Pain Freak
Dead or Alive
We had been talking about this ride for a couple years or 3. The ride consisted of a long shuttle run. Starting at Mt Hilyer I belive and continuing all the way to the bottom of Chantry in Sierra Madre (Monrovia). Well, we finally got it together. We had a decent size group for the ride with a few guys who post here (ST Junkie, and mtb Maven ) I can't give you all the names for the places we went thru, but they were many and it was a true epic ride.We ended up with some bail out options that was taken by half the group. The first 18 miles took 5 hours while the second half took 3. For the most part we came down the Silver Moccasin Trail which is one of the best the San Gabriels has to offer. This is for the most part a technical trial that will test your skills in a number of places. We then hit a few more places like Shortcut Cyn along with a jaunt up to Newcombe Pass followed by a wicked descent down into Chantry. At this location the sun was going in and out behind the ridges and made for some difficult riding for me because of the shadows. I have pretty bad eyesight in these conditions. At one point I managed to go down and tear a pretty good gash in my forearm and ended up with 8 stitches. But this was one hella ride. Total miles were 38 and I believe we cilmbed 4800 feet and descended over 8,000. I had a blast and I would love to do this one on a regular annual ride. Total time though would have to be different as with the shuttling and all I didn't get home till after 9 pm and then had to go to the hospital till 2 am. Long day, but a very memorable one. Maybe one of the others can fill in the details a little better.
