Check the weather update at the bottom of the post

On September 22nd and 23rd the TROGS, the Ogre (from Ogrehut.com), and some Sonora area locals are inviting you to a get together at Pinecrest Peak. Prepare for 2 days of riding, camping, and general MTB mayhem. If you’ve never ridden at Pinecrest, this is a great chance to try out some awesome Sierra Nevada trails which are a bit off the beaten track. Anyone is welcome to show up and we have plans for any level of rider.

Location : We will be camping at Fraser Flat Campground near Strawberry on both Friday and Saturday Nights. All rides will meet at the Strawberry Store (Big Red Store on Right).

Times : Rides will meet at 10:00 AM on both the 22nd and the 23rd (Sunday’s Easy ride will start at 11AM)
The Rides: Exact rides and routes will depend on who shows up. Currently the following rides are planned.

Friday: We’re going to have a Friday night ride at 9PM along Fiona’s Favorite trail. The ride will be laid back and at a slow pace. Expect a mellow ride dodging trees through some fairly tame terrain. This is about a 9 mile loop and will be the only ride to start and finish at Fraser Flat campground. (Rain/ snow cancels)
Saturday: (none of the rides planned on Saturday are to be shuttled)
Easy Ride: Fiona’s Favorite Loop, down Ewok Trail from Strawberry, crossing the river at Spring Gap Road, then returning on the RR Grade to Strawberry. 10 miles, easy pace with very little climbing.
Challenging Ride: Climb up to Pinecrest Peak and alternately climbing up Willow Creek or Hammil Canyon then returning via Pinecrest Peak Trail.
Expert Route: This is a highly challenging ride for expert level mountain bikers, it’s a 35-40+ mile route with tons of climbing, technical cross country riding and finishes with the the killer Pinecrest Peak Downhill.

Sunday: Sunday’s plans are not set in stone yet. Here are the tentative plans for the day.
Easy Ride: 10-15 miles riding along the Flume trail above the Stanislaus River (may have a delayed start time due to shuttling Challenging riders)
Challenging Route: This will be a shuttled ride, the shuttle will drop riders off at the base of Eagle Peak and riders will climb up to Eagle Peak coming down some fresh new singletrack. At that point they can go directly to Pinecrest Peak via forest roads or drop down Willow Creek trail before climbing to Pinecrest Peak.
Expert Ride: A second day of high mileage, challenging cross country riding. The second day will likely not include Pinecrest Peak but will include 30-40 miles of challenging singletrack.

Cost: Zero $ (responsible for own campsite and food/ alcohol)
Registration: Just show up at Fraser Flat on Friday Night or meet us at the Strawberry Store on Saturday or Sunday Morning.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy with rain or snow likely. Highs 41 to 51 higher elevations…54 to 64 lower elevations. Snow level 7000 feet.

Weather seems to be deteriorating on Saturday. Still have a chance that it will blow over but I would suggest anyone day-tripping to come on Sunday rather than Saturday. The trails should be awesome post rain/ snow. I’ll be up there both days rain or shine and will likely ride on Saturday if it’s just limited to showers or a light drizzle. Friday nights ride is canceled if there is rain. Night rain rides are not fun (I’ve done it)

Also, note that Sunday’s Easy Ride will start at 11AM rather than 10AM as was listed originally.

Posted in MTB Epic Rides, MTB Events | 3 Comments »

I’m working on updating my ride guides, one at a time like.  The first one to get a serious retinkering is my Pinecrest Peak Guide.  The format is slightly different and it’s very focused on getting you around the loop since there are so few other references out there for this trail.  I have also included some options for bonus mileage and even some simple shuttling instructions.  I’m going to try and add some maps soon as well.  Let me know how you like the layout.

The Ogre’s Guide to Pinecrest Peak

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I spend the last 5 days riding up in Oregon, 2 days on rides just with friends, and 3 days at Mountain Bike Oregon (MBO). Mountain Bike Oregon is a mountain bike get together held in Oakridge, Oregon, a no-name town in central Oregon with a trail system that is second to none. The ‘500 miles’ of trails listed on Mountain Bike Oregon’s web site is not an exaggeration, and the quality of the trails is phenomenal. Most of the trails are skinny, buffed single track, but there is a good selection of technical riding as well. Rivers and streams crisscross the unique rain forests of northwest Oregon. The technical challenges are as often made of roots and tree stumps rather than rocks and you are just as often riding on bark and pine needles as dirt on many trails. (My Pictures from MBO) Read the rest of this entry »

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Holy cow… have I been lazy, I’d promise to post more often but then I might later be accused of being a liar.

In any case… I got some new wheels. A Kona Kula 2-9 I have yet to ride it more than 100 yards but I’m going to take it to MtB Oregon in 2 days. Should be interesting. I’ll bring my Monocog 29er along which has proved to be an awesome bike. The Kona weighs in at 25.5 lbs which is not super light for a hard tail but is the lightest bike I’ve ever owned.

Over the last 6 months I’ve become a huge believer in the 29″ wheels, on the Monocog 29er I’ve conquered trails which previously I felt challenged on riding a 5″ travel bike. The Kula 2-9 adds a few things the MC lacked. Primarily the Reba fork… The rigid fork on the Monocog has really taken it’s toll on my hands and wrists. Hopefully the 85mm of travel on the Reba will alleviate this issue.

The Kula 2-9 also has sliding drop outs. This allows me to use quick release tires, reducing the weight of my rear hub and speeding up tire changes. finally… I have the option to go geary or SS. After 6 months of Singlespeed I’m not sure I want to go back to geared. Singlespeeding is just plain fun. I’m of split minds about this though, on the one hand I love to challenge myself to ride everything and when I’m single speeding I just have to admit that there are sections that are too steep and walk them. Also, on long steeper hills I’ll be able to spin up them. But… single speeding is so fun. I guess we’ll see how this plays out. I’m already looking at dropping down to 1×9 from the 3×9 I currently have.

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Last year I rode at Annadel in Santa Rosa for the first time. I joined the festivities of May by the Bay, an annual mountain bike gathering organized through MTBR. Knowing that I hadn’t ridden there before, I asked for directions on recommended routes. Instead I ended up with a pair of guides who graciously showed me the way at my speed. I found Annadel to be a beautiful park with many trails that could be ridden by different experience levels. Definitely a place to have a map or guide the first time though. Even experienced riders could have a less than stellar ride without some prior information.

Now it’s a year later and I have the chance to ride there again, so off I go. I end up starting off the ride with about a dozen other riders in addition to the ride leaders of the year before. Even just a short time into the ride, I notice that instead of walking the climb, I’m still on the bike. And I’ll confess, looking back and seeing a couple other people behind me helped motivate me to keep pedaling. The route was very similar to last year’s. As I rode along I kept noticing that it seemed easier. I did walk some sections still, but I also was able to stay on the bike and clear some stuff that just seemed too hard just 12 months earlier. All in all I had a blast and felt glad to make it back to the parking lot at the end of the ride. A change of clothes and something cold to drink made a perfect end.

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Over the summer I’d heard about a new trail system, just south of Cool on Highway 49, called Cronan Ranch. This weekend we finally had a chance to explore the trails there. Fiona and I met my brother and we headed up there this weekend.

The trailhead for Cronan Ranch is almost on highway 49 and the trails drop down to the river from there. Expect mostly fast buffed singletrack through meadows with some light tree cover.  With all the exposure summer riding is bound to be hot plus there is a lot of thistle and foxtail growing in the park so now is a great time to get out there before it gets too hot and dry. Of particular note was the West Ridge trail. It’s a fun fast section of singletrack that follows along a ridgeline.  You can easily put together some 10-15 mile rides at this park with lots of single and doubletrack.  What you won’t find at Cronan ranch is any technical MTB riding.

This park system is slated to be expanded and the plan is to eventually connect these trails up to the Salmon Falls bridge and Sweetwater/ Salmon Falls.  Kevin and I explored some of the trails which will likely connect these two systems and it looks like there will be plenty of great views and good riding along the American River.

Hopefully I’ll get the chance to return there and put together some nice routes. I have some pictures but none came out very well, I might post them a little later on. For now here is a Map of Cronan Ranch from the Coloma Valley Recreation Page for Cronan Ranch.

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I stumble into the RV, my brain isn’t working quite right, I know I need to get out of my sweat soaked clothes, eat, and wake up my brother before I go to sleep. I start to change but get distracted by hunger and start to prepare some food. Before I make much progress there, I look at the clock, it’s 3:30AM. I set the alarm for 6AM so I can wake up in time for my next lap. Clothes are hanging all over the RV, mostly air drying stuff I’ve already worn. I chase down my clean, non-riding clothes and start to put them on but decide I’d better eat something first. Pour myself some chocolate milk and chug a little before my numb right toe reminds me I need to get out of my wet clothes. This time I manage to finish changing. Then I scramble up some eggs. I put some seasonings on them and too much salt but it doesn’t bother me one bit. Scrambled eggs have never tasted so fluffy and good. Drink a little Gatorade and some chocolate milk. The adrenalin is finally starting to drain out of my system. I’m getting tired fast. Read the rest of this entry »

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Well, actually Auburn seems to have many sides. Last weekend Ogre and I went to the Russell Rd. trailhead to ride. It was overcast and threatened rain so we figured that we’d play it by ear, but brought the rain gear along in our packs. We dropped down the road to Manzanita and rode that until it hit Stagecoach. Climbed back up Stagecoach to where Upper Stagecoach hits it and then rode Upper Stagecoach back down to Stagecoach and then continued down to the Confluence. Ogre wanted more miles and I needed a break so we decided I’d hang where I was and he’d go ride a loop on the other side of the bridge. He expected to be gone for 1-1 1/2 hours and we planned for me to start climbing back up Stagecoach after he’d left me for 30-45 minutes. Just 30 minutes later and I feel a couple of drops. Hmmmm… Read the rest of this entry »

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