[5k bike 50cent legs]

Hmmm.....a little strategic rain tonight?? Anybody down in SC seeing any rain?

Photos and reports please.....

Hmmm....

 

[KingOfOrd]

We got a bit of that rain in Monterey, not even enough to keep the dust down though

 

[Dagonger]

Sat uc looks good!

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[turfnsurf]

No precip in Live Oak in the last 24 hours.


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[TheMachinist]

The rain overnight was minimal. It was enough to keep the dust down for an early morning ride up EMT and Ucon. Also enough to make my clean cars look bad again.

 

[pctloper]

Rode Exchequer today--nice and cool--saw 1 other person
Trails have been cleared of weeds----tread is hard like it gets
Go before the heat

 

[5k bike 50cent legs]

A little rain on the cruise through Arastradero today.

 

[jibmaster]

Traffic jam on the way back from NYB

 

[mstrkrft69]

Tamo yesterday (Tuesday) weather was perfect. Mild with sun later. Very little dampness from precip. There's a few seeps still with minimal mud splatter. Hero dirt is mostly gone. Hardpack is here. I saw a huge Jackrabbit on Wagonwheel, led me up the trail... "This way, this way..." Then it hopped up a near vertical wall and disappeared. I solo-ed it and non-stopped it for the first time. Pretty good burn.

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[kevin_sbay]

Rode Skegg's Fir - Methuselah - North Leaf - eCdM Creek today.
Tons of wet muddy ground and many puddles about 5" deep, esp Fir and Methuselah.
Prepare to wash your bike afterwards and hose your clothes off. Fun, not fun

Brought out the woodland friends though.

 

[davee5]

Skeggs is wet? Crap.

Tomorrow I've got a factory demo slot on a new Ibis Ripley V4. I haven't ridden a new bike in THIRTEEN YEARS and I have a lot of learnin' to do. Skeggs is home turf and I really wanted to see how the modern geometry felt on familiar ground (down & up manzanita, down reso up ECdM).

The alternative is to hit up Demo for my demo... except I've shamefully never ridden those trails. I've been riding the peninsula and around since I was 12, but never made it to Demo for undefinable reasons.

SO. Advice sought:
- hit up Skeggs (and drive 3 hours to/from) and ride soft but known ground for clearish comparisons, or
- try out Demo for the first time on a new new whip? (I understand Flow is the jam, but can I hit any technical climbs that compare to reverse Manzanita?)

 

[skyno]

Skeggs is wet? Crap.

Tomorrow I've got a factory demo slot on a new Ibis Ripley V4. I haven't ridden a new bike in THIRTEEN YEARS and I have a lot of learnin' to do. Skeggs is home turf and I really wanted to see how the modern geometry felt on familiar ground (down & up manzanita, down reso up ECdM).

The alternative is to hit up Demo for my demo... except I've shamefully never ridden those trails. I've been riding the peninsula and around since I was 12, but never made it to Demo for undefinable reasons.

SO. Advice sought: hit up Skeggs (and drive 3 hours to/from) and ride soft but known ground for clearish comparisons or try out Demo for the first time on a new new whip? (I know Flow is the jam, but can I hit any technical climbs that compare to reverse Manzanita?)

Ask the folks at Ibis for a good route at Wilder

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[mstrkrft69]

Skeggs is wet? Crap.

Tomorrow I've got a factory demo slot on a new Ibis Ripley V4. I haven't ridden a new bike in THIRTEEN YEARS and I have a lot of learnin' to do. Skeggs is home turf and I really wanted to see how the modern geometry felt on familiar ground (down & up manzanita, down reso up ECdM).

The alternative is to hit up Demo for my demo... except I've shamefully never ridden those trails. I've been riding the peninsula and around since I was 12, but never made it to Demo for undefinable reasons.

SO. Advice sought: hit up Skeggs (and drive 3 hours to/from) and ride soft but known ground for clearish comparisons or try out Demo for the first time on a new new whip? (I know Flow is the jam, but can I hit any technical climbs that compare to reverse Manzanita?)

I can't speak to the overall conditions at Skeggs but I would say ride where you're familiar. I would surmise given recent conditions that parts will be dry. I've been all over China, Tamo, and Annadel lately and they're packing up pretty hard. And anyway you want a whip that can handle all the conditions up here so why not take that Ripley and plow out whatever presents itself? Wet or not. The difference will likely be substantial but my guess, given that I just demo'd the same bike, isnthst you will be pleased with it. Albeit the adjustment period.

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[kevin_sbay]

Skeggs is wet? Crap.

Tomorrow I've got a factory demo slot on a new Ibis Ripley V4. I haven't ridden a new bike in THIRTEEN YEARS and I have a lot of learnin' to do. Skeggs is home turf and I really wanted to see how the modern geometry felt on familiar ground (down & up manzanita, down reso up ECdM).

The alternative is to hit up Demo for my demo... except I've shamefully never ridden those trails. I've been riding the peninsula and around since I was 12, but never made it to Demo for undefinable reasons.

SO. Advice sought:
- hit up Skeggs (and drive 3 hours to/from) and ride soft but known ground for clearish comparisons, or
- try out Demo for the first time on a new new whip? (I understand Flow is the jam, but can I hit any technical climbs that compare to reverse Manzanita?)

Fyi, the small section of Manzanita I did (connector btwn Fir and Meth) was like covered with thick grease mud. Can make it down sketchily but frankly can't imagine anyone making it up. The larger/lower sections of Manzanita might be better(?).

For rocky trails, hard to match Manzanita. But one possibility is Santa Teresa, a couple trails in particular are fun, though not like Skeggs:

Rocky Ridge Trail

Stile Ranch Trail

 

[iliveonnitro]

I've never ridden manzanita, but Santa Teresa is my home trail. Rocky ridge is a tough technical climb. Going up Stiles is borderline impossible without putting a foot down 15x after this winter's rain. Going down is fun, though.

Go up rocky ridge and down Stiles?

 

[davee5]

Didn't mean to hijack but too late...

Coming from older, steeper geometry I worry I'm going to miss precision handling. Sure, maybe I'll be faster with point & shoot long/slack setups but I like handling my bike pretty actively. I've also got bad knees and laying the bike over with the dropper slammed seems unfun. (Probably just gotta HTFU).

I figure navigating a familiar set of rock gardens is going to give me the best bet for feeling out slower geometry. Flow trail may be fun, but does it demand handling skills? Will I readily feel out twitchy vs. stable?

I've ridden Wilder once... with a toddler strapped to the front of my bike. I didn't hit Enchanted Loop or Zane Grey, so maybe I missed the harder bits.

I'm rubber-side down, blue is fun, black is doable but less fun rider. I also strictly ride legal trails, so no mail runs for me.

Santa Teresa is new to me; sounds fun but probably not ideal for demo tests. It seems prudent to either ride Skeggs (muddy or no) or stay in SC to reduce drive time.

 

[hoopjones]

Skeggs is wet? Crap.

Tomorrow I've got a factory demo slot on a new Ibis Ripley V4. I haven't ridden a new bike in THIRTEEN YEARS and I have a lot of learnin' to do. Skeggs is home turf and I really wanted to see how the modern geometry felt on familiar ground (down & up manzanita, down reso up ECdM).

The alternative is to hit up Demo for my demo... except I've shamefully never ridden those trails. I've been riding the peninsula and around since I was 12, but never made it to Demo for undefinable reasons.

SO. Advice sought:
- hit up Skeggs (and drive 3 hours to/from) and ride soft but known ground for clearish comparisons, or
- try out Demo for the first time on a new new whip? (I understand Flow is the jam, but can I hit any technical climbs that compare to reverse Manzanita?)

Rode Skeggs today (Blue Blossom -> Manzanita -> Sierra Morena). Its wet and muddy, especially near the top by Sierra Morena. Probably not conditions that would give you a meaningful impression of a new bike.

 

[kevin_sbay]

Didn't mean to hijack but too late...

Coming from older, steeper geometry I worry I'm going to miss precision handling. Sure, maybe I'll be faster with point & shoot long/slack setups but I like handling my bike pretty actively. I've also got bad knees and laying the bike over with the dropper slammed seems unfun. (Probably just gotta HTFU).

I figure navigating a familiar set of rock gardens is going to give me the best bet for feeling out slower geometry. Flow trail may be fun, but does it demand handling skills? Will I readily feel out twitchy vs. stable?

I've ridden Wilder once... with a toddler strapped to the front of my bike. I didn't hit Enchanted Loop or Zane Grey, so maybe I missed the harder bits.

I'm rubber-side down, blue is fun, black is doable but less fun rider. I also strictly ride legal trails, so no mail runs for me.

Santa Teresa is new to me; sounds fun but probably not ideal for demo tests. It seems prudent to either ride Skeggs (muddy or no) or stay in SC to reduce drive time.

Braille would be much much better test than Flow. I don't think you'll get what you're looking for on Flow.
But parts of Braille can be challenging for first time, esp for a "blue is fun, black is doable but less fun rider".

If you're in pretty good shape, a possibility is to do Braille twice. The first time to get feel for the trail features, then second time to really test.
It's a climb to get to Braille (or Flow), then a 1.8mile climb back up (on Sulphur Springs) to top of Braille again.

 

[davee5]

I've got all day with the Ripley, and I'm decent but hardly racing shape. I usually ride out 3K of climbing in an end-of-weekday Skeggs session without stops. With a lunch break. I can probably muster 2 laps on Flow/Braille via Tractor/Sulphur. (He said without a shred of first hand experience.)

Video recon indicates Braille is definitely more useful test-wise, but I'll be on 100% of the do-arounds. Also GoPro vision never really gets you that close to knowing what's up.

 

[5k bike 50cent legs]

I've got all day with the Ripley, and I'm decent but hardly racing shape. I usually ride out 3K of climbing in an end-of-weekday Skeggs session without stops. With a lunch break. I can probably muster 2 laps on Flow/Braille via Tractor/Sulphur. (He said without a shred of first hand experience.)

Video recon indicates Braille is definitely more useful test-wise, but I'll be on 100% of the do-arounds. Also GoPro vision never really gets you that close to knowing what's up.

If you go to Demo tomorrow you'll likely be there all alone. No cell coverage, except at the very top.