I Rode My Bike Today...

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Quick therapeutic spin in the back yard. High around 79 today with some cloud cover. One other rider seen on my route.
 
Solo double feature today. Got up early and was rolling from lower lot for Exploration trail at 8 am. Cloudy and humid, but not hot. Took the camp 6 trail for the first time, on Dave’s recommendation. I dunno if its easier then the remainder of the road, but definitely more interesting. Especially the grove of young sequoias right before the fireroad! Fireroad climb was the steepest part, had to hab some but I don’t mind. Weather stayed cloudy, breezy and for once cooler than forecasted. Didn’t see a soul on my run down Explo. WTB Verdict up front sure hooked up in that loose DG! Back at car by 11 and headed over to Skypark, figured I’d maybe have the energy left to do 3 or 4 runs but ended up doing six! Also not as warm as predicted, that was nice. High maybe 79 and lots of shade there. Uncrowded.
...I am tired.

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My pic of the sequoias. There are a few scattered groves of sequoias in the San berdoos, not thought to be native there but in the 1930s to 50s the forest service planted them because they do well in drought when established and they are somewhat fire resistant. There’s also some over by the champion lodge pole pine at bluff lake.
 
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Back to Maple Springs / Motorway with @Faust29

Temps on the Garmin said 90* when we started. Light breeze kept the temps comfortable as we rolled through the gate. By the 2nd creek crossing, the breeze died. With that the humidity jumped up and the bugs came out in force. Barely made it to the end of the pavement before donning the bug net.

Hot and humid the rest of the way up.

4 Corners to Motorway was much better. Cooler temps, a breeze and no bugs.

Motorway is overgrown again. Still fun. Finished up just before dark.

Good times.
 
Mikie said:
Ha ha ha ha ha ha! This is funny chit as well....
Arghhhhhh! No one should invoke parlay on the mythical Floop Burger!
The Floop will be ridden, the Floop Burger... will be had, in due time.
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Myth? Maybe, but how do you explain this:
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The only burger I know of that comes with a fork and knife, and you'll need it. So tasty!! Goes great with a trendy IPA and a side of fruit because you know I like to eat healthy. :laugh::confused: Floop tonight, who's in?
 
Late afternoon Maple Springs to Motorway loop, with a finish just before sunset... Legs felt like lead. It's funny how they change from day to day. Last weekend, I made it to the peak without ever coming close to the granny gear. Last night I was in the 42 before the end of the pavement. :oops:

It was hot and buggy for most of the ride up, but the Wahoo showed upper 60s by the time we hit Motorway. :thumbsup:

Last weekend I also saw a bobcat on the drive in, but he was moving, and I just caught the tail as he scampered over the wooden barrier. Last night he was in the middle of the road on the way out, and I got a good look... Very cool. Three sightings in a week. :thumbsup:

17/3600

Golden Hour Motorway...
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Weed Whacking.
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sir crashalot said:
My pic of the sequoias. There are a few scattered groves of sequoias in the San berdoos, not thought to be native there but in the 1930s to 50s the forest service planted them because they do well in drought when established and they are somewhat fire resistant. There’s also some over by the champion lodge pole pine at bluff lake.
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If you drive up to Idyllwild on the 243 from Cabazon, you will pass a pond that is optimistically named "Lake Fulmor". If you hike the trail around the lake (can't be more than a mile), you will see a number of big conifers along the shoreline. They are all giant sequoias - placed there by the forest service after the last big fire.

Not only are sequoias highly fire resistant, they actually require fire in order to seed. Their cones won't open unless cooked by flames. It is a unique adaptation that allows sequoia seeds to colonize open forest after it has been cleared by fire. The big trees have bark that can be 36" thick.
 
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BonsaiNut said:
If you drive up to Idyllwild on the 243 from Cabazon, you will pass a pond that is optimistically named "Lake Fulmor". If you hike the trail around the lake (can't be more than a mile), you will see a number of big conifers along the shoreline. They are all giant sequoias - placed there by the forest service after the last big fire.

Not only are sequoias highly fire resistant, they actually require fire in order to seed. Their cones won't open unless cooked by flames. It is a unique adaptation that allows sequoia seeds to colonize open forest after it has been cleared by fire. The big trees have bark that can be 36" thick.
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I read that san jacinto grove, unlike all the other planted groves in socal, is actually reproducing! The ones i saw yesterday were all the same age and i didnt see any younger or seedlings (tho I ddint look very hard)
 
sir crashalot said:
I read that san jacinto grove, unlike all the other planted groves in socal, is actually reproducing! The ones i saw yesterday were all the same age and i didnt see any younger or seedlings (tho I ddint look very hard)
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I gave my sister a giant sequoia and a coast redwood as a gift. She has them planted in her yard in North Carolina. I made sure she realized - plant them far away from any structure. They don't grow particularly fast (about 13" - 24" per year)... but they don't stop growing.

Though native to California, there are many famous giant sequoias all around the world that were planted 100+ years ago. They can actually live in pretty harsh conditions - as long as their roots have access to water. The tallest tree in Switzerland is a giant sequoia.

What happens if you plant some sequoias in the woods and wait 100 years (Switzerland):

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BonsaiNut said:
If you drive up to Idyllwild on the 243 from Cabazon, you will pass a pond that is optimistically named "Lake Fulmor". If you hike the trail around the lake (can't be more than a mile), you will see a number of big conifers along the shoreline. They are all giant sequoias - placed there by the forest service after the last big fire.

Not only are sequoias highly fire resistant, they actually require fire in order to seed. Their cones won't open unless cooked by flames. It is a unique adaptation that allows sequoia seeds to colonize open forest after it has been cleared by fire. The big trees have bark that can be 36" thick.
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After thinking about it and researching i dont think there are sequias at lake fulmor. Ive been there many times and dont remember seeing any. Any sequoias in the san jacintos are around 50 years old and 5o-60 feet tall with a 12-18" trunk and would not be the large trunks you see at the lake. There are very large incense cedars (resemble sequoias) coulter and jeffery pines, and white firs.
https://gizmodo.com/these-sequoia-trees-are-thriving-175-miles-south-of-the-1579409426
http://hikinginsocal.blogspot.com/2017/08/black-mountain-7772-and-black-mountain.html
According to these the Black Mountain grove is near lake fulmore, but at 6500-7000' feet quite a bit higher lake fulmor is 5300' and its doubtful they would grow at that elevation in that climate since in the Sierras much further north theyre found between 5500-7000' or that thye spread 1.5 miles and down 1,000' in 50 years.
But, I could be wrong!
 
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BonsaiNut said:
Yeah I can often be wrong about these things too, but I'm a tree guy who spends way too much time wondering about this stuff. Here's a research article on the trees in question

The article was written about a 2012 survey... so those trees are all about 14' taller today! :)
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Thanks for the info, guess I was wrong! Interesting read, just 7 small trees, guess I missed 'em!
Realized I shoulda googled "lake fulmor sequoias" not "san jacinto sequoias". D'oh!
 
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sir crashalot said:
Thanks for the info, guess I was wrong! Interesting read, just 7 trees, guess I missed 'em!
Realized I shoulda googled "lake fulmor sequoias" not "san jacinto sequoias". D'oh!
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They are suggesting the grove is reproducing. How it does that without fire, I don't know... unless there was a brush fire through there between 1980 and today at some point. They also point out that there are individual trees "in the area surrounding Idyllwild" planted by citizens in their landscaping, so who knows how many there are scattered around up there.
 
BonsaiNut said:
They are suggesting the grove is reproducing. How it does that without fire, I don't know... unless there was a brush fire through there between 1980 and today at some point.
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. "It seems significant that establishment was on the narrow slope between the lake and the access road because here there is less duff from the local native conifers and black oak". Still, how are the cones opening without fire? Inteersting.
 
Grego said:
Myth? Maybe, but how do you explain this:
View attachment 56225
The only burger I know of that comes with a fork and knife, and you'll need it. So tasty!! Goes great with a trendy IPA and a side of fruit because you know I like to eat healthy. :laugh::confused: Floop tonight, who's in?
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:eek: Oh my....
I did not mean Mythical as in not real. I meant mythical as hard to obtain like a unicorn. :geek:
 
Did a lap of the greater Cheseboro Metro as a warm up for Saturday's group ride. Fairly typical 15.6 2,365 spin, though I rode Bones for the first time time. Not sure why I'd never actually done that before since I've ridden by it so many times. Any day that includes new single track, particularly on home turf, is a good day. Also PR'd my favorite section of my favorite single track. Don't care so much about the actual PR, but it felt fast and fun enough that even though I was riding alone a couple hoots and hollers bubbled to the surface. Bikes are fun.
 
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Grego said:
Myth? Maybe, but how do you explain this:
View attachment 56225
The only burger I know of that comes with a fork and knife, and you'll need it. So tasty!! Goes great with a trendy IPA and a side of fruit because you know I like to eat healthy. :laugh::confused: Floop tonight, who's in?
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oh @Mikie !!
I spent way too long on the 'net looking, but found it! that's "The Big one" burger!! and quite the beer selection, and on tap too...:thumbsup:...I ain't giving it up yet though. Going to go try it myself.


 
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