[fred-da-trog]

Pinball is in the Sierra's off Hwy 108 a little above Sonora.

Six of us, Ogre,mountainboat, George_da_Trog, Matt and Kirstin.

Unbelievable trails conditions for January.

Just some pics for now. Ogre should have some stats.

 

[fred-da-trog]

And the last of them.....

 

[Finch Platte]

Holy fock, is that Geo Da-Trog??? Woah.

That 3rd pic (silhouette) is the shiznit, as is the one of the 3 homos on the rock formation.

Nice.

 

[Obi]

F-ing Stop It Allready!! You're making us Jealous!!

Lemme bang this drum just once more...

WHO's gonna take us up there and do a ride next Monday!!

~Fiona, thanks for the tip! :thumbsup:

Come-on, I really don't wanna have to resort to riding out behind the theater or out in Columbia!!

:madman: :cryin: :cryin: :smallviolin:

(Thanks Guys!!)

*Knee's still poop, and I'll be using the SS, don't ask why, you'll laugh too hard.
**Look's like it'll only be the fireroad part though, at least the dam too, wife refuses to let (mostly me) or her get hurt.

 

[Obi]

pps...

Looks like somebody's rocking a twenty-niner??

 

[Ogre]

Quick Pix Post

George is back on the trail!

Matt from the bike shop in Turlock (Cycle???) with Lyon's Lake frozen over in the background. This is a nice alternate route to get to the beginning of Pinball.

Fred da Trog on Ice!

Jeff (MountainBoat) from Sonora and Matt from Turlock

Jeff using a little body english to work the trail. Matt is barely visible in the distance.

Matt taking off down a steeper than it looks technical section and down the smooth buffed singletrack this trail is known for.

Jeff chasing Matt

This is Pinball and Fred is the ball.

 

[scheckler]

I am just jonesin'

to ride there. My parents live in Pine Mtn. Lake(Groveland)and I need to visit them soon. Just called mom last night to let her know I am planning on a visit. I can't seem to find Lyon's reservoir on any maps but I know where Sugarpine and Pinecrest are.

Great pics, Ogre :thumbsup:

 

[Ogre]

Cool...

to ride there. My parents live in Pine Mtn. Lake(Groveland)and I need to visit them soon. Just called mom last night to let her know I am planning on a visit. I can't seem to find Lyon's reservoir on any maps but I know where Sugarpine and Pinecrest are.

Great pics, Ogre :thumbsup:

Love to take you up there but it's right at the snow line... ok it's below the snow line. The only reason we were able to ride it is because there hasn't been much rain/snow this year. So if we get snow you may be SOL until spring.

Here is Lyon's Lake Road which leads to the lake. On the map Lyon's Lake is just north of that point in the non-snow-covered portion. Right now Lyon's Lake Road is closed to traffic so we parked in Sugar Pine and took an old RR Grade to the lake.

MountainBoat (Jeff) lives about 15-20 minutes away so he gets to play here more, the lucky bastid. Anyhow, if it's not snowed in I'd love to show you around. It's a tough/ technical trail, it's a lot of work but in my opinion well worth the effort. A word of warning though, Finch hates Pinball so it obviously doesn't have universal appeal. PCP on the other hand, I don't know anyone who's walked away from that trail without a huge grin on their face...

 

[george_da_trog]

I really liked that new route to Pinball, except for that slap of ice that sent me on my ass.

Every time we head up there we seem to hit something new.


george

 

[scheckler]

I appreciate

Love to take you up there but it's right at the snow line... ok it's below the snow line. The only reason we were able to ride it is because there hasn't been much rain/snow this year. So if we get snow you may be SOL until spring.

Here is Lyon's Lake Road which leads to the lake. On the map Lyon's Lake is just north of that point in the non-snow-covered portion. Right now Lyon's Lake Road is closed to traffic so we parked in Sugar Pine and took an old RR Grade to the lake.

MountainBoat (Jeff) lives about 15-20 minutes away so he gets to play here more, the lucky bastid. Anyhow, if it's not snowed in I'd love to show you around. It's a tough/ technical trail, it's a lot of work but in my opinion well worth the effort. A word of warning though, Finch hates Pinball so it obviously doesn't have universal appeal. PCP on the other hand, I don't know anyone who's walked away from that trail without a huge grin on their face...

your offer and will take you up on it. I don't want to go out there solo. The only issue is when and like you mentioned, the snow line. I will let you know at least two weeks in advance. I was thinking some time in mid Feb or mid March.

Would enjoy riding with you again... it has been quite a while. Although we did pass each other during your 29er demo ride with Francois and your crew. I did not know you were with them until I saw the post on mtbr. I would have said, "hello".

 

[Portola Vince]

Vacation

I am taking some time off starting April 14 and ending on April 29. It may be a little warmer up there by then. I used to live there but I probably would be hard pressed to find Pinball.

 

[Ogre]

Cool

your offer and will take you up on it. I don't want to go out there solo. The only issue is when and like you mentioned, the snow line. I will let you know at least two weeks in advance. I was thinking some time in mid Feb or mid March.

Would enjoy riding with you again... it has been quite a while. Although we did pass each other during your 29er demo ride with Francois and your crew. I did not know you were with them until I saw the post on mtbr. I would have said, "hello".

Very cool, we'll see how the weather plays out. If Pinball is snowed it we'll ride somewhere else local.

The 29er ride day was just as much me as you. Anyhow. PM me or email me when you are coming up.

 

[Ogre]

April Riding

I am taking some time off starting April 14 and ending on April 29. It may be a little warmer up there by then. I used to live there but I probably would be hard pressed to find Pinball.

I should be around the weekends of the 14th and the 23, on last weekend of April I'm going to be in Redding riding the Lemurian. PM or Email me around the first of April and we'll figure something out. It's hard to say what the snow levels will be like then. Pinball is at 4500' and along a south facing ridge so there is a good chance it will be Ok.

 

[mountainboat]

an open invitation.......

Nice ride on Sunday guys! Its nice to see the Valley boys rally for some winter riding in the hills. Especially since I couldn't talk any locals to to going....and I asked a few.

Here's a few pics:

Got to have at least one hike-a-bike shot, so people don't get the wrong idea about this trail.

A few more:

To others hoping to do some riding in the area.....

I'm glad to show people around the trails in this area, if I have the time. I was born and raised in the area and have been mountain biking the trails for about 17 years now. Drop me a PM whenever.

Obi-

If you are going to be in the area next Monday, drop me a message. I usually have Monday and Tuesday off. Actually, we've met before....I was the guy at the NAHBS last year with the funky bike bags. Your buddy took some shots of my stuff.

Happy Trails!

Jeff

 

[Obi]

Obi-If you are going to be in the area next Monday, drop me a message. I usually have Monday and Tuesday off. Actually, we've met before....I was the guy at the NAHBS last year with the funky bike bags. Your buddy took some shots of my stuff.

Happy Trails!

Yep, I was waiting to see if you'd remember me. CDW was your working title, right? I still have the business card. I break it out every so often when people ask about custom work.
:thumbsup:

We've had to modify our plans for Monday though, nobody replied for a couple of days, so we made alternate plans. Let me see how the drop-off goes with the trans shop and I can pm you from up there as to whether or not we'll actually have the time to juggle in a local spin.

 

[george_da_trog]

I put a little video together from the ride. I didn't get any footage on pinball itself so I had to cheat with pics from this thread. I didn't see any of mountain boats pics or I would have added them.

george

 

[pimpbot]

Yep...

Looks like somebody's rocking a twenty-niner??

The dude's on an MC29er rigid converted to a tri-speed. Triple crank up front, single in the rear. He makes that thing sing, too. I rode with him at Pinecrest Peak. I tried his bike out and it made me get all horny for an MC29er.

Sorry, I'm bad with names.

I'm also surprised to see King George out there. I thought he gave up biking so he would have more time in front of the computer playing Texas Hold-Em with other 15 year olds on the internet.

Nice to have you back, George. Let's go get some dirt on!

I like the lava tube shot. Finch, those guys can't be gay. They're too ugly.

 

[mountainboat]

its all about the bike

Looks like somebody's rocking a twenty-niner??

Yep, both Fred and I were riding 29ers on this ride.

29" wheels make trails like this so easy that I even closed my eyes for some sections, just to try and make it more challenging, but the 29" wheels took care of everything!

Not only were Fred and I able to ride the trail smoother and faster than others with 26" wheels, we were able to think of a solution to world hunger while doing so.

......Not that we ever spoke aloud of our thoughts on world hunger. We didn't have to, since the harmonic vibrations one feels with the universe while riding a 29er allowed us to communicate telepathically.

All while joyfully dancing down the technical singletrack on our clearly superior machines.

Heck, I even had a Red Tailed Hawk land on my tire while waiting at the top of the climb!
That never happened when I was riding my 26er.

Ohh!.......and BTW - the next guy who calls me gay, I'm going to pound in the rear, just to prove I'm not enjoying myself!

 

[Ogre]

snow up there?

Yep, both Fred and I were riding 29ers on this ride.

29" wheels make trails like this so easy that I even closed my eyes for some sections, just to try and make it more challenging, but the 29" wheels took care of everything!

Not only were Fred and I able to ride the trail smoother and faster than others with 26" wheels, we were able to think of a solution to world hunger while doing so.

......Not that we ever spoke aloud of our thoughts on world hunger. We didn't have to, since the harmonic vibrations one feels with the universe while riding a 29er allowed us to communicate telepathically.

All while joyfully dancing down the technical singletrack on our clearly superior machines.

Heck, I even had a Red Tailed Hawk land on my tire while waiting at the top of the climb!
That never happened when I was riding my 26er.

Ohh!.......and BTW - the next guy who calls me gay, I'm going to pound in the rear, just to prove I'm not enjoying myself!

You crack me up Jeff. Of course, I'm riding a 29er now though and understand what you mean those little wheeled folks probably wouldn't get the humor

Looks like the rain/ snow is finally coming now. We got some rain here. You figure it snowed up on Pinball?

 

[mountainboat]

Looks like the rain/ snow is finally coming now. We got some rain here. You figure it snowed up on Pinball?

I haven't been up that way for a few days, but Duckwall Peak got dusted with snow in the last storm. That peak is around 5800'. I imagine Pinball probably got a inch or two of snow.