Ride Report Epiphany: Wrightwood Death March

Preface: My wife (CrazySue) thinks that I'm evil, and that I have a warped idea of what fun is. Funny thing is, she keeps hanging out with me and oddly seems to embrace the neccesary evil of descending to enjoy an opportunity to climb:?:

When we pre-rode the ride last weekend, she simply stated, "That's a lot of climbing, I don't think that everybody wants to climb that much." Hindsight being 20-20: I think that she was right.

Epiphany: Listen to your wife, she's smarter than you.

So, with no further adieu: I'm Sorry! I led a ride that started too early, climbed too much and left us with less than 10 of the 36 who started the ride on the final climb/descent.

That being said, I think that there were more than a handful of smiling faces along the way. We met a lot of new faces today and got to spend time with some old regulars, and that (IMHO) is really what hosting a ride is all about. I can ALMOST promise that the next ride I post will not be a deathmarch.

A very heartfelt thanks needs to go out to :steppie:, he nursed in an ailing Punk Sanders and brought him back to the cars safely... I hope that you are recovering well.

There is something special about that post-ride beer, and as an STR requirement, a handful of us spent an hour unwinding, telling stories and drinking a cold one under a pleasant canopy of trees. By the way, Craig (Calepic) has the coolest bottle opener ever!!!

 

Had a good day, it was rather warm up there and not all are used to riding at altitude. I believe that Punk Sanders got himself a bad case of altitude sickness trying to keep up the the group. I never mind helping someone out that is what group rides are about.

And yes it is the Fearless Fly, how could a 10 year old go by a rope swing and not want to ride it.

Dean

 

More pics? :?:

 

Thanks for putting on the ride, Ed.

As you know, six of us split-off after the first loop, and rode a different route. Our total mileage was just over 30mi, and an estimate on the climbing would be right around 4Kft. I think we finished the ride about the same time as the main group (those who remained, that is), and got back to the cars about a half hour after you.

I don't think you're evil, Ed, but here's a clue: change your username to CrazyEd. Anyone who considers descending a "necessary evil" is -well- you know... :lol:

As Dean likes to say "every good ride should have a happy ending".

 

As lethal as this ride seems to have turned out, I really regret missing it. I ended up suffering with everyone in spirit by doing an inadvertent 50 mile road ride instead...

Oh yeah, moar pictures pleazeee!

 

Thank you so much for hosting!! The climbing was steady but not HORRIBLE. I enjoyed the 2nd loop the most, the views on that side were beautiful (when I had a chance to look). I was trying not to pay attention to the exposure but I made it! I would have continued but my back and legs from yesterdays road ride were catching up with me and things were getting a bit painful for me. Otherwise a great day!

The minute I saw the rope I was wondering why Gabe wasn't on it, not 20 seconds later I see him making his was down. I knew he couldn't resist.

Thanks again guys for a fun ride! Definately want to get back and continue where I left off.

 

I had a great time Ed, and would do it again, despite the 2 hrs of nausea and vomiting. That was the best singletrack I've ridden on. And special thanks to Dean. He walked with me, told me about the area, keeping me distracted from how miserable I was, and kept me moving when I just wanted to lay down and moan. I would ride with you anytime Dean.:steppie: I also enjoyed meeting and sharing the drive with mtbgeo and Will.E. King. Oh, and to the lady who was sitting next to Dean at the picnic table(sorry, I didn't get your name), I'm sorry if I stepped on your toes. My bad.#-o

 

Fork

Actually there were 7 of us who split off, but only six of us made it back. Poor Scottay's fork blew out on him right at the begining of the ride.


Thanks Ed for the first loop.

 

The 1st photo is Dean and me before I bailed. It was a shame to walk away from camaraderie and free beer, but all I wanted was a fountain coke to settle my stomach.

 

Sorry I missed the ride too.
Dean is a star! We all love him!

 

I am sorry I missed the ride as well, family and friends seemed to be more important. I will make one of these ride..so please keep posting them.

 

I really wanted to make this ride, but a 12 hour graveyard shift last night told me sleep would benefit me more. Hey, Sailor Ripley, can you PM me detailed directions about how this ride went. Some buddies and I are going up on Thursday morning. I'd like to find where that tower is in the first pic and the rope swing. Thanks and great pics to all.

 

It was great meeting u all! Thanks fir the great ride!

 

Eddie and Sue, thank you for putting on this ride and showing us your local stash of trails. I had so much fun riding new dirt and meeting new peeps. After the second loop, I was determined to finish the ride. I told Craig, there's no way I'm doing all this climbing to bail out, I'm going to the top! The post ride drinks and killer salsa hit the spot. Couldn't beat the views and cool weather. Don't worry about the climbing, it wasn't that bad. Can't wait for the next ride!

 

Thanks everyone for all the kind words... My post was mostly in jest, just trying to make the RR entertaining. I had a good day on the bike, thanks for joining the ride!

I'm looking forward to Shudders photos... he said he'd have them up in a coule days.

 

It is difficult to explain the route, as many of the trails do not have official names... maybe one of the riders in the group today had a GPS tracking the ride.

I'm riding up there often on the weekends... send me a PM if you ever want to join up.

 

Wow, I just posted a reply and it disappeard?!?! - I clicked the wrong button.
Anyway, great to see new and familiar faces. I glad some people stuck it out. I found that most times it's not about the ride, it's about the company on the ride. I look forward to the next STR gathering.
BTW... this was the first time I did the whole ride without relying on the granny gear.

Good job Eddie you are still the stud I married.

I know there are still more pics... somewhere

 

I almost bailed out on this ride due to the size of the group but in the end, decided I needed a group ride fix. I'm glad I did. It was great seeing old friends and meeting new ones. This was the longest ride I've done on the single speed but I don't think it was bad at all. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Thanks again Eddie and Sue for putting this together.

 

Before the ride...

Hola Sailor Ripley, crazysue (and the whole STR gang) --

That was a hella ride, fo sho! Sprockethead said it was like SART at one point, and then later on either he or dstepper said it was like Strawberry (especially whenever there was some exposure...). All I know is it was a hella lotta fun in the mountains!! Thanks so much for hosting -- I know it's a lot of work to keep a group of any size together, so thanks for guiding us all through your mountain top forests. Very cool.

Without further procrastination, here's my pics and story du jour:

While all of the above is true and verifiable fact, things did not start off too well... Before Eddie arrived there was much confusion -- just men turning circles in the parking lot, and WITHOUT HELMETS!!!


We were early, so got the prime parking spaces. Soon folks started arriving in earnest, parking all up and down the highway and side streets:


Scottay grabbed a shot of me shooting him...


The man of the hour, Eddie, along with the mountain man his bad self, Mr. Dean Stepper (always fun riding with you, Dean, and thanks so much for helping out with the sweeping!):


There were several folks sporting STR jerseys in the group, which is always cool. Here's dstepper and CalEpic (Craig riding his SS today!!):


Before long, the group of 36 (!!) gathered before hitting the road:


Then Eddie took the pulpit and intoned, "Y'all can either leave or get the f*** out!"... 8-[


More to follow...

- shud