Ride Report 2012 Bike for Bender Hell Ride

It's been a long time since I put up a RR on STR. Working on the book for a year and half took all my writing energy, but with that behind me, it's time. So here's the SART Hell Ride.



Wow! What an awesome day.

At Howies, everyone figured out their shuttles and ride options to the top. People started trickling out of the parking lot and heading up around 7:30 and the trickle continued for another half hour. The roads were wet, and we knew the trails would be tacky. There hadn't been enough rain to cause any damage, but just the right amount for perfect SART conditions.

At the start, the temperature was cold when you were sitting around, but for me it was comfortable enough when riding. I wore a rain jacket and no gloves, but quickly packed the jacket and just went with a jersey. I took my camera, but with the conditions, I was more interested in having a great ride than stopping for photos and riding with a big crew. I took off solo between groups a little before 9 a.m.

It was fast, tacky and fun. Velcro dirt, hero dirt, magic carpet dirt.... pick your descriptive name for it. It wasn't long before I caught the Clyde and his group, and hung with them for the next two sections. We got into a good paced flow, and the trail just seemed to breeze on below us. We did a quick regroup at Glass Road, and took off again with not too many people in front. This section too was amazing. We stopped again at the creek crossing and took some photos.

At the bottom of the fire road, I opted to climb the Post office loop singletrack instead of taking the fire road with Neil. This section was in amazing shape, and for the first time I was able to clean the entire section climbing. There were a few sketchy spots, but with the hero dirt it wasn't too difficult to slide right by the narrow off-camber sections. Since I last rode it, there had been extensive trailwork on one slide-prone area of the trail with a lot of exposure. I didn't realize where I was until I was riding out of the end of the cliffy section.

I came out to the clearing and headed back to the aid station on the fire road. I think that confused a few people who thought either I or they were going the wrong way. I had some orange slices and a granola bar before heading back out. There were a lot of people around, and the longer they sat, the colder they got. But the weather was cooperating. We didn't get rained on, we didn't get any thick or heavy wet fog, and at times there were patches of blue sky.

Heading back to the singletrack, there was a big group gathered at the trailhead, and again I opted to just ride through and get in front of them. Somehow I managed to time it just right, and didn't catch anyone until a few hundred yards before the singletrack dropped out onto the fire road past well past THG. Again there was a group gathered, and I rode through. It was a blast staying off the brakes as much as possible on the fire road descent, before the long grind to Morton Peak. There were only a few people at Morton when I arrived, and it didn't seem like too many were interested in bagging the peak. I ate a sandwich and headed back down to the trailhead. Somehow a dollup of the jelly from my PBJ ended up on my camera lens, so the photos I shot after that point were a little fuzzier than they should have been. You might say I ended up with "marmelade skies."

The next section of trail was a bit brushy, but overall in decent shape. There are some surprise blind corners with exposure, but again hero dirt made for confident handling and the ability to brake without skidding. Towards the bottom the trail got more and more narrow, and riding without gloves my fingers were taking a beating, but it was totally worth it. Finally at the end of the singletrack, I followed Margaret's group out through the orange groves and headed back down the pavement.

It was an epic ride in so many ways, and it was just what I needed. With groups this large riding singletrack, it's easy to switch between groups and ride with lots of different people. I had some prior commitments in the afternoon, so being done at 2 worked out perfectly, but meant I couldn't stay for the raffle and other post-ride festivities.

GPS reported 40.01 miles, 3460' climb and 8300' descent, but that was with the extra climbs up the post office loop and Morton Peak. Thanks to everyone involved in putting this event together. I had a blast and look forward to whatever surprise weather comes our way next time.

It might be called the Hell Ride, but the 2012 event was a little slice of singletrack heaven.











































More photos at http://otbmbc.smugmug.com/2012Photos/Races-and-Events/2012-11-17-Bike-for-Bender/26592916_nTBsw8

 

great RR Kanga!! much respect for doing the extra credit after the fireroad!! U are the mAN!! i have a few pics and some videos from the day that will share later on. It was a kick ass ride!! It was really cool to ride again with the regulars and cool to see so many riders join the fun on the SART!!

yep, it sure was a little slice of singletrack heaven. !!

 

Thanks for the RR Kanga! Every time I do this ride, the weather makes it spectacular one way or another!
The golden leaves on the trail, the scent of pine and wet dirt...heaven is right! It was beautiful.
I'm getting a lousy cold but did the ride anyway. I neglected to pack a sandwich but when we got to Angeles Oaks, I bought a slice of pie and hot chocolate from the cafe! Holy cow! What a life saver! It was delicious and held me all the way to the pizza at the end!
It certainly isn't an easy ride, especially if you have issues with exposure./ Let alone being long (I had 40 miles)it's mentally taxing trying to focus on the trail with a 75 foot slide/cliff next to you! Right Sherpa Drider?

 

Thankyou so much to the folks who contributed to the sag station at A Oaks, that was a huge benefactor for me. Gatorade, oranges and beautiful puppy dogs always help, again thanks.

Steve

 

Great RR and pics. Would definitely love to do this ride someday. Thanks for sharing.

 

What a beautiful day! BIG huge thanks to Traci, Neil and Mark for helping with the car shuttle to the bottom, was such a relief to not have to drive back up to fetch it. (Next time you guys need to ride too!).

Was so great to get to ride with some old regulars on amazing trails, fresh damp dirt, early finish, great pizza, beer and wings and still home before dark!

This ride was only the third ride on my new bike, still needs some dialing in - turns out I was about 35+ lbs short air, no wonder I was pedal striking everything and having a bit of difficulty pedaling. (spent the entire day chasing the hubby, shock pump was in his pack #-o) didn't see him again until Uncle Howies.

BIG HUGE HUGS to Russell and the whole crew for all their tireless efforts and patience and willingness to put this on every year. As long as I'm in town, I'll be there! And Howie's has the BEST pizza, wish we had one in south OC!

Only stopped once to take pics - these just don't do it justice. This was in the middle of the hunting grounds meadows.

Meadow


Liz, Binh and Quinn in front (it was SO beautiful in person...Even Quinn stopped to take pics)


Steve and Crowd in the rear



Steve, said it best - 'Little slice of Single Track Heaven' - was fun catching up with you in the car!

... I have to say my absolute favorite quote of the day while chatting on the fire road climb out of the post office. I was discussing the pain in pushing gears after realizing I took my 22-32x11-36 on a 26" bike to a 28-36x11-36 on 29" wheels. Quinn put it so eloquently, "I'm climbing mountains on this bike, give me a fvckin' triple" --- I MISS riding with you guys!

 

These were the best sticky hero dirt conditions I've ever experienced on SARTand the views were equally amazing.thanks to all the volunteers.
Liz....it was only 15 feet but seemed like 75 climbing back up thanks for the help out Doug....Liz was no where in site to help!

 

A Blast!

Nice RR, I was right behind you and the other two guys until Glass rd. Then I think my two friends and I were the first ones to take off. We also climbed the single track (P.O. loop reverse) but we bypassed the aid station.
That part was a blast until the waterfall, after that it was a little painful.
The entire ride was amazing, but if I have to pick one section as a favorite, I think that would be the downhill between Angelus Oaks and the fire rd that takes you to Morton. Maybe because it was new to me, but I think it was beautiful and perfect.
I was carrying my camera but I though it would be a crime to stop and take pictures, I ended up with just a few pics.
Thanks to those who worked on this, it was perfect!
I hope I can make again next year.

 

With the lack of pics, I am convinced this ride I did not do was sickly Awesome!

 

This was my first hellride, and my first time to SART. Good stuff! Thanks to Russell and everyone else who makes this happen.

 

Ok here's my contribution

 

Probably my most favorite trail. Thank you Russell and all who participated to make it happen. What a blast! The dirt was perfect and weather was chilly, just the way I like it. Everyone was super cool, literally. Didn't stay for pizza although I'd like to have, wife working, kid, etc. Thanks again everyone. Took a few pic's along the way, enjoy.





cool to see my bud driffter33 out there.












Throughout the ride everyone was telling me what a bitch Morton peak was to climb since I've never gone that far before. Really wasn't that bad.


More sart singletrack after Morton.


You just don't see scenery like this too often, one reason why MTB'n is so awesome.




Out of here baby.


So much fun. My legs are still sore.

 

Once again, I would like to thank everyone for coming out. I was a bit nervous that the number of people was going to be tough to keep organized but everything seemed to work out (as usual). Thanks to everyone who came out to help me clear the trail through and below Thomas Hunting Grounds. Thanks to all the shuttle drivers and to Bob and Kevin for manning the aid station.

I ride SART a lot and the conditions on Saturday were definitely the best I have ever ridden. I rode in the back most of the day and the riders in front helped to clear trail for us. Thanks again to Neil for saving a drumstick and a few silver bullets for me at the post office. I enjoyed the chicken wings and both Monte and I took care of the last two bullets.

We only lost one rider at the end of the day but he did show up to Uncle Howies around 6pm. He took a wrong turn at the bottom of Morton Peak and ended up going home and changing before coming back to let us know he was ok. I want to thank Monte again for running sweep. He finished in something like 7.5 hours, he easily could have shaved a few hours off that time were it not for some pacing and fixing of 3 or 4 flat tires.

I only have this pic from the start unfortunately it's out of focus. I counted everyone in this photo and there were 108. There were about 10 or so people in front that were not in the photo and then another 5 in the back that did a little extra credit prior to getting to South Fork.


I didn't get anything from the trail, too busy riding and having fun.

Looking forward to next year...

 

One of - if not THE - best group rides I've ever been on! I saw some great people again that I generally never see except on rides like this, and I saw some amazing views while on the trail. Thank you Russell and everyone else who made it happen!


On the hwy heading out - doesn't look like fun:



But as I was getting closer there was a sign from above, so to speak.



Some of my crew ahead of me. Grego - this is just about opposite of one of your pics...the green jacket in your pic is me. Shortly after this point, I pinch-flatted on a hidden rock (damn beautiful leaf-covered trail) and ended up at the tail end of the group for a while. This was fine with me, as I got a chance to ride with Doug, Ginny, Julie, Liz, Bin, and I met Quinn (sorry if I'm misspellig it) - all great people!



This trail was about as sweet as I've ever seen here in SoCal!!!




My crew (Rich, Mike, Jeff, Jeff, and Dave) was waiting for me up ahead and for a time I didn't bother with pics - just enjoying the ride as much as possible. Awesome views, when you could take your eyes off of the scenery in front of you.



Top of Morton Peak - I thought this climb DID hurt a bit, thank you very much! (But not as bad as last year...I think that's a good sign.)



It's amazing to think that we started way the 4nck over there, on the other side of those mountains and clouds!



And now we're on the home stretch. I had mixed feelings about getting to this point...you're having an absolutely awesome day riding with great people on a great trail, and you see this ahead and know 2 things: there's more fun ahead, but the end is drawing closer.




My body hurts a bit, but my soul is enriched! I was reminded that I need to get out to ride with more of you great peolple more often - I'll be watching for more group events. I am definitely looking forward to this next year!

 

Totally Awesome day! Big thanks to all those who made this happen. For a great cause and a great ride. Weather was perfect trail was perfect! I hit the ground once one a corner I rolled too fast. Suprisingly after the first house the group really spread out which was great for the riding.

 

testing!

her's a vid from Sat. sorry about the low editing skillsS!! this is like my second video ever!! I will add music next time! Also got a link of a few pics, for some reason STR is telling me they are too big?

[video=youtube;FMyppknNWOQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMyppknNWOQ&feature=plcp[/video]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...53149953.2142204.1088690355&type=1&permPage=1

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...53149953.2142204.1088690355&type=1&permPage=1

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...53149953.2142204.1088690355&type=1&permPage=1

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...53149953.2142204.1088690355&type=1&permPage=1

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...53149953.2142204.1088690355&type=1&permPage=1

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...53149953.2142204.1088690355&type=1&permPage=1

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...53149953.2142204.1088690355&type=1&permPage=1

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...53149953.2142204.1088690355&type=1&permPage=1

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...53149953.2142204.1088690355&type=1&permPage=1

ohh well enjoy.

 

This ride was fantastic! Thank you so much to Russell and everyone else who organized this ride and made it all happen! I had never ridden SART before and figured this would be the perfect chance to try it. That trail is amazing! This was the longest mountain bike ride I've ever done, the most singletrack, and definitely the most exposure I've ever faced. I wasn't looking forward to the exposure given my fear of heights, but I didn't want that to keep me away from such a great ride. I may have missed half of the scenery while I stared intently at the narrow bit of trail right in front of my tire through the worst parts, but it was totally worth it.

Well, here are a few pictures to share. Most of them are screen shots from my GoPro video, so hopefully they look okay on here. Someday maybe I'll learn how to edit the video into something worth posting.

Early in the ride before the group had stretched out very much




These roots sticking out over the trail made me miss my old narrow bars ... just for a minute


... then it was my turn to squeak by


past the exposure (for now) and enjoying the view




the trail is hiding in there, cutting through the middle of the old slide area

 

Nice to see the chest mount perspective. It really shows what the trail looked like as you were riding. Beautiful.

Thanks Old School!

 

Part 2 of the Saturdays ride..
[video=youtube;mBHNYrcheVk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBHNYrcheVk&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

Good God! You're hauling some ass! Nice footage and pix!