Palm Canyon Epic / Art Smith - 12/23

[cjwally]

Originally Posted by ShinKen

I say DOOOOOO it!! hey if we're running late we just have to pedal faster!!!

Or, just to be sure, we can bring some lights.... I probably will bring mine just to be safe and happy....

bjammin [12-03-2007 09:03 PM] - work

Come on Ben, you have one month to figure it out... Get the day off and hang out with your br0's. Br0's before W0rk!

[Tom Cosgrove]

My etr is without doing hans. Chances are we will not be able to ride the wash unless it rains the day before . Art smith is 2-3 hours of trail by itself. Pushing through the wash in dry conditions will be more strenuous and take about the same time as riding around it and up dunn.
As for using lights, the last part of Art Smith is very bouldery technical and with extreme exposure switchbacks.

Originally Posted by CalEpic

Tom - If we cut out Hahn Buena Vista and took Art Smith from the Oasis wouldn't that actually be a shorter ride?

[Tom Cosgrove]

Yo Dean,
Doing Art smith as an out and back will be very difficult and not recommended. The 1st 3 miles of the trail is super narrow switchbacks with high exposure, then you hit a bunch of bouldery sections that are all hike a bike going up . Some of these I cannot clean going down. After that it will be almost all uphill as a steady grade with lots of tech chutes.
Sawmill is a fairly uneventful ride but should be done in spring or summer believe it or not. This trail is very similar to Mt. Pinos off of hywy 5 by fort tejon. About 9 mile up a fire rode then down the sawmill s/t for about 3mi. then rippen fun rocky rutty fireroad for about 5 mi. The unique thing about this ride unlike the pce is it climbs 9 mi. from the start up into a much cooler climate. I rode it in the heat of the summer a couple of years ago. It was 105 deg when we started and it only took about a mile before the temp dropped to 85 deg. When we got to the top it it was a beautiful 70 degrees. In the winter it will be buttass freezing up there.

Originally Posted by dstepper

Sometime before February I am looking to do Art Smith Trail as a out and back. There is also a trail on Santa Rosa Mt. called Sawmill Trail that has my interest.

[RidetheRAAM4]

Art Smith will cut it close. If you want to try that, try for a 6am start time. Or whenever the sun rise is down there. You will need every minute.

[allison]

Originally Posted by cjwally

LOL...What do I say to this....Let me get back to ya!

Allison - You and the hubbie down for this one? I promise a great time and beers to follow the ride on my behalf....

Hmm.. maybe? We'll be out there Christmas Day, so not sure we'll be able to drive out there and back. I'm waiting to see if my dad can work some magic for me to be at the Q on the 24th. If that doesn't work out, we might just be in PD from Sunday on. But, we'll be doing Christmas with my dad at some point over this weekend as well.

[cjwally]

Originally Posted by allison

Hmm.. maybe? We'll be out there Christmas Day, so not sure we'll be able to drive out there and back. I'm waiting to see if my dad can work some magic for me to be at the Q on the 24th. If that doesn't work out, we might just be in PD from Sunday on. But, we'll be doing Christmas with my dad at some point over this weekend as well.

I will be out in the desert from the 23rd to the 26th. Maybe we can get together for a road ride or mtb ride. Let me know what your plans are and maybe we all can meet up! ~C

[allison]

Originally Posted by cjwally

I will be out in the desert from the 23rd to the 26th. Maybe we can get together for a road ride or mtb ride. Let me know what your plans are and maybe we all can meet up! ~C

Sounds good! I'd love to try a road ride out there (just not climbing up the highway).

[MTBMaven]

Originally Posted by cjwally

Brian from The Path was telling me a few weeks ago, he climbed Santa Rosa down sawmill to Palm Canyon to the Oasis, and down Art Smith. All in one day. He mentioned that is was around 45 miles. Now that is ballz.

That sounds awesome. Mucho miles, mucho riding time. Let's do it!

[jcbikeski]

Some friends and I just did a variation where we road up Dunn road, down 2/3 of Art Smith and then returned on same, then took Buena Vista to Wild horse. That was about 28mi and 5300' total ascent. So what's the proposed start, end and general route you're suggesting???

btw, by not doing the very south end of Art Smith we removed a relatively worthless descent that we would just have to climb back up which made the ride doable for us mere mortals.

[ShinKen]

IN = mcgrath [12-04-2007 10:31 AM]

whoooooahhh!! r u 4 realSs? my brother!!! now guero has to show up for sure!!!

[Tom Cosgrove]

In my opinion you missed the best part of Art Smith. The end is the rocky sketchy down hill . You could have just finished art smith and rode the easy downhill road ride back to your car.

Originally Posted by jcbikeski

Some friends and I just did a variation where we road up Dunn road, down 2/3 of Art Smith and then returned on same, then took Buena Vista to Wild horse. That was about 28mi and 5300' total ascent. So what's the proposed start, end and general route you're suggesting???

btw, by not doing the very south end of Art Smith we removed a relatively worthless descent that we would just have to climb back up which made the ride doable for us mere mortals.

[jcbikeski]

Originally Posted by Tom Cosgrove

In my opinion you missed the best part of Art Smith. The end is the rocky sketchy down hill . You could have just finished art smith and rode the easy downhill road ride back to your car.

yeah we've done that before but were looking to hit other trails and avoid riding pavement. I had remembered (likely poorly) the very last (south) part being just some switchbacks whereas most of the trail was fun up and downs with cool cactus and palms around.

[ApexMan]

I can't believe this could take 8 plus hours, sack up people and motor. When it's cool out you don't drink as much! Well, I'm wierd in that regard... I just did Strawberry Loop 3 weeks ago and I took just FOUR sips out of my only 16oz. water bottle, and I knocked out the loop in 2:40 with my 45 +lb. rig.

Nail the route down, it you have doubts about yourself, do some more prep rides to keep the regroups to a minimum.

[cjwally]

Originally Posted by ApexMan

I can't believe this could take 8 plus hours, sack up people and motor. When it's cool out you don't drink as much! Well, I'm wierd in that regard... I just did Strawberry Loop 3 weeks ago and I took just FOUR sips out of my only 16oz. water bottle, and I knocked out the loop in 2:40 with my 45 +lb. rig.

Nail the route down, it you have doubts about yourself, do some more prep rides to keep the regroups to a minimum.

Thank you for that! Last week when I did the PC Epic with Craig, Tom, Jose, etc. we strated at 8:45 and finished at 3:30. That was with 2 flats and one mech.

Sack up everyone!

[Tom Cosgrove]

So Apex man you are coming to show us how it is done right?????

Originally Posted by ApexMan

I can't believe this could take 8 plus hours, sack up people and motor. When it's cool out you don't drink as much! Well, I'm wierd in that regard... I just did Strawberry Loop 3 weeks ago and I took just FOUR sips out of my only 16oz. water bottle, and I knocked out the loop in 2:40 with my 45 +lb. rig.

Nail the route down, it you have doubts about yourself, do some more prep rides to keep the regroups to a minimum.

[ShinKen]

Originally Posted by Tom Cosgrove

So Apex man you are coming to show us how it is done right?????

Tom, u know this Ape dood right? he rides a 40 something bike like it wassome freaking 20 something well u kind it get what I'm saying?

[ApexMan]

Originally Posted by ShinKen

Tom, u know this Ape dood right? he rides a 40 something bike like it wassome freaking 20 something well u kind it get what I'm saying?

And don't forget that my age is catching up to the weight of my bike too!

So, as you can see above I've rsvp'd my ass for this ride. I hope it rains!

[ShinKen]

Originally Posted by ApexMan

And don't forget that my age is catching up to the weight of my bike too!

So, as you can see above I've rsvp'd my ass for this ride. I hope it rains!

SWEEEEETT!! [SIZE=3]representING for DAA freeride clan[/SIZE] this will be a great one fooo sure!!!

[Tom Cosgrove]

Ya we have ridden together at strawberry and other rides.

Originally Posted by ShinKen

Tom, u know this Ape dood right? he rides a 40 something bike like it wassome freaking 20 something well u kind it get what I'm saying?