I Rode My Bike Today...

Strawberry with @rossage , @SnakeCharmer and some guy named @Luis .

Fun morning... and the temps were nice.

75% of the group watched as Ross cleared some buckthorn. And 75% of the group made it through the ride unscathed. The waterfall claimed a blood sacrifice. The same people were not in both groups... :confused: :whistling:

Oh... And it wasn’t me for once.

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Good Strawberry Peak Classic Loop ride this morning with @Luis, @Faust29, and @rossage. Temps were pleasant and the skies were the least smoky I have seen in at least a week. We did not see a soul until we were approaching the Mt. Lawlor saddle. We saw a few bear pies and some bear prints. It was a sweatfest and we did feel a few rain drops at one of our break stops. I started to bonk at a Lawlor saddle. I did not sleep well last night so the remainder of the ride was kind of a blur except for one event when I was taking my turn dropping the waterfall on the Gab only to come around a corner and see that the San Gabriel Mountains Gods had taxed poor @Luis for some skin and blood. Yep, he was laid out flatter than a pancake among the boulders. We took a minute so that he could gather him self and then we continued on. The pavement climb up and out of Switzer was as much of a nightmare as always.

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SnakeCharmer said:
I was taking my turn dropping the waterfall on the Gab only to come around a corner and see that the San Gabriel Mountains Gods had taxed poor @Luis for some skin and blood. Yep, he was laid out flatter than a pancake among the boulders. We took a minute so that he could gather him self and then we continued on.
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Well... I wasn't going to name names. I preferred to leave it like a 7th grade math problem... :p But seeing as how you called out the crash victim, I'll add that it was a little scary from my front row seat. Luckily he landed on the only smooth rock in that section. All of the other rocks would have been worse.

I started down the waterfall right on his wheel so I could watch his lines. I took them all... until that last one. :p :cautious:

Hopefully he doesn't hurt too bad tomorrow...
 
Was planning a longer ride today, but it kinda fizzled out. Was going to ride to meet Kay and Gregg for a Old Camp loop. Well, I didn't get out early enough to ride out to Cook's, so I drove over to Wahoo's and started from there. The others were parked over by Cook's.

Up over Glen Ranch....I was rolling too late to go through Whiting first....but based on the number of cars in the Wahoo's parking lot....I'm kinda glad I skipped it.

It was humid, really humid. Passed a few groups at the start of STT. Kinda wide open all the way to the Luge. Social pace. First non-Blackstar ride on the new gearing. Temps were comfortable most of the way to Old Camp. Too many ebikes out on the trail. I did back off the pace about 15 mins from Old Camp when one came up behind me. He finally sped around me the last turn at the top. :D

Comfortable ride back down. A few stops to regroup and socialize.

We got down to the flag....holy hell there were a lot of people there. Yes a couple of ebikes laid out in the middle of the trail. We got around a new rider that was gonna be really slow at the top. I caught 3 slower guys about 1/2 way down. These guys literally sat down the whole way down. One even crashed right in front of me.

The heat kicked in on the ride back up Santiago Canyon Rd. I said adios to the Monte's and continued on.

Felt the heat climbing back up to 4 Corners. Good thing the water was flowing nicely at the fountain. Downed some water, filled a bottle and poured some over me. Quick out and back to Mark's Bench....saw 97 on the garmin. Another stop at the water. Down Cactus, and up Saddleback Ranch Rd. It was just downright hot now. The breeze blowing at the top wasn't helping. Typical run down the backside of Whiting.

Good morning on the the bike. Glad I didn't ride out to the ride.....it would have been miserable.

25 / 4000'
 
So ANYWAY, I rode and crashed my bike today.
My last ride was July 11 when I did a Ken Burton loop with Mike and Steve. Today I was purposely sandbagging because I didn’t want to end up a ball of cramping muscles. No matter, now I have a bloody sore elbow and solar plexus. My left knee cap is complaining something fierce as well.
No, I’m not going back to retirement either.
I had a blast today as always with great company. Thanks for helping me off the ground :inlove:

here are some pictures of the guys on the backside of strawberry

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impossible switchbacks you say? Not for the switchback master

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Luis said:
impossible switchbacks you say? Not for the switchback master
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Ha ha! I got em all today. That little bit of rain provided just enough traction.
A fine morning run around the 'berry with the boys.
Good to have @Luis with us, until he did his sea lion landing on that big rock! Your elbow stopped you from scratching up your belly any worse. Oooof!
Discussions were had concerning adding the Gabrielino to a Super Strawberry, making it a Super-duper Strawberry or the "adult" version according to @Faust29
Love seeing the prints on the trail. Those tracks were fresh, and that bear is large.
Great photos @SnakeCharmer and @Faust29
Wear long sleeves and
Get some!
 
Luis said:
So ANYWAY, I rode and crashed my bike today.
My last ride was July 11 when I did a Ken Burton loop with Mike and Steve. Today I was purposely sandbagging because I didn’t want to end up a ball of cramping muscles. No matter, now I have a bloody sore elbow and solar plexus. My left knee cap is complaining something fierce as well.
No, I’m not going back to retirement either.
I had a blast today as always with great company. Thanks for helping me off the ground :inlove:

here are some pictures of the guys on the backside of strawberry

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impossible switchbacks you say? Not for the switchback master

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Classic first line.
 
rossage said:
Ha ha! I got em all today. That little bit of rain provided just enough traction.
A fine morning run around the 'berry with the boys.
Good to have @Luis with us, until he did his sea lion landing on that big rock! Your elbow stopped you from scratching up your belly any worse. Oooof!
Discussions were had concerning adding the Gabrielino to a Super Strawberry, making it a Super-duper Strawberry or the "adult" version according to @Faust29
Love seeing the prints on the trail. Those tracks were fresh, and that bear is large.
Great photos @SnakeCharmer and @Faust29
Wear long sleeves and
Get some!
Click to expand...
Haha!









(sorry @Luis ):oops:
 
Luis said:
So ANYWAY, I rode and crashed my bike today.
My last ride was July 11 when I did a Ken Burton loop with Mike and Steve. Today I was purposely sandbagging because I didn’t want to end up a ball of cramping muscles. No matter, now I have a bloody sore elbow and solar plexus. My left knee cap is complaining something fierce as well.
No, I’m not going back to retirement either.
I had a blast today as always with great company. Thanks for helping me off the ground :inlove:

here are some pictures of the guys on the backside of strawberry

View attachment 68427 View attachment 68428
impossible switchbacks you say? Not for the switchback master

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Click to expand...
nice photo of Ross the switchback ninja!:thumbsup:
 
I met up with @buggravy this morning for a stroll through Da Cheese. He had a bigger ride in mind and I was only planning to do the short loop. So we rode together up to the Lookout and then he carried on up the fire road and I did an about face and blasted down and out via LVC. To start, we did the nasty/rude grind up and out of LVC via Edison. We stopped at one point to snap a few sunrise pics. Snake tracks all over the place but once again, no snakes. :( There was the typical traffic jam at The Wall when we reached it. The guys who were there were trying to figure out gearing for the climb. So after a short breather we were ready to attack the feature. The guy asked us to go because they wanted to see how we rode up it. Matt went first and flowed through the lower half like he was on a cloud. So smooth! He got to the last step up at the top, taking the right side route, and didn't quite have enough momentum to get up and over it. So close. The step up has stalled me out and ruined my attempt countless times before. I hit it one gear harder and took the same route and cleaned it. Then, off to the Lookout we went. We said out farewells and then I blasted back down the fun sections and pedaled out to the Sheep Corral DH section. Work has been done there and it's been dumbed down a bit. :facepalm: The fire road out after the DH has been graded. And the swamp section where @Walleye got his feet muddy has been filled in with gravel! :eek::thumbsup:

Always fun rolling with Matt. :cool:

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Quick out and back to China Flats this morning. Ran into @buggravy up on Albertson. I have to say his Spur looks wicked in person. It just might be the ultimate ripper for our area. Given the heat and humidity and yesterday's ride, I felt really strong today. It feels good to be back to normal. Recovery beer at 8:50am. I think that's a record for me.

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SnakeCharmer said:
I met up with @buggravy this morning for a stroll through Da Cheese. He had a bigger ride in mind and I was only planning to do the short loop. So we rode together up to the Lookout and then he carried on up the fire road and I did an about face and blasted down and out via LVC. To start, we did the nasty/rude grind up and out of LVC via Edison. We stopped at one point to snap a few sunrise pics. Snake tracks all over the place but once again, no snakes. :( There was the typical traffic jam at The Wall when we reached it. The guys who were there were trying to figure out gearing for the climb. So after a short breather we were ready to attack the feature. The guy asked us to go because they wanted to see how we rode up it. Matt went first and flowed through the lower half like he was on a cloud. So smooth! He got to the last step up at the top, taking the right side route, and didn't quite have enough momentum to get up and over it. So close. The step up has stalled me out and ruined my attempt countless times before. I hit it one gear harder and took the same route and cleaned it. Then, off to the Lookout we went. We said out farewells and then I blasted back down the fun sections and pedaled out to the Sheep Corral DH section. Work has been done there and it's been dumbed down a bit. :facepalm: The fire road out after the DH has been graded. And the swamp section where @Walleye got his feet muddy has been filled in with gravel! :eek::thumbsup:

Always fun rolling with Matt. :cool:

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Always a pleasure, brotha :thumbsup:. That damn step up at the top of the wall gets me so often. No pedal strike today to blame it on either. I'll try 4th cog down next time to see if that gives me the momentum. The Smash definitely has the advantage on that obstacle.
 
UPSed said:
Quick out and back to China Flats this morning. Ran into @buggravy up on Albertson. I have to say his Spur looks wicked in person. It just might be the ultimate ripper for our area. Given the heat and humidity and yesterday's ride, I felt really strong today. It feels good to be back to normal. Recovery beer at 8:50am. I think that's a record for me.

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Good to see you, dude, and thanks for the bike compliment. I'm beyond stoked on it. The Strava machine tells me I was faster today than I've ever been on a whole lot of the Cheese, including most of my favorite parts, and that was only my second spin through on the Spur. We are getting along famously.
 
Courtney and I rode Quail trail this morning. I managed to climb that first steep climb from the visitor center. I've never been able to make this short steep climb before. 2-3 years ago I would have bet a steak dinner or carwash that it couldn't be done. I didn't ride at all last week maybe I was just a bit more rested? Hot and muggy Courtney and I agreed that we would decided weather or not to go all the way to Crystal Cove when we reached the turn at Slow and Easy to head that way. When we reached the turn we both felt good but we thought the extra effort to get back to the top of Lizard trail combined with the hot ride back to the truck later in the day would not be in our best interest. An earlier start would have made the difference. We skipped Crystal and headed back. We ran into 10-15 hikers going up Lizard. Share the trails. :thumbsup: The hills near the Quail visitor center were really hot upon our return. I think we made a good call. 2 Irvine police officers were on E-bikes, with wide smiles btw, blasting down the hill at us just before the freeway. I couldn't help but remind them that is was a 15 mph zone. They laughed at me as they whisked on by. " Courtney !" I said. " Those aren't real police officers because they’re riding E-bikes!" Courtney: " Those were cops dad." " Yeah.. they're legit confirmed by the full size Glocks on their hips and matching gear-" 15.5 mi/ 2,400 elevation

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Oh man, super fun day on the bike today. Great start with @SnakeCharmer, and we had fun dissecting and retrying the more difficult features coming up Chesebro. Despite feeling really strong on the bike today, I ultimately didn't clean either. We parted ways at the Sheep Corral lookout, and I continued up Palo Comado. Not long after getting on Palo I got passed by Curtis Keene and his crew on ebikes. Decided to stay on their wheel as long as I could, and surprisingly made it most of the way up right on them until I got cut off by 2 slower riders that let them by. Needless to say I PR'd that climb. Needless to say I was a little worse for the wear at the top. Shortly after I ran into @UPSed on my way to the Hidden Treasure/Norway loop. Quick spin around China Flat from there for good measure. Had to portage a downed tree just before the Simi lookout spot. Did the usual rip from the top of Palo down Sheep Corral to Las Virgenes. The Strava machine has declared me the local legend for that entire section. I've been telling people this for years, and it feels good that the internet has finally caught on. I love that final section of Sheep Corral before LV so much. Reeled in and passed 3 seemingly competent riders coming down that, which felt pretty awesome. That doesn't happen a lot. PR'd all of that stuff as well. As @SnakeCharmer mentioned, and I before, that section has been dumbed down a bit. It's definitely starting to get roughed up, and more enjoyable again, but line selection certainly isn't as paramount as before. All that said, after two close calls in as many runs I'm starting to think it's me that actually has been dumbed down. Or maybe it's just that I'm carrying more speed through there. Thought of doing the death climb to Montezuma to finish it off, but was just ready to end on the plethora of high notes already experienced. Glad I did, as I got to see a really pretty 3ft. danger noodle on the way back to the truck that also gave us a concert as it slithered off into the bushes. That was the first one I've actually heard rattle in several years. What a treat, and what a stellar day riding mountain bikes. 23.4/3186

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-ROCKY- said:
Well I've wanted to get to the beach before the end of summer, I made it.
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Lol I know some of you are looking at this bike like :cautious:. But I sure love the hum of those big doughnuts lol :laugh:

Feel better @Luis !!!:D
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Of course we're looking at your bike...and you don't care because it's a bike and it's fun to ride! Congrats on blowing out some cobwebs. :thumbsup:


Good job getting out, everyone – TFPU. :thumbsup:
 
SnakeCharmer said:
I met up with @buggravy this morning for a stroll through Da Cheese. He had a bigger ride in mind and I was only planning to do the short loop. So we rode together up to the Lookout and then he carried on up the fire road and I did an about face and blasted down and out via LVC. To start, we did the nasty/rude grind up and out of LVC via Edison. We stopped at one point to snap a few sunrise pics. Snake tracks all over the place but once again, no snakes. :( There was the typical traffic jam at The Wall when we reached it. The guys who were there were trying to figure out gearing for the climb. So after a short breather we were ready to attack the feature. The guy asked us to go because they wanted to see how we rode up it. Matt went first and flowed through the lower half like he was on a cloud. So smooth! He got to the last step up at the top, taking the right side route, and didn't quite have enough momentum to get up and over it. So close. The step up has stalled me out and ruined my attempt countless times before. I hit it one gear harder and took the same route and cleaned it. Then, off to the Lookout we went. We said out farewells and then I blasted back down the fun sections and pedaled out to the Sheep Corral DH section. Work has been done there and it's been dumbed down a bit. :facepalm: The fire road out after the DH has been graded. And the swamp section where @Walleye got his feet muddy has been filled in with gravel! :eek::thumbsup:
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