Bike for Bender- Hell Ride!

Cyclotourist said:
For me the worst/freakiest part is in the portion after PO Loop and around Mt. Constance area. I don't know what it's called, but there is crazy exposure off your right side, and technical granite sections on the trail going up and coming down. Zero room for a mistake there.
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I did a quick Google search and yeah, I agree Mt. Constance looks a little sketchy. I could see how the penalty for going right would be a big one!

Or... do I have the wrong Mt. Constance?

mt-constance.jpg
 
MattB said:
To me, the exposure is worse than San Juan or Trabuco, but only in a couple of sections.
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I agree with this, and would add that it's a different type of riding... On Trabuco, and even parts of San Juan, there are a lot more areas to just go fast in a straight line. On SART, it seems like you're changing direction every 1/2 second. Lots of twisting and turning, embedded rocks instead of loose scree, and more roots per mile than we have in the Santa Anas- which just means you have to be mindful of the penalty from start to finish.

Ride it @BonsaiNut ... You'll enjoy.
 
Faust29 said:
I agree with this, and would add that it's a different type of riding... On Trabuco, and even parts of San Juan, there are a lot more areas to just go fast in a straight line. On SART, it seems like you're changing direction every 1/2 second. Lots of twisting and turning, embedded rocks instead of loose scree, and more roots per mile than we have in the Santa Anas- which just means you have to be mindful of the penalty from start to finish.

Ride it @BonsaiNut ... You'll enjoy.
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Are you talking about the same SART I rode with youse guys a few weeks ago???
I saw some exposure, but it didn't really bother me except one or two short spots, so it can't be that bad. o_O

@BonsaiNut I agree with @Faust29. Go. Ride it. It's a hoot!:thumbsup::thumbsup::geek:
 
Some of the exposure is only mildly alarming if you were going fast:

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but...

Cyclotourist said:
For me the worst/freakiest part is in the portion after PO Loop and around Mt. Constance area. I don't know what it's called, but there is crazy exposure off your right side, and technical granite sections on the trail going up and coming down. Zero room for a mistake there. /shiver
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14474369_1134281863316299_5560737004724944896_n.jpg


The picture doesn't even begin to do it justice.
 

Jumping Jim Pratt fell off a cliff on SART somewhere along the north face of Constance Peak. I was right behind him, and we made brief eye contact after his second tumble roll on the rocks on his way down. No words were spoken during his fall, and I could tell he was concentrating hard on spreading his limbs hoping to snag any vegetation or ledges within reach. He fell about 50 feet, but the slope was only 75-80 degrees, so it was more of a tumble slide than a free-fall. It was quite a scene after the ride at the in-n-out while he was eating his burger looking like he had just emerged from a car accident.
 
Sidewalk said:
We took a few newer riders down the backside of Constance and agreed we wouldn't do that again. Expert only from now on. I haven't been on Morton yet.
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Take the time to go up to the fire look out at Morton. It's typically manned by a volunteer and they are usually gracious about sharing their views with you!
The singletrack past Morton to Greenspot/Redlands is pretty amazing. It's easier for me than the Mt. Constance sections, and some FANTASTIC views if you can take a second to stop and take them in.
 
Always good to see the posts here on IMTB.

Regarding the "Is it really that hard" question. The answer for most of us would be, "probably not." But since it's a shuttle with a lot of downhill, a lot of people expect it to be easy. It's a long ride with a fair amount of climbing. It's not what a lot of people expect who have never done it. In the past, we've had people bring newbie friends thinking it'll be an easy ride for them. They've even left their friends behind, making it a somewhat miserable and long day for them.

Many are right though, the Hellish part of the ride typically comes from the weather. No matter what the forecast is, expect it to be cold when you start.

Anyone planning on taking the shuttle, we have 5 spots left on the 7:30am shuttle. Plenty of room left on the 8:00am shuttle as of now.
 
Wildhorse is good and kicks you out at the 38 a few miles above Southfork. You could even get on the upper SART above Southfork, but most of the time that's probably not worth it.

Other good option is the Seven Oaks trail, but it comes out at Glass Rd. so you'd miss the first 6-7 miles of the Hell Ride route.



MattB said:
I was in, but now family schedules are conspiring against me. It's looking doubtful.

I've always wondered about riding down from Big Bear ... hmm ... are there any fun routes from Big Bear to where the Hell Ride starts? Not that I'll be able to join this year anyway.
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pinnacle10 said:
Wildhorse is good and kicks you out at the 38 a few miles above Southfork. You could even get on the upper SART above Southfork, but most of the time that's probably not worth it.

Other good option is the Seven Oaks trail, but it comes out at Glass Rd. so you'd miss the first 6-7 miles of the Hell Ride route.
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Thanks! I just pulled those up on Trailforks to see where they are. They look pretty fun. I could see starting near the lake and climbing Pine Knot to Seven Oaks Trail, then SART all the way down to Redlands ... someday:rolleyes:.

The idea of riding down to Redlands from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain at 9'952ft sounds pretty cool too, but the climb to the peak sounds pretty brutal to start the ride.
 
One awesome way to do this, and I've only done it once, but there is a bus that picks up at the Walmart in Highland. It costs $10 to take it all the way to Big Bear and they have a bike rack on the front of the bus. It wasn't made for a 29er, but it still fit. I spent the morning riding the lifts at Summit, then had a late lunch and rode back to Redlands down Seven Oaks and then the SART (I started the morning off by riding to Highland so I'd have no car to pickup).


MattB said:
Thanks! I just pulled those up on Trailforks to see where they are. They look pretty fun. I could see starting near the lake and climbing Pine Knot to Seven Oaks Trail, then SART all the way down to Redlands ... someday:rolleyes:.

The idea of riding down to Redlands from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain at 9'952ft sounds pretty cool too, but the climb to the peak sounds pretty brutal to start the ride.
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