Ride Report Cactus To Clouds With The King of HAB

Discussion in 'Ride Reports' started by maxwell, May 9, 2010.

  1. maxwell

    maxwell Dirty Stinky PATH Love

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    First off, let me just get this outta the way......

    I LOVE a good hike-a-bike!

    "hike-a-bike—A section where the rider is forced to dismount and push and/or carry the bike. Also known as portaging."

    I'm a firm believer that anything that is steep enough to have to HAB on the way up, is gonna be a freak'n blast on the way down!

    Until yesterday's "ride".

    DFT set the ride up for yesterday, and it was his 6Th time doing so.

    Evan came up from SD, with DFT, and I swang by and picked up Dan.
    We met up at the Ramada Inn, in Palm Springs Friday night, and planned on getting on the trail by 6am, while it was still "cool"!

    All three of us have know Tom for quite some time, and all know he's a bit wacked!
    The guy has always pedaled his 40 pound Stinky around like an XC machine, and now that he's built himself a "proper" AM bike (Banshee Rune) he now goes up like he's being shot out of a rocket!
    He moves with the same energy on the hike-a-bikes!

    He was completely up front about it being 100% HAB for the climb up. "You pull off your pedals, so you're not shredding the backs of your legs, and catching them on the tight stuff trailside".

    So, he tells us it's gonna be a 6 hour tour to the top, and the pay-off is a sweet 4 hour downhill.

    We took the bait.

    WAIT!

    Did I mention the 6 hour HAB consisted of 8 miles, and almost 6000 feet vertical?

    We STILL took the bait!

    Anyways, Saturday morning comes around, and we start our adventure.

    Evan and the guys checking things out.
    [​IMG]

    Three jesters, and THE KING of HAB!
    [​IMG]

    Dan....just the beginning!
    [​IMG]

    Evan, still smiling.
    [​IMG]

    So, with the temps being very manageable, we seemed to be making good time. It was warm, but not terribly hot. At least not at the beginning.

    DFT and Dan, hiking into the sun.
    [​IMG]

    The beautiful views were continuous all the way up.
    [​IMG]

    Still smiling!
    [​IMG]

    Read it very carefully, because it doesn't lie!
    [​IMG]

    We continued our hike, dropping off water at one point, for the ride down.
    We only ran into a handful of hikers, all saying basically the same thing.....
    "You guys are doing WHAT? Are you CRAZY?"
    One guy did tell us we were a bunch of bad-asses!
    That was very cool to hear, although dumb-ass probably would have fit better for me.

    The wild flowers, and cactus up on the mountain was just freak'n amazing. One hiker mentioned that there were even more flowers the week before, but the heat tends to kill things out there quickly.

    Really?

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    So we continue to keep moving, with Tom firing on all cylinders and Dan starting to put some distance between Evan and myself.

    Evan
    [​IMG]

    Dan
    [​IMG]

    DFT's the little blue dot up at the top of the picture.
    Freak'n fast guy!
    [​IMG]

    Here's a nice shot of one of the less intense sections of the hike.
    [​IMG]

    Go Evan!
    [​IMG]

    Remember what I mentioned about the views. Evan rounds another corner.
    [​IMG]

    A little bit of what we'd covered so far.
    [​IMG]

    At mile 7 on my GPS, I was ready to throw in the towel, and just wait for the guys to come down.
    Evan was huge in giving me the encouragement I needed to keep going!

    THANKS MAN!

    And within just over another mile, we reached our summit!

    Even getting up the last bit of the climb.
    [​IMG]

    Our destination. That's Dan doing his best caveman impersonation down there!
    [​IMG]

    Yes, DFT is still smiling, he's a little wacked, and he is definitely the KING of HIKE-A-BIKES!
    [​IMG]

    After taking a much needed hour for some, two hours for others, break, we started our descent.

    DFT
    [​IMG]

    Dan
    [​IMG]

    Evan
    [​IMG]

    OK, by now I'm officially in survival mode. Dan commences to get his ass on down the mountain, with Tom, Evan and I going a bit slower, looking for a jug of water we'd see on the way up.
    Unfortunately for me, we cruised through the section of our descent, that had the most flow.
    And when we couldn't find the water we'd seen, DFT took off like only DFT can!

    DFT
    [​IMG]

    Evan took on the roll as my guardian, pulling ahead a bit, then holding up for me to make sure I was still up-right! When I ran out of water, he gave me a bottle of Gatorade, that probably kept me from just laying down, and becoming another piece of the desert scenery!

    I owe you BIG TIME my friend!

    Evan
    [​IMG]

    Evan hitting one of what seemed to be 1000 switchbacks! And looking good doing it!
    [​IMG]

    So, I get to the point where we'd dropped off our extra, just as Evan passes the spot.
    I'm yelling for him to stop, but I just wasn't loud enough, for a change.
    I'm completely out of water, and VERY HAPPY to see my big 1.5 liter sitting the under the rock where I'd left it.
    I sit down in a little bit of shade, and try and get myself motivated to get this thing done.
    And guess who pops up from over the rocks, checking up on this old man? My boy Evan!
    He was very surprised to see he'd passed the water drop, and was very happy to see his other Gatorade stash was still there!

    Time to get this thing done!

    I'd finally hit the point where I just couldn't seem to keep my bike up-right and in control, and was walking more than riding.
    I don't mind to hike-a-bike going up, but it really bugs me going down!
    But I needed to just get done, and get back to the car, so I did what I could, and finished this thing in one piece.

    Just another bunch of silly MTBer's? I don't think so!
    [​IMG]

    So, we ended up with 5933 ft of elevation gain, with the same on the descent, in just over 16 miles.

    It was easily the hardest 16 miles I've ever done, and probably in my top 5 hardest rides ever!

    Would I ever do it again?

    NO!

    Thanks to DFT for putting this together, and handing me my ass!
    This weekend was the first time riding with Even and Dan, and I truly hope it's not the last!
    Those are two solid friends to have on the trail!

    Hey DFT, you freak'n NUT, I LOVE YOU MAN!
    [​IMG]
     
  2. CPATCRASH

    CPATCRASH Enjoy the ride!

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    You are one crazy mo-fo!
     
  3. Vandit

    Vandit I like to ride

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    And then the next day Maxwell middle rings whiting - stt - luge. Machine.
     
  4. d'man

    d'man Dirt Lover

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    Guess I know what you mean now when you said "You don't even what to know what I have planned for Saturday" :lol:
     
  5. Lovin

    Lovin Calmer 'n you are

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    Insanity!
     
  6. mtbcat

    mtbcat the number of the beast

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    rr

    Darrin great ride report on this epic ride thanks !!!! woody.
     
  7. Lovin

    Lovin Calmer 'n you are

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    Seriously. I woke up today and didn't even look at my bike. And I didn't HAB 6k feet.
     
  8. Magna_Graecia

    Magna_Graecia Tapia Bunny Slayer

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    The pictures are very decieving. This almost looks like a fun ride, but after hearing you talk about this...yeah, I think I'll stay far, far, away.

    It makes the fact that you rode today even more impressive.
     
  9. CPATCRASH

    CPATCRASH Enjoy the ride!

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    lol. Willie and I went for a crazy tour of Peters Canyon on the single speeds.

     
  10. jfsh

    jfsh chainsaw and shovel

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    Nice Maxwell. DT asked me if I was interested in going. I may be crazy but I'm not that crazy!

    Tom, that's some big net vert!
     
  11. Garrett

    Garrett Active Member

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    Thats some crazy HAB you guys got going there. Looking at how you did on the whiting/luge loop today I wouldn't have guessed you did this craziness.
     
  12. maxwell

    maxwell Dirty Stinky PATH Love

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    Shoot man, we missed you this weekend!
    Either DFT couldn't sell you this one, or you're one of the friends he's checked off over the years by bringing them along on this mayhem!:lol:

    Mike you did great today! I'll get an RR and some pics up for our shop ride, in the morning.

    Jeff, you're a very wise man! :clap::clap::clap:

    Hows the shoulder, you tree hugger?
     
  13. SDstumpy

    SDstumpy New Member

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    Wow...brutally awesome. Where can I find this beast of a ride? Nice accomplishment. Makes me want to give it a shot.
     
  14. lesper4

    lesper4 Member

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    not that i would ever do this but do you have a map or the route? The area looks like palm springs but i cant locate it.

    BTW GREAT JOB!
     
  15. Vandit

    Vandit I like to ride

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    Went straight to the Chiro from the parking lot. Looks like I separated my shoulder and broke some cartilage off of my ribs. Looks like I won't need surgery at the moment, but we'll see how it does over the next couple of days (surgery very unlikely). If it starts to get worse, I'll go get an xray.

    The outcome of today's ride? A nice rash on my hand from the cactus, a pretty swollen knee (both from the first superman crash.

    From the second crash: a pretty scraped up arm, pain in my shoulder, a tight neck, sore jaw, bruised hip and a dented helmet

    ...:bang:
     
  16. maxwell

    maxwell Dirty Stinky PATH Love

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    It's in Palm Springs, off of the 111 & Ramon.
    Turn right on Ramon, and drive to the end of the street and park. Take your pedals off and start HABing.
    I'm sure there are full on XC riders scoffing at the whole hike-a-bike thing, and thinking they'll just pedal it.
    Picturing that makes me laugh. :lol:
    And the descent is a whole different story!

    If you do give it a try, take an extra set of shoes for the hike up, and at least 200 ounces of water.
    I had right around 160 yesterday, and it still wasn't enough. My hiking shoes were a tremendous help.

    Yep, it's Palm Springs.

    Here's the link to my Garmin Connect; http://connect.garmin.com/activity/32790476

    I'm not sure why my gps shows it starting half way up, I started it at the car. But you can get the whole route from it because it's a 100% out and back.

    We had the ONLY tire tracks up there. I'm pretty sure DFT, and whomever joins him once a year, are the only time that trail see's bikes.
     
  17. IDY-Craig

    IDY-Craig Lake Arrowhead

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    I've lived at the base of that trail for 4 years and refuse to do it. I really don't see how they get it done every year, but my hat is off to all of you.
    That is some manly stuff.

    Best warning ever: Dude, you need to take your pedals off for the HAB."

    Fixed.
     
  18. Garrett

    Garrett Active Member

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    Ouch, heal up man. I didn't see your second crash but man it was LOUD :bang:

    Looking forward to seeing maxwell's pics of your pre-superman huckage :D
     
  19. Vandit

    Vandit I like to ride

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    Thanks.

    Did you at least catch the first 1-2 minutes of me attempting to breathe?
     
  20. Formu1fan

    Formu1fan Slow Down, Slower Up

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    Great RR Maxwell!
    I thought i recognized that place, i used to go hiking there all the time as a kid!
    Maybe some day i'll have the balls to do that....
     

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