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The last person to post a picture from their last bike ride wins access to the white courtesy phone.

MikeD

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,736
1,819
chez moi
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Fountainhead park outside DC really is a gem. I've been disdainful of it a little in the past...I always respect quality trailbuilding, and this place is a great example of using small terrain to great effect...but local riders act like it's the North Shore sometimes.

That said, the effort and pride and stewardship here are obvious, and people really seem to understand the value of having a purpose-built, dedicated bike area in a place that's overwhelmingly crowded, multi-use areas. And the constant short-to-medium-length ultra-steep climbs completely smoke my winch-and-plummet ass. I put gears back on this bike for this trip, just because I know I'm not strong enough to singlespeed here...if I use a gear that I can reliably climb on, I can't move at more than a crawl when it levels out.

And on this bike especially, doing the full-park loop here is absolutely brutal...the chunk on the black loop is murder on the rigid.
 
6thElement

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
17,429
14,936
MikeD said:
View attachment 194422

Fountainhead park outside DC really is a gem. I've been disdainful of it a little in the past...I always respect quality trailbuilding, and this place is a great example of using small terrain to great effect...but local riders act like it's the North Shore sometimes.

That said, the effort and pride and stewardship here are obvious, and people really seem to understand the value of having a purpose-built, dedicated bike area in a place that's overwhelmingly crowded, multi-use areas. And the constant short-to-medium-length ultra-steep climbs completely smoke my winch-and-plummet ass. I put gears back on this bike for this trip, just because I know I'm not strong enough to singlespeed here...if I use a gear that I can reliably climb on, I can't move at more than a crawl when it levels out.

And on this bike especially, doing the full-park loop here is absolutely brutal...the chunk on the black loop is murder on the rigid.
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I used to like a quick lap after work when I was working in that area. But my last time there was probably 2007 :D
Nick said:
View attachment 194445
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Wherezat? Don't recognize.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,526
5,257
A bit hazy this morning. Feels like summer already and it isn’t even june! Summer has clearly come early this year.

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Montana rider

Montana rider

Tom Sawyer
Mar 14, 2005
1,973
2,707
First proper mountain bike ride of the summer took place outside of Battle Mountain Nevada, as I'm on an impromptu road trip to Big Sur and wanted to break up the 12 hour drive to Auburn CA.

Black clouds and a couple of lightning bolts when I pulled up to the trailhead...

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I waited 20 minutes and the sun came out, so I went for it.

The review said the lower stretch was hard to follow because of cow single track. It was.

So i eventually lost the trail and ran into a retired freelance miner who I think directed me to a different side of the mountain entirely.

After what I thought was going to be one of the last climbs the soil became unrideabru, I was walking / carrying my bike downhill with 15 lb of clay.

I excel at finding fresh bear scat, lots of grass and berries in this one...

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So I decided to pull the plug and hope that could take one of the mining roads back in the vicinity of my car.

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But I wound up popping out of the woods about 4 MI further north than what I'd hoped so it was a slog back to the car

I see a bike / beer shower in my distant future...
 
canadmos

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
22,224
21,837
Canaderp
Walked the shit out of my bike today, doing some laps of a local hill.

I felt like poo. Not sure if related, but the sky was orange this morning with thick haze. And the open sections on the ski hill felt like having a heat gun being blasted on my face.


But some truuuue single track.
 
canadmos

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
22,224
21,837
Canaderp
This pic popped up on my phone, from a ride in Rothrock.

That was a fun trip, even if half of it was solo camping in spots called "Bear Meadows".
 
boostindoubles

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
8,538
7,132
Yakistan
Did some chunky connecting of two trail systems through 3/4 mile bushwhack. It was worth it but I probably climbed over a hundred+ trees. The actual singletrack was in great shape.

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dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,526
5,257
Pretty horrible air today. Vue from downtown towards the hills. This should be crystal clear… it is a “sunny/clear” day.. And an 85 on the air quality index. Reminded me of my time in china 10+ years ago.
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scrublover

scrublover

Turbo Monkey
Sep 1, 2004
3,286
7,118
6thElement said:
How grippy are the soles? Wife just got some Spec Recon 2.0's which are a big upgrade in grippy versus her prior Shimano XC7's. I'm hunting for what I might get next.
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Can't really say yet. Only the one ride, not a lot of hoofing it involved. Very dry conditions - you know what the rocks/roots/soil here can be like. Not the kitty litter you deal with. Slightly roomier toe box than the Bontrager and Giro shoes I've had the last few years, which I'm happy with.

Overall, the best thing I could say is they required no adjustment after riding for near two hours. They were just comfy. We'll see how the long term durability works out.

Ya'll end up with more hike-a-bike stuff out there (generally) than here, so YMMV. Reall liked the Giro Terraduro as a good do it all shoe, but that's no longer an option.
 
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6thElement

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
17,429
14,936
scrublover said:
Can't really say yet. Only the one ride, not a lot of hoofing it involved. Very dry conditions - you know what the rocks/roots/soil here can be like. Not the kitty litter you deal with. Slightly roomier toe box than the Bontrager and Giro shoes I've had the last few years, which I'm happy with.

Overall, the best thing I could say is they required no adjustment after riding for near two hours. They were just comfy. We'll see how the long term durability works out.

Ya'll end up with more hike-a-bike stuff out there (generally) than here, so YMMV. Reall liked the Giro Terraduro as a good do it all shoe, but that's no longer an option.
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I'm flats on my GG Smash, the disco slippers get used on the HT or my Epic Evo. I had a few pairs of Terraduro's while I was still clipping in on the trail bike, switched to flats a few years ago. Just looking for something which don't have the nylon lugs on the soles which are useless when you step on rocks.
 
scrublover

scrublover

Turbo Monkey
Sep 1, 2004
3,286
7,118
6thElement said:
I'm flats on my GG Smash, the disco slippers get used on the HT or my Epic Evo. I had a few pairs of Terraduro's while I was still clipping in on the trail bike, switched to flats a few years ago. Just looking for something which don't have the nylon lugs on the soles which are useless when you step on rocks.
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Gotcha. Maybe some of the Lake stuff? Vibram soles and grippy, at least the one pair I had many years ago was.
 
canadmos

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
22,224
21,837
Canaderp
Riding in the tinderbox. The rain seems to have had no effect, still dry as fack.


Came across this crap at the far side of one of the forests. Would have been nice if they put the sign up at the start of the trail. Bushwacked through anyways...it was rough.


Anyone know what the green stuff is that they spray on the stumps?


Speaking of logging and in light of all the wild fire stuff going on lately, this is how they leave the forests here, after they've been selectively logged. It's hard to tell in the picture, but this pile is about a foot deep and is where they piled up all the debris - it goes on for kilometers and there's multiple rows of it. Is this how they leave forests in other areas? Granted we don't usually have huge fire threats around here, but anything can happen...

This particular picture is where they logged last year. The piles are bigger on the more fresh cut areas.
 
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