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Uphill or down?

Which is better?

  • Start with an uphill?

    Votes: 23 57.5%
  • Finish with an uphill?

    Votes: 4 10.0%
  • Suck it up princess!!

    Votes: 13 32.5%

  • Total voters
    40

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
What do you like best: a trail loop that starts with a climb or ends with a climb?

I ask because I moved recently and the closest network of trails ends with a healthy climb. I'm usually the type that likes to get the tough part over with first.
 

MtnbikeMike

Turbo Monkey
Mar 6, 2004
2,637
1
The 909
Well, I usually like to start climbing, then finish with a descent. However, nothing worst than trying to negotiate a techy descent after climbing all day.
 

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
Well, I usually like to start climbing, then finish with a descent. However, nothing worst than trying to negotiate a techy descent after climbing all day.
True, but I think that goes both ways. It usually takes me a mile or so to get comfortable on the bike to bomb down too. Need that warm up.
 

MtnbikeMike

Turbo Monkey
Mar 6, 2004
2,637
1
The 909
Good point. The solution? Find a trail with a 1-mile climb, then a long descent right after. Or just make one of you can't find it.
 

Hougham

Monkey
Mar 28, 2007
375
3
Personally I'll take a descent at the end. There's something about swooping down a long hill, popping out of the pedals, and cracking a beer. :thumb:

So true. If you think the DH it going to be to hard to do when your warn out you can always throw in a sandwich brake at the top. If saves you a fortune in energy gels and that sorts of thing. That and it gives you time to saver the view at the top. It also allows you to go down that end DH that little bit faster. Nothing like a bit of adrenaline to help you make it to the end of your ride. Guess that not true XC though. But its what I like to do :)
 

MtnbikeMike

Turbo Monkey
Mar 6, 2004
2,637
1
The 909
So true. If you think the DH it going to be to hard to do when your warn out you can always throw in a sandwich brake at the top. If saves you a fortune in energy gels and that sorts of thing. That and it gives you time to saver the view at the top. It also allows you to go down that end DH that little bit faster. Nothing like a bit of adrenaline to help you make it to the end of your ride. Guess that not true XC though. But its what I like to do :)
I guess so, but no number of sandwiches can make a DH easier at the end of a 6-hour ride. ;) :nopity:
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,669
1,847
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
I like to warm-up a little then climb and end with a DH. One of the places we ride is pretty much climbing all day with a DH at the very end (i.e. 5 hours of climbing & 10 minutes DH) :D
 

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
I like to warm-up a little then climb and end with a DH. One of the places we ride is pretty much climbing all day with a DH at the very end (i.e. 5 hours of climbing & 10 minutes DH) :D
Talk about punishment.

The only time ending with a DH has bothered me was when I just about bonked from lack of water at the tip of the last hill. The ride down was double track/fire road and I was all over the brakes the whole time. My balance was shot at that point.
 

reflux

Turbo Monkey
Mar 18, 2002
4,617
2
G14 Classified
My favorite rides include some flat riding just after the main descent.

My least favorite race had a huge uphill finish. That sucked.
 

peter6061

Turbo Monkey
Nov 19, 2001
1,575
0
Kenmore, WA
Some of my favorite rides have ended with a nice long downhill back to the car. Always makes people finish on a good note considering the last thing they did was tear down a hill.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
I went to Skeggs this weekend, and as many NorCal riders know, you start and finish at the top.

I went all the way to the bottom and I had to finish on a 3 mile, 1100 foot climb. I did it, but I can't say it was fun.
 

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
the climb outta Sycamore Cyn right?
Suck it up princess
Ha! No I only did that one once. That was pure hell. I'd rather climb Gridly ANY DAY!! Whenever I ride Sycamore I go from the PCH side.

I moved down to Redondo Beach and the closest trails are Palos Verdes/Rolling Hills. It ends with a climb.
 

Zark

Hey little girl, do you want some candy?
Oct 18, 2001
6,254
7
Reno 911
never ridden it from the PCH side, but I hear thats the way to do it.
Gridley is FUN climb, just not in late June ;)
 

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
never ridden it from the PCH side, but I hear thats the way to do it.
Gridley is FUN climb, just not in late June ;)
The PCH side is easier as it's just flat, but kind of sucks as it's a mile of boring flat fire road. Good warm up though I guess.

Gridley is fun, but just goes on forever... totally the worth the trip down though.
 

ghostrider

7034 miles, still no custom title
Jan 6, 2003
964
1
Shadows of Mt Boney, CA.
the climb outta Sycamore Cyn right?
Suck it up princess
I ride that damn thing two or three times a week these days. The only good thing about it is the fact that I gotta do it if I want to get home. There have been a few times when I've seriously considered faking a problem and calling my wife to meet me at the beach. I haven't stooped that low yet, though.
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,669
1,847
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
Talk about punishment.

The only time ending with a DH has bothered me was when I just about bonked from lack of water at the tip of the last hill. The ride down was double track/fire road and I was all over the brakes the whole time. My balance was shot at that point.
Yeah, it can be brutal, but the singletrack is so nice! We took Deyv, Isa, Douglas, Echo & Ito there a few weeks ago so they could share in the hurt :D
 

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
I ride that damn thing two or three times a week these days. The only good thing about it is the fact that I gotta do it if I want to get home. There have been a few times when I've seriously considered faking a problem and calling my wife to meet me at the beach. I haven't stooped that low yet, though.
I might have be a little more persuaded to take that route if I had a lighter bike or a hardtail, but I'm on a 30 lb bike and that hill just sucks, plain and simple. It's too bad because you get to better trails faster when you start from that side.
 

ghostrider

7034 miles, still no custom title
Jan 6, 2003
964
1
Shadows of Mt Boney, CA.
I might have be a little more persuaded to take that route if I had a lighter bike or a hardtail, but I'm on a 30 lb bike and that hill just sucks, plain and simple. It's too bad because you get to better trails faster when you start from that side.
I hear you. I wouldn't ride it by choice, for sure. I don't fear it like I used to, though, you get used to it. Unless it is 100 degrees and baking off the blacktop with no wind. There's a bench at the top that's a memorial for some dude who never made it to the top.
 

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
I hear you. I wouldn't ride it by choice, for sure. I don't fear it like I used to, though, you get used to it. Unless it is 100 degrees and baking off the blacktop with no wind. There's a bench at the top that's a memorial for some dude who never made it to the top.
Yeah, I've used the bench.

It really sucked for the guy I was riding with. He bonked as we got to the hill. I think it was the worst climb of his life.
 

James

Carbon Porn Star
Sep 11, 2001
3,559
0
Danbury, CT
What ride was that?

I'd probably choose non of the above, if there was a way to ride mostly kinda flat at the end/beginning (if it's a loop), then I'd be down with that.
Remember Sycamore last time? I was convinced for about 6 hours afterwards that I had actually died, and any phone calls/etc that people got from me would be chalked up to "one of those spooky things" after the news got out.

But Sycamore takes f'ing forever to get to from the beach. And after the rains it sucks to cross all those streams. I counted 21 stream crossings once, a couple of them up to my mid-thigh.

Gridley is a stone-cold bitch. The last couple times I've ridden there I've either had the worst case of on-the-trail "stomach duress" or I crashed and broke 3 ribs in my sternum. So that's one trail I don't vote for on the "downhill last" tip.
 

James

Carbon Porn Star
Sep 11, 2001
3,559
0
Danbury, CT
It really sucked for the guy I was riding with. He bonked as we got to the hill. I think it was the worst climb of his life.
If this is me then this is the understatement of the century...
How I made it to that concert in LA that night is totally beyond me.
 

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
If this is me then this is the understatement of the century...
How I made it to that concert in LA that night is totally beyond me.
Yeah it's you, I've only ridden the Black Bitch once. I've never seen anyone as hurt as you by the time we got to the top.

The flat entry to Sycamore sucks but only takes about 10 minutes to get to the trails. I've never had to ride it when it was swolen with rain though, it's been very dry here since I moved out.
 

James

Carbon Porn Star
Sep 11, 2001
3,559
0
Danbury, CT
Yeah it's you, I've only ridden the Black Bitch once. I've never seen anyone as hurt as you by the time we got to the top.

The flat entry to Sycamore sucks but only takes about 10 minutes to get to the trails. I've never had to ride it when it was swollen with rain though, it's been very dry here since I moved out.
The crappy thing is, I've ridden that thing a ton of times, it was only about 2 miles from Giant. We used to ride there from the office, ride it, and ride back. I didn't always make that climb without stopping, but most of the time I did. Not super fast, but slow and steady.

I guess riding in from the beach took longer for me because I liked to ride the trails in a certain order...
 

ghostrider

7034 miles, still no custom title
Jan 6, 2003
964
1
Shadows of Mt Boney, CA.
The crappy thing is, I've ridden that thing a ton of times, it was only about 2 miles from Giant. We used to ride there from the office, ride it, and ride back. I didn't always make that climb without stopping, but most of the time I did. Not super fast, but slow and steady.

I guess riding in from the beach took longer for me because I liked to ride the trails in a certain order...
The proper way to ride Sycamore is to start in Newbury Park, drop down the bitch, hit the sweet singletrack through the canyon, head to the beach, climb Overlook, descend Backbone, climb Hell Hill, descend Guadalasco, climb up to the water tank past the burned out Airstream, drop some secret singletrack, then climb back out to Newbury Park. That'll get you a nice little workout right there.
 

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
I guess riding in from the beach took longer for me because I liked to ride the trails in a certain order...
Plus it sucks driving all the way around to it. I think if it wasn't so convinient for me to get the PCH entrance I would have sucked it up and ridden the valley entrance instead. But as it was, I was only 20 minutes from the trailhead.
 

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
The proper way to ride Sycamore is to start in Newbury Park, drop down the bitch, hit the sweet singletrack through the canyon, head to the beach, climb Overlook, descend Backbone, climb Hell Hill, descend Guadalasco, climb up to the water tank past the burned out Airstream, drop some secret singletrack, then climb back out to Newbury Park. That'll get you a nice little workout right there.

Not a big fan of climbing Overlook. I liked to climb Guadalasco and decend Backbone.

But that loop you've got there would probobly destroy my legs the first 10 times I did it! :biggrin:
 

ghostrider

7034 miles, still no custom title
Jan 6, 2003
964
1
Shadows of Mt Boney, CA.
The proper way to ride Sycamore is to start in Newbury Park, drop down the bitch, hit the sweet singletrack through the canyon, head to the beach, climb Overlook, descend Backbone, climb Hell Hill, descend Guadalasco, climb up to the water tank past the burned out Airstream, drop some secret singletrack, then climb back out to Newbury Park. That'll get you a nice little workout right there.
I took Westy on that route one time. He barely broke a sweat, the bastard.
 

ghostrider

7034 miles, still no custom title
Jan 6, 2003
964
1
Shadows of Mt Boney, CA.
Not a big fan of climbing Overlook. I liked to climb Guadalasco and decend Backbone.

But that loop you've got there would probobly destroy my legs the first 10 times I did it! :biggrin:
I think that's how most people do it. The only problem is you are missing the best trails in the park. Guadalasco has a great flow for a descent, the only problem being all those jackasses climbing up it :rofl:
 

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
I think that's how most people do it. The only problem is you are missing the best trails in the park. Guadalasco has a great flow for a descent, the only problem being all those jackasses climbing up it :rofl:
Funny you should say that! I've always thought it looked like a GREAT descent, but I only get out there on weekends and it's croweded as hell on weekends. Not nearly as many people climb Backbone.
 

James

Carbon Porn Star
Sep 11, 2001
3,559
0
Danbury, CT
Plus it sucks driving all the way around to it. I think if it wasn't so convinient for me to get the PCH entrance I would have sucked it up and ridden the valley entrance instead. But as it was, I was only 20 minutes from the trailhead.
You were just as close to the Newbury Park entrance too, ya wanker.
 

James

Carbon Porn Star
Sep 11, 2001
3,559
0
Danbury, CT
The proper way to ride Sycamore is to start in Newbury Park, drop down the bitch, hit the sweet singletrack through the canyon, head to the beach, climb Overlook, descend Backbone, climb Hell Hill, descend Guadalasco, climb up to the water tank past the burned out Airstream, drop some secret singletrack, then climb back out to Newbury Park. That'll get you a nice little workout right there.
That's pretty similar to what I used to ride, but not quite. I can't remember the trail names 100% anymore, but isn't there a short one called "Coyote" or something? That was fun. Good times, I miss that area. Except in the middle of summer.
Not that it's not hotter here.
And also on fire...
 

James

Carbon Porn Star
Sep 11, 2001
3,559
0
Danbury, CT
I like avoiding the 101 at all costs. No chance of hitting traffic on the PCH - Rice Ave area.
Like I don't know that, I did that drive for, well, almost as long as you along the 1 I suppose.
Still, if you're talking about driving on the weekend or something, then you're dumb, if you're talking about the last 10 or so miles of your commute from LA, then you're a smart man my friend.
And I believe it was I who suggested it...