What do we have in the North Bay that...
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You score well on all counts JMAC, it's a brutal trail no doubt.JMac47 said:
And yes, I am, but it beats watching video of a weak sauce thrashing of Rough Go.
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Did Oat Hill Mine Road this weekend for the first time. Upshot was I just got a new to me hardtail to do it on, so I left my rigid at home. Challenge was having to do it all single speed.
The shifters were having a problem and I got them working fine enough before the ride, but once I was on the trail and shifted under load they had a revolt. Good thing was I was stuck in the ultimate granny ring/cog combo for the first three miles.
Unfortunately, I forgot I could no longer shift to an easier gear and went into autopilot to gain some momentum and ended up stuck with granny in the front and five cogs out from the hub for the rest of the five miles up and all the eight back.
Still, I loved that ride. It was by far my favorite one to date. The only thing that stinks about it is that it's too far away for me to just jump on my bike for a last minute ride.
As for the other rides on this list, I've decided I'm headed to Henry Coe next for a more challenging climb. OHM was definately a climb, but I'm looking for something a bit more brutal.
The shifters were having a problem and I got them working fine enough before the ride, but once I was on the trail and shifted under load they had a revolt. Good thing was I was stuck in the ultimate granny ring/cog combo for the first three miles.
Unfortunately, I forgot I could no longer shift to an easier gear and went into autopilot to gain some momentum and ended up stuck with granny in the front and five cogs out from the hub for the rest of the five miles up and all the eight back.
Still, I loved that ride. It was by far my favorite one to date. The only thing that stinks about it is that it's too far away for me to just jump on my bike for a last minute ride.
As for the other rides on this list, I've decided I'm headed to Henry Coe next for a more challenging climb. OHM was definately a climb, but I'm looking for something a bit more brutal.
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Come back in a week and the climb might be a more brutal. It will be completely different. There should be snow and ice and streams to ride through. You can also take one of the many tough lines to make it tougher. That is what I have been doing.
I cant believe Oaty wasn't brutal enough. I still can't even peddle to the top without a dab....
I cant believe Oaty wasn't brutal enough. I still can't even peddle to the top without a dab....
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I should have been more specific in my post. With regard to technical work, OHM is beyond brutal enough for me. I've only been riding for six months now and have a infinite amount to learn in this regard. I never thought I'd consider dabbing an accomplishment or something to be pleased with, but I learned to on that trail. Cleaning any section on it was a small triumph and I hiked-a-bike for significant sections. There were too many areas where I couldn't read the line fast enough and then sections where I need to build more power in my legs before I can take them on. I think having fs would make it infinately easier. It's definately a taskmaster.Broncstad said:
What I didn't find challenging enough was the climbing part. To be frank, it may have had a lot to do with how my experience went.
First of all, I was the sweep for our group of about fourteen. There was a person new to our group who really struggled at the beginning and while I was with her, for that first mile and a half until she decided to call it a day, I was hardly moving at all. So I'm thinking that had something to do with it.
Secondly, my legs are levels beyond my skills. I'm having a hard time getting a good workout when I ride for my legs because my skills are the limiting factor. I cannot ride faster than I can read and negotiate my line, so my legs never get a decent enough workout. I imagine there are others who have had this problem, I'm wondering what they did. The only thing I can think of is to find steeper climbs.
I think the reason my legs are so strong is because I routinely push a 190 pound wheelchair between 2-3 miles a day. Within those miles, I run all gradual inclines I can find until I can't run them anymore and then force myself to keep walking without stopping to rest. I will also run sprint intervals for a 1/4-1/2 mile at a high school track with it, four-wheel drive through grass and take a short segment of singletrack at a local park and routinely have to deadlift the chair up and down a two step threshold a couple of times a day and do the same for curbs that lack curb cuts. I must say though that while my legs are strong and I can really burst forth and power through things, what I'm best at is distance and endurance, I'm not all that fast, though my mtb group says I am getting pretty quick and I guess I am compared to six months ago, but I'm definately nowhere close to where I'd like to be.
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Yes, we came up from the Silverado Trail side, starting out at the trailhead by La Prima Pizza. The pic you posted looks like part of the trail we were on, but down lower.JMac47 said:Do youu remember going up one of these sections? Did you go from Silverado Tr side up and out to Aetna Springs then back?
I'm not sure where Aetna Springs is, but we went up eight miles and turned around at a large low metal gate that lead to what I think was an actual road and right next to the gate was one of those park info bulletin boards that has a little roof on it.
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That's cool
. I'm not sure about the gate, but if the jibmaster sees this thread he'll surely chime in as to just where you were.:skep:
Not questioning, that's great you weren't detoured from doing that route Tank Girl. :thumbsup: Just thought maybe you found another workout fire road grinder up there somewheres for meTank Girl said:
. I'm not sure about the gate, but if the jibmaster sees this thread he'll surely chime in as to just where you were.:skep:
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Too funny! Actually, I was hoping the same thing, that you were gonna tell me of another route that was a bit of a stiffer climbJMac47 said:Not questioning, that's great you weren't detoured from doing that route Tank Girl. :thumbsup: Just thought maybe you found another workout fire road grinder up there somewheres for me
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Hhmmm
And ftr, you did say Road in your post.
Not sure where you're located, I've been seeing the southbay people tallking about that Kennedy place. And there's still Big Rock Ridge, Mt. Burdell and Sugarloaf for you to sink your teeth into.Tank Girl said:Too funny! Actually, I was hoping the same thing, that you were gonna tell me of another route that was a bit of a stiffer climb
And ftr, you did say Road in your post.
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Uh, you mean like this road meandering up over on the right. The Empire State building could fit in this valley, I've heard.Fast Eddy said:
Here's a closer view of hikers I've seen doing it.
Half the fun of this adventure is getting there. A better route though is going down Middle Ridge and back up Blue Ridge.
The Four Ridge ride was one of my best rides ever. (Fast Eddy was there too.)
- Down Middle Ridge
- Up Blue Ridge
- Down Rock House Ridge [Corrected]
- Back up from China Hole to HQ.
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I'm in Santa Rosa. Single track to Annadel is less than five minutes from my house.JMac47 said:
One of the mtb groups I've ridden with is going to set up a ride at Henry Coe that I am going to do, hopefully within the next couple weeks.
I'd really love to do the Big Rock Ridge ride, especially after seeing the pics you posted, but am wary of riding trails alone that I don't know and unfortunately, no one in my mtb group is familiar with them.
Was Mt. Burdell posted on this thread? I'mm not sure what or where that is.
As for Sugarloaf, was thinking of doing that ride you posted earlier in the thread this Sunday, (provided I can overhaul the bb's in the rear hub and change out the shifters on my ht, this Saturday.)
That ride went something like this...
...Two Quarry/Lawndale/Schultz/Ridge/South Burma/Richardson/Louis/North Burma/Live Oak/Rough Go/Orchard/Cobblestone....from Cobblestone, what would be the best route for me to get to Sugarloaf? I don't like to think of myself as an organ donor, so I avoid riding on Hwy 12 as much as possible.
Thanks so much for your help!:thumbsup:
btw...when you said I referenced a road, were you referring to Aetna Springs...was I totally off the mark and it's nothing close to a road at all?
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Mr. Death Star a few posts back mentioned Willow Creek, that's got some good climbs; I assume you've done that before? I'm thinking of heading out there this weekend.
If your legs aren't getting a good enough work out, maybe you could just go faster up the hill. Seriously. Places like OHM might be too technical for this but most anywhere else you can just push harder. Or, slow your cadence down and gear up to work your legs more.
That's kind of the beauty of single-speed, it forces you to push hard and doesn't give you a bail out gear at your fingertips. In addition, going faster actually makes the technical parts easier, so that might improve that other problem you have. Force yourself to leave it in the middle ring and see how that feels.
If you take Lawndale you only need to ride Hwy 12 for a couple blocks to meet up with Adobe Canyon Rd.
If your legs aren't getting a good enough work out, maybe you could just go faster up the hill. Seriously.
Places like OHM might be too technical for this but most anywhere else you can just push harder. Or, slow your cadence down and gear up to work your legs more.That's kind of the beauty of single-speed, it forces you to push hard and doesn't give you a bail out gear at your fingertips. In addition, going faster actually makes the technical parts easier, so that might improve that other problem you have. Force yourself to leave it in the middle ring and see how that feels.
If you take Lawndale you only need to ride Hwy 12 for a couple blocks to meet up with Adobe Canyon Rd.
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That first picture you have posted is frickin' beautiful and I love how miniscule the hikers look in the next. Great shots as well in your online album. I especially liked the ones where everyone is riding single file across the field.BigLarry said:Uh, you mean like this road meandering up over on the right. The Empire State building could fit in this valley, I've heard.
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Here's a closer view of hikers I've seen doing it.
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Half the fun of this adventure is getting there. A better route though is going down Middle Ridge and back up Blue Ridge.
The Four Ridge ride was one of my best rides ever. (Fast Eddy was there too.)
See more of this route on my picture server. Hit the "Henry Coe Four Ridges Ride" icon and wait for the load. (Don't use the back browser button. Instead hit the upper left arrow.)
- Down Middle Ridge
- Up Blue Ridge
- Down Rocky Ridge
- Back up from China Hole to HQ.
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Btw...shots of me doing hike a bike on a brutal section. I walked it several times trying to figure out a line to no avail.
Last shot is about half way up where we stopped for a snack. I was doing my yay for me victory dance cause my wrists were so jazzed to have front suspension.
Last shot is about half way up where we stopped for a snack. I was doing my yay for me victory dance cause my wrists were so jazzed to have front suspension.
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If some of the steep stuff in Coe is too easy for you, you should just move on to another sport.
I know that problem. In my case, I see it as a reason to seek out more technical stuff and try to learn. But if you prefer pure workout and less tricks, it's really better to find some steep fireroads and hammer up them at max speed. I know plenty of pretty steep fireroads in the East Bay, e.g. in Briones or Wildcat, but there's tons of them in other places too. And if it's not hard enough, just go faster
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