I Rode My Bike Today...

mtnbikej said:
So we have been doing a ride the last several years on NYD with some friends.

Friday the weather wasn't looking to promising. However looking at the Saturday forecast showed rain ending around 8pm. So we were on.

Me, my wife, @H2oChick , @cajun , Jeremy and Hugh saddled up.

11:00 am start, it was 50* at the base of Glendora Mountain Road....but it was sunny.

Rolling onto Monroe Truck Trail the dirt was damp. The botttom section of the trail follows through the creek bed. After the recent rains, there was actually water running through the creek. It was great to see and fun to ride through. Took it easy as to not get my feet wet.

Made the turn/switchback to begin the climb. The trail handles rain really well, probably better than STT. We got spread out a few times, but regrouped from time to time. My wife knew she wasn't going to make it to the top, so we agreed we would summit then pick her up on the way back.

Greg and Kay were up ahead of us a bit. About 1.5 miles from the top, heard the "pop, pop, snap, crack". Hugh had busted his chain and smacked his knee on the bar. Went to help him out and give him a quick link....oops, my 8 spd link won't fix his 10 spd chain. We were about a 2 minute pedal to reach the ridgeline. He said he would run up to the ridege and wait for us to come back.

Jeremy and I reach the top where K&G were. After quick break and temps at 40*....and no longer sunny, we headed down. The dirt was like velcro. A few spots of mud, and a few water holes.

Fun times with the gang today. Trail couldn't have been better.

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Heee! Zilla was in the gabes! No wonder I felt all tingly yesterday.
 
Quick stroll at skyline after visiting Mom in the morning...
@herzalot fashion sensei do you approve my new grips :whistling: ?
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Hit Luge and Old Camp with a friend today for my first ride of the new year. It was a little cold and wet out there, but not too bad. Most mud could be avoided on the way up STT to the flag, but there were a few more muddy sections between the flag and the top of Cadillac. I thought coming down Old Camp and Luge might be a little slippery, but conditions were GREAT! I had to thank my friend for dragging me out of a nice warm house this morning ... definitely worth it!
 
I fell off my bike today,
but at least I still rode it!
Went down and rode with @Luis , @Jose m Zepeda , and a friend of Jose's named Jorge.
It started out just Luis and I as Jose and Jorge had already hit the trail. We rode up the Brown Mountain fire road/trail to the Ken Burton trail. As we neared the top, Jose and Jorge were flying down. Luis convinced them to climb back up with us.

It was cold.
Completely fogged in. Just riding and passing through the clouds got you soaked. At the top we got another MTB'er to take our pic. Dropping back down Brown was fun. Almost slammed into a couple of girls on bikes at one point. The brave guys were a couple of yards behind them as the girls led the way up.

We headed over to the top of El Prieto, Luis leading, then me, Jorge, and Jose. We were riding a section I had not done before when my right handle bar passed through some cut back branches only it was not only branches but a stump. Sending me off to the left, over the bars, and down the side. It was soft and warm down there. I had all the wind knocked out of me. My bars were buried in soft damp sand underneath me. When we got everything back on the trail, my rear wheel would not spin. Took a few minutes to figure out my rear brake lever was engaged, packed with sand, ha ha!

Back in order we finished up. I think I'm going to have a sweet big bruise on my left thigh from what, I don't know.

Jose took us all to lunch over in Sylmar at a place Luis had to order for me :sneaky:, where we laughed and razzed each other. Short but sweet ride with very good friends!
Thanks guys!

Note to @herzalot : Yes! I am actually wearing baggies.

Pics of proof, hee hee! Happy New Year!
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Mikie said:
The brave guys were a couple of yards behind them as the girls led the way up.
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Nothing brave about that. It's the way most of us prefer to ride with girls, whenever they are brave enough to ride with us. :oops:

Great ride report, but I think your fall was not cause by a stump or a branch, it was clearly caused by your baggies. They threw off your ninja skills and typical riding mojo!
 
^^^^ hahaha yea what @Mikie said ^^^^

Cold day out today. The higher up we went, the colder and wetter it got. The original plan was to bag the peak at Brown Mt, ride back down to Millard and ride up Mt Lowe to sunset trail. We bombed down to El P and nobody seemed eager to climb again into the clouds, so we dropped into the rocky, tech goodness.
We were all bobbing and weaving like a well oiled machine until Mikie tried his hand at trail maintenance and bush trimming...

Could have been worse, we could have left you for the buzzards :eek:

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I got out for a short ride at Santiago Oaks this morning after dropping the kids off at school. The trails opened yesterday, but they were still pretty wet today. I'd hate to see what they were like yesterday. 3B's was a slow, sticky climb today, but the rest of the climbs were in pretty good shape. Dropped Cactus, Hawk twice, Peralta, Yucca, Barham, and Chutes Ridgeline. Other than Cactus, which was a little too muddy, the rest of the downs were all hero dirt. Finished with 11.5 miles and 2,600' of climbing.
 
@sir crashalot and @knucklebuster showed me the Chiquito Trail. We shuttled from Candy Store to Bluejay CG. Did the north start out of the CG then backdoored Viejo Tie to Chiquito.

What a demanding trail, wow. Just tons of rugged, twisty trailage through the gorgeous Lion Canyon area. I'll definitely be back to size up some of those crazy rock bridges we rolled past today. Full value, even with the shuttle...

It was awesome to hit the dirt with me old accomplices Knuckles and Crashnot. Gorgeous day, tough riding, good life :cool:
 
Hopefully, I'll get in to see the Doc tomorrow and get this head opened up in time for a little longer ride this weekend. :thumbsup:

But, I managed a little spin time up the Trabuco wash to one of the most scenic spots in the forest... Lower Trabuco. I get almost 7 miles and 1,000 feet to the little parking lot at the base of Trabuco, and it's a nice mellow pedal up the wash. I went as far as the abandoned car and turned around. Not epic by any stretch, but it was on dirt... 17 miles and 1600 feet.

Best spot in the forest...
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And I played around on the base of Cadillac a little... It's nice to see that they're decorating. o_O
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Almost ran out of daylight, but managed to ride my friend's bike today on the STT. I've been sick since mid-December, so it felt unbelievably good to be out there. Just a short out-and-back to blow out the cobwebs, but still fun. Sun long gone on the way back, but managed to detour up and over PhD/Warlock. A good attention-getting finish in near dark conditions. :) STT fine--actually better--after all the recent rain.
 
mike said:
@sir crashalot and @knucklebuster showed me the Chiquito Trail. We shuttled from Candy Store to Bluejay CG. Did the north start out of the CG then backdoored Viejo Tie to Chiquito.

What a demanding trail, wow. Just tons of rugged, twisty trailage through the gorgeous Lion Canyon area. I'll definitely be back to size up some of those crazy rock bridges we rolled past today. Full value, even with the shuttle...

It was awesome to hit the dirt with me old accomplices Knuckles and Crashnot. Gorgeous day, tough riding, good life :cool:
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Good times out there Mike, glad you liked Chiquito. I always feel worked after that ride.

Was a tougher day than usual for me and I really slowed down the show (sorry guys). Hit the dirt three times, some minor flesh wounds on the first two, the third, a superman that I used my chest to cushion the blow on the rock landing. Bruised or cracked ribs most likely. Friends have told me how much rib injuries hurt... this is my first, and they are correct... holy cow :cry:. Will have to hit the doc tomorrow. And prob take a few weeks off the bike anyway.:thumbsdown:

There was a tiny bit of water in the waterfall, good to see....
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Did the Maple Springs / Motorway lollypop from the tree farm for the extra mileage credit. Was biking nirvana all the way to Four Corners. Then, Main Divide got progressively worse as I headed north.

But HEY! I saw a red fox! I didn't even know they were this far south. Beautiful creature - bright orange/red with a white tip on his tail. I surprised him coming around a corner and he bounded down the trail a bit before jumping off to the east...

Right after I took this picture the clouds rolled in and it got progressively colder and windier. Motorway was in pretty good condition, with the exception of the FAIL trail work that had been done by complete idiots who felt a trail needs trenches and giant water bars every 50 yards. Not so many at the top, but it makes me really sad when you get towards the bottom and the trail becomes less steep and you want to open it up and instead you have a giant berm every 50 yards. I REALLY wish someone would get permission to go up that trail and remove some of the crappy work.

Didn't see another soul the entire dirt section of the ride, once I was past the locked gate at the bottom of Maple Springs - with one exception. I bumped into someone (a Ranger?) driving a white SUV just as I arrived at Four Corners. He was about to drive down Maple Springs and I told him the gate was closed and he just waved - I think he had the keys to the gate. I could see him inching his way down Maple Springs the entire time I was on Main Divide. You can see him as the little white dot on the top section of fire road in this picture.

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knucklebuster said:
Hit the dirt three times, some minor flesh wounds on the first two, the third, a superman that I used my chest to cushion the blow on the rock landing. Bruised or cracked ribs most likely. Friends have told me how much rib injuries hurt... this is my first, and they are correct... holy cow :cry:. Will have to hit the doc tomorrow. And prob take a few weeks off the bike anyway.:thumbsdown: View attachment 23774
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Dang Dave - you can't seem to catch a break. I've done my ribs three or four times - the worst while at Whistler. Couldn't lay down for three nights - had to sleep sitting up. Tough injury, but it will clear up in two-three weeks.

If I had been thinking a little more strategically, I would've joined you guys - not that that would have helped Dave. I added Joplin to my list, I should have added Chiquito/Viejo Tie.

Heal up fast my friend!
 
mike said:
@sir crashalot and @knucklebuster showed me the Chiquito Trail. We shuttled from Candy Store to Bluejay CG. Did the north start out of the CG then backdoored Viejo Tie to Chiquito.

What a demanding trail, wow. Just tons of rugged, twisty trailage through the gorgeous Lion Canyon area. I'll definitely be back to size up some of those crazy rock bridges we rolled past today. Full value, even with the shuttle...

It was awesome to hit the dirt with me old accomplices Knuckles and Crashnot. Gorgeous day, tough riding, good life :cool:
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Good to ride with y'all, thanks for throwing this ride out for today Mike! It was what I really needed to feel like myself this week. Great weather. good friends, epic dirt and my favorute trail all to ourselves. Lets hit the dirt again soon!
 
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knucklebuster said:
Good times out there Mike, glad you liked Chiquito. I always feel worked after that ride.

Was a tougher day than usual for me and I really slowed down the show (sorry guys). Hit the dirt three times, some minor flesh wounds on the first two, the third, a superman that I used my chest to cushion the blow on the rock landing. Bruised or cracked ribs most likely. Friends have told me how much rib injuries hurt... this is my first, and they are correct... holy cow :cry:. Will have to hit the doc tomorrow. And prob take a few weeks off the bike anyway.:thumbsdown:

There was a tiny bit of water in the waterfall, good to see.... View attachment 23774
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Whos that fat dude on the right?:)

Good to ride with ya Dave, bummer about the crashes (that i had front row seats for:eek:). Inevitable in this sport, haha. Hope you heal up and feel better and can get back out there soon! Sorry i had to bail a bit early at the end, definitely not my M.O. Next ride, I can relax.
 
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Sometimes short little rides are just as gratifying as long epics. Todays ride was that day for me as I was able to get my son out to ride w me without much effort! Its been a while since we've ridden together so I was stoked. I decided it was time to take him up to MTT and ride some ST. His bike is a Spec Hotrock 24" and hes starting to outgrow it already. Time for a new bike!

Considering his rig and how little he actually rides, he did good. His strength is climbing, a little tentative still on the descents. We only did 5 miles but for me, it was just as special as one of my epic rides.

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The Wednesday crew rode again.
Tuesday night @rossage txt me asking is I was riding. Duh! Of course but where? A quick text to the usual suspects and we decided on a Lower Sam Merrill, sunset, el Prieto ride was in order. What we affectionately refer to as the JPL short loop. Sorry Ross, but we will ride strawberry to Colby with you soon.
Met up with Pete, Scott, Steven and Ross at the JPL parking at 9:30 and rode the streets over to LSM and up we went. Even on a weekday there are a good number of hikers on this trail. Nobody slipped and fell (me last time) and nobody got a helicopter ride (Ross) so it was all good.
A quick regroup near the ruins and rode the Mt Lowe connector to the top of Sunset trail.
While we were debating on the pecking order for the descent, Ross dropped into the trail with his full rigid SC. We waited about one minute then we dropped in and gave chase.
It still took us a good distance to catch Ross the maniac because of his ballzy bike handling skills.
Another quick regroup and we rode down to Millard and up to El Prieto.
At the bottom we said goodbye to Pete and Ross, while Scott, Steven and myself rode back up to do a extra loop of El Prieto.

Excellent day to be on the bike.
Awesome company too. We missed you though @Cisco Roots

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BonsaiNut said:
But HEY! I saw a red fox! I didn't even know they were this far south. Beautiful creature - bright orange/red with a white tip on his tail. I surprised him coming around a corner and he bounded down the trail a bit before jumping off to the east...
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I just called my red fox sighting in to the Trabuco District Station. The woman I spoke with was really interested; she took down the info and is going to pass it on to their regional biologist.
 
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