I Rode My Bike Today...

Bluesrider said:
I’ve experienced that and yet wondered where they all are, because I didn’t see that many on the trail. Most of the crowds seem to be hikers heading to waterfall. I start on the Hill Cyn side and then move on into Wildwood. The way I loop the ride it seems to avoid most of the people. Lynnmere trail east and west, Santa Rosa to Falling Star and back up Box Cyn and more. Temps are in low 70’s this weekend.
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You drop down Shooting Star? Doing that, you miss what is arguably the best part of the ride on Santa Rosa which is the chunky/techy volcanic climb up to the switchbacks and then the drop down them. How's the climb up Box canyon?

The route I was taught: Park in the parking lot at Blue Sky (or on Blue Sky), pedal over to Lower Butte, climb that to Santa Rosa, take that to the ridge and drop down the nasty switchbacks, roll Mesa to Lizard Rock, climb up and over that and then enjoy the fun DH past the water treatment plan, then onto Bridges to Wildwood Canyon Trail, climb up and over the waterfall, merge onto Lynnmere East and take that out. We took a bit more dirt heading back to the parking lot via trail and double track sections that rolled behind the houses. The goal is to minimize pavement riding.
 
Correction, I meant Falling Star not Shooting. The switchbacks are fun both ways, climbing up and not dabbing is a challenge. The run off the backside and all the way down Falling Star is a nice long run and with plenty of volcanic chunk, and a few sections between that just flow. One thing I like about Wildwood is the variety to put many different loops together. The way I ride, what I call the Big Loop, really maximizes all the best DH. Climb out of Box Cyn is steep but not to long.
 
Cherry Canyon on the single speed... I will say that the climb up Forest Hill Drive on the single speed is a lung burner when you're not warmed up. :gag: Thankfully it's over quick, and the climb mellows out somewhat and turns to twisty single track.

I did see 5 other riders today, and 4 were female... :thumbsup: One had her dog running alongside on the Cerro Negro Trail. The dog was well behaved and that was pretty cool to see, even if the dog didn't want to let me pass. Trail hog. :cautious: :p

After the Catalina Verdugo loop, there is a short steep section of loose fire road to get back to the main fire road. I've never cleaned it on the single speed, so I was determined today... I had to dig into that special single speed gear for the last 20 feet. Standing straight on the pedals and pulling hard enough on the bars to pull the front wheel off the ground. I can maintain that for about 6 pedal strokes. Any more would be a heart attack. :Roflmao

Fun romp... Are the mountains open yet?!? :(

12.7/2635
 
tick said:
Look, if I had gone to 6 Korean Grandmas Walking Side by Side Regional Park, Lululemon Regional Park, or Hungry Kitty Regional Park, I’d just say so…
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:Roflmao:Roflmao

Well... I had the opportunity to have a decent week in terms of numbers, so I headed over to Cherry (Off Leash Dog Park) with the single speed. I parked in front of Descanso Gardens and rolled over to the Forest Hill Drive entrance. The initial climb on cold legs is interesting :gag:, but then the grade mellows out on the Conservancy Trail. This is a decent little trail for a local park. Fast and twisty, with a few rock features here and there as it winds through the trees. It reminds me of Cactus in Whiting, but with trees, faster turns, better rock features, and no braking bumps. :inlove: From there I took the fire road all the way to the end. On the way back I skipped the Catalina loop, because the sports park looked packed, and I could see quite a few riders and hikers on the loop. So on to Cierro Negro-Ultimate Destination, which is another little gem... As I was exiting, I pulled over for the Crescenta Valley High School team. They were politely making way for me, but I pulled to the side and let them go. Every single one said "thank you", "hello" or "have a good ride". :thumbsup:

Back to the car in 1:04:00. I was aiming for an hour, but I had a few stops to clean the foggy glasses, and then the stop for the kids... Gotta pick up the pace for Frog Hollow. :p

9.2/2000
 
I rode it.
@JoeMac , @SS Barby , and myself went out to Tehachapi and rode LeHigh. Naturally when we pulled in the parking lot Mike McCool was there, I think he lives there.

So we joined forces and McCool took us on a tour of the trail network. We went ahead and got the glaring white elephant out of the way right off and that was climbing To The Top. Then to drop Crazy Horse ( which seems crazier than the last time I dropped it!)
It may be that I’m paranoid just weeks out from surgery, but the sheer drops around corners seemed…………. Bigger!

Today I brought Fluffy, and glad I did.

Anyways, they drug my azz around until I was putty then we went into town and got some grub at a place called 4 Seasons. EXCELLENT food and service!

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Looks like the fricken Matterhorn! I have to share that SS Barby actually cleaned that climb on his Single Speed. WOW!!!
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Pics from the top.
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Let's see how the week went.....

Tuesday.....

Hit up El Mo/LCWP with the Professor. Started off going down TnA....passed some ebike enduro bros. at the top. It's getting sketchy right now. Loose powder/dust over hardpack and rocks. Slippy slidey....but still really really fun. Joked with Josh I was gonna drag him up Canyon Acres....but we stayed on this side of the canyon. Enduro ebros. never caught up.

Traversed back over to Willow. It was nice and cool in the shade....awesome. Back up to Bommer and over to Old Emerald. Josh took the lead down. Different perspective for me. Cleaned the climb out.

Fenceline/Missing Link over to Redtail/Rattlesnake. Again we passed some ebros. who were slow as Sh!t on the DH"s on FL/ML. Josh pushed the pace up the to the top of Rattlesnake then led down. I was finally able to see his lines....he hasn't been taking the true line....so I pointed them out and got him on the correct line.

Down Mach One, Moro Canyon for a water stop.....then up No Dogs. He was starting to fade....and the daylight was starting to end...so instead of dropping Poles and climbing ITIC, we just went up No Dogs. He walked the steeps....I rode them all....with gears.

Good times other than ....I Think We Were The Only Ones Not On Ebikes Tonight....Sad

21 / 3400'
 
Weds.....

Back to El Mo/LCWP.....this ride was a debacle.

Met up with G-Reg and theProfessor along with Mumbles.

theProfessor forgot his helmet....but still insisted on riding. I wasn't comfortable with it.....we will be having "the talk".

This would dictate the route, as we really needed to keep it safe and sane. We went down Lizard.....he walked the techy sections....which I expected, but was worried about the "easy" sections based on his history of crashing on the "easy" parts. However, he's an adult and makes his own decisions. Over to Old Emerald....he went first. We waited just in case we had to put Humpty Dumpty back together. At the bottom of Old Emerald.....Mumbles complains that he has a loose water bottle bolt. I told him to stop complaining and just fix it.....that's when he said "I don't have a tool". "Dick" J comes out at time like this. I gave the kid a total ration of sh*t for coming out unprepared. I berated him for not having a tube, pump, tool. That his sense of entitlement that someone else would take care of it was unacceptable. As far as I was concerned he could just suffer with it to the end of the ride or he could go back early. Eventually Josh asked me to loan him my tool.....cause he didn't have one either(teaching moment failed).

Back up to FenceLine/Missing Link and back up to RidgePark. I looked at the numbers and because of said debacle items....it was a short ride with very little climbing...so I conned them into dropping down West Fork to the bottom then climbing back up.

On top of that, my bike developed a massive squeak about 1/2 through.

12 / 2110'


EDIT: we had "the talk". Grievances aired. Understandings understood. :thumbsup:
 
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Thursday.....

Is normally a Blackstar night.....and well, since....f*ck it....you all know why, we had to make other arrangements.

Suz and I decided to head over to the Oaks.

Started off bad, when I noticed that the lockring on my chainring was loose...thus the ring was rocking back and forth....there was the squeak from last night. So quickly fixed and we were off.

She wanted to ride the SS. She led, I followed. I was hoping to meet or at least get close to the numbers we normally get at Blackstar. She chose to to the flat part of the ride first. That is never a good thing. Over to Irvine Park we went. Horseshoe Loop to the top then up/down Puma. Wee then went back up Horseshoe Loop and around the back of the park. Climbing was easy....my HR stayed low.

We basically kept it flat the rest of the ride. My bike started to develop the squeak it had on Weds. ride, so I was good not hitting the climbs.

19 / 1250'
 
Saturday.....today.....

I dealt with a near crippling tight hamstring/groin yesterday.....my high tolerance for pain was pushed to the limit.

Since the numbers for the week weren't looking so great....I really wanted to get out for a longer ride. With my issues yesterday, I figured I'd sleep in and do a shorter ride today and see how I feel for possibly something bigger on Sunday.

Felt ok when I got up. Again over to Chino Hills. In these times, I can get my miles/elevation in there. Rolled late.....8:30 from Rim Crest.

Typical Southridge to Deimer to Telegraph and up....while it sounds like @Faust29 encounters with the HS running teams was pleasant....mine, not so much. All 3 groups, let's call them packs....have no concept of sharing the trail....4 across....screw the fact they weren't the only ones using the trail today.

To get away from the masses, I like to climb Sycamore. It's a mildly difficult climb that only myself and ebikers(they think they are awesome since they can clean it) do. Make the left and bag Gilman Peak. Then take Northridge all the way to the top. Today felt pretty good on the big climb portion. Probably because the temps were still cool. At the gate, turned around and headed back to Sycamore. More climbing on the way back, plus additional climbing on Telegraph to 4 Corners.

Yes, they have posted the new "No Ebikes" sign at the gazebo at 4 Corners....not that it is changing anything. Up Bovinivan...to be nearly run off the trail by.....you guessed it, a couple of ebikes heading down. At the top, left turn and climbed up Southridge and dropped into the back of the park. At the fork for Southridge and Telegraph Spur, I dropped down Telegraph before stopping for a water refill.

Back up Southridge to Telegraph Spur to 4 Corners and back up Bovinian....again. Knew the numbers I wanted were going to be close, so I went back up Southridge to San Juan Hill again for extra credit. Uneventful run back down Southridge to Rim Crest....except for the idiot on the fat tired, head lights, mirrors, rack, phone mount ebike flying up the climbs......apparently the first page of the ebike owner's manual is "how to forget how to read".

I'd get my climbing numbers I wanted. Hamstring stayed tight most of the ride, but wasn't too much of a hinderance.

27 / 4350'
 
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Good fun with the weez on Big Chief and extra credit on Sawtooth today.

She rode strongly, not so much in the tech groove. I felt good. No mishaps. My first run on Big Chief with this or any hardtail. Wasn't sure how beat up I might get; BC is fairly chunky. It was fun as shiit and I'll be doing it again. The Dingo just gets better on steeper trail, the 150 Pike feels epic and the bike is far more compliant than reasonable. It got a couple of comments and grins today. 26.2/2650
 
Left the house headed for Crystal Cove. First dirt in Shady Canyon, up and around the Serrano, Upper Laurel, down and back up Willow, across Bommer, down and up Alpe d’ Huez. From there back home. Good solid loop with cool temps. 37/3700.

Climbing Serrano I noticed a police patrol vehicle had stopped two guys hiking with a dog. He was giving them a ticket I believe for having the dog there. Pretty sure they aren’t allowed in CC just like e-bikes aren’t but people still do both. First time I’ve ever seen someone get busted for either occurrence.
 
mtnbikej said:
Saturday.....today.....

I dealt with a near crippling tight hamstring/groin yesterday.....my high tolerance for pain was pushed to the limit.

Since the numbers for the week weren't looking so great....I really wanted to get out for a longer ride. With my issues yesterday, I figured I'd sleep in and do a shorter ride today and see how I feel for possibly something bigger on Sunday.

Felt ok when I got up. Again over to Chino Hills. In these times, I can get my miles/elevation in there. Rolled late.....8:30 from Rim Crest.

Typical Southridge to Deimer to Telegraph and up....while it sounds like @Faust29 encounters with the HS running teams was pleasant....mine, not so much. All 3 groups, let's call them packs....have no concept of sharing the trail....4 across....screw the fact they weren't the only ones using the trail today.

To get away from the masses, I like to climb Sycamore. It's a mildly difficult climb that only myself and ebikers(they think they are awesome since they can clean it) do. Make the left and bag Gilman Peak. Then take Northridge all the way to the top. Today felt pretty good on the big climb portion. Probably because the temps were still cool. At the gate, turned around and headed back to Sycamore. More climbing on the way back, plus additional climbing on Telegraph to 4 Corners.

Yes, they have posted the new "No Ebikes" sign at the gazebo at 4 Corners....not that it is changing anything. Up Bovinivan...to be nearly run off the trail by.....you guessed it, a couple of ebikes heading down. At the top, left turn and climbed up Southridge and dropped into the back of the park. At the fork for Southridge and Telegraph Spur, I dropped down Telegraph before stopping for a water refill.

Back up Southridge to Telegraph Spur to 4 Corners and back up Bovinian....again. Knew the numbers I wanted were going to be close, so I went back up Southridge to San Juan Hill again for extra credit. Uneventful run back down Southridge to Rim Crest....except for the idiot on the fat tired, head lights, mirrors, rack, phone mount ebike flying up the climbs......apparently the first page of the ebike owner's manual is "how to forget how to read".

I'd get my climbing numbers I wanted. Hamstring stayed tight most of the ride, but wasn't too much of a hinderance.

27 / 4350'
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Hey Mtn. BikeJ I have dealing with pinched nerves in my right hip for a couple of months. Yesterday I had to hop on one leg the last 2-3 stairs for our goat lunch experience- drove home in pain. This morning I pulled up "groin stretches" to do on Youtube. I'm much better and even happier that I could remedy the problem.
 
I rode today... with @SnakeCharmer and @Luis . There was even a @buggravy sighting! We rolled from Las Virgenes into the Cheese, with all of the fun fire road climbing in the beginning. :p The moon dust and braking bumps were next level. :thumbsup: :p Once we hit the trails, though, it was a fun spin through the semi-chunky stuff. The Cheese really is a local gem. We made the extra credit romp out to Dead Cow, which was new dirt for me. I didn't realize that Suicide and Dead Cow were so close to one another... Pretty cool. This was my first time down it, and I really had the wrong impression. For some reason, I thought it was fast and flowy. After about 20 yards of hanging onto Luis and Snake, I realized that was not an accurate description. :Roflmao It was fast ledgy chunk... the kind that @herzalot would enjoy. What a riot... By the bottom, my hands were feeling it, and I used all 150mm up front. :D

Only one mechanical today... On the last chunky DH of the day, I hung onto Luis' back wheel. Unfortunately when he zigged, I zagged. :oops: The rear wheel caught a pair of sharp rocks perfectly, and I could feel the tire losing air. Flat by the bottom with a cut bead. :( Honestly, the DH was worth the tire. :p I tubed it and we were on our way... I think @SnakeCharmer has a picture of the bike stand that was there for just such an occasion. :thumbsup:

Great ride today...

20.5/3100

Waiting for the wall to clear...
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He's back...
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The Mediterranean was a nice change... :inlove:
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Floop yesterday..
Oaks today.. rode yucca... I like it... I liked old yucca too... Chutes.. mt goat.. cactus and grasshopper.. my group did waterfall.. I watched them come down. U forget how steep things r... Even grasshopper.. I took the easy way... Haha. It was still fun! What a great day to ride .. overcast cool..
 
Went down today and left some skin on the trail. The fact that I used most of my front travel (150) on brake bumps (!) is saying something about trail conditions. This is the first time I went down so fast that I can barely remember what happened, and I couldn't even get my hands down first--landed on my elbow/hip/ankle. Grateful that I just ended up with cuts/bruises and nothing serious. Good reminder to throw some antiseptic wipes in the camelback. Time to start doing the rain dances.
 
Faust29 said:
I rode today... with @SnakeCharmer and @Luis . There was even a @buggravy sighting! We rolled from Las Virgenes into the Cheese, with all of the fun fire road climbing in the beginning. :p The moon dust and braking bumps were next level. :thumbsup: :p Once we hit the trails, though, it was a fun spin through the semi-chunky stuff. The Cheese really is a local gem. We made the extra credit romp out to Dead Cow, which was new dirt for me. I didn't realize that Suicide and Dead Cow were so close to one another... Pretty cool. This was my first time down it, and I really had the wrong impression. For some reason, I thought it was fast and flowy. After about 20 yards of hanging onto Luis and Snake, I realized that was not an accurate description. :Roflmao It was fast ledgy chunk... the kind that @herzalot would enjoy. What a riot... By the bottom, my hands were feeling it, and I used all 150mm up front. :D

Only one mechanical today... On the last chunky DH of the day, I hung onto Luis' back wheel. Unfortunately when he zigged, I zagged. :oops: The rear wheel caught a pair of sharp rocks perfectly, and I could feel the tire losing air. Flat by the bottom with a cut bead. :( Honestly, the DH was worth the tire. :p I tubed it and we were on our way... I think @SnakeCharmer has a picture of the bike stand that was there for just such an occasion. :thumbsup:

Great ride today...

20.5/3100

Waiting for the wall to clear...
View attachment 78007

He's back...
View attachment 78006

The Mediterranean was a nice change... :inlove:
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Click to expand...

Good ole Chesebro, always a good ride.TFPU
 
Faust29 said:
I rode today... with @SnakeCharmer and @Luis . There was even a @buggravy sighting! We rolled from Las Virgenes into the Cheese, with all of the fun fire road climbing in the beginning. :p The moon dust and braking bumps were next level. :thumbsup: :p Once we hit the trails, though, it was a fun spin through the semi-chunky stuff. The Cheese really is a local gem. We made the extra credit romp out to Dead Cow, which was new dirt for me. I didn't realize that Suicide and Dead Cow were so close to one another... Pretty cool. This was my first time down it, and I really had the wrong impression. For some reason, I thought it was fast and flowy. After about 20 yards of hanging onto Luis and Snake, I realized that was not an accurate description. :Roflmao It was fast ledgy chunk... the kind that @herzalot would enjoy. What a riot... By the bottom, my hands were feeling it, and I used all 150mm up front. :D

Only one mechanical today... On the last chunky DH of the day, I hung onto Luis' back wheel. Unfortunately when he zigged, I zagged. :oops: The rear wheel caught a pair of sharp rocks perfectly, and I could feel the tire losing air. Flat by the bottom with a cut bead. :( Honestly, the DH was worth the tire. :p I tubed it and we were on our way... I think @SnakeCharmer has a picture of the bike stand that was there for just such an occasion. :thumbsup:

Great ride today...

20.5/3100

Waiting for the wall to clear...
View attachment 78007

He's back...
View attachment 78006

The Mediterranean was a nice change... :inlove:
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Click to expand...
I wish I lived closer. I would love to join one of these rides some day. :whistling:
 
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