RR: San Gabs: Lower Merrill, Sunset, Prieto (2X)

[kanga]

Today was certainly one of the more interesting and fun rides I've done in a while. I had arranged to meet a guy from MTBR out here visiting from the mid-west and show of some of our local trails (LSM/Sunset). I knew that Joe had planned a ride so I scheduled our ride for about the same time. When I couldn't get into VQ/CC I took the weekend off and went surfing instead, so I was due for a long one.

I rode the 12 miles from my house to the trailhead and started up LSM with Flash (MTBR) right at 2. They don't have much riding in winter, and he had warned me that he'd likely be walking quite a bit, but I was out for a slow ride.

He walked a couple of switchbacks, and kept commenting about how crazy we must be to ride this stuff, and next time someone from California tells him something is technical, he'd believe them.

After walking a couple of the early switchbacks, he didn't get back on his bike when the trail flattened out. Turned out he was getting dizzy and light-headed, and it seemed to get worse when he looked down the hillside to the switchbacks below. He might have been coming down with something, but it also seemed he might be a little acrophobic, though he'd never experienced that before. We ended up hiking back down, just as Joe, Quinn and Dave were climbing those first switchbacks. I suggested he go to Brown Mtn Fire road and see how he felt after that, perhaps meeting us at El Prieto.

This brings to mind the "has the bar been raised thread" We take for granted how challenging our trails can be, but to someone who has never ridden in California, our trail bar is definitely a few notches higher than many other places.

Anyone who had ridden Lower Sam Merrill between the January rains and last weekend will remember the large washed out section of trail where everything inside the retaining wall was just a gaping hole, all washed away. Mark, who does a lot of work on LSM, was repairing it when we were up there for our bikepacking trip last month.

Here's the repair job... looking good.



So Joe, Quinn, Dave and I had a leisurely ride up Lower Sam Merrill, frequently stopping to admire the view, enjoy the shade, and drool over Quinn's shiny new 575.
Joe and Quinn, a beautiful warm day for riding (is it spring already?):







Dave:





Dave and Joe:



Joe and Quinn:



The last switchback on LSM is a tricky one but doable if you pick your line well. I cleaned it, then heard a crash and lots of brush and rock moving and a few moans and groans. Dave had not made it up the first part, and put his foot down on air instead of rock, and took a wild tumble a good 15 feet down the side on his back. He was a little scratched up, but the alluvium and gravel was kind to him, considering what could have happened.

The Bike at the point of launch:



Dave didn't want to fall any further:



A Helping Hand to get back up:



(for the record I did make sure he was OK before the camera came out.. and I do carry a first aid kit)

We cruised on up to the top of sunset ridge after taking in some history at Echo Mountain. It was Quinn's first ride up there, so a history lesson is always in order.





Sunset ridge was overall in great shape, with the work down low really showing. There was still some braking damage in a few sections, but overall it's in decent shape, and the traction was pretty good. That was a good thing for me, since I was riding without a rear brake. It had died a week ago and I hadn't had a chance to replace it, but was having one dropped off at the trailhead before the second lap.

Since this was a fun ride and not a photo shoot, there aren't too many pics of the descent. I was out in front, but had to keep the speed down. Some of the switchbacks were a little tricky with only a front brake and a loose rocky trail tread, but I managed to clean most of it. Joe was ripping right behind me. Quinn did well on the new bike, but knows she needs to work on switchback skills.... Dave was just wondering why he didn't ride these trails more often (don't we all?).

From there we cruised over to El Prieto on the Millard connector for another great run down.





El P took a little longer than normal for me with only one brake, but was still fun. The PO is growing back in quickly... noticably so in the ten days since I was there last. The trail is still in great shape, though the "high road" portion is still pretty exposed and extremely narrow for the consequences.

We cruised back over on the road, and I parted ways with them at Fair Oaks. I cruised on up to the Chaney Trail/Loma Alta to meet the OTB group for another loop. Mic (Posthole) was there with a new brake, but we didn't have time to put it on, so he gave me his bike to ride for the second loop, a Bionicon Golden Willow. A pedal swap and shock pressure adjustment took a few minutes and I headed up, chasing the OTB group who had left about fifteen minutes earlier.

About half way up I realized I hadn't been eating (2 pbj's all day, 30 miles in) so I stopped and downed a bar and a gel. They kicked in and I caught up to the tail end of the group. We cruised over to sunset again, but this time I had brakes (Formula K-18's) which were way better than my Maguras, even when they did work. And there were two!

Otto holding up my borrowed ride (Thanks Mic):



OTB Crew at the top of Sunset:



One flat (John) on the way down, and it was all good.



I snapped a few pics in the dark at the steps.

Steve Slomotion:



Brian nails the switchback:



John cleans the lot:



Julio takes it on:



At the bottom, the OTB group headed down Chaney trial and back to the cars, and I headed back to El Prieto for some more fun, followed by another 5 miles of dirt and 5 miles of road to get home.

On that last section of dirt, I had another run-in with a large mammal moving through the bush, reflecting eyes staring back at me (though I couldn't see what it was).... I'd seen a big cat less than a quarter mile from there a few months ago, and that was about a half mile from where the notorious big cat in Pasadena pic was taken recently. I jammed.... adrenaline kicked in all over again.

It was a long day, time wise. I left my house at 12:30, and got home at 9:30, 48 miles, 7150' of ascent/descent, 6:09 moving time. Felt like my own mini-CC. It was really great to meet and ride with Dave, Joe and Quinn face to face. I hope Flash got to do something less intimidating.... California riders have earned some respect in his eyes!

Thanks Joe for posting the ride. Also muchas gracias to posthole for delivering a new rear brake to the trailhead for the second lap.... especially since it was attached to a brand-spanking new golden willow! (I'll pick my bike up tomorrow).

[dstepper]

Steve nice RR, I am glad Dave is OK. It is so true about riding the San Gabs and newbes....it is kinda funny because Lower Sam Merrill is a freeway compared to some of the other trails.

See ya Sunday....

Dean

[Pain Freak]

A few years back I went to St George/Hurricane in the summer. I was on a family vacation, but since we were in MTB mecca, I also brought my bikes. When I went riding there all the locals did their riding in the morning and usually were off the trails by 11 am or not much later. Iwas familiar with Jem and the Hurricane Rim trail and the heat doesn't bother me, so I went to do these in the heat of the day. (about 100) While I was out there I ran into some people from Indiana. They considered this mild trail highly technical and were walking a lot of the stuff that we don't give a second thought to. One of the guys was a road racer and claimed to be a Cat 2 racer (which is really fast), but he wasn't very fast on the trail. Still we rode the entire day and down into Hurricane and back up. We did finish with 48 miles that day in the heat and I loved it. I told them I was at best a middle of the pack rider in CA but they didn't believe me.

[JoeTruth]

Kanga, it was really nice riding with you. Just as I've always suspected, you're a beast on a bike but one hell of a nice guy. Thanks for waiting for us slow arsses. We very much appreciated it. This was my first time riding with Dave and Quinn as well and they were great people all around. So Quinn whined a bit towards the end. She'll live and so will we. She tried duplicating Dave's fall on the Echo connector and after that (at least on climbs), I said to myself that I'd hang behind her and let her know what's ahead. Even after falling a bit, she kept riding right along. Tough girl! I'm convinced she fell because she kept staring at Steve's calves. I must say, they were ripped so I can't blame her. Dave and Quinn were like kids in a Candy store but got a little overwhelmed on Sunset at first. Then they started finding their grooves and were cruising along just fine. I love a riders reaction after their first San Gabes ride. It usually contains a lot of "wow's". El Prieto is so good as a desert. Great way to end a ride.
All in all, we finished just as it was getting dark. No mechanicals and no major crashes that warranted any first-aid. My knee is feeling sore from my handle bar nailing it on Sunset. I need a new fork desperately!

When the ride was done and we were riding back to our cars, the 3 humans couldn't wait to reach the car and go home. Steve, on the other hand, was about to meet the OTB group and do it ALL OVER AGAIN. Simply amazing and not human. Looks like your group had a good ride as well. Hope we can do it again soon!

Thanks for posting the photos and the RR, Steve.

[posthole]

Kanga,

You are simply nuts, but that is ok with us! I was happy to let you take the Golden Willow because there was no way I was going to let you ride at night without a rear brake. The ride report was awesome and I look forward to riding with you again soon. See you at the Keyesville Classic!

[speckledtrout]

Dear god in heaven. That ride handed my ass to me on a shiny silver platter! Oh, but I'm so happy i did it. And that I had those 3 fellas to do it with. That was my first intro to both JoeTruth and Kanga and I gotta tell ya, they are both two extremely decent human beings.

That Sunset Ridge trail sketched me out. Kanga is being his delightfully gracious self and not including the shots of me on those steep and chunky switchbacks. Because the pics would have been redundant and would have all looked like this: And really, that just gets tiresome after a while. What little huevos I thought I had were tucked up tighter than a Drag Queen's getting ready for the evening show.

El Prieto was much more in my comfort zone but I was pooped by that point. Terror really takes a lot out of you. I will be heading back soon to El Prieto but getting there via the long boring grind up Brown. And then I'll face my demons and head back to Sunset Ridge and beat those switchbacks into submission. Ain't it great to have goals?

Oh. And Joe? That wasn't whining at the end. That was bitching.

[lmnop]

Originally Posted by speckledtrout

What little huevos I thought I had were tucked up tighter than a Drag Queen's getting ready for the evening show.

Classic!

[JoeTruth]

Originally Posted by posthole

Kanga,

You are simply nuts, but that is ok with us! I was happy to let you take the Golden Willow because there was no way I was going to let you ride at night without a rear brake. The ride report was awesome and I look forward to riding with you again soon. See you at the Keyesville Classic!

I forgot to mention. He not only did not have a back brake, but his back tire was virtually bald. I let him take lead on Sunset and all I can say is he never held me up. It took him longer to slow down coming into turns and hence, he had to start braking earlier then you typically would but I was very impressed, considering. During our climb out of Millard, I asked him if he needed to refill his water for his evening ride. His response was no and he's got plenty as he's only taken a couple of swigs during our ride thus far. WTF!?!? The rest of us were sweating like pigs and drinking water like mad and here he was behaving like a Camel in the Sahara. Talk about feeling pathetic!

[VTVic]

thanks for sharing. great RR. I'm thinking of doing a Sunset/El P loop after work on Tuesday at around 3pm in case anyone wants to join...I will try to do it a little earlier and try to do LSM as well but it will depend on work....

[davidB]

Scariest. Fall. Ever.
went down backwards on my back onto some rocks that just kept giving way
pretty cool picture though!



The distance was no problem, but it was 14 miles of ass puckering intense stuff with no chance to relax. DEFINITELY joining any other ride up there that's ever posted.

Sunset may have been the best part of the day. First time jitters and not knowing what was ahead kept me back, but there's some spots in there I want to go back and bomb through. El Prieto was relaxing after that trail.

Couldn't have asked for a better ride with good company to boot

[kanga]

Originally Posted by JoeTruth

I forgot to mention. He not only did not have a back brake, but his back tire was virtually bald. I let him take lead on Sunset and all I can say is he never held me up. It took him longer to slow down coming into turns and hence, he had to start braking earlier then you typically would but I was very impressed, considering. During our climb out of Millard, I asked him if he needed to refill his water for his evening ride. His response was no and he's got plenty as he's only taken a couple of swigs during our ride thus far. WTF!?!? The rest of us were sweating like pigs and drinking water like mad and here he was behaving like a Camel in the Sahara. Talk about feeling pathetic!

Maybe you didn't get to the part where I felt the bonkage coming on during the second lap.... the bald tire... well let's just say I wear them out too quickly riding to the trailheads on pavement, so I don't bother changing them as often as I should. Plus they roll better with no knobs!

You should'a see me guzzling apple juice and pasta for 30 minutes when I got home

[davidB]

Originally Posted by JoeTruth

During our climb out of Millard, I asked him if he needed to refill his water for his evening ride. His response was no and he's got plenty as he's only taken a couple of swigs during our ride thus far. WTF!?!?

I remember hearing this conversation and thinking I must have heard him wrong.

guess not

[dstepper]

David, looks like you may want to go back and thank that bush.

I remember taking a tumble off the side off the Luge one night. I was tumbling down and realized that unless I grabed a bush I was not going to stop for awhile. I was also glad I had on the hemlet light to find the trail again.

Dean

[davidB]

I only wish I had fallen and been able to spot my landing or at least see what was coming up. Going down headfirst but not seeing what's going to stop you is kinda scary, ya know? Didn't know where I was headed and as far as I knew I was going to keep going. As soon as I moved I slid another foot or so.

I'm like "uh, STEVE?! (kanga)" (didn't know how far back the other 2 were)....steve?.....ah crap, mr i'm not human has taken off....nope, he's back....

kanga: "you alright?"
me: "probably not...but i think so"

*camera is out snapping pictures while the other two pull up all concerned like*

gotta say though, reading about the ruins up there fascinated me, even more so when I saw the picture of the hotel that used to be up there.

[kanga]

On the second lap, Dale, one of our OTB riders (still riding with us in his 60's) was recounting a ride across the connector between echo mountain and Sunset Ridge. Everyone knows the spot... next to the big boulder that came down next to the slide. That spot was treacherous even before the slide and the boulder. He went down and was prevented from falling a hundred more feet or so by the retaining wall about 30 feet below. Next time you're there look down... Dale has a wall to thank, Dave, you have those bushes to thank.