gurp13
SolarFederationMember
It's kind of a milestone for me. Back in January I went riding on my Stumpjumper for the first time. Armondo and I tried to go from the Marshall Cyn trailhead to Potato Mtn. But, the route was too much for me. I tried again on Tuesday, but couldn't get all the way up. Today, I went again and tried to do the Geoladders route.
Nailed it! :bang: \\
/
My legs are all rubbery but I went 17.49 miles with an average speed of 4.9 miles and a total riding time of 3:31:40. I'd say I rested a total of about a half hour.
You know how they say the last mile's the hardest mile. Well, on this route to the summit of Potato Mtn, it really is. I swear, the grind up the fire road for the last mile and a half is a beeotch. I just kept reminding myself that it was only 8 tenths of a mile, 6 tenths of a mile, 5 tenths. I bore down on the handlebars, scooted forward on my seat and pedaled that granny gear at a brisk two mile an hour. I refused to look up the trail to see really how steep and far away that 5 tenths of a mile was. But, finally, I made it.
I did the whole route as posted on Geoladders. I didn't do it fast or anything, but for me, this was a big deal to not only get up there, but to clean some of the sections that just killed me previously. I did walk over a couple of the trickier sections but that was only two or three places. No crashes, no falls and a whole lot of grinding.
Trail conditions - mostly good. The fireroads and singletrack have ruts all over the place from the rain. This, in my opinion, makes the route a whole lot more technical. Though it's mostly fireroad, the ruts make some sections a lot more like singletrack. And, the singletracks are more difficult too. But, then, your mileage may vary. Most of the muddy sections were dry, too. Sections of the West Fork fireroad were very "unmaintained" and almost overgrown in places.
Marshall Cyn. and the fireroads were almost deserted for a weekend.
I wonder where everyone was?
Here's a couple pics to commemorate...
Me, a little winded, but throwing up a "victory sign" at the summit.
My Stumpjumper and the round reservoir thingy at the summit.
A shot of the Inland Valley behind me from Potato Mtn.
:bang:
Nailed it! :bang: \\
/ My legs are all rubbery but I went 17.49 miles with an average speed of 4.9 miles and a total riding time of 3:31:40. I'd say I rested a total of about a half hour.
You know how they say the last mile's the hardest mile. Well, on this route to the summit of Potato Mtn, it really is. I swear, the grind up the fire road for the last mile and a half is a beeotch. I just kept reminding myself that it was only 8 tenths of a mile, 6 tenths of a mile, 5 tenths. I bore down on the handlebars, scooted forward on my seat and pedaled that granny gear at a brisk two mile an hour. I refused to look up the trail to see really how steep and far away that 5 tenths of a mile was. But, finally, I made it.
I did the whole route as posted on Geoladders. I didn't do it fast or anything, but for me, this was a big deal to not only get up there, but to clean some of the sections that just killed me previously. I did walk over a couple of the trickier sections but that was only two or three places. No crashes, no falls and a whole lot of grinding.
Trail conditions - mostly good. The fireroads and singletrack have ruts all over the place from the rain. This, in my opinion, makes the route a whole lot more technical. Though it's mostly fireroad, the ruts make some sections a lot more like singletrack. And, the singletracks are more difficult too. But, then, your mileage may vary. Most of the muddy sections were dry, too. Sections of the West Fork fireroad were very "unmaintained" and almost overgrown in places.
Marshall Cyn. and the fireroads were almost deserted for a weekend.
I wonder where everyone was?Here's a couple pics to commemorate...
Me, a little winded, but throwing up a "victory sign" at the summit.
My Stumpjumper and the round reservoir thingy at the summit.
A shot of the Inland Valley behind me from Potato Mtn.
:bang:
