freighttraininguphill

Yesterday had to be the most fun I've had on a bike in years! I took my brand-new Trek Wahoo Disc 29 up to Auburn for some climbing and descending bliss. These are some of my favorite trails from the good old days back in 1992-1993 when I weighed 120 pounds.

All of these trails have technical sections to keep things interesting.

The first trail is Clementine. It starts at the bottom of the canyon by the American River and climbs up to the next trailhead (Fuel Break). Clementine starts out as doubletrack, narrows to singletrack for a while, then widens to doubletrack again as it climbs.

Fuel Break climbs for about 1/2 mile, descends for 1/4 mile, climbs again, then descends to the next trail, Culvert. Culvert drops down to Old Foresthill Road.

Confluence is the really fun downhill that starts at the OHV parking area. After I finished that one, the real suffering began. I started up the short steep part at the beginning of Stagecoach Trail, but instead of making the left turn at the first switchback, I accidentally overshot it and continued on to the next switchback. When the grade got steeper instead of leveling off somewhat like it's supposed to, I started to wonder if the trail got re-routed in the last 15 years.

I spun out a few times and had to restart. Great fun! Other times my front wheel lifted off the ground, forcing me to stop. I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to walk this one, but I eventually made it all the way up by pedal power.

Where I ended up was the top of the Ridgeview trailhead. I went back down and explored some trails off of the steep climb. Found another short steep climb, and after several tries I made it up that one. Picking the right line was absolutely essential with this one. It was technical and covered with pine needles.

I went back to my truck to get more water (gonna have to get a Camelbak, I guess), and started up Stagecoach again. This time I didn't miss the turn-off. After the steep part, the trail leveled off and there was very little suffering for the remainder of the climb. Near the top I saw a group of hikers heading down. One of the women said "Good job!" (you can hear it in the video), and I thanked her.

After that climb I continued climbing on the pavement on Russell Road, then turned around and enjoyed the descent back down Stagecoach.

I'm going to have to remove the spacers and slam the stem to cut down on the front wheel coming off the ground on steep climbs.

One of the technical turns on Culvert

technical turn on Culvert Trail by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Confluence trailhead

Confluence trailhead by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Middle fork of American River as seen from Confluence Trail

Middle Fork of American River seen from Confluence Trail by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Middle Fork of American River and Confluence Trail by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

American River and Clementine Trail

American River and Clementine Trail by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Start of Stagecoach Trail steep climb

Start of Stagecoach Trail climb by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Ridgeview trailhead

Ridgeview trailhead by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Steep sufferfest climb I wound up on by accident

Steep climb above Stagecoach Trail by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Short steep climb it took several tries to clean

Short steep climb above Stagecoach Trail by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

More pics here: freighttraininguphill | Flickr

bradtx

freighttraininguphill, Well your video pretty much seals the choice of bike I take with me to visit my son in the Bay Area! Your last picture reminds me of a place in Dallas (I don't remember where). I made it, but it was brutal.

Brad

freighttraininguphill

I really love how this 29er handles! My old mountain bikes had 26 x 1.95 tires and were a little rougher over trails like these. This one seems to handle rocky trails better.

Mr. Beanz

8:30-9:15 is the best part!

Funny how one little rock or taking the wrong line can throw you so far off on a settep section. Did you noitce how steep the grade was at that point?

BTW, keep an eye on that Garmin while off road. A buddy lost his on the descent once. Luckily another partner went back as this dude had to be at work shortly after the ride. Different older model so hopefully these Edge 500's don't have that problem.

freighttraininguphill

LOL! I know! I forgot the NSFW language warning.

I can't look at the Garmin on climbs like that. I couldn't even look at it on the steepest climbs in San Francisco that I did the day before Thanksgiving last year. I'm often leaning over too much to read it, or I'm concentrating on just making it up the hill, like with this mtb climb.

Thanks for the heads-up about the Garmin. So far the Edge 500 mounts have held firm, so hopefully they redesigned it.

Mr Sinister

Did I hear a swear word, when you couldn't make it up the hill the first time, at about 8:28?

That was also my favorite part for a couple of reasons...

1. I know that at sometimes I'm not the only one who either can't make it up a hill, or just falls when clipped in.

2. I'll never be the only one who doesn't swear at something when things don't go as planned.

3. We all make some sort of mistakes.

freighttraininguphill

Yup, you sure did. Picked the wrong line, spun out, and stalled. Climbs like that are one of the reasons I absolutely refuse to use clipless pedals. I use toe clips and straps instead.

jyossarian

Descents like those are the reason I use clipless pedals. I've been bounced off platforms and it's always ugly. Also, those climbs looked brutal but the descents looked fun.

Leebo

Rethink that clipless pedal thing. I find them very useful for my dirt rides. Keeps the feet on the pedals for downhills/bumps. Able to lift tires better for bunny hops/ log overs. Max climbing efficiency for steeps, pedal on the upstroke. Always able to come out of them, it will become second nature to you. They always come out on the crashes, you can set up the release tension for your riding style. Straps? for off road, that's what they used 20 years ago when nothing better was around. Try shimano 520's, YRMV. Yes thee is a small learning curve.

freighttraininguphill

I had several slow speed crashes when I used to use SPDs years ago. Maybe I didn't give them enough time, but I'm afraid of falling over while clipped in and rolling back down the hill like a snowball! I'll have to think about it.

I do pull up while climbing with toe clips. Much more efficient than platforms. I know, with clipless I could also pedal in circles by pulling back as well.

Leebo

Yes, I've had a back roll with the seat slamming into my chest after I landed on my back, that was rider error not pedal release. For those 520's, just twist your heel away for the bike.
Small learning curve with them.

freighttraininguphill

Ouch! Hope you weren't hurt.

The SPDs I had were the same way-twist your heel away from the bike. For some reason I still had times when I either forgot to do that or couldn't do it in time, which caused the slow speed crashes.

iforgotmename

Looks like a good time.

freighttraininguphill

Yup! I have another old favorite in mind for this weekend if it doesn't rain.

Hill-Pumper

OK, so this is the first time that I have watched one of your videos. The heavy breathing wasn't anything to distracting for me anyway. That out of the way, looked like a fun ride. I ride a 29er myself, and find myself only wanting a 26 for smooth, fast, tight downhill.There are a couple of other things that I want to comment on. First, I noticed what looked like your front end bobbing while on some of the climbing sections. I could not tell if it was just the camera or your fork was unlocked. I almost always lock my fork on the climbs unless the terrain is really technical because it it keeps me from wasting energy.The second thing is about using SPD's, if you have not tried them in the last few years, there are a newer style of cleat out that helps aid in getting out of the pedals. The Shimano SH-56 cleats are what to look for if you ever decide to give clipless pedals a try again.

freighttraininguphill

I think it was the camera. My fork was unlocked, but most of the climbs were pretty bumpy, and most of the footage from that ride was very bouncy as a result. I'm a female cyclist and the camera was mounted on my chest so, um, you know.

Thanks for the tip about the clipless. I will keep that in mind if I ever decide to go that route. Right now I need to get a Camelbak before my next ride. I spent quite a bit on bike stuff this month, so hopefully that will be it for a while.

Daspydyr 

I love Mountain Biking big time. You are set up well and the scenery is primo. Congrats.

I have been using platforms with pins and a pair of Five.Ten shoes with that sticky Stealth sole. I am amazed at how close to being clipless it is. I have tons more rocks around here and getting off the bike instantly is huge when I do something stupid. But the big thing is having a blast, improving your health and liking the ride. Keep those videos coming.

rei.com in the clearance section sometimes has some really smoking deals on Hyrdation packs. I like mine. I bought a 70oz and now wish I had gone for the 100 oz. Plus I have enough room for tools, a couple snack bars a tube and a spare pair of reading glasses if I need to repair something on the trail.

freighttraininguphill

Wow! Hydration packs sure have improved since the early 90s when I last owned one. I had the plain white Camelbak with no extra storage. I think I paid somewhere between $40-$50 for it.

This is the one I think I'll get.

I also recorded video with the ContourHD mounted on my helmet, but the footage was just as bouncy, plus it had way more wind noise and a knocking sound coming from the mount, even though I made sure it was good and tight before I started the ride.

Even worse, the camera being higher up made it look like I was crawling up all the climbs and descending like I'd never been on a mountain bike before. I'm really glad I had the GoPro mounted lower, as that footage turned out much better.

I did get some nice screen captures from the Contour though. Here they are.

Clementine Trail (facing south)

Clementine Trail singletrack (facing south) by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Clementine Trail (facing north)

Clementine Trail singletrack (facing north) by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Confluence Trail and some cliff climbers

Confluence Trail and people climbing the cliff by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Culvert Trail

Culvert Trail by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Steep climb at start of Stagecoach Trail

Short steep climb at bottom of Stagecoach Trail by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Further up the steep part of Stagecoach

Stagecoach Trail steep climb by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

A little further up the steep part of Stagecoach. Kind of rough here.

Stagecoach Trail steep climb 2 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Switchback I overshot the first time I climbed Stagecoach

Stagecoach Trail first switchback by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

The steep climb I ended up on instead (grimace!)

Steep climb above Stagecoach Trail, just past switchback by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Stagecoach Trail first switchback, the second time up when I actually went the right direction

Stagecoach Trail first switchback 2 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

freighttraininguphill

Rougher section of Stagecoach, but not as steep

Stagecoach Trail rough section by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Smooth section of Stagecoach

Stagecoach Trail smooth section by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

jyossarian

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd want to be clipped in on this section...

funrover 

Rock on man! For me the dirt is where it is at, thanks for this post!

freighttraininguphill

You're welcome! I always enjoy your mtb pictures. I think they helped motivate me to finally quit procrastinating and buy a properly fitting mtb.

This weekend's weather forecast is looking perfect so far, so you know what that means. Another old favorite!

Seattle Forrest

Nice pics! Thanks for posting them.

We've had four days of unbelievable weather. It got up to about 60 degrees, and this weird, nice yellow thing has been punctuating the empty blue space where the clouds should normally be. People have responded by going out of doors, and exposing their skin to the elements. Naturally, if it's nice here, it should be everywhere, and the pleasant weather has had me want to spend more time in the mountains ... but not in a deep, dark forest with snow shoes on.

I've been itching to go check out the Teanaway (pronounced tee-en-a-way) river, Blewett Pass, Icicle Creek, and lots of east-side-of-the-Cascades roads. A friend and I were talking about this, making plans, and decided that that area is a lot like the eastern Sierra. So your snowless, semi-arid mountain photos are only making my wanderlust more intense.

freighttraininguphill

Looks like you might just have to go a little lower in elevation. A cyclist on another forum posted some nice pics from a Portland ride in the West Hills. I grew up in Portland and always wanted to live in a house with a view in those hills.

Of course I chimed in on that thread I linked to above. Too bad I couldn't read the grade sign on one of those pics. It looked like a nice climb!

EDIT: I forgot that you have to be signed in on that forum to see the pics if the poster uploaded them as attachments to the post. That's why I always use Photobucket or Flickr. That way you don't have to be signed in. This forum is the same way.

Seattle Forrest

We have lots of paved roads along the beach, but, you know, that's the ocean, not the mountains. I'll probably do Deception Pass this month, though, because it's a bit lower elevation, like you say. My last serious girlfriend hated that I love mountains so much and can't muster a lot of interest in the ocean. It's like a really big lake...

Where will your next mountain trip be?

Have you done the back side of Yosemite, like from Tioga Pass to Mono Lake? The scenery is fantastic, and Lee Vinning Canyon seems like it would be a fantastic descent.