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Official STR Pan Banger
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RR: Groundhog Day Training Ride!!
Okay, I'm glad that Punxsatawney Phil doesn't live in SoCal, or he'd be one seriously confused little rodent! Sun? Clouds? How about both!
The Manns, Dan and I set off at about 7:30 to do yet another training ride in the Santa Ana's. We started at Blackstar...the weather was cloudy and chilly so we all dressed warmly. By the time we made it to the first switchback, I was too hot. Down went the arm warmers. Justin had lost his gel flask somewhere on the road and went back to look, but with no luck. I hadn't ridden or exercised for that matter, since last Sunday and my legs were pretty worked from the start. The road was soft in places but without mud and in pretty good condition the whole way. Dan and Allison...Blackstar  The Mann himself  A well-worn trail  At one point, Allison looked over to the east and said "You know where we're going, right?" My answer "the golfball...and beyond." A look up the hill  We continued climbing and got to Beeks Place. It was freezing cold. Up went the arm warmers. We could see our breath. A rider on a titanium bike (no helmet) came by with a pair of sunglasses...they were Dan's, and he had lost them unknowingly. The guy was super fast but only dressed in jean shorts and a sweatshirt. Brrr. We continued past the golf ball and my bike was having shifting issues (cause...a very loose rear wheel that I did not know about until we got home). It was still chilly, and on one of the really steep climbs, we were caught by Carol Ann and Leslie (who were apparently hoping Eric--Padre would be catching up to them). Wow...they made me feel like I was standing still...super awesome riders, those two! I got hot again. They were planning to take the same route as us so we continued on as a six-pack until Eric caught up. Funny...the 29er to 26er ratio in our crowd was 5-2! Leslie, Carol Ann & Allison...the Pain Divide  Rippled velvet  Enveloped by the clouds...  Dan leading the charge  We turned down Eagle and had a blast cruising down the trail. At one point, we stopped and had a snack. Allison said "someone's got a flat." I looked all around and realized everyone was looking at me. Looks like Justin has passed the "flatting curse" onto me. Front flat. I was rolling with my new 2.1 High Roller in the front. It was cold. We got passed by a group of about 6 STR riders and followed them down to the bottom of Eagle. Through the streets we rode until we got to Skyline. The 29er crowd takes over! Allison, Padre, Justin, Leslie, Carol Ann  It was hot again. By the time I started climbing I was super hot. My legs hadn't been served well by the long descent down Eagle and the very abrupt climb back up Skyline. I was DFL and got to see everyone high up on the road above me. It got cold and hot a few more times. We stopped to chat with some guys who were shuttling trails and then headed on our way. Pretty soon we were getting ready to descend Blackstar. We stopped at the gate to dress in warm clothes and I changed my socks. To my (not complete) surprise, my big toe on my right foot was completely white...no circulation for at least half the ride. Justin helped me out and stuck my foot under his armpit to warm it up. It kind of worked. A good display of kindness on his part. We made good time back out to the end of Blackstar. Solution pockets...are we in Moab?  On the way back out we didn't find his gel flask. Did anyone pick it up? It was a long ride, mentally and physically, but hopefully I am one ride closer to being ready for VQ. (I'm just thankful that it's not like the movie "Groundhog Day"!) |
| post thanked by: |
53-12 (02-02-2008),
Alex (02-02-2008),
allison (02-02-2008),
bajamtnbkr (02-02-2008),
CalEpic (02-03-2008),
cbharping (02-03-2008),
foofighter (02-02-2008),
genusmtbkr5 (02-02-2008),
GP_pilot (02-03-2008),
grandpa (02-02-2008),
maxwell (02-02-2008),
mottmcfly (02-02-2008),
OMR (02-02-2008),
PacMan (02-02-2008),
Padre (02-03-2008),
Pho'dUp (02-02-2008),
queenwilhelmina (02-02-2008),
Red Hot Sloth (02-02-2008),
Rob (02-02-2008),
Schecky (02-02-2008),
slayer (02-02-2008),
tkblazer (02-02-2008),
Waldo (02-02-2008)
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Daughters = grey hair!
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Nicely written
We didn't see much sun on our ride up Holy Jim and down Trabuco ... must have been in the 40's on Paine Divide.
Question: How do you add so much text to your pictures?
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OMR  .... An elder grasshopper of the Tribe
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sdyeti (02-02-2008)
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Official STR Pan Banger
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Do you mean the caption I write above the picture?
When I copy/paste the url info from the photo album, I just write the text above the url in the ride report. Quote:
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OMR (02-02-2008)
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Live Free, Ride Hard
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I love that black and white picture of the four riders. It's frame worthy!
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jmansdirtloverparadise.blogspot.com '07 Heckler '07 Chameleon '06 Specialized Allez |
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sdyeti (02-02-2008)
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Official STR Pan Banger
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There's an advantage to being the last rider up the hill
 Funny how it looks b + w because the colors are so dark...I actually made it b + w too just to see... Thanks for the compliment  Quote:
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allison (02-02-2008)
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Senior Member
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did blackstar to eagle and back, we left at 8am, i didn't see a gel flask anywhere. there were lots of riders out there today.
you're right, it was friggin cold on the divide. i had no feeling in my toes the whole time. thanks for the RR. |
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sdyeti (02-02-2008)
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Trail Paparazzi
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Killer shot, Steph!! |
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sdyeti (02-02-2008)
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Official STR Pan Banger
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I was bumming because as I rode up on you guys, you were all looking up in unison...by the time I got my camera out, there had been some movement. I think it's cool anyway
You uploading your snaps from the day? Quote:
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Trail Paparazzi
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 RR/pics coming up... |
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Official STR Pan Banger
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Nah! I like it...will be printing it out and framing it actually
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allison (02-02-2008)
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Trail Paparazzi
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I was good going up Blackstar, but as Steph said, it got cold at the Ball. Arm warmers up on the climb cold. I wasn't really sure of where Eagle was at, so we stopped so I could put on my jacket. Leslie and Carol Ann rolled up asking if we'd seen a tall guy on a Turner. We hadn't. We found out they were heading to Eagle as well, so figured we'd ride together. I was fine descending the next hill, but climbing up the last big climb before Eagle I WAY overheated.
Eric caught up. We stopped again on Eagle to put on skull caps, etc. and then we descended. It's pretty fun. For an unmaintained fire road, it is in great shape. Unfortunately this is one of the only ways to do a decent ride on this side of the Santa Ana's, but the bottom of Eagle is private property. In addition to our group of 7 we wound up at the bottom with a group of guys (thinkfast, winger, etc.) so there were quite a few of us on the private road and the woman was in her car right there. She was not happy with us. So, IMO, I'd suggest NOT going onto her land in the future. Doesnt seem she is going to take too kindly to the "innocent" poaching for much longer. The ride to Skyline was uneventful. We stopped briefly to disrobe a little and continued up. Immediately I didn't feel great. I rode up with Winger a bit, but then just couldn't take the site of the switchbacks far ahead. Stopped and Steph rode up, so we chilled for a minute or so. It was freaking hard going for me all the way to the top. I think my problems were lack of steady nutrition and hydration. Partly due to the cold, and partly due to trying to follow the fast guys around Was sooo happy to see Beek's. The start  Taggers  Looking back  Lone rider   3 Muskateers (after looking at Steph's derailleur)  Carol Ann and Justin  MMMmmm  Headed to Chipotle for my first time in like 3.5 weeks!!! Then went over to the Path. CHecked out Tani's new ride  Saw Lee  And the DenMother and Just Me  Always see someone over there!! We were joking it was time for the couch. We were all chilling in the middle taking up space and hanging out Good times, as always.I think we all feel like more mileage and climbing would've been good, but damn if the cold doesn't just wear you down! |
| post thanked by: |
bighit8 (02-02-2008),
CalEpic (02-03-2008),
cbharping (02-03-2008),
denmother (02-02-2008),
genusmtbkr5 (02-02-2008),
Jman (02-04-2008),
Padre (02-03-2008),
Pain Freak (02-02-2008),
Rob (02-02-2008),
sdyeti (02-02-2008)
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Official STR Pan Banger
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Nice shot...pretty much sums up the feeling of the day, no?!
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allison (02-02-2008)
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The Other Colette
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Hey nice pics guys.
We had a little group out there too, today, but didn't take the eagle route. It was coooooold. I wore most everything I brought. Good ride though. I thought I saw justin today but I must have been hallucinating while climbing because I for sure would have recognized the rest of you guys. But I did get passed on Blackstar by Klutter on his voodoo cross bike! There were quite a few people out today, I'm sure I passed a bunch of STR's but didn't know it. |
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Trail Paparazzi
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The Other Colette
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Trail Paparazzi
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Directionally Challenged
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A few years back (well maybe 5 or so) we were looking for the trailhead to Eagle and couldn't find it, but asked around and found it. We were told by a family that was working on a red barn that we were trespassing. I asked if this wasn't a forestry road and they said it was. I told them if that's the case we have a legal right of way. It is illegal to block the trailhead. My friend checked with the Cleveland forestry service and they confirmed this. The trailhead goes up a gravel filled dirt road that is maintained by the forestry service and we have a legal access to it. I would contact the forestry service if you're worried about this though.
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"The best rides are the ones where you bite off much more than you can chew—and live through it." — Doug Bradbury "When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me." — Emo Philips |
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