I Rode My Bike Today...

4 ups, 4 downs - in alternating fashion - in my nearby playground. 2850' Ran into a few people I know, including Mo. Lots of hikers, but not too terribly crowded. Beautiful weather. Bike was flawless - and fun. :thumbsup: :cool:

That is all. Have a nice day! :)

Oh - and literally truckloads of pros running Telonics or other nearby DH routes.
 
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Rode moms blingy orange bike this morning and Rusty ran beside it to make sure nothing bad happened to it. Figured Rusty must be getting bored with our local "horsy poop loop" as I like to call it so we went to Tapia instead. Nice to still see so much green and still see water flowing down the Charlie canyon creekbeds. Saw tons of signs but neglected to read them and then realized what they were for. Apparently there was an organized trail race running thing going on. Rusty had fun passing all the runners and showing off in the process but we both concluded runners are kinda like roadies in that some are friendly and some are not.

Yep we made it to the towers .
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Oh gawd please no more selfies Voodoo...
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On the way back down Rusty realized he was tired but happy from all his showing off...
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Came home and relaxed for a bit and then realized I didn't feel like doing any of the chores/honey doos that I should be doing and it was still too early to drink beer so I headed out again on my own bike. Took the pivot hardtail out but with a twist. Twist is I shifted it in to a 32 X 21 gear combo and left it there for the 18 mile ride. Just wanted to see if I could do it. Figured out I could just had to conserve and stand up more and hope for a tailwind but it was fun. Not as much fun as shifting gears and hauling azz though so I think I'll skip the SS thing a while longer.
 
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Jennifer and I hit Backbone today. She's been off the bike for a few weeks so we decided that gentle climbs and a slowish pace would be good. As always you'd have no idea she's only ridden a handful of times this year. I really miss riding with her. I made her commit to at least one ride per week with me from now on. Trails are continuously drying but otherwise in great shape. 16.9 miles and 1893'. A few pics of @MrsUPSed.
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Voodoo Tom said:
Rode moms blingy orange bike this morning and Rusty ran beside it to make sure nothing bad happened to it. Figured Rusty must be getting bored with our local "horsy poop loop" as I like to call it so we went to Tapia instead. Nice to still see so much green and still see water flowing down the Charlie canyon creekbeds. Saw tons of signs but neglected to read them and then realized what they were for. Apparently there was an organized trail race running thing going on. Rusty had fun passing all the runners and showing off in the process but we both concluded runners are kinda like roadies in that some are friendly and some are not.

Yep we made it to the towers .
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Oh gawd please no more selfies Voodoo...
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On the way back down Rusty realized he was tired but happy from all his showing off...
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Came home and relaxed for a bit and then realized I didn't feel like doing any of the chores/honey doos that I should be doing and it was still too early to drink beer so I headed out again on my own bike. Took the pivot hardtail out but with a twist. Twist is I shifted it in to a 32 X 21 gear combo and left it there for the 18 mile ride. Just wanted to see if I could do it. Figured out I could just had to conserve and stand up more and hope for a tailwind but it was fun. Not as much fun as shifting gears and hauling azz though so I think I'll skip the SS thing a while longer.
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Yep... that's how I started. You'll do it again. And again... Once you start shaving minutes off the climbs, it's addicting.
 
Helping buddy get ready for Liege Bastone Liege 217Km (130Miles) with about 3300m (11Kft) Road Ride, with quote " plenty of 15-20% sectors and lots of rolling hills to soften your legs" So I volunteered to do some climbing with him while he was here. We decided to go to Maple but with all the closed signs we decided to go to Harding. We ended up parking down near the circle and rode up from there.

Now I am going to say something which sounds odd and I didn't really ever expect to say this.

Harding was Very Pleasant Today.

Sounds weird even typing it but, in the AM it Sunny with a Crisp breeze, terra was pretty much perfect, low bug count, the greenery was awesome and not very crowded.

We rode to the peak, was a little chilly and gray and headed down. We did Super-D it down from 4 corners to the car, pretty fast and fun, he out climbed me on the climb after 4 corners and it was fox and hound all the way down. Again I practiced plenty of air on the big water bars, and got loose in a couple corners. All good though.

Nice day about 5K ft of climbing.

Oh gotta love stan's hit something small sharp, after Modjeska climb on that small downhill, noticed pretty quick. Jumped off CO2'd it and got rolling again. Topped it off again a few later, and was still holding when I unloaded the bike at home.

Ohh and finally found that damned sign
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Pigs flew, hell froze over and I rode my bike today. Spun around Oaks and Irvine park for 14ish miles and 1500ish' up. I stopped a lot to take pictures and just soak in the beauty. You can't even go very fast on a lot of trails because of all the blind corners from the growth. Came across a few knucklehead filled groups that didn't realize that the trails aren't as wide as usual right now but that's expected on weekends. Those big riding groups with speakers going do make us look bad as a user group.

It's nice to see water behind the Villa Park dam again! I grew up playing back there and it used to be like this more often.

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Rode my bike today, luge run with a small bit of whiting. 14.5 mi 1900 ft. Luge is in great shape, had one of my faster runs down it. At least felt fast.

Have a little more free time now so I've ridden for 4 days in a row and my legs are toast. Total of 58 miles and about 7k ft in the last 4 days. A lot for me.

To quote señor Herz, "Bikes are fun"!
 
Cornholio said:
Those big riding groups with speakers going do make us look bad as a user group.
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You are absolutely right about that. First - big groups of bikes in a tight county park on a weekend morning is just bad for our image. But add to that the "party in my pack" blaring speakers and we really are an obtrusive, annoying bunch of people with no respect for those who want some peace and quiet in nature. :bang: I never say anything to those with external speakers, but I should. I doubt it would be received as a helpful hint. o_O

On a different note, I am glad you got out there in your bike today, and thanks for the beautiful photos. :thumbsup:
 
herzalot said:
You are absolutely right about that. First - big groups of bikes in a tight county park on a weekend morning is just bad for our image. But add to that the "party in my pack" blaring speakers and we really are an obtrusive, annoying bunch of people with no respect for those who want some peace and quiet in nature. :bang: I never say anything to those with external speakers, but I should. I doubt it would be received as a helpful hint. o_O

I completely agree! If people want to listen to music, stay at home. If I go to the park, I don't want to hear it.
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Yesterday rode 15 miles. Ridge Park, Lizard, Serrano ridge (to the sharp right), then Stagecoach all the way to Willow, then back. Stagecoach was in great shape, such a fun flowy trail.
Today El Moro with my wife:inlove: . Ticketron is almost overgrown but that canyon is now at its best / most beautiful. Then to the ocean and back via I think I can back to the car. 11 miles :)

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SnakeCharmer said:
LOL, I picture a group of long haired hippies sitting in a circle in the shade under a tree just off the trail, passing a joint around and slowly swaying in unison to this trippy, sleepy music...
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Haha! I think that's the snake charmer talking!

But seriously, wouldn't it be cool to have some mtb ambassadors throwing a hiker appreciation day? We could answer questions and hand out water and snacks. Create some goodwill. Maybe even have a little relaxing guitar music in the background. :thumbsup:
 
herzalot said:
You are absolutely right about that. First - big groups of bikes in a tight county park on a weekend morning is just bad for our image. But add to that the "party in my pack" blaring speakers and we really are an obtrusive, annoying bunch of people with no respect for those who want some peace and quiet in nature. :bang: I never say anything to those with external speakers, but I should. I doubt it would be received as a helpful hint. o_O

On a different note, I am glad you got out there in your bike today, and thanks for the beautiful photos. :thumbsup:
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Agreed, I hate the speakers.
 
Getting back on track.....

Our original plan was Maple Springs / Motorway with my wife and a friend.

The alarm went off this morning, we got up....only to get a text from friend that they were up all night with food poisoning...so she was out. We went back to bed and slept in.

Gave my wife 2 options:

Blackstar-Sierra Peak
Blackstar-Pleasant's Peak

She was looking for a 24'ish mile/3600'ish foot climb ride. Both fit the bill.

We rolled at 9:00 from the Tree Farm. Just took a casual pace up. Ran into a couple of friends at the top of Hidden Ranch. As we climbed higher the clouds rolled in and the temps dropped. Neither of us were really prep'd for the cold. Looking up, you couldn't see the Doplar Ball. About 1/2 mile from Beeks' were made the call to not go beyond Beeks'. At the gate ran into a couple more friends and chatted for a bit. Then we headed back down. Gotta say, I can't wait for the water to dry up and the falls to go away....the massive amounts of walkers(most do not deserve to be called hikers) are oblivious out there. I'm so over it.

We then ran into my wife's ex-bro in law painting out on Blackstar Canyon Rd.

Social day out there for sure.
 
Did Joplin by way of Holy Jim, with the Luge finish – really hit the spot!!!

A bit wintry with clouds hanging around the peak, but not too windy. A super nice day on the mountain with a few bike teams seen. Joplin was its raw self today; overgrown, loose with monster chunk in the first section. I had a super fun run down, despite five motos heading up with displays of varying competence. Today's stats: ~4:35, 4 dabs, 0 ticks, 9.8 fun factor.

It's great to have my bike back. It's better than ever after the permanent fix to my blown Eastom M-1 hub. Below are instructions on how to do it:

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And hallelujah, it's great to be back on Stan's alloy. First run on Arch Mk3 set. Clearly superior to the Easton EC70 Trails that came off. Not saying alloy is better than CF, but these wheels work better on my bike at what I do than was taken off. Gained 2oz only in the rear, probably the weight of the 4 add'l spokes, hehe. Front porked up .3 lbs. The added rotating mass and larger traction patch was noticeable on the climb, but man, those things shined through the worst of Joplin to my sheer delight and complete satisfaction. I could run smaller tires with little penalty, I'd bet, but I'm too in love now to think about doing anything but riding the shite. AYE :sneaky::cool::thumbsup:
 
Woke up this morning wanting to get some miles in. Having to be home by noon I decided to stay local. Rode up Albertson and dropped into Cheeseboro for a little out and back. I forget how crowded that place is on the weekends. Also a lot of beginners. No worries. My legs felt like lead from riding all week so I just cruised. Got home a little late but all was good. I was greeted with some chicken tacos and a hard root beer after which I promptly fell asleep. Ended up with 28.1 miles and 3972' for a grand total of 154.3 miles and 19,878' (or the equivalent of 2 @mtnbikej rides) for the week.
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kioti said:
Haha! I think that's the snake charmer talking!

But seriously, wouldn't it be cool to have some mtb ambassadors throwing a hiker appreciation day? We could answer questions and hand out water and snacks. Create some goodwill. Maybe even have a little relaxing guitar music in the background. :thumbsup:
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As long as it's classical guitar, I would happily volunteer as an "ambassador".
 
UPSed said:
Woke up this morning wanting to get some miles in. Having to be home by noon I decided to stay local. Rode up Albertson and dropped into Cheeseboro for a little out and back. I forget how crowded that place is on the weekends. Also a lot of beginners. No worries. My legs felt like lead from riding all week so I just cruised. Got home a little late but all was good. I was greeted with some chicken tacos and a hard root beer after which I promptly fell asleep. Ended up with 28.1 miles and 3972' for a grand total of 154.3 miles and 19,878' (or the equivalent of 2 @mtnbikej rides) for the week. View attachment 26645 View attachment 26646 View attachment 26647
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Dang, those are fine riding stats you've put up for the week.
 
UPSed said:
Woke up this morning wanting to get some miles in. Having to be home by noon I decided to stay local. Rode up Albertson and dropped into Cheeseboro for a little out and back. I forget how crowded that place is on the weekends. Also a lot of beginners. No worries. My legs felt like lead from riding all week so I just cruised. Got home a little late but all was good. I was greeted with some chicken tacos and a hard root beer after which I promptly fell asleep. Ended up with 28.1 miles and 3972' for a grand total of 154.3 miles and 19,878' (or the equivalent of 2 @mtnbikej rides) for the week. View attachment 26645 View attachment 26646 View attachment 26647
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Sounds like a good week of riding. Nice job :thumbsup:
 
I have to say I panicked a bit this week when I realized VQ is in a few weeks and I've not been doing the long climbing rides I did in 2014. Mostly due to the weather, and then as luck always has it I've had things going on the nice weekends that prevented me from being gone all day or had other events (ex Marathon Crash).

So today I set out to ride B*, MD, Motorway, Maple, Peak, then down Maple back to the truck.

A 7:30 roll time was pushed due to the riding buddy showing up late, but soon we were off. You can tell the VQ is coming when you show up at the Xmas tree farm just after 7 and there's already a ton of cars there. There's also a ton of hikers at the other gate heading to the falls. A buddy sad he saw a ton yesterday as well.

B* is in awesome shape after the grading and the recent rain. Probably the best I've seen it.

It was pretty chilly at the peak as everything from Modjeska peak on was in the cloud line.

The rocky section before Modjeska was also in great condition. WAY better than just a few weeks ago. I didn't even have to pick a line and work to get over loose stuff today.

Overall the ride was great. I pushed it up B* pretty good then focussed on my HR zones the rest of the ride. My times were some of my best ever and I felt like things were easy today. I'm feeling A LOT better about VQ now.

Only bad part of the day was a downed rider on Motorway. He was up and walking and there was a hiker helping down the hill. There wasn't much we could do and he said it best "There's not much other than me walking down. I've got to make it." After a few minutes we continued down the hill to find his friends and the hiker was being very nice and helping him down the hill. I never saw his friends and could not find them at the bottom. I assume they continued to cars? This is a good reminder for to everyone to regroup often and always make sure you know where the guy behind you is.
 
UPSed said:
Woke up this morning wanting to get some miles in. Having to be home by noon I decided to stay local. Rode up Albertson and dropped into Cheeseboro for a little out and back. I forget how crowded that place is on the weekends. Also a lot of beginners. No worries. My legs felt like lead from riding all week so I just cruised. Got home a little late but all was good. I was greeted with some chicken tacos and a hard root beer after which I promptly fell asleep. Ended up with 28.1 miles and 3972' for a grand total of 154.3 miles and 19,878' (or the equivalent of 2 @mtnbikej rides) for the week. View attachment 26645 View attachment 26646 View attachment 26647
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That's it...? Dang if I was off for a whole week I'd put in at least 30 a day with 5k. Off course I can say that cause I'll never get a week off ever. Nice job Ed.

Oh yeah and I rode my bike today too. All the way to work & back on a frikkin Sunday to repair a couple broke azz cnc machines.
 
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mike said:
Did Joplin by way of Holy Jim, with the Luge finish – really hit the spot!!!
It's great to have my bike back. It's better than ever after the permanent fix to my blown Eastom M-1 hub. Below are instructions on how to do it:
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In my opinion, THE best hub on the market - but it looks ordinary, even outdated. Actually, it looked outdated in 2005. I would put this up against anything from Chris King, Hope, I-9 or anything else you can dream up. Quiet, fast, durable, easy to maintain or repair, and available super-quick engagement if you want it (with a different star ratchet - $50. No tools install).

Welcome back, @mike! Oh - and great ride. That's one I want to do - Holy Jim- Joplin-Luge. Add Whiting to finish and return via shuttle vehicle. After a suitable lunch of course.
 
I too got out on the bike today. I flipped my day around and did my professional work in the morning. I was at a stopping point around 3:00, so I went for a short spin. 2 drops, 2 climbs. 1000' 7 miles. But it's pretty cool when that can include trails like 5-Oaks and Rock-It. I could have added either Stairs or Car Wreck (or both) but I was alone and on a schedule. The loop took an hour. Did my heart good to see some unaccompanied kids out there tearing it up too. The 12 yr. old was clearly in charge. :thumbsup:
 
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Rode my bike today. OTB went out to ride Strawberry today, and a couple of members of SCV MTB group joined us on the fun. We added some extra credit sections as well.
We started from George's Gap and met the main group at Clear Creek. Some riders bagged Josephine Peak before jumping on the strawberry ST and then from redbox junction a few of us bagged Mt Disappointment.

The views climbing Josephine fire road
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@TomF rolling the chunk on strawberry
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The conga line heading up strawberry
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The view from Mt Disappointment at 5,963 ft
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See? That's a disappointed look on my face
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Cornholio said:
Pigs flew, hell froze over and I rode my bike today. Spun around Oaks and Irvine park for 14ish miles and 1500ish' up. I stopped a lot to take pictures and just soak in the beauty. You can't even go very fast on a lot of trails because of all the blind corners from the growth. Came across a few knucklehead filled groups that didn't realize that the trails aren't as wide as usual right now but that's expected on weekends. Those big riding groups with speakers going do make us look bad as a user group.

It's nice to see water behind the Villa Park dam again! I grew up playing back there and it used to be like this more often.

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Even considering that Barham Ranch is a flood plain...it is surprising how much water is still standing there, especially at that picnic bench.

Guess that kills my picnic plans for tomorrow.
 
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