Interesting and different day today. I wanted to join
@shawndoh on his Aliso Tech ride, but didn't want to chase him on tough trails with a new shock. Solution? Hit Rock-It before the meet time to dial in my shock in familiar territory. I parked as close to the top of Cholla as one can to maximize the amount of time I could spend testing the shock (and not climbing). I rolled at 7:15. Foggy, drizzly and no one around. I pedaled up to the "test rock" at the top of Lynx - one other set of tire tracks. No footprints. Dropped the little 3' drop to check for bottom out. It didn't, but only had about 3mm left. Perfect. Let's go try Rock-It.
So cool to do that run with tacky dirt and not another soul in sight. Again - 1 set of tire tracks. Visibility was bad, but the shock was great. I felt like a spectator behind my foggy glasses rather than an active participant. No matter - super fun. No need to do any dialing in at this point. It may need a few more psi, but we shall see. Off I go to climb back to CV park to meet up with Shawn and anyone else. I was 20 minutes early. Waited for 5 mins, then rode up the road a bit to see if I could find anyone.
Called Shawn. He was riding back up to the park after dropping Bong Drop. That's a tough trail. Met up with him, then
@moto knight showed up. He was waiting for 4 friends. After they showed up, I took off to go climb up to 5-Oaks. I waited up there for about 20 minutes. Finally the crew of 8 was assembled.
Nice run down 5-O, then waiting again - there were 7, where's #8? At that point, Shawn and his friend Chase and I parted company with the other 5. (We found #8 - he had dropped Bong Drop instead of 5-Oaks). Shawn, Chase and I headed up Cholla, down Stairs, back up Stairs, up to top of Mathis, down Car Wreck, up Mathis to Alta Laguna, over to Meadows, ripped down that on the hero dirt and tasty berms, then the long but mostly gentle slog back to the cars. Shawn and Chase hit Dripping Cave, but my quads were hinting at cramping, so I skipped that little - but painful - detour.
Damp weather. Perfect temps. Hero dirt. Good riders. Challenging trails. 5 climbs and five downs for me. Downs were Rock-It, 5-Oaks, Stairs, Car Wreck and Meadow. Doesn't get much better than that on the legal trails.
20 miles. 3500' Bikes are fun!
Oh and the shock? All I can say is I didn't really notice it - and that's high praise. The Trail and Climb modes worked better than the climb mode on the Cane Creek. The shock seems plush where it should, and firm where it should. I think we will get along just fine.
Not the waterfall section, but some damn tricky sections on the lower half, then the climbing route.
.
No biggie continued on down Chutes and out. The newb was exhausted but enjoyed the new dirt. Just another day for the rest of us. Good times. 16/2000.
This thing is like a monster truck over everything. So much tire that you don't even have to pick a line anymore.