RR: San Gabe's Cherry poppin

[tkblazer]

Last week i asked a few of the guys if they were interested in doing a longer type of ride for today and a few were able to make it despite it being a weekday. So Craig and Mike (has never ridden there) signed up and we decided on climbing Lower Sam Merrill, up to Inspiration Point, Down Middle Merrill, Down Sunset and down El P. When we arrived at the JPL lot, i was surprised to see a few STR peeps who happened to be Davidb and Quinn.. They were going to ride Brown Mtn and El P i believe so we would not run into them again.
I've never climbed LSM, so i really didn't know wat was in store. Right away the trail got somewhat steep and the switchbacks came one after another. I was pleasantly surprised to stop and check out the view and take a breather as i didn't want Mike to get too far behind.. Craig and Mike were both pedaling up mid 30 lb RFX's
For some reason the climb up to Inspiration Point seemed to suck a lot more than the last time i did it... i'm guessing going up LSM took up a lot of energy, but i was able to just keep pressing on after i ate part of my sandwich. Once at IP, we stopped and tried to check out the few but it was pretty smoggy.
After all the climbing, it was clear that we were all anxious to get some DH on. I had some trouble at the first few rocky sections of MM on the rigid bike and just ended up walking the first few parts but rode everything else... I don't know if anyone here has ever tried it, but it really makes MM a freakin gnarly trail when you have no suspension to cover your ass... i was just happy to be able to maintain a decent speed while still staying in control of the bike. A little before the double switchback spot, Craig managed to bend a hanger and while he was taking off the derailleur, he broke the metal stopper that goes against the hanger and b screw. He would than have to ride the rest of MM w/o a chain. At the ruins, he offered to take LSM down so Mike and I would be able to continue the ride, but we both decided that it is best that we stick together and just head down LSM.
All in all an awesome ride even though it was cut short. I'm not sure if i would climb LSM again, but i'm sure i can be talked into it again. I still need to ride El P though since i haven't done that trail yet.

most of the pics are from LSM, since MM is too fun to stop

[dstepper]

Nam thanks for the RR, we rode that route two weekends ago.

I have rode Upper Merrill, Middle Sam Merrill on my rigid single speed. It is OK as long as you go very slow. Even on my RFX I walk sections...as Daniel showed us over the weekend mistakes can get bad fast.

Lower Merrill is not as bad as riding the Chaney Trail pavement and Mt Lowe pavement up. There just is not a easy way to get up there.

Dean

[art23rockpile]

Nice RR, Nam. Love the photos.

[Tedroy]

We used to do the Merrils in '83 on rockhoppers! May be time for some sort of old school rig ride!

[Sewellymon]

Originally Posted by tkblazer

.. I don't know if anyone here has ever tried it, but it really makes MM a freakin gnarly trail when you have no suspension to cover your ass...

yea- '88 thru about late '91 when i finally was able to put manitou shocks on my klein attitude. 1.75" of travel was stylin'. MM, Sunset, El Prieto old skoolin

[Tedroy]

Originally Posted by Sewellymon

yea- '88 thru about late '91 when i finally was able to put manitou shocks on my klein attitude. 1.75" of travel was stylin'. MM, Sunset, El Prieto old skoolin

... no front shocks allowed!
Oops ... thread jack violation...
I'm sorry, move along. nothing to see here.

[kanga]

Originally Posted by Tedroy

We used to do the Merrils in '83 on rockhoppers! May be time for some sort of old school rig ride!

'88 for me on a GT Avalanche... for the merrills/El p and the Gab. Those were the days.... after that I did it many times on the curtlo/action tec with its almost 2" of front travel until I got my first full squish in 2000.

Of course I'm now loving my full squish Bionicon for everything, but I think I need a good full rigid beating as a reminder of my roots.... it was cool to see the vintage class in action at keyesville as well. Made me wish I still had that GT.

Thanks for the RR and pics... LSM is a great climb! April 19 we're back to do trail work on the bottom half of MSM.

[KBL]

The view from Inspiration Point at night is spectacular, and the night view from Mt. Wilson is that much better.

On the other hand, I don't think I'd try Middle Sam Merrill after dark unless I'd ridden it recently during daylight hours.

I agree with Dean: there's no easy way to make it up to the Cape of Good Hope. Lower Sam Merrill is tough, and so is the pavement. I usually go up Lower Sam Merrill because the pavement is more painful and less adventurous.

[Tedroy]

... Just getting on the bike is leaving my comfort zone.
That's why I do it. Thats's why these trails exist!

[davidB]

good to see you guys out there man

we went up brown to ken burton, and down that for a really short way, then down El Prieto, which was a blast as usual. JoeTruth on here was with as well.

Next time you're doing EP, let me know and i'll go with, parts of it are getting easier each time I go.

Twas a beautiful day out there today

[KBL]

P.S. My first time at the Merrills was about '98. I'd seen the Mt. Lowe incline on a topo map, and later read about the ride in "Mountain Biking Southern California's Best 100 Trails."

I had a '96 GT LTS with a bright-yellow Judy SL at the time. The frame is still in a box in the garage. A fork and a few other assorted parts would add up to a complete spare bike, but that's another tale.

Back to the real story:


I got to the Sunset Ridge trailhead gate off of Chaney trail. The sun had already set, but I was working retail at the time, and it was either go solo in the dark or not go at all, so I switched my old-school NightSun on and started to pedal.

I had read about the full loop, but ended up cutting it short to a trip up the pavement and out to Echo Mountain and back. I was running a 20X32 low gear, and it was put to good use as the pavement rocketed skyward. Once on the Echo Mountain trail, I couldn't get over how cool it was to bump my way over the old railroad ties, and the night view from Echo Mountain was enough to ensure my addiction.

Good times. I've been back once or twice.

[strobelite]

Originally Posted by dstepper

Nam thanks for the RR, we rode that route two weekends ago.

I have rode Upper Merrill, Middle Sam Merrill on my rigid single speed. It is OK as long as you go very slow. Even on my RFX I walk sections...as Daniel showed us over the weekend mistakes can get bad fast.

Lower Merrill is not as bad as riding the Chaney Trail pavement and Mt Lowe pavement up. There just is not a easy way to get up there.

Dean

yes there is, i just get dropped off at the top.

[KBL]

Originally Posted by strobelite

yes there is, i just get dropped off at the top.

Been there, done that! I can't think of a better way to introduce San Gabes newbies to the coolness of the area.

I'll probably do it again, but it's a loooong drive back up to the top.

[JoeTruth]

Right on! Yeah, saw you guys just arriving in the lot. One guy was toking on a fag. Wow, with no fags, I suck. I can't imagine what would happen with fags. (ok, enough puns. Moving on...)

Glad you all had a safe ride at least. LM is a bit of a bitch but I personally would rather climb it then the paved Mt. Lowe road. At least on LM, the climb breaks-up the monotonous you have on the paved road. You're dealing with switch backs and some steep sections but you also have sections where you can recover and catch your breath, unlike the paved road, which is constant.

Dave was showing us that Niner because he apparently is in the process of building one up himself. The front range trails (especially MM and Sunset) are much funner if ridden on all mountain 4-6" travel bike. Big bikes are overkill and rigid or hardtails are doable but I just don't see the fun in the that. Like some others have said, in the early 90's, we used to ride up there on our old bikes with canti brakes. We didn't know better and bikes are not what they used to be. Why not utilize the technology and suspension we have. For those who keep choosing rigid as their primary ride, more power to them but I personally would rather have pins stuck in my eyeballs then get beat up on a rigid bike. Just my 2 cents worth.

[CalEpic]

The ride started good for me. Personally, I like climbing LSM. I can get into a nice climbing rhythm on that trail. The switchbacks are a fun challenge (made them all except the rock staircase. That one is my nemesis)

I usually ride my 5 Spot on these trails and it's fine. This day I wanted a little more beef for the downs and was willing to pay the price climbing with a shorter cockpit and an extra 7 lbs. My RFX was called into action.

After reaching Inspiration Point we started down MSM. I absolutely love this trail. Quite a bit of trailwork/brushing was done on the upper portion. Thank you! Unfortunately I smashed my rear derailleur into the rocks early on breaking the hanger. No problem I say, I have a spare. In removing my RD from the hanger I realize I must have gotten carried away tightening when I installed it because that MFer was not coming off. Being the ham-fist I am, I managed to break the stop tab on the derailleur fighting with it. Now I was screwed. Had to take off the chain and coast it down. It was kinda fun bombing down MSM without a chain. I was amazed how quiet it was. I also realized it can be a little tricky on tight switchbacks w/o being able to pedal but I managed fine. I felt bad having to cut our ride short. Mike had never ridden Sunset Ridge nor El Prieto. I tried to talk them into riding it without me and meeting back at JPL but they would have none of it. It felt strange riding LSM down. Thankfully there were very few hikers. Mostly downhill all the way to JPL. On the flats Nam and Mike let me hang on their Camelbaks. Thanks guys. This just means another trip back there to finish what we started.

C

[1080P]

A few weeks back I did Lower Merrill up to Sunset on Thursday, Chaney up to Middle Merrill to Echo Mtn, then over to Sunset Ridge, on Saturday, Lower Merrill up to Inspiration Point on Sunday (bumped in to Steppie and SheClimbs on that one, on their way to Middle Merrill) then back down to Sunset. Going up that vertical two days in a row on the weekend was a first for me.

Just this last weekend, I bumped in to Steppie and SheClimbs again up at Camp Bionicon at the Keyesville Classic 20th, on thier way to The Kern River Trail. Those two knows how to find all the fun rides.

Just this weekend, I found out that my XL Bionicon Edison with all the bells and whistles weighs in at a portly 34.5 pounds. I had no idea I was humping and pumping so much fat bling up that mountain to the top. I thought it weighed in around 31.5 or so, like my Large.

Middle Merrill has my respect. There was no shame in walking parts of it when it appeared to exceed my personal risk assessment level, the exposure was more than I felt comfortable with if I made a bad line and had to dab.

[tkblazer]

joe, i hear ya on the whole rigid thing... i do have a 4" bike that i ride as well, but i have a bent hanger and haven't had time to pick up another one... its not too bad riding MM on a rigid bike, its just a bit sketchy when you are moving at a good pace and bouncing around on the rocks.. i consider myself a fairly decent rider so i know my limits

[Geronimo]

What a fun ride yesterday. As TK mentioned this was my first ride out there. LSM is my new favorite climb. Between admiring the views and exceptional trail work that climb is a real pleasure. I was surprised by the exposure on that trail, I would stop to admire the views to make sure I would stay on the trail. MM was alot of fun as well, but loose as hell, definetly not a good place to be hotdogging, at least not for me. Looking forward to the next ride out there. Thanks for setting up the carpool Craig.
Joetruth - I find smoking a cigarette acclimates my lungs quickly for climbing in smoggy conditions. You should give it a try. I doubt toking a fag would help any but feel free to try that too.