#1
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RR: Cold
Cold is a state of mind. Having moved to California from Colorado
earlier this year, one of the things I was looking forward to was not having to endure cold weather. I can only remember seeing snow come out of the skies in the LA Basin twice in my lifetime, once in Jr High and another time in the mid 80's. It just doesn't get cold here. The moutains have other ideas though, at least attaining somewhat cold temeratures in Winter. Still, I doubt I'll ever be able to match the -19f I experienced XC skiing once at 10,000ft in Colorado. When your toes go numb, it doesn't matter if it's -19f or 40f though. Early starts this time of year are the norm, especially when checking out a trail that is not as heavily traveled as most others in SoCal. Traveling through one of the inland valleys on the way I noticed that it was 40f out and the wind was blowing pretty strong from the North. Bill and John showed at the trailhead a couple of minutes after I arrived. They had checked the other trailhead because an earlier conversation led them to believe I was going to beat them to our planned meeting place and I was not there when they first arrived. Some drivers just don't heed the "slower traffic must use turnouts" signs. Jumping out of the truck, I noticed that the 37f shown was enhanced by the aforementioned stiff breeze out of the North. Being that the planned route was a point-to-point shuttle to avoid a heavily traveled 2-lane highway with loads of weekend traffic, Bill and I jammed over to the other trailhead to drop my truck off and get back before John turned into a popsicle. My weapon of choice for the day was my heavy bike, which had been more of a default than choice because of recent maintenance issues on my other bikes. Bill had brought his new "pig bike" that was about as porky as Arnold Ziffel. John had his Maverick American, though admittedly had mostly been singlespeeding lately. Starting at around 4,500ft, the fireroad climb was in good shape from the Friday night/Saturday morning rains. The DG sand was packed down where it was deepest and the surface was definitely conducive to helping the climb be as a-technical as a fire road can get. That was ok with all of us, as the cold wind blew and we made haste up the road. Starting a ride with an immediate large and sustained climb cold right out of the truck can be brutal, especially when it's cold. John jackrabbited up, Bill followed and I started at a true slog pace. John had to peel his wool shirt after about a half of a mile, but readily passed me again after getting situated. We rallied up about four places on the climb, though there wasn't much waiting going on because it to was too cold to sit for too long. Being the one rolling up on them each time ther ewas a pause, I never once lamented about not stopping for a rest. I just wanted to get up that hill. The saving grace in any of the southerly pitches up was the fact that the wind was strong enough to give us a push up. As soon as I felt the wind assisting, I'd sit up as high as I could in the saddle and let the wind give me a shove. I was wondering if my wind shell would be better put to use as a sail for these sections. Nearing the top, the puddles in the road were solid ice, prompting us to get to a place in the Sun to load up on some food and warm up. The consensus at the top concluded that we all had numb toes. We actually weren't at the top, but decided to stop in the last bit of direct sunlight to recharge. Looking back down the climb, it was easy to tell we had climbed about 3,000 feet in the 7 miles or so of road. It looked so much closer from the bottom of the climb, as it always does. I decided to don the hood on my wind shell, which was a first in a long time. Wearing black had paid off as much as it could have for the conditions, sunny and cold. For Southern California, it was downright cold. http://www.spokejunkies.com/forum/up..._32_133765.jpg The break didn't last very long and we zipped up the remaining quarter mile to the singletrack drop-in. It wasn't an easy trail to find, but was right there in plain sight off of the road...if one knows what to look for. The surface was covered in pine straw, pine cones and smatterings of varying sized "spoke killer" sticks. The trailbed was well designed and well built, reeking of a CCC build. That in itself was enough to make me readily accept the lead as offered by Bill and John. A quick drop of the saddle and flip of the hood back for increased peripheral vision and down the trail we filed. The pine straw made the surface a little squirrely at times and the switchbacks were tight enough to challenge anyone with a cross between the pine straw and loose DG sand in them. The switchbacks would have been a little more manageable if a couple of moto abusers had not dug many them out some the day before. The ones that were not dug out by a pinned throttle were crosscut and the ditch dug by the spinning wheels of these goofballs was off-trail. Even so, almost all of the trail was very rideable and the excellent raw nature overrode any abuses it had unfortunately incurred. After struggling with the first few switchbacks, I had to stop and let some air out of my tires to get better traction. John pulled up after Bill and said he was having trouble braking in that his brake pads were pretty worn and the fact that he could not feel his fingers well enough to control his braking. It was still pretty cold. http://www.spokejunkies.com/forum/up...5_32_41497.jpg The first switchback after letting some air out of my tires let me know that the right decision had been made, for now. In-between the switchbacks, the trail twisted, turned, went up slightly here and there and had some fun stretches of wide-open cruising. Some of the large granite boulders on the edges of the trail made for some fun rolling moves, or high speed dodging. After one particularly fast section, I slowed in the flat that followed and heard Bill coming in behind me. Then I heard something akin to the Jolly Green Giant pouring milk on some giant-sized Rice Krispies, SNAP! CRACKLE! PLOP! The plop part sounded unnatural enough for me to stop and turn to see Bill through the trees, picking himself up. I yelled over to ask if he was ok and he replied in an affirmative manner. I pedaled back up the trail to see John roll up and Bill picking his bike up, with a big spoke killer wedged between his fork crown and front tire. Super duper superman! I didn't want to laugh, but the pine straw sticking out of his helmet reminded me of the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz and a stifle was in order instead of the guffaw that was just below the surface. I did remove the straw and it wasn't just to keep from laughing. Hurrying someone who has just biffed is a major no-no. They need to be given a chance to recover enough to continue if they are going to do so. Bill said he was ready pretty quickly, so I led off again. A few more traverses led to a little more of an open space where the moss covered pine trunks and large salt and pepper boulders became more prevalent. This also included a few more increases in downgrade with tight switchbacks at the end of each, so keeping a keen eye with the speed became even more paramount. After one tight switchback that followed an open and fast section, I decided to pause again because it was out of the wind, in the Sun and I hadn't heard Bill rattling down the babyheads behind me. Shortly afterwards, I saw Bill and John come into view and they rolled up to where I had paused. Apparently Bill had biffed again and John's hands were still numb, so where we were at seemed like a good place to pause for a while. The boulders in the Sun were warmed up, so we used them to warm our hands. Bill's new bike had taken his biffs worse than he had, with a bit of a wobbly rear wheel, a bent rear disc rotor and one broken spoke in the front wheel. I managed to get his rotor bent back to a useable status and he later tied his broken spoke to another to keep it from rattling. From what I had seen on the maps before coming up to this place, I had thought the subalpine flora would run out quickly, but it didn't. The trees thinned a little more, but didn't change. The surface of the trial didn't change much either, which was fine by me. A few stretches gave way to stunning views to the North off of the mountain we were on. If any of us happened to be an acrophobic, it would not have been a good thing. http://www.spokejunkies.com/forum/up..._32_126832.jpg After stopping to take a couple of photos of the view, I rode on to catch up to my compadres. They had stopped at the puzzle of the day, a double switchback. The Cha has about 2"+ more wheelbase than all of my other bikes and the top switcher looked really tight. I rolled in a little high, managed a short stall, got just enough front wheel cut and roll, followed by a small impromptu tail-whip to finish the upper and good roll through the lower turn. It reminded me a lot of the same type combo on one of my favorite Colorado high country trails. They let me take the lead again and now that Bill had shaken off his miscues and John's hands were no longer numb, the grouping stayed relatively tight the rest of the way down the singletrack. Just before the singletrack ended, the trail broke out into the open and all of a sudden we found ourselves in some high chapparal. It seemed that we skipped the Transitional zone, but maybe had about a quarter mile of it in between the other two zones. A short trip in the chapparal and an old roadbed presented itself for us to drop down to a historical site and smattering of garbifacts. The views were spectacular, especially with the North wind cleansing the normally hazy conditions. The view sported a bird's eye shot of the dilapidated jeep road that was to be the last six miles of our journey, including my truck parked at the terminus about 2,000ft below. A few final short and rocky climbs finally yielded to downhill only and Bill led the charge, quite possibly renewed by the increase in temperature and absence of that cold North wind. Either way, it was nice to just hang and cruise, the longer travel bikes soaking up all of the babyheads and dips that the old roadbed could muster. Though weighing in less than Bill and myself and having a more XC oriented bike, John didn't waste much time either...maybe because his hands were now usable and not like a couple of snow cones on the ends of his arms? Right before Bill stopped after a rocky turn, I had the good fortune to flip a good sized rock up into my right shin. You know, the kind that makes a nice thud noise when it hits and tends to leave a good strawberry and lump. As I inspected my shin, I noticed my rear tire might have needed a little more air, but blew it off and told myself to rein it in a little more. That didn't work. A few turns later and that mushy feeling came from the back of my bike and I commenced to pulling over. Peeling a thick sidewalled DH tire from a DH rim can be a task, but the Soma steel levers made quick work of it, as did Bill's offer of Co2 in filling the new tube that replaced the snake-bitten one. With renewed confidence from a properly inflated rear tire, I led off one final time. The grade lessened for just about the rest of the route, but gave one last hurrah at the very end. Bill took off like a shot and I followed closely in what he ended up calling "Ludicrous Speed" in a nice homage to Mr. Brooks. Bill had stopped at the intersection we were supposed to turn left at near the highway, but I blazed past and stopped very shortly thereafter in my first nose wheelie on the Cha. That bike certainly can make the rider at times. http://www.spokejunkies.com/forum/up...35_32_2807.jpg We hit a quick spin up to my truck on about a quarter mile of the dreaded highway. I sure was glad we had chosen to use vehicles to connect up this part of the route because that road was filled with line crowding hogs and speeding jackasses. Back at the trailhead while transferring bikes and gear, it seemed warm out. I couldn't help but wonder how cold it was on top if we felt warm at the 45f my truck was registering as we pulled out and headed to town for some post-ride mexican eats. Yeah, it was cold, even for an expatriate Coloradan. JD |
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#2
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Cold
"JD" wrote in message ups.com... Cold is a state of mind. Having moved to California from Colorado earlier this year, one of the things I was looking forward to was not having to endure cold weather. snip Nice RR, I know exactly how it feels. It snowed here last night, I was hoping it would be enough and stick so Jim and I could go xc skiing soon. - CA-G Can-Am Girls Kick Ass! |
#3
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RR: Cold
JD wrote:
Cold is a state of mind. Having moved to California from Colorado earlier this year, one of the things I was looking forward to was not having to SNIP FRIGID RR JD Nice one! Glad to see you glamor boys in SoCal get to experience my season of horror. Got another inch of snow last night and 34F right now. They are calling for even colder temps and more snow on Friday. Of course, then it will warm up and we won't be able to use the trails for two weeks. Yikes, I might have to take up skiing again. I wonder how equipment has changed in 10 years? -- o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o www.schnauzers.ws |
#4
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RR: Cold
Ride-A-Lot wrote: JD wrote: Cold is a state of mind. Having moved to California from Colorado earlier this year, one of the things I was looking forward to was not having to SNIP FRIGID RR JD Nice one! Glad to see you glamor boys in SoCal get to experience my season of horror. Got another inch of snow last night and 34F right now. They are calling for even colder temps and more snow on Friday. Of course, then it will warm up and we won't be able to use the trails for two weeks. Yikes, I might have to take up skiing again. I wonder how equipment has changed in 10 years? -- o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o www.schnauzers.ws "Season of horror"? Don't be such a drama queen, Mitch. It's a little snow. Get a thicker chamois. /s |
#5
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RR: Cold
JD wrote:
Cold is a state of mind. Snip Strange, but that RR warmed me up. Thanks! Cold is the state of Colorado right now. Yesterday topped in the 20s in Salida, same today. Tomorrow it's supposed to hit 13. Not that it's cold compared to MattB's burg (berg?) over the hill. Shawn |
#6
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RR: Cold
Scott Gordo wrote:
Ride-A-Lot wrote: JD wrote: Cold is a state of mind. Having moved to California from Colorado earlier this year, one of the things I was looking forward to was not having to SNIP FRIGID RR JD Nice one! Glad to see you glamor boys in SoCal get to experience my season of horror. Got another inch of snow last night and 34F right now. They are calling for even colder temps and more snow on Friday. Of course, then it will warm up and we won't be able to use the trails for two weeks. Yikes, I might have to take up skiing again. I wonder how equipment has changed in 10 years? -- o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o www.schnauzers.ws "Season of horror"? Don't be such a drama queen, Mitch. It's a little snow. Get a thicker chamois. /s LOL! I need a George Castanza winter coat. -- o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o www.schnauzers.ws |
#7
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RR: Cold
Shawn wrote:
JD wrote: Cold is a state of mind. Snip Strange, but that RR warmed me up. Thanks! Cold is the state of Colorado right now. Yesterday topped in the 20s in Salida, same today. Tomorrow it's supposed to hit 13. Not that it's cold compared to MattB's burg (berg?) over the hill. Shawn That is cold for the bananna belt, we nearly reached 30 yesterday. I was wondering about poor MattB as well, perhaps he is stuck, tongue to flagpole, somewhere around the G-Spot and will respond when he gets free. -- Craig Brossman, Durango Colorado Owner/Operator of the Pekingnese Ranch. |
#8
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Cold
"JD" wrote in message ups.com... Cold is a state of mind. Having moved to California from Colorado earlier this year, one of the things I was looking forward to was not having to endure cold weather. I never had a problem with cold until I moved to CO (from AZ and back) for a brief period which encompassed one winter. Now I'm cold all of the time. Maybe I'm just getting old......but then it was 35F outside (my house)this morning here in Phoenix. Must remember to dress in layers for tonights ride. Nice RR. Gary |
#9
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RR: Cold
Ride-A-Lot wrote: Scott Gordo wrote: Ride-A-Lot wrote: JD wrote: Cold is a state of mind. Having moved to California from Colorado earlier this year, one of the things I was looking forward to was not having to SNIP FRIGID RR JD Nice one! Glad to see you glamor boys in SoCal get to experience my season of horror. Got another inch of snow last night and 34F right now. They are calling for even colder temps and more snow on Friday. Of course, then it will warm up and we won't be able to use the trails for two weeks. Yikes, I might have to take up skiing again. I wonder how equipment has changed in 10 years? -- o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o www.schnauzers.ws "Season of horror"? Don't be such a drama queen, Mitch. It's a little snow. Get a thicker chamois. /s LOL! I need a George Castanza winter coat. -- o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o www.schnauzers.ws "It's Gore Tex." /s |
#10
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RR: Cold
Ride-A-Lot wrote:
JD wrote: Cold is a state of mind. Having moved to California from Colorado earlier this year, one of the things I was looking forward to was not having to SNIP FRIGID RR JD Nice one! Glad to see you glamor boys in SoCal get to experience my season of horror. Got another inch of snow last night and 34F right now. They are calling for even colder temps and more snow on Friday. Of course, then it will warm up and we won't be able to use the trails for two weeks. Horror? An inch of snow? 34F? That's practically summer conditions! Yesterday the low -27 and had a high of 13 and there's a foot of snow (which has settled from almost two feet a few days ago) on the ground. At least it's been warming up to -11 by the time I ride to work. Yesterday I was trying to navigate the snowplow pile at the curb on my townie (with coffee mug in one hand) and my front wheel dug in and slid sideways when I was expecting it to stay on top and grip. The bike slid out from under me and I managed to land on my feet and only spill a couple of drops of coffee. It's good technical practice and livens up the mornings. Yikes, I might have to take up skiing again. I wonder how equipment has changed in 10 years? Lots. Skis are shorter and fatter and boots are rarely made of leather anymore. The performance gains are huge and it's all easier to control. Kids these days don't know how good they've got it! Matt |
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