Chicken Nuggets In da Sauce_2020

Wild horse .. start early.. with the sun coming over burned out mountainside with san gorgonio peak in the distance.. views down the valley fuzzy from moisture.. crisp cool air and the city covered by blanket of white fog...lonely jeffrey pines standing sentinel..
I smelled one.. vanilla? Butterscotch candy? I m just glad no one saw me put my nose in a crack of the pine... Especially bc there was a Borat Wolf sighting! (That guy is the coolest .. he bomb down gnarly.. makes sure no one misses critical turns.. sweeps the back ..and drinks Milk??? Yeah he was a bad man in the best way..)

All the riders were bad ass!

That was some fantastic single track... esp.. the wild part....All the riders there know how to ride...
Perfect day... Perfect conditions.. sart proper was in good shape.. someone graded the off camber skinnies with the trees trying to push u over.. so now skinnies is somewhat flat...no trees.. all flowy.. fast goodness...

I pr.the sart section AND I was the slowest in the bunch..

Met some good people from this site.. kiwis.. oc pops.. mikes... And a new david cho..(if u korean u know at least 10 david cho)

Sad to c the group make right on 38 and begin climbing again.. I headed downhill to hanger 24.. I was tired.. I bailed.. I told Dio thank u! A slight feeling of shame on my part but when u 50.. u don't care!! It was a great day!
 
Wild horse trail sign.. don't miss the left in the dry creek to this sign otherwise off trail..

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ok im awake now and can still walk. Walking actually feels rather spunky today after the last 32 hours. I slept 2.5 hours on Friday night, met Dante and George at 4:45 am yesterday and rode WIldhorse to SART. Many thanks to CrazyBearbikes.com, who will be opening a bike shop inside La Verne Brewing Company. Mike met us at the meadows, departing from his front door and ending with an extra 3 miles and 1,300' or so of gain. Mike and I were safe and sound all day and moved a tree and built an epic (read: EPIC) ramp to log roller at the sacrifice of my Strava chase of Dante and Burt. Those two cleared the tree without stopping, anyway, but the log roller is epic, and there's proof. David Cho and I traded places in the middle of the pack (oh wait, this was after we passed a Grizzly 100 racer sitting down 30 feet below the trail at one of the oak tree exposure bumpy areas) as we chased the rabbits between glass road and MCR. I missed a turn and t-boned a boulder and landed on rocks. Mama's Rumblefish is scratched, and she's gonna be mad when she sees it. I was totally fine thanks to massive elbow/forearm/knee/shin pads. I'll never ride epics without them! Loch Leven is in bad shape for a trail; it was graded and it is sandy and wide open. Dante and Burt and Matt with the cool purple jersey and stache were fast. Sean was fast in the other direction. George was fast. Brehs! Matt claimed he saw Dante do a "back slideout" or something (i don't remember the name, I was riding safe) on a hard right switchback that Matt blew past hauling the mail down Morton Peak. Morton has not been trimmed this season and it was felt. OCpop and KonaKC were teasing me with lostkiwi at lunch about some milk and cookies. They were delicious! George created the Mantis and Boraselleck personas, which i'm sure will live on in select MTB circles.
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@Mikie, thank you and Xavier for facilitating the Nuggets!
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The Mantis
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Who'd pass up a chance to ride with Kazakhstan's number 5 journalist, the mighty Borselleck? Not me thats for sure!

Legend says he is the sloppy left-overs from a fun filled sexy time between Borat Sagdiyev, Tom Selleck and an unnamed Russian prostitute in a goat herders shelter somewhere in outback Tajikistan.

It was a stupid early start when @Ocpop rolled up at mine to kindly give me a lift out to the shuttle pickup. We managed to find the place without any drama, a bit disappointed to find Borselleck wasn't in his sexy skinsuit but beggars can't be choosers. We made some introductions and I promptly forgot most peoples names (hey its what I do), loaded up the party bus and rolled up the hill. Xavier dropped us off at a location I'd picture more akin with where dead bodies would be dumped. We stood around and shivered a bit before jumping on the bikes and heading up the hill. Not before finding out Davids reverb was stuck in the down position - clearly his bike hadn't seen the adonis like Borselleck at this point and couldn't get it up. We all warmed up on the climb up the hill and Davids reverb finally realised whose presence it was in and rose majestically from its hiding place. At the top of the climb we found the incredibly chill @mike before pointing ourselves downhill. That trail was the first taster of the awesomeness this place has to offer, fun and flowy with a nice mixture of chunky bits and soft sand. @konakc 's friend Sean missed a switchback and had a close inspection with the ground but no harm done. One puncture (and it wasn't me :p) on a rocky bit of downhill would be the only mechanical anyone suffered all day. Quick safety break and we headed down the road to the start of SART. I'll admit that some of the more exposed bits got to me along there, especially when I rounded one bit to look straight down and see someone that wasn't part of our group trying to haul himself and his bike back up a near vertical drop. We popped out onto a dirt road to admire the local hillbillies "fixing" the road. Fixing the road round those parts involves leaning on a shovel and drinking a beer. We climbed back up to Angelus Oaks for our lunch stop.
The rundown to Loch Leven after lunch was soft, sandy and interesting, you had to stay on your toes as you'd get a head of steam up only to round a corner and find swathes of sand just looking for an excuse to make you wash out. At the bottom you could see how close the fire had come to taking out Loch Leven. We said goodbye to @konakc at this point as he decided to roadie it back to Hanger 24. The rest of us headed down the 38 before turning onto the last climb for the day up to Morton Peak. The youngsters and the 24 hour endurance rider all disappeared into the distance as we all found a pace we were happy with. Made it to the top without drama to a stunning view. We all chilled out for awhile before the last downhill of the day. At this point I should have known something was up when everyone else on the ride had an assortment of arm and leg protection. The run down from Morton Peak I will describe as an exercise in flagellation as the flora well and truly took its pound of flesh out of my arms and legs. Had to criss cross firebreaks a few time but we all made it to the bottom in one piece although I had to stop a couple of times to remove sticks out of the rear derailleur. A short roadie back to Hangar 24 confirmed my suspicions that the area is on the dodgy end of the scale as we passed what appeared to be a wrecked stolen car emanating the sort of smell one associates with something having been dead for some time. Said our goodbyes and had a beer at the brewery before having to head home.
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I spent the day chilling at the back, unfortunately I think the elevation got to me a bit as I started getting a pretty bad headache on the way down Wildhorse which wouldn't really leave me till after Morton Peak.

Still have to say it was an epic day with equally epic trails and company! Thanks @DangerDirtyD for organising it all.
 
What a ride! Up to this point, my longest ride had been 25 miles, but I’d been wanting to do some longer rides. So when this ride came along, it was an easy decision. Especially since it was a shuttled downhill ride, how hard could it be?

I picked up @Lost Kiwi in the dark and headed for the IE. Fist bumped a few peeps in the ghetto parking lot and loaded up the shuttle van for the ride to the Wildhorse trailhead.

The air was cool and crisp as we climbed the fire road. It was similar to climbing Maple Springs road except shorter. Clearly there were some strong riders as they took off and were quickly out of sight. I would be near the back of the pack all day.

We took a little break to shed layers and chat a bit with @mike who had climbed the other side and headed down the single track. And what a track it was! Through the alpine forest, dappled with patches of fall colors, cool and misty. Perfect!

Regroup on Highway 38 and cruise down to SART trailhead. The trail was magic, flowy and smooth. But as @konakc said at the start, there were moments when it felt like I was in the movie “ Groundhog Day”. “Didn’t we ride this swoopy banked turn a few times already?” All good though.

Regroup at the fire road and start climbing our second major climb of the day to our old friend Highway 38. Then lunchtime at the Oaks restaurant! I’ve never had lunch in the middle of a ride before but, hell, bring on the burger and zucchini fries, they freaking hit the spot!

Post lunch bomb down Lach Laven, totally different feel then our previous trails. A bit like riding down an old abandoned country road. Enjoyed all of it, the broken paved sections, deep sand traps, few remaining twisty single tracks.

Regroup yet again on Highway 38 and cruise down to our final climb, Morton Peak. I was a bit apprehensive about this one as it was at the end of the ride and was the steepest of our climbs. I figured I’d HAB some of it. I ended up cleaning it and felt reasonably strong at the top.

The single track down Morton had it all. Serious flow, exposure, tightest of hairpins, vista. What a way to end the ride!

Thanks Dio for making this happen. Sign me up for the next one!

Didn’t take many pictures, too busy riding and smiling.

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Lost Kiwi said:
Who'd pass up a chance to ride with Kazakhstan's number 5 journalist, the mighty Borselleck? Not me thats for sure!

Legend says he is the sloppy left-overs from a fun filled sexy time between Borat Sagdiyev, Tom Selleck and an unnamed Russian prostitute in a goat herders shelter somewhere in outback Tajikistan.

It was a stupid early start when @Ocpop rolled up at mine to kindly give me a lift out to the shuttle pickup. We managed to find the place without any drama, a bit disappointed to find Borselleck wasn't in his sexy skinsuit but beggars can't be choosers. We made some introductions and I promptly forgot most peoples names (hey its what I do), loaded up the party bus and rolled up the hill. Xavier dropped us off at a location I'd picture more akin with where dead bodies would be dumped. We stood around and shivered a bit before jumping on the bikes and heading up the hill. Not before finding out Davids reverb was stuck in the down position - clearly his bike hadn't seen the adonis like Borselleck at this point and couldn't get it up. We all warmed up on the climb up the hill and Davids reverb finally realised whose presence it was in and rose majestically from its hiding place. At the top of the climb we found the incredibly chill @mike before pointing ourselves downhill. That trail was the first taster of the awesomeness this place has to offer, fun and flowy with a nice mixture of chunky bits and soft sand. @konakc 's friend Sean missed a switchback and had a close inspection with the ground but no harm done. One puncture (and it wasn't me :p) on a rocky bit of downhill would be the only mechanical anyone suffered all day. Quick safety break and we headed down the road to the start of SART. I'll admit that some of the more exposed bits got to me along there, especially when I rounded one bit to look straight down and see someone that wasn't part of our group trying to haul himself and his bike back up a near vertical drop. We popped out onto a dirt road to admire the local hillbillies "fixing" the road. Fixing the road round those parts involves leaning on a shovel and drinking a beer. We climbed back up to Angelus Oaks for our lunch stop.
The rundown to Loch Leven after lunch was soft, sandy and interesting, you had to stay on your toes as you'd get a head of steam up only to round a corner and find swathes of sand just looking for an excuse to make you wash out. At the bottom you could see how close the fire had come to taking out Loch Leven. We said goodbye to @konakc at this point as he decided to roadie it back to Hanger 24. The rest of us headed down the 38 before turning onto the last climb for the day up to Morton Peak. The youngsters and the 24 hour endurance rider all disappeared into the distance as we all found a pace we were happy with. Made it to the top without drama to a stunning view. We all chilled out for awhile before the last downhill of the day. At this point I should have known something was up when everyone else on the ride had an assortment of arm and leg protection. The run down from Morton Peak I will describe as an exercise in flagellation as the flora well and truly took its pound of flesh out of my arms and legs. Had to criss cross firebreaks a few time but we all made it to the bottom in one piece although I had to stop a couple of times to remove sticks out of the rear derailleur. A short roadie back to Hangar 24 confirmed my suspicions that the area is on the dodgy end of the scale as we passed what appeared to be a wrecked stolen car emanating the sort of smell one associates with something having been dead for some time. Said our goodbyes and had a beer at the brewery before having to head home.
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I spent the day chilling at the back, unfortunately I think the elevation got to me a bit as I started getting a pretty bad headache on the way down Wildhorse which wouldn't really leave me till after Morton Peak.

Still have to say it was an epic day with equally epic trails and company! Thanks @DangerDirtyD for organising it all.
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Pack a few ibuprofen for the headaches. Thanks for playing Kiwi! Haha...goat herders shelter somewhere in outback Tajikistan!
 
Lost Kiwi said:
Who'd pass up a chance to ride with Kazakhstan's number 5 journalist, the mighty Borselleck? Not me thats for sure!

Legend says he is the sloppy left-overs from a fun filled sexy time between Borat Sagdiyev, Tom Selleck and an unnamed Russian prostitute in a goat herders shelter somewhere in outback Tajikistan.

It was a stupid early start when @Ocpop rolled up at mine to kindly give me a lift out to the shuttle pickup. We managed to find the place without any drama, a bit disappointed to find Borselleck wasn't in his sexy skinsuit but beggars can't be choosers. We made some introductions and I promptly forgot most peoples names (hey its what I do), loaded up the party bus and rolled up the hill. Xavier dropped us off at a location I'd picture more akin with where dead bodies would be dumped. We stood around and shivered a bit before jumping on the bikes and heading up the hill. Not before finding out Davids reverb was stuck in the down position - clearly his bike hadn't seen the adonis like Borselleck at this point and couldn't get it up. We all warmed up on the climb up the hill and Davids reverb finally realised whose presence it was in and rose majestically from its hiding place. At the top of the climb we found the incredibly chill @mike before pointing ourselves downhill. That trail was the first taster of the awesomeness this place has to offer, fun and flowy with a nice mixture of chunky bits and soft sand. @konakc 's friend Sean missed a switchback and had a close inspection with the ground but no harm done. One puncture (and it wasn't me :p) on a rocky bit of downhill would be the only mechanical anyone suffered all day. Quick safety break and we headed down the road to the start of SART. I'll admit that some of the more exposed bits got to me along there, especially when I rounded one bit to look straight down and see someone that wasn't part of our group trying to haul himself and his bike back up a near vertical drop. We popped out onto a dirt road to admire the local hillbillies "fixing" the road. Fixing the road round those parts involves leaning on a shovel and drinking a beer. We climbed back up to Angelus Oaks for our lunch stop.
The rundown to Loch Leven after lunch was soft, sandy and interesting, you had to stay on your toes as you'd get a head of steam up only to round a corner and find swathes of sand just looking for an excuse to make you wash out. At the bottom you could see how close the fire had come to taking out Loch Leven. We said goodbye to @konakc at this point as he decided to roadie it back to Hanger 24. The rest of us headed down the 38 before turning onto the last climb for the day up to Morton Peak. The youngsters and the 24 hour endurance rider all disappeared into the distance as we all found a pace we were happy with. Made it to the top without drama to a stunning view. We all chilled out for awhile before the last downhill of the day. At this point I should have known something was up when everyone else on the ride had an assortment of arm and leg protection. The run down from Morton Peak I will describe as an exercise in flagellation as the flora well and truly took its pound of flesh out of my arms and legs. Had to criss cross firebreaks a few time but we all made it to the bottom in one piece although I had to stop a couple of times to remove sticks out of the rear derailleur. A short roadie back to Hangar 24 confirmed my suspicions that the area is on the dodgy end of the scale as we passed what appeared to be a wrecked stolen car emanating the sort of smell one associates with something having been dead for some time. Said our goodbyes and had a beer at the brewery before having to head home.
View attachment 70255
View attachment 70256
I spent the day chilling at the back, unfortunately I think the elevation got to me a bit as I started getting a pretty bad headache on the way down Wildhorse which wouldn't really leave me till after Morton Peak.

Still have to say it was an epic day with equally epic trails and company! Thanks @DangerDirtyD for organising it all.
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Brilliant and entertaining prose there Simon! :thumbsup: :D
 
Ocpop said:
What a ride! Up to this point, my longest ride had been 25 miles, but I’d been wanting to do some longer rides. So when this ride came along, it was an easy decision. Especially since it was a shuttled downhill ride, how hard could it be?

I picked up @Lost Kiwi in the dark and headed for the IE. Fist bumped a few peeps in the ghetto parking lot and loaded up the shuttle van for the ride to the Wildhorse trailhead.

The air was cool and crisp as we climbed the fire road. It was similar to climbing Maple Springs road except shorter. Clearly there were some strong riders as they took off and were quickly out of sight. I would be near the back of the pack all day.

We took a little break to shed layers and chat a bit with @mike who had climbed the other side and headed down the single track. And what a track it was! Through the alpine forest, dappled with patches of fall colors, cool and misty. Perfect!

Regroup on Highway 38 and cruise down to SART trailhead. The trail was magic, flowy and smooth. But as @konakc said at the start, there were moments when it felt like I was in the movie “ Groundhog Day”. “Didn’t we ride this swoopy banked turn a few times already?” All good though.

Regroup at the fire road and start climbing our second major climb of the day to our old friend Highway 38. Then lunchtime at the Oaks restaurant! I’ve never had lunch in the middle of a ride before but, hell, bring on the burger and zucchini fries, they freaking hit the spot!

Post lunch bomb down Lach Laven, totally different feel then our previous trails. A bit like riding down an old abandoned country road. Enjoyed all of it, the broken paved sections, deep sand traps, few remaining twisty single tracks.

Regroup yet again on Highway 38 and cruise down to our final climb, Morton Peak. I was a bit apprehensive about this one as it was at the end of the ride and was the steepest of our climbs. I figured I’d HAB some of it. I ended up cleaning it and felt reasonably strong at the top.

The single track down Morton had it all. Serious flow, exposure, tightest of hairpins, vista. What a way to end the ride!

Thanks Dio for making this happen. Sign me up for the next one!

Didn’t take many pictures, too busy riding and smiling.

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I’m so happy you had a good time! So far, every ride I’ve had with you has been epic!
 
DangerDirtyD said:
Maybe next time we should go to the massage parlor before the ride too.
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Two happy endings in one day? Thats the stuff of dreams!
Faust29 said:
I can’t believe you coordinated time for lunch. Our Activities Director doesn’t do that. :cautious: :p
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See thats the difference between us more civilized type riders and you riff raff........

There was at least two people regretting their lunch choice on the way up Morton Peak. Repeating cheeseburger = :gag:
 
Lost Kiwi said:
Two happy endings in one day? Thats the stuff of dreams!

See thats the difference between us more civilized type riders and you riff raff........

There was at least two people regretting their lunch choice on the way up Morton Peak. Repeating cheeseburger = :gag:
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Quads, glutes, calves, back and neck! I never felt my lunch and drank more fluids the second half of the day.
 
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