September 26th rides!

[Fredwina]

I dusted off my Mountain Bike and went to Claremont Wilderness Park.
It's a 5 mile loop with 1800 feet of climbing. the joke is that whichever way it's 3/4 uphill
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/ClaremontWildnerness20080926/101_0099.jpg
on a Clear day , you can see Downtown LA and Catalina island form here:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/ClaremontWildnerness20080926/101_0100.jpg
Hark, an Oasis:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/ClaremontWildnerness20080926/101_0101.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/ClaremontWildnerness20080926/101_0102.jpg
I biked so hard, half my fork fell off!:p
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/ClaremontWildnerness20080926/101_0103.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/ClaremontWildnerness20080926/101_0104.jpg http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/ClaremontWildnerness20080926/101_0105.jpg
downhill at last!
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/ClaremontWildnerness20080926/101_0106.jpg
and shade, too:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/ClaremontWildnerness20080926/101_0107.jpg
But all good things must come to an end:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/ClaremontWildnerness20080926/101_0108.jpg

[arielmoon]

Good gracious! How did you finish the ride with a broken fork?

Gorgeous scenery and great pics! Thanks for sharing that!


I will not be able to ride today but my boss let us go an hour early yesterday so I rode 33 miles on my scenic route. The weather was perfect and I rode really well averaging 19.2mph.

[Aggie_Ama]

LOL- Ariel there is a brand of fork made with only one side. Always look broken to me too!

Fred- I am terrible at climbing so despite the beautiful views that looks like torture to me!

[andtckrtoo]

Pretty ride! Thanks for sharing! Makes me want to go out and ride my MTB!

[fastdogs]

today during lunch break I went to creve coeur park to try to find the mountain bike trail there. I managed to ride 6.5 miles around the lake looking for it, never did find it. but I ran out of lunch time and had to get back to work.
After work, I just didn't feel like the day was complete without breaking in my new rear tire on some sharp rocks and dirt. On my way to pick up my little boy from daycare, I stopped in at greensfelter. I'd never ridden there- I have hiked there with my dogs and that was enough to keep me away. It's steep- all incredibly steep hills and rockslides- pretty torn up by horses hooves. But I'd never been on the two mountain bike trails (I understand you can bike on all the trails now)- declue and dogwood. Declue is supposed to be very technical- dogwood was described as "fast and flowy", so dogwood was the choice. When I got on it, I noticed the sign had a black diamond on it though. I did well on the first part, the rolling up and down dirt parts were a blast. But just when I'd get going real good, there would be a giant rockpile with a drop on the other side. I rode some of these and walked some. Toward the end, though, as it went up and up (not real steep, just long), I lost momentum and ended up walking some of that hill. What caused the loss of momentum was a log across the trail- a small one, maybe only 6", about 3" off the ground. I was going pretty fast, and too late to stop I saw it had a drop down into a little creek bed with big rocks. I made it across, and as usual I stop on the other side to marvel that I am still alive (can this lower-end rockshox survive?). It was all uphill from there.
I think I was riding it counterclockwise. It broke in my new tire and satisfied my need to ride a trail- I was pretty tired and sweaty by the time I finished.
vickie

[TrekTheKaty]

I wanted to do a 65 mile ride, to get ready for a potential century. Sis and BIL backed out last night. Husband was slow getting moving, so we got stuck in traffic on the way to the trail. GPS was dead when I unloaded--so no cadence or speed feedback to keep me company while my husband disappeared ahead of me. Legs were slow to warm up...............And then the final blow--our second attempt to do Alton to the Riverfront Trail and Arch were thwarted! Trail washed out and nobody mentioned in on the local bike forums. I was very discouraged when I bailed at the car after 38 miles--only to arrive at home feeling terrible. Maybe I just had a bug--taking a few days off and already planning next weekend ride. Maybe I'll dig out that kayak and cross train.

[Fredwina]

Ariel,
The Cannondale "lefty" does get some strange looks , and usually a few comment about if feel safe riding it. If you don't look, you wouldn't know it was a single leg. Cannondale claims that it's stiffer and more responsive than a conventional fork.
Ama, you pretty start climbing at the parking lot and don't stop until the halfway point. There's some more trail there, but the last time it did them there was the prints from a bear and a really big Kitty Cat;)

[Aggie_Ama]

Ama, you pretty start climbing at the parking lot and don't stop until the halfway point. There's some more trail there, but the last time it did them there was the prints from a bear and a really big Kitty Cat;)

I saw a bear in NM and scat on a hiking trail. No thanks, I don't fancy myself a tender morsel. :D Thanks for taking your camera so we can live vicariously through you and Lefty. Did you take off the decals, I only knew it was a C-dale because the lefty fork only works on their headset, right?

[Fredwina]

It came without the decals. The word "Cannondale" and the logo is embossed on the frame - apparently too subtle, as that was only year sans decals:(
Yes, it uses a 1 1/4 or 1/12 inch headset, so you have to have a lefty specific frame.