I Rode My Bike Today...

Second ride today! Firsborn was game to go up to Wildwood where there is a nice 45 minute loop. Well, 45 minutes of pedaling if you're not stopping to catch your breath after every little turn. Then it's an hour loop. It's solid climbing up the first two miles, and then one of my fave trails going through the park and back to the lot. Great place!

4.5/850/1

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DangerDirtyD said:
Ok I did that once with @Tom the Bomb, @Varaxis, @redwoods , @rossage, @i forget and I’m sorry, et al. Do we start at a campground parking lot?
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Switzers has been closed since the pandemic started. They've recently started opening it on weekends, but only after sunrise. So... We've been starting at Clear Creek. Dirt lot right at the intersection of AC and AF Highways.

Starting there puts a climb at the end, but it's short...
 
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mothers out there who are a part of the family here! :)

What a great way to start the day... :cool:

I met @Faust29 this morning at JPL for a Brown Mtn/El P quickie. We pedaled up, up and away in the fog for a good part of the climb. It finally gave way on the second leg of the climb. The air was heavy and thick and I was struggling to breathe. And the allergies were running wild. Both of us stopping to clear our noses a handful of times on the way up (and down). IIRC, we only saw one other soul on the way up to the turn around point of the ride. That was on the lower section and we saw him again on the upper section. He was on a cheater bike but at least he was respectful. I don't think we saw any other riders on El P but we did pass by one hiker. So the ride was pleasantly vacant of humanity. We, who live near the San Gabes, are blessed to have a great trail like El P to enjoy. Good for the soul. :inlove:

13.75 miles
2000" gain

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Happy Mother's Day to all the moms on the board, and to all the moms who put up with us and our weird cycling ways. They deserve a lot more than a single day of recognition. :thumbsup:

Yep... Mellow foggy Brown and El Prieto this morning with Snake Man. There were spots on the climb with extremely limited visibility. Thankfully, the temps were nice, and it was a short sleeve ride.

We only saw one BSO and a hiker... As we were pedaling out on the pavement towards JPL, however, the hordes were headed up. E-Bikes, DH bikes, ancient bikes, Wal-Mart bikes, oh my! I really like being ahead of the hordes... :inlove: Home and cleaned up before 8:00. :inlove:

First ride with the bike back in the "short" setting. The jury is still out, as I really like the stability in the longer setting. I also changed the incline on my funny saddle, and dropped a few PSI in both tires. My hands are thankful for the changes. First world problems...

18/2300

Not so much of a view today...
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Early start this morning up Horse Gulch on the east side of town. Popular trail so I was glad to get on it early.
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Lots of climbing back into the canyon and up the side of the mountain to the east of the gulch on Horse Gulch trail, Meadow Loop. The pics are at intersections and not showing the actual climbs. Not really conducive to stopping and snapping a shot during the work.
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Then connected to Stacey's for... more climbing (lots of switchback climbing up tight, twisty, rocky, rooty, narrow stuff requiring more than a bit of rider input to negotiate).
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Then, the climbing gets a bit more serious up Mike's, some hike-a-bike here on the steep stuff, finally connecting with Cuchillo trail for even more climbing until reaching the end of the grind back into the canyon. The downhill on Cuchillo is a blast. Fast, twisty. loose, narrow, with some serious rock drops screaming hoots until back to the beginning connection at Meadow loop and a fast bumpy zip down Horse Gulch to the car.

https://www.trailforks.com/route/ho...vitytype=1&z=12.7&lat=37.25899&lon=-107.84960 (I snipped off the side loop at Telegraph to Send It not knowing what was although it probably would've been fine)
 
Had a window of free time after the Mother’s Day festivities so I grabbed the DV9 and headed over to do a little exploring in San Elijo Hills. The May gray turned into bright sun pretty much as soon as I hit the trail. Probably hit a dozen hikers in the first mile or so which made me second guess my trial choice, but the trails were clear after that. Unfortunately I am learning that the back may not be up for future hardtail riding......

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pperrelle said:
Had a window of free time after the Mother’s Day festivities so I grabbed the DV9 and headed over to do a little exploring in San Elijo Hills. The May gray turned into bright sun pretty much as soon as I hit the trail. Probably hit a dozen hikers in the first mile or so which made me second guess my trial choice, but the trails were clear after that. Unfortunately I am learning that the back may not be up for future hardtail riding......

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A like for the exploratory ride! No like for the back issues…
 
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Mutha’s Day went off well. A drink tube and extra 2.5 liters of liquid, along with last weeks Joplin loop gave me a surge for this circuit.

Up Cadillac first is as brutal as you think, but it sure makes everything after that seem blissful. No crowds at the Luge that early on Mother’s Day.

At the Harding picnic bench I swapped to my second 2.5 L Tailwind bottle. I quaffed a couple Emergen-C and a few garlic olives on the ride, but ignored my other food.

I never felt low and had a blast ripping Joplin. I stopped to air down once and had to re-do the rocky zigzag once but otherwise got all the bike lines down to the last creek crossing (which looks like a hanger snapper to me).

After so many failures and successes on that zigzag over many years I’ve finally unlocked the secret to making it easy (no, not by taking the moto line). I did it sort of by accident but it’ll work every time I’m sure.

The Ranger was awesome, handles Joplin way better than a bike in its class should.

I had an adventurous finish so was glad to have been feeling good. Otherwise I’d still be out there.

38.1/6957/8:29

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Twin Buttes redux shortcut up to Ed & Flow from the west side.
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The drop into Lower E & F starts with a handful of big bottom turns to off the lips.
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Swung by to say howdy to Anthony at DSD Suspension for a little chat and to show him what the Runt is installed in. Have to say my suspension is set up perfectly for Durango. A light lunch afterwards...
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We love Durango! Fit right in here. Travel day to Prescott tomorrow.
 
Finally connected Serrano Ridge to Willow today. Been riding around the area for years but always went ridge to ridge. Dropped down Camarillo to Stagecoach to Willow. Camarillo starts with steep, rocky switchbacks. I rode a few and walked a few. Some fairly sketch lines. After the rocks it’s super fun ST to Stagecoach. ST continues up and down to Willow. I’ll def hit this again to continue improving some of those lines.

Continued up Willow to Bommer to Alpe up and back. Alpe is super overgrown right now. Mustard way taller than me riding. Lots of bees as well. I don’t think any trail work goes on in that area.

Good loop today riding some new dirt along the way. 35 miles 3500 feet.

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blixet said:
Twin Buttes redux shortcut up to Ed & Flow from the west side.
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The drop into Lower E & F starts with a handful of big bottom turns to off the lips.
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Swung by to say howdy to Anthony at DSD Suspension for a little chat and to show him what the Runt is installed in. Have to say my suspension is set up perfectly for Durango. A light lunch afterwards...
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We love Durango! Fit right in here. Travel day to Prescott tomorrow.
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I miss Durango, have not ridden there since early 80’s, Guessing it would not be the same.
 
blixet said:
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Hit Twin Buttes in Durango this morning. Fun riding, twisty single tracks climbing up to the base of this bad boy.
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The view to the east of Cliffrock Loop, rad trail going down the spine!View attachment 74849

I think this little feature was in either upper or lower Ed & Flow, not to be confused with Flo and Eddie or Ebb and Flow.
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The 2 trails are such a great payoff for the climb. Perfect morning.

https://www.trailforks.com/trails/twin-buttes/
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Glad you liked it out there. Even went back for more eh? I’ll be there in a month.
 
Just your standard Blackstar affair last night.

wasn’t sure how I’d feel so I just went with something easy and straightforward.

felt better at the start than last week. A large group was rolling when I pulled into theTree Farm.

after starting the climb pad the turn for the Falls, I spotted a riders little ways up. I’d spend the next 5 miles chasing. Finally caught and passed him about 1/4 from the top. Turned a 1:02 gate to gate....which considering how I’ve felt the last 2 weeks is a victory.

well that big group was starting to head down. A mix of XC bikes and Gravel bikes. Not something I wanted to get stuck behind. So I weaves my way through them as they started down. Finally caught the last 2 guys about 1/2 way to Hidden Ranch. Of course they on their geared bike passed and dropped me on the flats in HR.

the chase was on again on the double climb outta HR. Spooled up the supercharger and ran it to redline...maybe beyond....caught and passed both just before the top. From there down I just put distance between them and I.

they caught up again on the last straight flat before the gate at the bottom.

so yeah, my “let’s go out and take it easy cruise to get me legs back” ride was anything but tthat.

felt good to push
 
A slow solo jaunt up Lower Sam Merrill with a quick break at the ruins. Gotta keep that base fitness up. :whistling: There were only a few hikers/runners on Lower Sam, which is pretty unusual. At the ruins, I was completely alone- had the hotel and tennis courts to myself. :p The 6:30 roll time probably helped...

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Over to Sunset, where a young lady hiker was emerging from the trail. Perfect timing... I only saw one other hiker with his dog the entire rest of the way down Sunset. And he was already moved to the side when I came around the corner- thanks to the bell. :thumbsup: Fun empty trails...

Down Lower Sunset, where I'm pretty sure I saw the setup for an Instagram shoot. Three young ladies done up like Barbie Dolls. o_O I love LA... :p :inlove: Millard, El Prieto, and some extra credit on the pavement to get the numbers up. And because I didn't feel like ending the ride at that point. :thumbsup:

Bikes are fun. Bikes in the San Gabes are funnerer.

16.5/3000
 
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Faust29 said:
A slow solo jaunt up Lower Sam Merrill with a quick break at the ruins. Gotta keep that base fitness up. :whistling: There were only a few hikers/runners on Lower Sam, which is pretty unusual. At the ruins, I was completely alone- had the hotel and tennis courts to myself. :p The 6:30 roll time probably helped...

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Over to Sunset, where a young lady hiker was emerging from the trail. Perfect timing... I only saw one other hiker with his dog the entire rest of the way down Sunset. And he was already moved to the side when I came around the corner- thanks to the bell. :thumbsup: Fun empty trails...

Down Lower Sunset, where I'm pretty sure I saw the setup for an Instagram shoot. Three young ladies done up like Barbie Dolls. o_O I love LA... :p :inlove: Millard, El Prieto, and some extra credit on the pavement to get the numbers up. And because I didn't feel like ending the ride at that point. :thumbsup:

Bikes are fun. Bikes in the San Gabes are funnerer.

16.5/3000
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Whose bike is that? That one has too many parts... o_O:p
 
Working on getting my legs back under me.

Went out to STT-Luge-Whiting. I was tired when I started.

First up hit STT/Luge. Quiet out there....passed a few riders on the Grade.

Saw this bad boy out of the corner of my eye.....had he stayed still, I'd have missed him.

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Luge was the Luge. Got around a couple of newbs who proceeded to stay seated on the way down the Luge. Fortunately one threw a chain, so they stopped.

back up Santiago Canyon up to 4 Corners and to the imaginary bench, before a run down Cactus. More newbs going downhill in their climbing gear sitting down trying to pedal. Up Saddleback Ranch...it was getting ugly but made it.
Down Vulture View, Sage Scrub, Serrano Co, Live Oak....then roadie back to the main entrance.

heard a rider come up behind me just after going through the gate, so I lived over as she was determined to pass....no bell, no acknowledgment. She and her partner were in Such a rush to get in front of me, however they couldn’t hold that pace. In fact I dropped her on Borrego....I did Cattle Pond and was still ahead of her going up Mustard. At the top I went to the imaginary bench again, and passed at the switchback. If you are gonna pass someone, probably a good idea to make sure to can keep that pace.

Passed a guy with his dog sitting at 4 Corners on my way out. Why is it that dog owners and ebikers seem to not be able to read.

The climb up Mustard was really ugly but I made it.

19 / 2950'
 
mtnbikej said:
Working on getting my legs back under me.

Went out to STT-Luge-Whiting. I was tired when I started.

First up hit STT/Luge. Quiet out there....passed a few riders on the Grade.

Saw this bad boy out of the corner of my eye.....had he stayed still, I'd have missed him.

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Luge was the Luge. Got around a couple of newbs who proceeded to stay seated on the way down the Luge. Fortunately one threw a chain, so they stopped.

back up Santiago Canyon up to 4 Corners and to the imaginary bench, before a run down Cactus. More newbs going downhill in their climbing gear sitting down trying to pedal. Up Saddleback Ranch...it was getting ugly but made it.
Down Vulture View, Sage Scrub, Serrano Co, Live Oak....then roadie back to the main entrance.

heard a rider come up behind me just after going through the gate, so I lived over as she was determined to pass....no bell, no acknowledgment. She and her partner were in Such a rush to get in front of me, however they couldn’t hold that pace. In fact I dropped her on Borrego....I did Cattle Pond and was still ahead of her going up Mustard. At the top I went to the imaginary bench again, and passed at the switchback. If you are gonna pass someone, probably a good idea to make sure to can keep that pace.

Passed a guy with his dog sitting at 4 Corners on my way out. Why is it that dog owners and ebikers seem to not be able to read.

The climb up Mustard was really ugly but I made it.

19 / 2950'
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Nice Southwestern Speckled rattler encounter. These have the fastest strike speed of all of California rattler species. Going by how "ugly" (dull/gray) it is in the image, I'd say that it's about to shed it's skin. They are usually vivid and gorgeous in coloration.
 
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