San Juan / Chiquita loop pics

[LBmtb]

Fun ride today, guys. In the words of Bret, "grueling." Mucho hike a bike and poison oak in some parts. Chiquita was pretty fun . . . very rocky and technical.

It was me, Lucas (rsmla), Matt (vondur), Rob (FXRob), Dell (ladd), Aldo (banannaseat), Bret (DINO), and Lance (tex).

Here are some of the pics . . .

some dude doing a big rock roll


Matt, meet Mr. Root


Nice view


Lance and I


Bret's new battle wound, should have worn those pads


and the rest are here

[ECOdork]

An enjoyable ride it was!

...I'm glad you labeled that one of me far off as "taking in the view" instead of "watering the plants".

Lucas, good meeting you, we'll have to ride again before too long!

[Von-Skipp]

Nice pics. Ive been wanted to try Chiquita forever, but umm I was a lil tired this morning.

Is that just a random dude hitting that rock roll? Did you any you guys roll that? Seems like DINO is falling every weekend now, give the ground a break man!

I think everyone will agree with me when saying "i'm beat". That was quite a ride, with quite a bit of hike'a'bike, a lil' too much for my liking. Chiquita was pretty cool, there were lots of fun downhill areas, but then there were lots of not so fun hike'a'bike areas as well, especially after the waterfall, that part was brutal.

I did eat it on new san juan, hanging a left on some kinda gnarly rocky section, my front wheel didnt blast over the rock as i intended and as my bike shot back, my moment carried forward and caused me to fall down on my left side this time, luckily not the right side. I put my pads on after the crash...what a genius!!! I do have a crashing streak going right now, two rides in a row!!!

Rob has some pix that I'm sure he'll post later on. Thanks for posting those George. Lucas, it was great meeting you and even better knowing that you were "that guy on my ass in the BMW on Ortega" hahaha.

Lance, thanks for recommending that BBQ joint for post ride grubb, although Gonzo did seem a bit disappointed he didn't get a toy with his kids meal!

[Epic_Mtn_Biker]

Great pix!! glad to see you guys had a blast!!

[CalEpic]

Looked like a fun ride guys. I got home this morning at 3:00 am from a wild night out. I woke up at 6:30 thought about riding for around 5 seconds and went back to sleep. Woke up again at 7:30, thought about riding some more, then went back to sleep until 8:00. Took 4 Advils and decided to rebuild my fork instead. I'm missing out on all the great rides lately.

I really want to check out Chiquita. Waht route did you guys do?

C

[TURNERob]

Craig we parked a few cars at the Candy Store lot and then went back down to the bottom. Climbed to cocktail, went right on new SJ, then down Viejo Tie, then to Chiquita. It was a very tiring 17 mile ride. It was one of those rides you only want to do once in a blue moon. I rode my Burner and loved it up until cocktail rock, then I was yearning for my Pack the rest of the ride pretty much.

To top it off I just got home from doing some exhaust fab work at the shop, I'm totally wiped out

Nice meeting you Lucas, and good job to everyone for keeping a good pace and finishing without too much whining The route was my idea, and I guess it could have been worse.....but I think we can all look back on it and agree it was a good "experience". I'm too tired to post up my pics tonight, I'll do it tomorrow since it will probably be raining anyway.

George:

Can you post trail head meeting times so other people can show up to these rides also, instead of posting pictures after the fact? i know i am guilty of not participating much, but when we first started str it was about encouraging riding as much as possible for everyone and i think we should stay true to that --

[mcgrath]

Well, it's not everyday that Bret says it was grueling. I'm sort of glad I missed this one. Still looks like a great ride. Very nice scenery too.

[TURNERob]

Originally Posted by mcgrath

Well, it's not everyday that Bret says it was grueling. I'm sort of glad I missed this one. Still looks like a great ride. Very nice scenery too.

What happened to you Pat? I thought you were doing San Juan today also?

I have to say the trail conditions out there were probably the best I've ever seen.

[dukethenuke]

everytime I climb San Juan I always see Chiquita. Where does it end? Is it a loop or do you just turn around and come back the same way you came?

Chumbaracing, George did mention the ride under the post "Anyone riding Sunday?"

[ECOdork]

Originally Posted by FXRob

I have to say the trail conditions out there were probably the best I've ever seen.

Yeah, I'll second that. It made the miles of hike-a-biking smooth as butter!

Just busting your chops rob! Even with the hiking it was a killer ride and the dirt was exceptionally bitchin'!

And as it turns out, there are quite a few options at San Juan, so I envision more rides there before too long.

[TURNERob]

Originally Posted by dukethenuke

everytime I climb San Juan I always see Chiquita. Where does it end? Is it a loop or do you just turn around and come back the same way you came?

Chumbaracing, George did mention the ride under the post "Anyone riding Sunday?"

Steve Chiquita ends right by the Candy Store which is about 7 miles further up Ortega from the lower trailhead. It definately isn't a trail you want to ride the other way, a shuttle is pretty much mandatory. It is a really technical trail with quite a few sections of hike a bike. When connected with Viejo Tie it makes for a LONG technical singletrack, definately worth trying at least once.

[mcgrath]

I had promised the live in lover that I would ride with her. She had gone to LA Saturday so I wasn't sure if she was still up for riding. Turns out she was. It was cool though, we went to Aliso and rode cyote there and back with a little stint on cholla. I was pretty proud of her, she went up and down the steeper peak right at the beginning. So... wish I coulda been there. I'm sure Lance and George missed me.

[Ladd Jasper]

Definitely a good ride overall, just a tad brutal here and there. Need those every once in a while. To paraphrase CalEpic: "looking back--after a few beers--it wasn't really that bad." And to add to Rob's comment, I've never seen San Juan in better shape, particularly the lower swithchbacks: rutless and rideable (that's what he said...).

I'd be up for doing Chiquito again, but shuttling from the top. A couple of those rock rolls looked tempting, even considering my sorry skills, but I'd like to be much fresher on the trail--not the shaky, hungry, beat-to-rat-crap thing I was at the end there. Uh-Uh.

Lucas, good to meet you, and glad you hung in there--even after the "milder than our usual ride" thing started to sound a bit fishy.

Rob, no hard feelings on the route choice. I mean, who could've known shuttling would actually make the ride more difficult?

Lance, excellent call on "Bad to the Bone." I'm still enjoying it every 3-5 minutes. Seriously. It's awesome.

George, I can't live with the guilt. While you were in the bathroom, I took your Happy Meal toy. I'm a sucker for the ball-in-the-cup thing, always have been. Sorry.

[bananaseat]

my first experience in san juan. very cool ride, i'd like to go back. and yes, i'm freaking sore today...

a lot of poison ivy/oak... and i've got a knack for catching that stuff if i'm in a general vicinity. george thanks for the "anti ivy/oak" wipe. i'd like to stock-up. what was it, and where can i get some?

[LBmtb]

I got it at REI awhile ago after my first 'encounter' with PO. They're called Ivy Cleanse. They also sell lotion/cream there which you put on beforehand. That might of been useful on Chiquita.

I just checked out the REI site and linked the above. Also found this guy.

[bananaseat]

Originally Posted by LBmtb

I got it at REI awhile ago after my first 'encounter' with PO. They're called Ivy Cleanse. They also sell lotion/cream there which you put on beforehand. That might of been useful on Chiquita.

I just checked out the REI site and linked the above. Also found this guy.

thanks george. just made the purchase.

[TURNERob]

Ok, now my legs are officially toast after another 10 mile loop at El Moro this morning

I'll work on getting my pics up here in awhile.

[Skeeter]

First off thanks for letting me tag along yesterday. Next time i will bring a rope so Rob can tow me up the climbs. What a fun introduction to STR!!! Can't wait to ride with you guys again, you were all chill. Thanks

Lance, whenever you want to get out give me a call.