Midnight MTB

I rode last night... Maybe it was this morning. I'm not really sure. :confused: Last week my wife said something to the effect of "it's been a long time since you've done one of those night rides. I'll make breakfast..." So... the invite formed, and there were so many responses that we had to institute a lottery system. @DangerDirtyD was the only winner, but he brought a plus one along.

Up the mountain starting from Altadena in the middle of the night... Up Lower Sam Merrill, and on to the fire road and Inspiration Point. At some point on the fire road, Dio had some issues with the shifting. It worked, then it didn't, then it did again... Hmmmmm. I’m not sure if this was related to what happened later on Middle Merrill…?

Top of Lower Sam Merrill
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Inspiration Point- The couple behind the wall never came out to say Hi.
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Heading down Middle Merrill was a blast! Until @DangerDirtyD decided to ditch the derailleur. Mangled wreckage hung from the hanger. He made the decision to yank the chain and coast downhill... This makes two rides in a row that we have had to bypass Sunset. I think the third time will be the charm. But for the time being, my Strava lead stands. :laugh: At some point on Middle Merrill, I flatted the rear. I was able to get 4 or 5 pounds in the tire. Plenty... :Roflmao Riding lightly, I made it down without too many rim strikes. The 35 mph romp down Lake Street was far sketchier than the skinny trail... :D:laugh:
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Breakfast at the Casa...

Not the ride that was planned, but still a good one. The San Gabes are always a good time. At night they become magical.

14.5/3300
 
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Another typical bike ride with me arriving 30 minutes late, although we started only 18 minutes past our scheduled departure; I’d say that’s a win. I mean, how late can anyone be to a morning bikeride when arriving at 12:30? The inventor of my treasured moniker “Borsellack” is just as crazy as Faustie to ride the graveyard shift, and it was nice they had each other for company up ahead on the climbs. Like Faustie said, at some point my rear derailleur stopped responding to my shifts. For a half mile, no movement: at least I was already in granny gear. Then suddenly the gremlins skedaddled and shifting returned. Whatever. The night was beautiful with perfect temps and great company, and I couldn’t think of a better place to be or thing I could be doing at that moment riding safe. My main motivation to keep pedaling was Becky’s epic (read: EPIC!) breakfast, so I knew I had to get through the ride and off the mountain by 6. At Inspiration Point, we woke up another camping couple. I’ve lost track of how many times we encountered sleeping heads out there. At this point, we all were glad we packed a shell, and the DH was on…until the gremlins returned and took out my derailleur pulleys. My only option was to remove the chain and coast Middle Merrill, which wasn’t a bad outcome except for the earful and photo shoot I endured from Faustie. I was so pleased that @Faust29 ended up with a flat tire after teasing me for the mangled derailleur,
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for at least I was able to ride down the trail mostly unimpeded. We roasted each other a bit, and I finally had a reason to drop Lower Sam Merrill. Still, at 4am, there were about a dozen hikers along that trail, but we avoided the hundreds more that would inevitably arrive later that day. Lower Sam Merrill is a fun DH. At breakfast, we were treated to homemade french toast, pork loin with potatoes, sausage, over easy egg cooked to order, fresh fruit, and the two most clutch double shot Americano coffees of my life!
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Since i was 1.5 hours late going home last weekend from riding Dead Cow/Suicide, my goal was to return by 7am so that I could coach my daughter’s soccer game this morning. Success!
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My day was just beginning...I spent the rest of it mostly on rollerblades, coffee, beer, and carrots playing with the neighborhood kids out and about the neighborhood, and my 3 yr old finally bonked around 3pm, so she went inside while the 5 yr old persisted. She said she doesn’t want me to ride a bike without her next time, so we busted out her Cannondale, and today she learned how to ride a bike on her own. I gotta say it was a good day.
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Check out my little storm trooper! Just like Daddy!
 
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DangerDirtyD said:
Since i was 1.5 hours late going home last weekend from riding Dead Cow/Suicide, my goal was to return by 7am so that I could coach my daughter’s soccer game this morning. Success!View attachment 84489My day was just beginning...I spent the rest of it mostly on rollerblades, coffee, beer, and carrots playing with the neighborhood kids out and about the neighborhood, and my 3 yr old finally bonked around 3pm, so she went inside while the 5 yr old persisted. She said she doesn’t want me to ride a bike without her next time, so we busted out her Cannondale, and today she learned how to ride a bike on her own. I gotta say it was a good day.View attachment 84490Check out my little storm trooper! Just like Daddy!
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Fantastic!

All the way through - fantastic! I cannot believe you can function all day after riding all night.
 
DangerDirtyD said:
Another typical bike ride with me arriving 30 minutes late, although we started only 18 minutes past our scheduled departure; I’d say that’s a win. I mean, how late can anyone be to a morning bikeride when arriving at 12:30? The inventor of my treasured moniker “Borsellack” is just as crazy as Faustie to ride the graveyard shift, and it was nice they had each other for company up ahead on the climbs. Like Faustie said, at some point my rear derailleur stopped responding to my shifts. For a half mile, no movement: at least I was already in granny gear. Then suddenly the gremlins skedaddled and shifting returned. Whatever. The night was beautiful with perfect temps and great company, and I couldn’t think of a better place to be or thing I could be doing at that moment riding safe. My main motivation to keep pedaling was Becky’s epic (read: EPIC!) breakfast, so I knew I had to get through the ride and off the mountain by 6. At Inspiration Point, we woke up another camping couple. I’ve lost track of how many times we encountered sleeping heads out there. At this point, we all were glad we packed a shell, and the DH was on…until the gremlins returned and took out my derailleur pulleys. My only option was to remove the chain and coast Middle Merrill, which wasn’t a bad outcome except for the earful and photo shoot I endured from Faustie. I was so pleased that @Faust29 ended up with a flat tire after teasing me for the mangled derailleur,View attachment 84488 for at least I was able to ride down the trail mostly unimpeded. We roasted each other a bit, and I finally had a reason to drop Lower Sam Merrill. Still, at 4am, there were about a dozen hikers along that trail, but we avoided the hundreds more that would inevitably arrive later that day. Lower Sam Merrill is a fun DH. At breakfast, we were treated to homemade french toast, pork loin with potatoes, sausage, over easy egg cooked to order, fresh fruit, and the two most clutch double shot Americano coffees of my life!View attachment 84487
Since i was 1.5 hours late going home last weekend from riding Dead Cow/Suicide, my goal was to return by 7am so that I could coach my daughter’s soccer game this morning. Success!View attachment 84489My day was just beginning...I spent the rest of it mostly on rollerblades, coffee, beer, and carrots playing with the neighborhood kids out and about the neighborhood, and my 3 yr old finally bonked around 3pm, so she went inside while the 5 yr old persisted. She said she doesn’t want me to ride a bike without her next time, so we busted out her Cannondale, and today she learned how to ride a bike on her own. I gotta say it was a good day.View attachment 84490Check out my little storm trooper! Just like Daddy!
Click to expand...
Whoa. That’s a pretty epic Saturday!
 
Haha what a cool Dad. All padded up . Just need some gloves:geek: .

DangerDirtyD said:
Another typical bike ride with me arriving 30 minutes late, although we started only 18 minutes past our scheduled departure; I’d say that’s a win. I mean, how late can anyone be to a morning bikeride when arriving at 12:30? The inventor of my treasured moniker “Borsellack” is just as crazy as Faustie to ride the graveyard shift, and it was nice they had each other for company up ahead on the climbs. Like Faustie said, at some point my rear derailleur stopped responding to my shifts. For a half mile, no movement: at least I was already in granny gear. Then suddenly the gremlins skedaddled and shifting returned. Whatever. The night was beautiful with perfect temps and great company, and I couldn’t think of a better place to be or thing I could be doing at that moment riding safe. My main motivation to keep pedaling was Becky’s epic (read: EPIC!) breakfast, so I knew I had to get through the ride and off the mountain by 6. At Inspiration Point, we woke up another camping couple. I’ve lost track of how many times we encountered sleeping heads out there. At this point, we all were glad we packed a shell, and the DH was on…until the gremlins returned and took out my derailleur pulleys. My only option was to remove the chain and coast Middle Merrill, which wasn’t a bad outcome except for the earful and photo shoot I endured from Faustie. I was so pleased that @Faust29 ended up with a flat tire after teasing me for the mangled derailleur,View attachment 84488 for at least I was able to ride down the trail mostly unimpeded. We roasted each other a bit, and I finally had a reason to drop Lower Sam Merrill. Still, at 4am, there were about a dozen hikers along that trail, but we avoided the hundreds more that would inevitably arrive later that day. Lower Sam Merrill is a fun DH. At breakfast, we were treated to homemade french toast, pork loin with potatoes, sausage, over easy egg cooked to order, fresh fruit, and the two most clutch double shot Americano coffees of my life!View attachment 84487
Since i was 1.5 hours late going home last weekend from riding Dead Cow/Suicide, my goal was to return by 7am so that I could coach my daughter’s soccer game this morning. Success!View attachment 84489My day was just beginning...I spent the rest of it mostly on rollerblades, coffee, beer, and carrots playing with the neighborhood kids out and about the neighborhood, and my 3 yr old finally bonked around 3pm, so she went inside while the 5 yr old persisted. She said she doesn’t want me to ride a bike without her next time, so we busted out her Cannondale, and today she learned how to ride a bike on her own. I gotta say it was a good day.View attachment 84490Check out my little storm trooper! Just like Daddy!
Click to expand...
 
SnakeCharmer said:
The State Park (Cheseboro Canyon) isn't but is Dead Cow/Suicide within Park boundaries... that, is the question...

ANSWER: Technically, part of DC and Suicide are within Park boundaries. :facepalm:

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So the parking lot is on land "open/legal" at night, but part of the route is not. I think we can talk our way out of an encounter with a Ranger if necessary.
 
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I ride the Cheese at night, not for a while. It gets dam right cold in the canyon. So cold the hands and feet get painful. Once you pass Sulfur Springs the canyon gets wide and the air is not so dense and cold. But on the return the pain returns as well. PARK OUTSIDE THE GATE. I always do even on my sunset rides.
riding is open 24-7
"While trails and parklands are open year round and 24 hours a day, parking lots are only open from 8:00 am to sunset."
 
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When the NPS obtained the Palo land, I rode from Shepards to the pass into Palo. At the top I was awarded a ticket. $20 to the NPS Atlanta. That trail was a real cattle trail it was well worth the price of admission. Narrow 18" single track, deep with the pedals striking earth on the down stroke. Much like Dead Cow Trail was before the neuter.
 
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