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kanga

Had a great ride with OTB this evening. A few of us met early, did the climb up lower merrill to Echo mountain (from where I took the sunset shot below), then on up to Inspiration point.

There were frozen snowdrifts in many places near the top, and it was cold.... probably about 30 degrees or so. I rode without gloves or lights for the climb, and by the top, I could barely open my hands to reach the brake levers. But those winter gloves were toasty warm and dry when I put them on for the descent. Hans had wet gloves for the descent and near froze his fingers off...

The city views from Inspiration, and the face of MSM were incredible. Crystal clear views all the way out to Catalina and beyond. I could probably see some STR folk's lights down around Saddleback and OC if I knew where to look.

Hans, Otto and I headed down Middle Merril. This trail has seen some serious wear and tear over the past several months, but for good reason: it's serious fun. Riding it at night, to me, is less intimidating as you can't see how high the cliffs you're riding inches away from are, only the trail ahead in your headlight. It's always a pucker factor, and always a rush!

There are a number of downed trees and overgrowth on the first mile that will be an upcoming trailwork project, as well as some severe erosion. On the lower part of the MM there are a number of abrupt switchbacks, most of which have braking ruts leading right up to them... people gotta learn to ride not slide....! Near the bottom, it's also become extremely rough, as the trail has widened into rocky gullies with a 18" railroad tie steps down the middle. Fun, fun, fun!

We made it down Middle and hooked up with the rest of the regular group at Echo mountain before heading up to the top of Sunset. A few had had to turn back with mechanicals... The rest of the group armored up (we never took ours off) and the run down to the landing pad was fast and fun...

But just after the re-group Kevin did a high speed bucking OTB and I was right on his tail.... so close in fact, that as his rear wheel bucked, it flew up and clipped my handlebar mounted light knocking it upwards, and just missed my face! (note to self... don't tailgate down series of 2' steps).

I ended up hiking him back up to the landing pad and rolling down the road with him. He'd ridden to the TH so I took him home and he made arrangements to get it x-rayed. It was a suspected broken wrist or a possible severe strain/sprain or a possible ruptured tendon... either way it wasn't pretty.... wrists aren't supposed to be that shape.

The rest of the group made it down to the bottom of Sunset without incident. 17 riders, 2 mechanicals, one serious injury, 5 extra credit riders (including Gary at 73 years old!)... sweet ride!

Unfortunately, I rode without a memory card in my camera, and the internal memory is only good for a couple of pics.... all of which I took of the sunset.

Enjoy this moment of peace, and Kev, let us know how your wrist is doing....

Attached Images

20080205002a-Stephen, Echo Mtn, MTB, Bionicon Sunset (sm).jpg (57.1 KB, 14 views)

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Pain Freak

Love the pic. Good luck with the wrist Kevin. Hope it's not to bad.

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BrewMaster

That's a great pic. Thanks for the RR.

Healing vibes to Kevin.

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MTBMaven

Man OTB is hardcore. If others haven't ridden with them before they are no joke. The best part about them is they are all really cool people.

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JoeTruth

Great RR! That loop is a butt kicker during the day. At night, it's ten-fold more diffucult. I hope your buddy is okay and his injury isn't too bad. Best of luck!

Great sunset shot with your silhouette in the foreground. I think you should keep that one handy as it's most likely calendar worthy for 2009.

(do you ever sleep?)

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kanga

Yeah I sleep.... I'm a bit short on it, but I figured I'll do some serious "catch up" Z's in the grave...

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JoeTruth

More validation that you have a few screws loose and are a bit crazy. Oh my!

I did a quick Brown/EP loop yesterday afternoon and ran into a kid pushing his 45 lb. Iron Horse DH (Dino's getting a woody) sled up the fire road. I said hello and we met-up again at the saddle. We small talked a little bit and decided to head down EP together (buddy system). Really good young kid who's attending The Arts School in Pasadena. I waited for him and encouraged him here and there as he kept loosing his balance. I told him about STR and encouraged him to get on and meet more people as he always rides alone. I also questioned why he'd have such a big bike as his only bike. I think kids are fascinated with DH'ing without thinking it through. Who the hell wants to push a pig up a hill just to ride trails like EP? Doesn't make sense to me. I encouraged him to get a 2nd all purpose bike and keep the pig for shuttle runs. Anyways, thought I'd throw that in.

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kanga

Can I borrow a screwdriver?

I know a young guy like that...(he's here on STR occasionally)... bought his first rig as a DH rig... only difference is that after he's been on it six months, he's smoking down stuff with his extra travel over my 6" and I can barely keep up! He's a good kid, and to his credit, he'll climb as much as he can on that bike, and he's been out on a trailwork day. But I think he's seeing the light... you don't need a 45 pound DH rig to ride ANYTHING in the San Gabs (but having one allows for some serious speed limit violations ).

A pro-roadie friend told me when I bought my first front-suspension bike (curtlo/action tec fork) in 1990.... "Why do you want suspension? It will just mean you'll be going faster when you crash!"

Hopefully your new friend will get on here too...

BTW....I still see kevin's rear tire whizzing by a few inches from my face....

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jeffj

Stellar sunset shot.

northshore

Awesome photo!

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1080P

I knew it! Truth prevails! I'll bring the Makita fully charged for tonights ride at Viper. You want slotted or Phillips 0,1, or 2 bits? This old bucket of bolts and loose nuts likes to get to the end of the ride in the original condition he started it. I learned my lesson a long time ago that turning a 3 piece flyrod into a 4 piece was a bad way to go. Same thing with bones. They aren't covered under warranty and the repair service is slow.

Checklist for tonights ride:

Bionicon
Charged batteries for night light
Gravity Dropper adjusted so it works with 3" drop
Camel back
helmet and gloves
riding shoes
windbreaker


BTW, don't forget your memory card for tonight's ride!

tkblazer

great pic, definitely belongs on STR calendar for 2009!

kanga

You misunderstood.... I need the screwdriver not for myself but to loosen a few screws of those around me so I can fit in!

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kanga

Is there a thread for submissions yet? I'm not opposed to the idea.... I miss my 30 second self-timer, but sometimes 10 is enough!

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1080P

When you got loose nuts all around you, who needs loose screws? Depends on which end you got tools for and are working with! I like my nuts torqued properly.

allison

Awesome photo!!!

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silverspot

That pic rocks. Would look great as wallpaper on the computer...

1080P

You don't have to be hard core to ride with them, just be sure to start early and stay out of their way! It's no joke when they tell you they had brake failure. Kanga lost his brakes on Cannel Plunge, Gary on Viper, Otto on Wilson, Dale on Santa Clara Truck trail, Dales son on Santa Clara Truck Trail. Dale again on Merrill. We need safety inspections before rides! I remember being at Hans for a ride, it was the first time I got a look at his Titus in daylight, we were doing all night rides at the time. Hans rides hard, crazy fast, and loose on his descents. When I picked up the bike, it was the same way... The bushing in the shock linkage was egged and rattling around sloppy. I told him about it and Hans had it fixed in a day, just in time for the Bionicon / Keyesville BBQ ride. He rides so hard and fast, I don't think he can feel it. Or maybe rigid non flexy frames are just like that, it's just bumps? I burned a set of brake pads with these guys in 3 months on my Formulas, and that was without doing any extra credit. Most of them qualify for "No Fear" jerseys.

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You misunderstood.... I need the screwdriver not for myself but to loosen a few screws of those around me so I can fit in! Kanga

dirtmistress

Great story Steve! Great shot too.
Keep 'em coming!

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