RR: blackstar/motorway/maple springs Nov 12th

[LBmtb]

Briefly . . .

It was long and painful. In the end the people who completed the whole thing were: me, keith, scott, tin, andy, annie, sarah, and jose. About 7.5 hrs. Lots of people dropped out at Beek's place because of strong winds. BUT . . . those strong winds were a non-issue the rest of the ride . Pics and more thorough RR after a shower and maybe nap.

[tkblazer]

you guys are hardcore... i thought about riding this, but it would have been torture on my bike

[TURNERob]

I'm pretty bummed I decided to turn around at Beeks now that I hear the wind died down a bit. When I rounded the corner onto Main Divide I nearly got blown over off my bike, and the wind was cold too. Oh well, better safe than sorry I guess Good job to all those who stuck it out!!!

Next weekend, Holy Jim to Trabuco

[PHAT TIRE]

Great riding half way through this ride to the motorway with you guys! Sorry I missed the Maple Springs run, NOT! I was thrashed after 20 Miles yesterday and then Blackstar and Motorway today. PUSSY...MEOW... I hope that you had a great finish without any problems. I had fun meeting some new peeps and letting Keith kick my ass on the hill AGAIN reminding me of the SART ride !

Thanks for putting this together George.

PS- Thanks for the threads..they are dope!

[LBmtb]

Brrrr


Keith and Rob coming up on Beek's


Group shot at the Motorway, andy behind the camera


Me - at 4 corners. Yes, it hurt.


at beek's hiding from the wind behind a wall


Annie coming down the motorway


Justin at beek's


Annie and Sarah at 4 corners


Andy at beek's


More here

[SlowSpokes]

Originally Posted by LBmtb

Briefly . . .

It was long and painful. In the end the people who completed the whole thing were: me, keith, scott, tin, andy, sarah, and jose. About 7.5 hrs. Lots of people dropped out at Beek's place because of strong winds. BUT . . . those strong winds were a non-issue the rest of the ride . Pics and more thorough RR after a shower and maybe nap.

WTF!?? Where's the other person? I was there too! You don't remember that I was there because I didn't stop till 4 Corners. Here's my proof. Thanks for the shirt and it was great riding with you guys.

[LBmtb]

Dang I knew I missed someone, lol sorry.

[sauce]

great ride today! so when we gonna do the whole course?!

[Sprockethead]

I hurt period. That was a tough ride, Keith made it seem really easy with his cheery attitude, thanks Keith.

[sauce]

Originally Posted by Sprockethead

I hurt period. That was a tough ride, Keith made it seem really easy with his cheery attitude, thanks Keith.

I second that! Not to mention -- Keith is fricking fast!!!!!!

[LBmtb]

OK so here's my better RR:

We started at about 8:30 after getting ready, waiting for sarah (got lost), and passing out some shirts. Jose led the charge for the first part. We regrouped and we lost sight of justin who was just stupid fast going up blackstar. Adam was second there and I followed soon after. The whole blackstar portion of the ride was really windy to the point that you had to concentrate on not getting blown off your bike. It only got worse at Beek's. It was windy and colt there. People looked around questioning whether or not to go on. Dean, Justin, Lucas, Rob, Matt, and Adam turned back at that point.

Main divide from blackstar to motorway came and went. The winds didn't seem like much of an issue on it at all. Sarah really kicked it into a higher gear on main divide; man is she getting fast. Motorway also went down without incident. Well, Sarah had a flat at the bottom. Matt (phat tire) dropped out the rest of us re-filled our camelbaks at the start of Maple Springs (thanks andy and annie!). Keith, scott, tin, andy, annie, sarah, jose, and I began our assault on MS. Now I know why people hate that paved section of MS. It's GRUELING after doing blackstar/motorway. That's when my left calf started to threaten me with cramps.

People were really starting to feel it at the end of the paved road. We continued up to 4 corners, taking our sweet time. The ass and back factor was kicking in for everyone. My calf was still hurting and forced me to walk a couple times. There was major traffic with trucks and motorcycles on MS. We eventually arrived at 4 corners and chilled there for a good 10 minutes or so before coming back down MS. Andy, Annie, and Keith parked at MS but the rest of us had to ride the 5 miles back to Blackstar Rd. Finished off with Wahoo's. It was a pleasure riding this with all of you. Yes it was tough but at least it was among friends.

Thanks to everyone who came out!

edit: according to geoladders we did 39.7 miles & 7,218 ft of climbing

[ka0t1c07]

Man, you guys/girls kick ass. My legs were cramping. I was thinking of turning back or hitching a ride on one of the trucks, but then wanted to ride up to 4 courners. This is some crazy long climbing. It was nice spending time with you guys, especially the ones who rode to 4 corners. After riding these trails, it got me thinking of clipless...Oh yeah, my legs, back, and butt hurts ... LOL

[JamR]

Way to go for sticking it out for the long haul....that's a long time on the bike for one day.

Everyone was looking pretty strong at Beeks.

See ya at the next one

[Keith B]

Stellar ride yesterday, loved every minute of it. Great to meet some new people and catch up with others.
Sarah is my new hero - it was pretty intimidating to see how fast she was on such an epic ride. I've no idea how Jose did this ride on his SS 29er!

I was about 1/4mile from 4 corners when my right thigh was just on the verge of cramping - close call. Apart from the trucks and the mad Toyota driver the descent down Maple was great fun - until the high speed vibes made my bladder almost burst - and we arent talking about the Camelbak bladder here!
Thanks to Andy and Annie for Wahoos and Sarah for the meds

As for my pace - I must have been having a good day
Bring on the next ride!

[Keith B]

More pics.......

[sauce]

I can't believe we went that far! We almost did the whole course! Hey George -- the shirts rock. Nice work, as usual.

My legs HURT!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Keith B

Sarah is my new hero - it was pretty intimidating to see how fast she was on such an epic ride. I've no idea how Jose did this ride on his SS 29er!

Don't you mean "heroine?"

Yeah, Jose -- you really rocked. You smoked most of us on that last climb!!!

[Keith B]

Originally Posted by sauce

I can't believe we went that far! We almost did the whole course! Hey George -- the shirts rock. Nice work, as usual.

My legs HURT!!!!!!!!!!!



Don't you mean "heroine?"

Yeah, Jose -- you really rocked. You smoked most of us on that last climb!!!

oops! You're most definetly a heroine not a hero! I'll put that down to being tired this morning. My legs are a bit sore too - feels good!

[Geronimo]

Originally Posted by ka0t1c07

Man, you guys/girls kick ass. My legs were cramping. I was thinking of turning back or hitching a ride on one of the trucks, but then wanted to ride up to 4 courners. This is some crazy long climbing. It was nice spending time with you guys, especially the ones who rode to 4 corners. After riding these trails, it got me thinking of clipless...Oh yeah, my legs, back, and butt hurts ... LOL

Clipless is just a fad. Wait ten more years and you'll thank me.

[ka0t1c07]

By ten more years, ill be much slower. Maybe by then ill have a motor on my bike.

[stjunkie]

7218 ft. I haven't climed that much in awhile. Thanks for the ride. Finally got to ride with the STR crew on thier home turf. And I was just doing it for fun. I'm thinking of signing up for the Coup now that I'm pretty sure I can do it. Great to meet and ride with some more good people. I was starting to cramp a little before Maple but never bothered me much on the last climb. I can't believe people do this on a SS. Jose was making me tired just watching him. I got lost on the way to Wahoos.
Some of the pics I took