I Rode My Bike Today...

I rode today. It was supposed to be a mellow spin to stretch the legs after yesterday's ride. It started out mellow... Then I started passing groups going up Brown. Next thing I know, it was "single speed mode." :Roflmao There was a large group gathered at the Fern turnoff, so I rolled right through and headed down. Caught a couple other riders who let me by... It probably would have been smoother if I had remembered to unlock the fork. :Roflmao

Right into El Prieto... Fun run down, with a couple pauses here and there for hikers.

PR for the loop... The Black Beast wants to run up and down!

12.5/1500
 
Easy spin through Whiting Ranch late afternoon. Nothing much to report. After only two rides in April, just trying to get some bike fitness back.

Cattle Pond & Cactus twice each and Sage Scrub from the top. The bell box actually had bells! I saw more eBikes than hikers. Three deer too.

181512560_1624601437729039_8553273976436120742_n.jpg
 
Titus said:
Whiting this morning. The trail is so smoothed out it barely qualifies as single track anymore. Big groups of hikers and trail runners. Used my bell frequently.View attachment 74750
Click to expand...


Also rode whiting this morning. Fair number of folks out for sure but with the timber bell all the hikers were out of the way, usually before I saw them ( except a couple little kids ) and friendly. Even got two "thanks for the bell".
A fun day, but yeah, after all the work it's not the same. Figure in a year or so it'll be better, as will the freeway to the Luge.
 
Obsidian said:
Easy spin through Whiting Ranch late afternoon. Nothing much to report. After only two rides in April, just trying to get some bike fitness back.

Cattle Pond & Cactus twice each and Sage Scrub from the top. The bell box actually had bells! I saw more eBikes than hikers. Three deer too.

View attachment 74753
Click to expand...
WOW, those are keep 'em bells. The boxes I have seen elsewhere had clamp-on bells that you use at one end of the ride and then leave in another box at other ends of the ride.
 
Last edited:
Derkderkall said:
Been quiet the past 5 months.... Due to a variety of circumstances, just couldn't put in a lot of time on the dirt. I think I had one actual mtb ride at Bonelli in that span.

Got up early today, still fueled by last night's spinach enchiladas, blue moon and ice cream cake. Dusted off the Fuse, and headed east. May 2 2020 was my first ride with the new bike, so I headed to Monroe truck trail, the same place a year later. Really wasn't sure how it would go, 5 months is a long break... But conditions were great. Light drizzle most of the way up, so I'm glad I grabbed my windbreaker. The climb was a steady grind, but felt like I hadn't missed any time away. Stopped for a breath I in the usual spots. Actually felt faster than usual... (I wasn't).

Very quick break at the fire road, then bombed back down. Apparently all that time off was good, because I set a new pr from top to bottom.

First ride since lasik, and it was great not to have watery dry eyes from my contacts drying out on the descent.

Thoughts on the Fuse a year in. Still in love with it.
I think a new pike and g2 rsc brakes would make it happy....

View attachment 74751

View attachment 74752
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing and glad to hear that you go out for a ride. It's been a long while since I've been there.
 
mtnbikej said:
Yes....to a point. Believe it or not you do expend more energy going slow....because it's not your normal pace. Takes more to keep balance at slow speeds. The bike reacts to the trail differently at slow speeds. All the bumps and rocks feel bigger when you aren't skipping over them.


I know I have been bashed over the years for my lack of willing to ride with beginners and newbs.....for this reason.



Buuuuutttttt......it's the sacrifice we make sometimes to ride with those that aren't as quick.
Click to expand...
@herzalot @SnakeCharmer
Thanks for the insight gents!
Glad I’m not losing my marbles, it really is more work to go slow, especially on the DH!o_O
That being said, I never thought I’d be accompanying newbs, I’ve never had the patience for it (ego?).
#workinprogress :thumbsup:
 
fos'l said:
Some day, like me, some will realize that going slow isn't so bad because it beats the hell out of the alternative.
Click to expand...
Well, the funny thing is, what each of us considers "slow" is relative to our own natural pace or our ability to push the pace. I'm not dead slow but I'm slower than the "fast guys" I ride with. Some days I'm faster than usual but as I age, I see no need to rush. I'm out there to get away from the reality of the confines of the concrete jungle (not to get a strava PR) so I feel no need to rush in a situation that is supposed to be a soul cleanser. Speed-wise, I'm somewhere in the middle if we all compared ourselves together as a giant group. But still, you go your speed and I will go mine and I will see you at the next regroup spot, regardless of who is leading.
 
Faust29 said:
I rode today... with @SnakeCharmer . He didn't die! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Just going to say, I showed this ride to my NC biking bud, Nuclear Steve, and he said he would rather work :) LOL!

Our ride last Friday was 2900 feet and he was a whipped pup when we finished. But it is apples and oranges when you compare the SoCal mountain trails in the coastal scrub to the NC hilly trails in the woods. I miss my Harding Truck Trail :) But I like the green shade of tall trees in a different way. And it is sortof fun to ride single track in the woods for so long that you feel like the sun through the leaves blinking on your bike glasses is giving you hallucinations.
 
Last edited:
BonsaiNut said:
Just going to say, I showed this ride to my NC biking bud, Nuclear Steve, and he said he would rather work :) LOL!

Our ride last Friday was 2900 feet and he was a whipped pup when we finished. But it is apples and oranges when you compare the SoCal mountain trails in the coastal scrub to the NC hilly trails in the woods. I miss my Harding Truck Trail :) But I like the green shade of tall trees in a different way. And it is sortof fun to ride single track in the woods for so long that you feel like the sun through the leaves blinking on your bike glasses is giving you hallucinations.
Click to expand...

The 6000 feet wasn't the issue... The issue for me was trying to balance on a 4 inch wide stretch of trail with a 100 foot drop-off. There were quite a few dismounts. :eek: Some of that was past my comfort level going uphill. When we got to the highpoint, the trail was wider, but the drop-offs increased by a few hundred feet. :p

The Gabrielino below Switzers is pretty unusual for Southern California. It's like a jungle down there. Lots of moisture, greenery, and shade... :inlove:
 
mountaingirl sara said:
So I guess I can say “I rode my bike” I was incredibly slow for the ST climb, even stopping several times:oops:
I finally just gave in to a slow climb day and stopped for views and pics ..might as well right!;)
I did get some good pics! Thankfully for the DH I felt great.
All is well that ends well:D:thumbsup:

View attachment 74688
Click to expand...
Great pic. The sky is so clear. Doesn't happen like that so often in so called Canada.
 
Harding-Joplin from home kicked my ass. I didn't have anything like CA coastal mountains down in Yuma, so it makes sense. I got crampy halfway down, so not my cleanest run, but the Ranger was competent and composed where I had the energy to work it. Did not feel out of its element or overwhelmed on Joplin. Not hot out but areas of no wind were none the less punishing. No riders, three hikers seen past the STT turnoff through Cadillac. :sneaky: 33/5600'/6:36

Joplin continues to evolve – not in a good way. The big boulder forming the last hard right is gone. It's a blue section now. :cry: Glad you guys saw me nearly eat shyt on it before my last send. The rest of it continues to be ravaged by gas engines. The loose chute is still fun because you can avoid the moto line altogether and gun straight down the rock into the gravel chute. That's about where my wheels came off and I went into finish-it mode.

I missed getting a photo of the first red fattie I saw today, but I caught this one sunning before he woke up.

IMG_4265 copy.jpg
 
SS Barby said:
If you are Jeff Kendall-Weed any line is the line. Checkout 2:50 He jumped off the top of the rocks and did a wall ride on the spine rock. Last time I rode there a couple weeks ago I couldn't even figure out how he approached it. Oh, to have skills!

Click to expand...

Well... He did ride the spine "normally" at the 3:20 mark. :Roflmao

All of my bikes are for sale after watching that. Make offer.
 
mike said:
Harding-Joplin from home kicked my ass. I didn't have anything like CA coastal mountains down in Yuma, so it makes sense. I got crampy halfway down, so not my cleanest run, but the Ranger was competent and composed where I had the energy to work it. Did not feel out of its element or overwhelmed on Joplin. Not hot out but areas of no wind were none the less punishing. No riders, three hikers seen past the STT turnoff through Cadillac. :sneaky: 33/5600'/6:36

Joplin continues to evolve – not in a good way. The big boulder forming the last hard right is gone. It's a blue section now. :cry: Glad you guys saw me nearly eat shyt on it before my last send. The rest of it continues to be ravaged by gas engines. The loose chute is still fun because you can avoid the moto line altogether and gun straight down the rock into the gravel chute. That's about where my wheels came off and I went into finish-it mode.

I missed getting a photo of the first red fattie I saw today, but I caught this one sunning before he woke up.

View attachment 74783
Click to expand...

I knew you wouldn't care for the "improvements". I was amazed to see how much it had changed... :( I've seen guys on Strava talking about how "great it will be when the rocks are gone!" :facepalm:

If that doesn't make you ill, the Professor told me today that it looks like someone took a sledge hammer to part of the rock garden just below Cocktail Rock on San Juan. He's ridden it more than anyone else and knows the rocks... He said it made him sick. Criminal.
 
Faust29 said:
I knew you wouldn't care for the "improvements". I was amazed to see how much it had changed... :( I've seen guys on Strava talking about how "great it will be when the rocks are gone!" :facepalm:

If that doesn't make you ill, the Professor told me today that it looks like someone took a sledge hammer to part of the rock garden just below Cocktail Rock on San Juan. He's ridden it more than anyone else and knows the rocks... He said it made him sick. Criminal.
Click to expand...
Wow. There is seemingly no limit in the quest for convenience.

I just assume any good trails will be ruined, and in proportion to the nearby population. Ride em hard, no delay.
 
Last edited:
SS Barby said:
If you are Jeff Kendall-Weed any line is the line. Checkout 2:50 He jumped off the top of the rocks and did a wall ride on the spine rock. Last time I rode there a couple weeks ago I couldn't even figure out how he approached it. Oh, to have skills!

Click to expand...

Yeah, like @Faust29 I think I should sell my bikes now. I'm more marginal of a rider than I thought. How hum....

Good vid for sure though. :thumbsup:
 
I rode today... As @SnakeCharmer says above, we headed out to Chilao. It was the first time there for the Professor, and I was pretty sure he'd love it. Spoiler alert- He loved it... :thumbsup:

One standard loop of Hillyer and the Silver Moccasin switchbacks with the whole crew, and then the Professor and I tacked on a second loop with the Christian Camp DH. That run was interrupted slightly when an errant branch found its way into the Yeti's spokes. No damage luckily...

And there may have been a slight off the bike experience on one left hander that has been giving me trouble. Same one I OTBed on recently... :cautious: Other than that, the Moxie was dreamy.

A sandwich at The Hat after... :inlove:

17.06/2641/2.5

IMG_4526.jpeg


This doesn't look like in the video...
Screen Shot 2021-05-04 at 8.34.43 PM.jpeg

IMG_4533.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top