mtnbiker66

Back to the rides. Got a super fun ride in with two of my best buds in Pisgah this morning. We did a short loop on Sycamore Cove...

blamire

4th MTB ride so far for me
spot the roadie
The day before we got to demo some of the new Specialized bikes, rode the Epic carbon one and the Enduro
black downhill run on the epic was ssccaarryy. on the enduro, it was AAWWEESSOOMMEE

JakcBeNimble

Over the last two days I've done my first mountain biking in years. I grew up near the Tapeworm and Parasite trails in Renton, WA, and rode them on back to back days. I found Tapeworm to actually easier than I remember, and Parasite much harder. I also hit up what used to be an epic set of catwalks, and found it to be instead just a steep wooded hill covered in massively banked corners and huge dirt jumps (which I frantically steered around).

Wow, I'd forgotten how much fun mtb'ing is. I wish I had a job now so that I could upgrade, I'm just riding my craigslist special '93 ATX 780. Not there's anything wrong with it, I've actually gotten it into great shape. Its just that 40mm-ish of front suspension and none in the rear, along with a rock hard seat and cantilever brakes don't cut it any more.

Luke52

Here's a bit of light reading material for you all..

I posted it on a local forum, so some aspects refer to certain parts of a trail, but you'll get the idea.

Report and pics from today:

Weather was looking a bit iffy, but I headed off anyway. Left at 12.00 on the dot, and headed out on to Police Road. Came across two lost-looking cyclists who asked me for directions, so I told them where they wanted to be, and they were off.

Headed down past the hospital and got on the Dandy Creek trail. Followed it through Tirhatuan Park, and turned up Brady Road. Rode through Nerre Nerre Warren picnic area, and followed the roads out to Power Road. Crossed Power rd and took a bit of singletrack to the entry of Churchill Park. Down the main road, and on to the Channel Track. Turned off on to the Link Track, and faced my first climb of the day. The difference which clipless makes is amazing. Got to the top MUCH easier than I expected.

Kept riding along the North Boundary Track, up a small hill then down the other side, which is a fair bit steeper. Turned left on to the Lysterfield Hills track, and faced my second big climb of the day. That was tough. Although it wasn't QUITE as hard as I thought (Mainly due to clipless) it was still relatively hard. Felt as though I was going to be seeing my breakfast for a second time the whole way up.

Got to the top, where Lysterfield Meets Churchill. I hoped to chill out there for a bit of a break, but the clouds decided to slowly open up, with a few drops falling, so I decided I should get a move on.

Headed down the other side of the hill, and hit the top of the Comm Games course. Flew down there, through the berms. The bike is absolutely amazing. Handles well, the fork absorbs all the bumps without missing a beat, my rebound was dialed in very well.

Being a bit cautious, I wasn't looking too far ahead. Put my head up at one point, and found a whole group of kangaroos across the track, just before a left hand berm. Hit the anchors, and they scuttled off. Kept riding, across the boardwalks, and up that small hill. That's where it started to rain..

I kept going, determined to get to Hallam North Road Car park (HNRCP) without getting too wet. At that section where you come around a very sharp left-hand hairpin berm, my front wheel got all crossed up and I fell to the side. No damage done, straight back on.

Got to HNRCP and went straight into the toilet blocks to wait out the rain. Used the hand dryer to dry off my shorts and top, so I wouldn't get too cold. Rain eventually passed, so I looked up and did a bit of cloud-reading. Realised that I probably only have a short period of dry, so I jumped on the bike and legged it down Hallam North Road.

Stopped off at my mate, Carissa's, place to chill out for a bit. Got there just in time...
About 5 minutes after I got there, I got a call from my sister. "Where are you? It's hailing at home."
10 Minutes later, it hit Carissa's place. Didn't hail, but was some decent rain. Was keeping an eye on the skies, as well as the rain radar, and found a break which I thought would get me home relatively dry.

Left Carissa's at around 3.00, road up HNR and turned into some paddocks, which followed the power lines down. Turned on to Churchill Park Drive, and turned back down at that singletrack which leads to the gate.

Back across Power road, and into Nerre Nerre Warren picnic area, where it began to rain..

Down Brady Road, and back on to the Dandy Creek trail home. I had to battle a headwind and precipitation all the way home...not very fun.

Got home at 3.45 and jumped straight into the shower.

Despite the weather, it was an awesome ride. Impressed myself with my climbing ability, which seems to be improving. Bike was excellent. Handles well, climbs pretty well, a great XC bike in general, can not fault it. As I mentioned before, the difference with clipless is incredible.

Stats time.
Distance: 27.15km/h
Riding time: 1hr, 32mins, 51secs.
Average speed: 17.5km/h
Max speed: 44.1km/h

Here's the route and elevation profile one Bikely.

https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/345363

And now, pictures.


I climbed that..


Looking down, from the top.


Filty taking a break.


Looking towards the city. I could faintly see the city, but it hasn't shown in the pics.


Looking south


Looking South-East


This is about 2/3 the way up the second climb. It doesn't look steep here, but it's bloody tough!


Looking back down from the same spot

Luke52

At the top, looking out towards the bay. Arthur's Seat just on the left.


Filty again.


Over ze hills.


Looking down towards Lysty. You can see the lake down there. I headed straight down that grass, and the top of Switchback Climb is just there.


See! She DID get dirty! The rain on the way home cleaned her off a bit though..








And of course, what would a ride be without the compulsory sock-line?

Thanks for readin'.

UBUvelo

we finally checked out the Middle Run trail system that links to the White Clay Creek State Park in DE...for what little 5 miles of exploratory riding we did, it was quite impressive...aside from the nice challengeds set up by the folks who maintain this trail so (obviously) well, it's a true hardpack singletrack rollercoaster ride. can't wait to check it out tomorrow.

https://www.bikekinetix.com/t_de/de_c...ddlerun_cp.php

p.s. thanks scrublover for the extra shot of that bike...nice frame...who made it?

scrublover

https://www.peytocycles.com/product/w...mountain-bike/

blamire

you'll be wanting one of these;




oh wait i forgot this was the MTB forum

ed 

26mi of gravel today...boring...yet just nice to get out on my bike. (visiting the in-laws in the land of no trails)

Oleanshoebox

Spent Thursday and Friday riding at Northstar. I feel like I didn't know what the heck DH was before this trip. A true revelation. Most fun riding ever.

danielhull

Hi my name is daniel.

just starting to get in to the XC style of mountain bikeing and im loveing it, i currently ride a lapierre spicy 516 in a small its a great bike, it does exactle what you want it to do and gives you the confidence to realy push your rideing to your limit, the spicy also gives you lots of feedback so you no what areas of your rideing you need to improve on, but its most certain to keep a big smile on your face every time you go rideing

I got min off this sit called WE LOVE MOUNTAINS they have a large stock off the lapierre range and do a full check over of the bike before they send it out to you so that you no everything is in working order.

i would surgest this sit to any one thinking of getting a lapierre bike.

thanks

Daniel

mtnbiker66

OMG!!!!! This one spot has a ton of fun lines. You could have a blast coming out of the left side of that pipe to that small bank. You could drop the wall to the same spot.......this would be a great session spot in the middle of a ride.

mzeffex 

Took the metro into DC yesterday with a friend. Did a lot of urban freeride kind of stuff, lots a steps and 3ish foot jumps. Went around the national mall, skidded on the gravel. First time on the mountain bike in near 3 weeks, only been using the new road bike. Was nice. Got a flat though, sadly. Luckily only about a quarter mile from home, so just walked it. And there were slurpies at the end, so that's always good.

born2bahick

Sarah looks amazingly coy there! It was sarah?

mtnbiker66

Yeah, Sara is brindle and Lucy is the tan.

scrublover

Nice spin at Blue Mtn. on Sunday, and good one yesterday at Sprain Ridge.



(the "off" is left, down the back side of the rock)

born2bahick

God love ya Scrub, Your pics make me wish I had a set.

liv_rong

Took a few days and rode in the St Louis area this week. There is some really nice riding to be had there.

kenhill3

Looks like a total blast, liv_rong!

craigcraigcraig

roadie.

Terrapin Ben

yesterday was a big day. according to the GPS, i rode 43.4 miles with a total ascent of 6,137 ft. 31 miles were on off road, a mix of single track, double track, and fire roads. The best part is that i rode straight from my front door. What a beautiful thing. Didn't see any wildlife, but i didn't see but four other people on the trail. Needlesss to say I slept well. Also, i forgot the camera. So it goes.

Got in a few good rides in Red Lodge, MT over labor day weekend. I did not forget the camera on those rides. First ride was on "The Beartooth Loop" right off the Beartooth Highway, WY side. Started at 9000' or so and ended peaked at 1060'. The second ride was not at elevation, but was still pretty cool.

View driving up the Beartooth Highway


Start of the trail


Passing by a lake


Approaching the summit


Heading down


Pretty riparian environment we rode through


Creek


Creek crossing


More Creek crossing


Enjoying a Red Lodge ale in Red Lodge, MT!

kenhill3

Awesome place to ride! Gorgeous.

liv_rong

That is only like a 1 foot drop, it drops off the rock you see and there a bunch of rocks that lead up to it thats kind of like a skinny. You could roll right off but I did a little bunny hop instead. Im scarred of big stuff.

TechRydr

Today was my first time at a DH, lift assist, play land that is 7Springs in the mountains of SW PA. Unbeliveable! No, my hardtail motobecane 29er was not a wise choice but it was fun. I got a taste of another part of mtb'ing and I'll be on a quest for full suspension this winter.

check out the 7springs home page for a look at what is there - I did have a camera but was having way too much of a noob time to slow down...

https://www.7springs.com/page/categor...Bike-Park.html

we are very blessed to be able to enjoy a sport like this.

Luke52

Went explorin' today, found me some muds.



I believe this style of photography is called "Proofè De La Fún."