I did it! Marshall Cyn ---> Potato Mtn (Geoladders route)

[gurp13]

It's kind of a milestone for me. Back in January I went riding on my Stumpjumper for the first time. Armondo and I tried to go from the Marshall Cyn trailhead to Potato Mtn. But, the route was too much for me. I tried again on Tuesday, but couldn't get all the way up. Today, I went again and tried to do the Geoladders route.

Nailed it!

My legs are all rubbery but I went 17.49 miles with an average speed of 4.9 miles and a total riding time of 3:31:40. I'd say I rested a total of about a half hour.

You know how they say the last mile's the hardest mile. Well, on this route to the summit of Potato Mtn, it really is. I swear, the grind up the fire road for the last mile and a half is a beeotch. I just kept reminding myself that it was only 8 tenths of a mile, 6 tenths of a mile, 5 tenths. I bore down on the handlebars, scooted forward on my seat and pedaled that granny gear at a brisk two mile an hour. I refused to look up the trail to see really how steep and far away that 5 tenths of a mile was. But, finally, I made it.

I did the whole route as posted on Geoladders. I didn't do it fast or anything, but for me, this was a big deal to not only get up there, but to clean some of the sections that just killed me previously. I did walk over a couple of the trickier sections but that was only two or three places. No crashes, no falls and a whole lot of grinding.

Trail conditions - mostly good. The fireroads and singletrack have ruts all over the place from the rain. This, in my opinion, makes the route a whole lot more technical. Though it's mostly fireroad, the ruts make some sections a lot more like singletrack. And, the singletracks are more difficult too. But, then, your mileage may vary. Most of the muddy sections were dry, too. Sections of the West Fork fireroad were very "unmaintained" and almost overgrown in places.

Marshall Cyn. and the fireroads were almost deserted for a weekend. I wonder where everyone was?

Here's a couple pics to commemorate...

04-22-06_1132.jpg
Me, a little winded, but throwing up a "victory sign" at the summit.
04-22-06_1130.jpg
My Stumpjumper and the round reservoir thingy at the summit.
04-22-06_1134.jpg
A shot of the Inland Valley behind me from Potato Mtn.

[Skeeter]

Great work! Those milestones sure make you feel good and remind you why you ride. All that hell grinding up the climb but when you finally make it to the top it is all worth it. And you have the pics to prove it.
Congrats again

[dhshuttlemonkey]

Congratulations! Did you do the singletrack on the way down?

[LBmtb]

Dude, that's great! Good job on setting a goal and relentlessly going after it

Nice job GURP! I know exactly what you mean about the last mile being the hardest. I'm sure others can vouch for me the last time we did HJ to Trabuco and we were riding through snow and sludge, and the last mile to the Trabuco s/t seemed extra sticky....but I think it really was extra sticky.

Anyhow, nice work bro!

[singleSSpeedster]

sweet....CONGRATS!!!

you gotta love progress. now, you gotta clean it everytime you try.

drink/eat right and you will only get up there faster.

long live long rides.

[ECOdork]

Nice work! It is a great feeling when you successfully conquer one of those "milestone "rides!

In case you weren't hooked deep enough into MTB already, the slope only gets more slippery!

[pshloss]

Way to go! I definitely get a lot of satisfaction after a challenging climb like that, especially the ones that are too tough the first time. You picked a good day to do Potato, too.

[gurp13]

Originally Posted by mtbracer36

Congratulations! Did you do the singletrack on the way down?

Yeah, I went up Marshall, through the gate to Claremont Wilderness Park down Evey to W. Fork and up to the summit. Then, on the way back went down the singletrack, crossed the stream, did a hard left and took the other singletrack up to the fireroad, short climb then down another singletrack and down through Marshall to the trailhead.

The whole route is right here on Geoladders.

It was a tough but satisfying ride. Thanks to all for the kudos.

[Tom Cosgrove]

You rock, thats what mtb"n is all about.

[CalEpic]

I can't really add any more than what others have said, but it reaffirms what we've all gone through when starting. The great part is that we up the ante each time we reach a milestone. Kind of like a crack addict chasing that first high. Or something like that.

Good job man.

C

[Epic_Mtn_Biker]

Gurp13,

So what's your new goal now?


Here's an idea, how about doing the Southridge Fontana XC race course in less than 1 hour??

This will allow you to do short climbs and recovery on the descents without having to stop. it's a great way to measure your fitness without having to do straight long distance climbs. this is more of an interval type training ride than doing the Potato Mountain climb/ride from Marshall Canyon.

[gurp13]

Originally Posted by Epic_Mtn_Biker

Gurp13,

So what's your new goal now?


Here's an idea, how about doing the Southridge Fontana XC race course in less than 1 hour??

This will allow you to do short climbs and recovery on the descents without having to stop. it's a great way to measure your fitness without having to do straight long distance climbs. this is more of an interval type training ride than doing the Potato Mountain climb/ride from Marshall Canyon.

That sounds doable. How far off were we? I don't remember the time, but an hour seems reasonable. What's the total distance, like, 8 miles?

[Epic_Mtn_Biker]

Originally Posted by gurp13

That sounds doable. How far off were we? I don't remember the time, but an hour seems reasonable. What's the total distance, like, 8 miles?

it's more like 7ish. i didn't keep track of the time on the ride we did because it was a Q&A type ride

[dirttorpeedo]

good job gurp, or would we have to call you mr. 13 now? way to go man!

[gurp13]

Nah, just gurp is fine. Only my students call me "mister."