave them a hand written note of what I wanted fixed and/or adjusted.

Rule #1 ... "do not f with what is working."
 
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Looks like a new ride? Noiiiice!

mtnbikej said:
I rode today......yay!!!!!

With an expected trip up Harding this weekend, based on how I've been feeling the last several weeks, had me a bit concerned. So I decided to head out and recon the trail to see how I was gonna feel.

Rolled from Tucker Wildlife at 2:00. It was warm, but not bad. From the get go, the trail is slippery....not difficult at all to slip the back wheel under torque....even though I'm not saying I did that a handful of times.

As has been well documented, the first mile of Harding just sucks the life out of you....no warm up into a steep climb. Then it continues into mile 2 & 3. Mile 4 is still a little rough, but I get happy when I get to mile 5. Today mile 5-7 went by on the easier side. Got to mile 7 PONR and wanted to turn around, but pushed on. The last 1.5 mile to 4 Corners started to feel good.

Didn't hang out long at all, just turned back and headed down. It was quite chilly in the shade, really nice in the sun.

The wheel slippage on the climbs made for some serious sketchiness on the way down.

All in all, not a bad ride....definitely have felt worse out there.

18.5 / 3450'

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Wholly molly, I have never seen that on Chaney! It usually looks like that going up Santa Anita to Chantry.

Faust29 said:
Great... Just the post I want to follow. :laugh: I'd try one of those jumps... Once.

Anyway... I'm starting to think I got a "pandemic special" chain. It's my usual KMC 11 speed for the Moxie, but I've broken two links in under 100 miles. WTF? o_O The last chain (same KMC 11 speed) went 1800 miles, was trouble free, and only came off the bike because it was past .75 when I snapped the quick link.

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Both broken links on the new chain happened while in a middle cog standing and mashing- "single speed mode". Fortunately, today's happened 4/10 of a mile from the house, and I coasted back to the garage. :thumbsup: Maybe the universe is telling me to ditch the gears... :p

After swapping in a quick link, I headed back to Lower Sam Merrill, and over to Sunset. I originally planned to go higher, but it seems the mountain bike gods had other ideas today. With the 2.6 on the back, Sunset was a much smoother ride. :inlove: If there hadn't been a group of 25 hikers headed down, it would have been a good run... :facepalm:

I popped out onto the pavement at the bottom just in time to see another group of at least 25 headed up. :eek: :facepalm:

Just a few cars on Chaney Trail...
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Bikes are fun... even when things don't go according to plan. :thumbsup:

11/2400
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da big hills said:
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I believe that's the Blue Jay area (AKA San Juan shuttle parking) in the upper right of the image. From there to the top of Trabuco (not pictured) is about 3 miles- straight up through bomb craters. We lovingly call that section "The Wall". :gag: From the top of Trabuco on Main Divide to the Pinos/Bell split (also not in the image) is more steep uphill with some HAB if I remember- another mile plus?

There is no easy way to get to Pinos... even with a shuttle. :gag:
 
Tom the Bomb said:
I do not see the Northern (hidden ) trail ? Is there much hab on this route?
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Tom, it's a trail that starts at the base of Stanley Peak, snaking right (north) just after a gate on the right side. It's marked off-limits, but is frequently ridden. No Hab, just overgrown in spots. You head up to a ridge, where a McMansion's been built, then drop down to the left, and wind up connecting with the upper Jack loop.
 
Is it just me or did rattlesnake get a bit more rocky..at el Moro? great ride views of Catalina and San Clemente island
Only two Ships offshore
Finishing up at fence line when a guy asked if we had pump.. no but used a co cart for his leaking tire
My buddies r nice One even gave him an extra cartridge. The guy had an actuator but ran out of co
I always carry at least two
Pumps suck
El Moro does not!!!!
 
Yep... Brown and El Prieto with Snake Man. It felt really nice to be in short sleeves. :thumbsup: El Prieto, like the rest of the front range, is running extra chunky. It's a riot right now. Unlike on the weekend, we were alone for large stretches of the ride.

13.6/2100

Angeles Crest Highway in the distance, as well as the Josephine switchbacks on the Strawberry Loop...
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Coal Loop again today. Started off slow on Blackstar. I wasn’t sure if my legs would allow me to make the loop I was moving so slow. A good hour and still not up BS, they decided to open up. The trails are in prime shape right now. That is, aside from Coal. Motorcycles have torn up the top of Coal to where it’s almost not fun to ride. It’s always been chunky at the top but now it’s really chunky, deep ruts from tires digging and rain. It’s just a mess until you get to past the one climb at the gate. From there it’s business as usual. Even though I curse the road portion to get back to BS at the end, I really enjoy this loop. 38/5000.

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Quick rip around Simi today. Almost quicker than I planned. Less than a mile into the ride I noticed that I had virtually no rear brake. Lever was firm, but full pressure yielded what I'd estimate about 20% stopping power, and it didn't take long for it to start howling. I guess my mud ride on Las Virgenes Downhill last week, and the delayed bath yielded contaminated brake pads. After a couple near disaster high speed front washouts because I couldn't balance the brake pressure front and rear, and the rear getting so hot I could smell it, I decided to limp back to the car after about mile 5. While cruising back I grabbed some rear brake, and locked the rear tire up. Game on. I guess I cooked off whatever contamination was in there, so I turned left and headed back up Las Llajas.

Like every trail it seems, Chumash is extra chunky right now. Most of it fun, but a lot of off camber, side angle type chunk that kind of gave me fits. It occurred to me that I've never taken the big bike on Chumash, so I think that's the play next time. Was good to be out, but one of those days where I never really found my groove. Bugs were out with a vengeance as well. 14.8/2766.

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All star cast today... @mike , ross, and Big Mike...

Starting from the top of Chaney, with prime parking right at the gate. A mellow climb up the pavement from hell, and then on to the mellow fire road. A stop here and there to take in the views and check out the history. :thumbsup:

Starting at the Chaney gate really makes the climb to Inspiration Point manageable... A hair over 5 miles and just under 2500 feet. We were all fresh for the Middle Merrill and Sunset downhills. What a riot! No blood, no mechanicals, no-one over the side and a solid pace from top to bottom with a re-group here and there.

Spectacular day on the mountain hitting the Heart of the Front Range... Topped off with a taco finish!

11.5/2700

Mike checking out the extra extra credit... Over my skill level. :eek:
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