I Rode My Bike Today...

Three loops at Aliso with @sir crashalot, 5 Oaks, Mentally and Car Wreck downs. It's been a long long time since I rode there on the weekend, but the 7am start helped some with the traffic. The dirt was sticky, great traction on the downs but felt like pedaling in sand going up. Or maybe that was just me sucking at climbing....
LCF had a large work group on Mentally Sensitive, working on ruts I think (hope), good since the ruts were wicked (Mentally and Car Wreck). Even with a brand new DHR2 the rear was sliding around alot. Well, my tire gauge quit pre ride so I used the feel gauge, which I suck at, and back home I checked with another gauge and the rear was 30psi (usually 24)... maybe that explains why I nearly lost the rear a couple times, scary moments on CW. 2600/14.4, 180 feet gain/mile, 2:40 moving time, Gary made it to work just in time:thumbsup:

Edit/add: Seems strange to me, but maybe normal weekend stuff there, 4-5 guys with big bikes (some double crown forks), padded, full faces, totally bombing Mathis fire road as we were heading up and hikers all over the place. E-bikes got nothin' on those guys...
 
Last edited:
Lots of ride options today.....but I passed on most of them.

Wasn't feeling so hot when I got up, so I took it easy.

Finally started to feel better around lunch. Headed out for a quick loop at the Oaks.

I was about 1.5 hours in when I ran across @konakc and his group. I was planning to head home, instead I chased them down Deer and caught up with them at the top. I ended up riding with them for a while.

Just as I was about to cut out and head home, saw @H2oChick and @cajun . Used what little legs I had left chasing them down. Eventually bailed out at the bottom of Yucca.

Stayed out til dark.

23.5 / 3700'
 
Faust29 said:
Started with the ugly sweater group headed up the mountain... @Grego , Vincent, @BeckTrex , @Derek13 , who now knows that I'm really bad with faces. We'll have to ride a few more times. :thumbsup:

Mark and I hit Beeks, and hung out for a bit to see if Grego made it up. @BonsaiNut joined us for a bit... When we saw Vincent go by headed for the ball, we continued up. Vincent wasn't feeling a bigger ride today, so Mark and I continued on... Slow going across Main Divide. Lots of chatting...

Mark was having a decent run down Motorway...

View attachment 47163

And then the Motorway ninja rocks reached out and sliced his sidewalls...


View attachment 47164


Motorway is always fun, and it's in its chunkier form right now after the rains...

25 miles and 4200 feet...
Click to expand...
Nice to see ya Steve. Rode the sweater B* ride mostly solo and caught up and saw several imtbtrails guys, but I don’t know names. Sorry. Did talk with @Grego at Doppler when he rolled in. I planned the motorway route as well but didn’t feel like doing solo today. Felt little blah after pushing on the climb too. Hit all the single tracks I know of. 5.
 
Its awesome to eak out the daylight! Oaks day post church n lunch w family...just talked about meetung mtbk j out of the blue..n who do i see at top of deer? Was nice riding...almist all of oaks...missed hawk..ran out of leg power...great day to ride!
 
knucklebuster said:
Three loops at Aliso with @sir crashalot, 5 Oaks, Mentally and Car Wreck downs. It's been a long long time since I rode there on the weekend, but the 7am start helped some with the traffic. The dirt was sticky, great traction on the downs but felt like pedaling in sand going up. Or maybe that was just me sucking at climbing....
LCF had a large work group on Mentally Sensitive, working on ruts I think (hope), good since the ruts were wicked (Mentally and Car Wreck). Even with a brand new DHR2 the rear was sliding around alot. Well, my tire gauge quit pre ride so I used the feel gauge, which I suck at, and back home I checked with another gauge and the rear was 30psi (usually 24)... maybe that explains why I nearly lost the rear a couple times, scary moments on CW. 2600/14.4, 180 feet gain/mile, 2:40 moving time, Gary made it to work just in time:thumbsup:

Edit/add: Seems strange to me, but maybe normal weekend stuff there, 4-5 guys with big bikes (some double crown forks), padded, full faces, totally bombing Mathis fire road as we were heading up and hikers all over the place. E-bikes got nothin' on those guys...
Click to expand...
herzalot said:
That I haven't seen. Just what we need at Aliso - more douchebags on bikes scaring hikers. :mad:
Click to expand...

After the "DHers" on mathis passed us i think I heard a hiker scream. Dont forget the guy we ran into several times blasting Guns n Roses super loud out of his bike speakers. Also overheard "helpful" fellows loudly telling other guys which illegal trails to hit . I think I said to Dave, "What a douche-fest out here today". Looking forward to my Wednesday ride...
 
Last edited:
I forgot to mention that Santiago Canyon should be avoided. It must be the silly season... On the way to the ugly sweater ride, I passed at least 20 Ferraris headed south. You can imagine how they were driving. On the way home, I was passed by two groups of motorcycles, maybe 12 in all. I can't even guess their speed... They used the left lane as well as the bike lane to pass everyone... The roadies who were occupying the bike lane at the time were not amused. I saw quite a few one finger salutes.
 
BonsaiNut said:
That sums up my entire POV of Aliso/Wood Canyon. A victim of its own success. To be avoided at all costs on weekends.
Click to expand...

Haha true, but since its my backyard if i want to fit in a good ride before work (11 am) on Sunday i brace myself and do it. Early 7 am start helps, hordes start coming out when im finishing. The douches were out early yesterday!
its such a different place on a wed morning.
 
Rode San Juan this past Saturday. Arrived about 7:45 am to a packed parking but managed to get one of two remaining spots. Trail conditions were perfect, nice tacky dirt, cool weather and great views. Shortly after starting the climb another rider was coming up behind me so I pulled over to let him pass. He seemed very focused on a speedy accent however about 25 yards up the trail he stopped in the middle of a switch back and stood there as I approached. As I came to the corner, he told me it was ok to pass as he was waiting for his friend. So, using my expert bike handling skills, I was able to make a tight inside turn and continue on. I don't think he was being a douche on purpose, just completely clueless. The rest of the climb to the rock was fairly uneventful until I got about 3/4 of the way up. This is were the onslaught of people descending began. Wide variety of riders from Walmart bikes to full face goggle wearing bros. I arrived at the rock to join about 25 other riders with a steady stream of others joining in from above. At this point I was completely frustrated with the crowds and numerous Bluetooth speakers blasting so decided to head down. The decent was the worst I have ever experienced on San Juan. I don't think I ever went more than a minute the entire length of the trail without running into riders coming up (plenty of ebikes too). I was so happy to get to the bottom, jump in my car and get out there! After the ride I did go to BJ's for a nice lunch and a couple of cold beers so the day wasn't completely lost!
 
Mtnbikejwl said:
Rode San Juan this past Saturday. Arrived about 7:45 am to a packed parking but managed to get one of two remaining spots. Trail conditions were perfect, nice tacky dirt, cool weather and great views. Shortly after starting the climb another rider was coming up behind me so I pulled over to let him pass. He seemed very focused on a speedy accent however about 25 yards up the trail he stopped in the middle of a switch back and stood there as I approached. As I came to the corner, he told me it was ok to pass as he was waiting for his friend. So, using my expert bike handling skills, I was able to make a tight inside turn and continue on. I don't think he was being a douche on purpose, just completely clueless. The rest of the climb to the rock was fairly uneventful until I got about 3/4 of the way up. This is were the onslaught of people descending began. Wide variety of riders from Walmart bikes to full face goggle wearing bros. I arrived at the rock to join about 25 other riders with a steady stream of others joining in from above. At this point I was completely frustrated with the crowds and numerous Bluetooth speakers blasting so decided to head down. The decent was the worst I have ever experienced on San Juan. I don't think I ever went more than a minute the entire length of the trail without running into riders coming up (plenty of ebikes too). I was so happy to get to the bottom, jump in my car and get out there! After the ride I did go to BJ's for a nice lunch and a couple of cold beers so the day wasn't completely lost!
Click to expand...


With all the parks closed....everyone was funneled into just a few rides.

Don’t get me started on the damn Bluetooth speakers.
 
Mtnbikejwl said:
I don't think I ever went more than a minute the entire length of the trail without running into riders coming up (plenty of ebikes too). I was so happy to get to the bottom, jump in my car and get out there! After the ride I did go to BJ's for a nice lunch and a couple of cold beers so the day wasn't completely lost!
Click to expand...

Trails are going to continue to be extra crowded with Holy Jim / South Main Divide / Trabuco off-line. Sorry to hear about the e-bikes. There were four e-bikes on the Christmas Food Drive ride, but being in the charitable/food drive mood, I didn't say anything to them. One of the e-bikes actually passed me three times :) The rider kept stopping because he was out of breath.
 
LLPoolJ said:
Noble Cyn with 5 buds today. @Sidewalk and @Varaxis were present. Epic conditions, wet dirt and very cool weather. We climbed the rd then did a lap around the pond up top. Then came the fun drop down. Lots of hootin and hollerin. New dirt for most, not me or Varaxis our 2nd. All killed it no real issues. Smiles around and tired dudes at the end. Those rock gardens are longer and more numerous than I remembered. Looking forward to another trip in the spring.
Click to expand...


Next time climb up Indian Creek Trail instead of the paved road.....it’s so much more fun.

Lots of chundery goodness out there.
 
Faust29 said:
I forgot to mention that Santiago Canyon should be avoided. It must be the silly season... On the way to the ugly sweater ride, I passed at least 20 Ferraris headed south. You can imagine how they were driving. On the way home, I was passed by two groups of motorcycles, maybe 12 in all. I can't even guess their speed... They used the left lane as well as the bike lane to pass everyone... The roadies who were occupying the bike lane at the time were not amused. I saw quite a few one finger salutes.
Click to expand...
Driving away from the sweater ride I was passed by the guy who looks like Andrew Dice Clay wearing sleeveless black shirt and yoga pants driving his 1980 something corvette using half the bike lane to make the pass. This is the guy who shows up to events riding the bike with at least 5in wide beach tires and a case of beer strapped to the back rack. (of course beer is Fat Tire by New Belgium) I was not impressed nor did I appreciate the danger level given the amount of beer he must have consumed at 10am...
 
Derek13 said:
Driving away from the sweater ride I was passed by the guy who looks like Andrew Dice Clay wearing sleeveless black shirt and yoga pants driving his 1980 something corvette using half the bike lane to make the pass. This is the guy who shows up to events riding the bike with at least 5in wide beach tires and a case of beer strapped to the back rack. (of course beer is Fat Tire by New Belgium) I was not impressed nor did I appreciate the danger level given the amount of beer he must have consumed at 10am...
Click to expand...

I saw him at the golf ball... That's nuts.

I ride that road sometimes to get from home, Whiting, Luge, Harding, Black Star, etc... It's getting to the point that it's just too nuts. Even when I'm in the car, I see people repeatedly taking the entire bike lane just to go around the curves. :confused: And it's almost a daily occurrence that I see the group of Subarus pulled over on the side attaching their GoPros to the hoods before their award winning runs.

The motorcycles in the bike lane yesterday at 100 (?) were about the worst yet, though. The first one that went around me on the right (my speed was 60 when I looked down), had less than a foot of clearance off my passenger door. I guarantee I'd live... 5000 pound SUV versus unprotected idiot. I can't even imagine the damage to the idiot from careening off into the rocks. And all the while sharing the lane with bicycles. That was just nuts. And, of course, they ended at Cooks...
 
Last edited:
Mtnbikejwl said:
Rode San Juan this past Saturday. Arrived about 7:45 am to a packed parking but managed to get one of two remaining spots. Trail conditions were perfect, nice tacky dirt, cool weather and great views. Shortly after starting the climb another rider was coming up behind me so I pulled over to let him pass. He seemed very focused on a speedy accent however about 25 yards up the trail he stopped in the middle of a switch back and stood there as I approached. As I came to the corner, he told me it was ok to pass as he was waiting for his friend. So, using my expert bike handling skills, I was able to make a tight inside turn and continue on. I don't think he was being a douche on purpose, just completely clueless. The rest of the climb to the rock was fairly uneventful until I got about 3/4 of the way up. This is were the onslaught of people descending began. Wide variety of riders from Walmart bikes to full face goggle wearing bros. I arrived at the rock to join about 25 other riders with a steady stream of others joining in from above. At this point I was completely frustrated with the crowds and numerous Bluetooth speakers blasting so decided to head down. The decent was the worst I have ever experienced on San Juan. I don't think I ever went more than a minute the entire length of the trail without running into riders coming up (plenty of ebikes too). I was so happy to get to the bottom, jump in my car and get out there! After the ride I did go to BJ's for a nice lunch and a couple of cold beers so the day wasn't completely lost!
Click to expand...

Man that just sucks!
 
Kind of a mixed bag of plans today.....in the end I was on my own. Forgot to charge lights, so I had to scramble for a quick ride when I got home from work.

Decided on Blackstar. On the bike at 3:10....I knew I had enough time if I pushed it. So that is what I did. For the first time in 2 weeks, rode the SS....gotta say it felt foreign. Pushed and pushed on the way up. At times felt really strong....at times felt like I was towing a bus. At the top of Booby Trap was another rider...made it easier for me to push as I chased the rabbit.

Rolled up, tapped the gate and turned back down. Got back to the truck before dark.

Broke 1:00.....:57 Good to see that again.

I'm curious as to who was the genius who decided that the DG material from the gate in was a good idea.....based on the amount of damage I saw.
 
Mtnbikejwl said:
Rode San Juan this past Saturday. Arrived about 7:45 am to a packed parking but managed to get one of two remaining spots. Trail conditions were perfect, nice tacky dirt, cool weather and great views. Shortly after starting the climb another rider was coming up behind me so I pulled over to let him pass. He seemed very focused on a speedy accent however about 25 yards up the trail he stopped in the middle of a switch back and stood there as I approached. As I came to the corner, he told me it was ok to pass as he was waiting for his friend. So, using my expert bike handling skills, I was able to make a tight inside turn and continue on. I don't think he was being a douche on purpose, just completely clueless. The rest of the climb to the rock was fairly uneventful until I got about 3/4 of the way up. This is were the onslaught of people descending began. Wide variety of riders from Walmart bikes to full face goggle wearing bros. I arrived at the rock to join about 25 other riders with a steady stream of others joining in from above. At this point I was completely frustrated with the crowds and numerous Bluetooth speakers blasting so decided to head down. The decent was the worst I have ever experienced on San Juan. I don't think I ever went more than a minute the entire length of the trail without running into riders coming up (plenty of ebikes too). I was so happy to get to the bottom, jump in my car and get out there! After the ride I did go to BJ's for a nice lunch and a couple of cold beers so the day wasn't completely lost!
Click to expand...

I rode San Juan on Saturday as well. I had the opposite experience as you, as in uphill sucked and downhill was good.

I started at Noon and barely found a parking spot, so I knew it was going to suck. I encountered about 50 downhill (shuttle monkey) riders on the way up to Cocktail. It was just relentless. I was pretty surprised to see some really small children coming down aged about 8 to 10ish I would guess. Not really a trail I would rate as safe for kids, but whatever.

Anyway, I chilled at the rock for about 15 minutes and only encountered 7 uphill riders on my way down ... 2 were almost immediately at the top, and the other 5 were very close to the top. After that it was smooth sailing. I kept my speed in check as I was anticipating more, but could have opened it up as I did not see anyone else.

Moral of the story is either get there very early to beat the downhill shuttle monkey's, or wait until about 1:30 to 2 PM. San Juan has a reputation as being nice to ride after rain, so that is probably why is was so extraordinarily crowded.
 
mtnbikej said:
Kind of a mixed bag of plans today.....in the end I was on my own. Forgot to charge lights, so I had to scramble for a quick ride when I got home from work.

Decided on Blackstar. On the bike at 3:10....I knew I had enough time if I pushed it. So that is what I did. For the first time in 2 weeks, rode the SS....gotta say it felt foreign. Pushed and pushed on the way up. At times felt really strong....at times felt like I was towing a bus. At the top of Booby Trap was another rider...made it easier for me to push as I chased the rabbit.

Rolled up, tapped the gate and turned back down. Got back to the truck before dark.

Broke 1:00.....:57 Good to see that again.

I'm curious as to who was the genius who decided that the DG material from the gate in was a good idea.....based on the amount of damage I saw.
Click to expand...

Oops... Forgot to mention that. I saw the ruts starting when we did the ugly sweater ride the other day! That didn't take long... And it's only going to get worse. Ah, it's not their money they wasted...

As for me... I went and did a little out and back on the Bell Trail. It's still muddy in spots, and there were quite a few sections that I felt like I was pedaling through molasses. It was overkill for the Hightower, but the Lizard is still set up with flat pedals and a funny seat in case the kid wants to borrow a bike. I'm trying to talk him into the Solstice ride. We'll see...

17 miles and 2000 feet...

XR4 on the rear... Maiden Voyage
IMG_0774.jpg


I think I see why this is called Rutty McRutterson...
IMG_0776.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top