M
MattB
Guest
Wabbit season! No! Death March Season!
It's cooling off around here. It was about 20 Deg. F when I rode to work
this morning. As things cool down, some different rides become very nice
that I consider too hot in mid summer.
So Sunday I decided to do my Signal Mesa Death March Loop. It's one that
took me about three years to figure out. It combines many different
little pieces of singletrack and a bit of two track to make a 28 Mile,
4100 vertical Ft. loop from my house.
I called Kevin, a wrench at the LBS on Saturday to see if he wanted to
join me. He's been interested in figuring out that area for a while so I
thought I'd bring him along.
He met me at my house a little after noon on Sunday and we headed out
shortly after. Conditions are good, but maybe a little soft due to lack
of use in spots. We made quick work of the initial climb up to the
Signal Peak area (5 Miles and 8 or 900 vertical Ft.). I like playing
tour guide, and I pointed out all the important landmarks I thought he
may not know already.
We dropped down the Lower Singletrack to the Lost Canyon connector and I
let him take the lead for the DH. I feel like I'm no slouch on DH, but
Kevin is *really* fast and he was riding his Tomac with 5" of travel.
You can tell he enjoys riding by watching him playing of every possible
feature on the trail, pulling tabletops at will on the bigger features.
I find myself struggling to keep up and we periodically regroup at
intersections.
Before we know it we're down on Lost Canyon Road and Kevin is sporting a
big grin. "That was GREAT!" he says, and we cross to what I call the
Redneck Shootin' Spot. There's a trail head right where they set up the
targets that climbs away form the road. Fortunately nobody is shooting
so we pick our way across all the empty casings, broken glass, and
various items used as targets to where the trail starts to climb back
out of the Canyon.
The climb starts pretty steep, and it's only barely doable in the middle
ring for me, and it's hard. It's also goes up a draw that is South
facing and protected from wind, so we're both red faced and sweating in
no time. It's pretty slow going and there are some tricky spots where
the sage is tight around the soft, infrequently ridden singletrack. I
make a couple of moves Kevin didn't, which is rare. I feel extra-good
when he compliments my technical riding. It's like hearing I'm a good
spinner from Lance Armstrong.
We make our way out of the hot lower section and break out into a nice
open, breezy area with nice views of the valley. Then we drop back into
the hotter lower sections. This cycle repeats a few times and we
eventually cross the road again to head back towards Signal Mesa.
We stopped a couple of times to rest and have a snack, and have some
good chats about our kids (he's got one a year younger than mine).
Then we hit the final big climb, Sheep Gulch which is maybe 1500 Ft. on
a two track over about four Miles. It's a bit of a grunt, but the payoff
when you emerge from the aspens at the top is great. Cool breezes and
beautiful views of our valley. We snack, chat, and admire the views one
more time and finally head back for the Signal Mesa DH after a fast spin
along the top plateau. Kevin drops me like a hot potato when we start
the descent - man, he's fast. I'm getting tired at this point and don't
feel like pushing my limits. We regroup a couple more times, hit the
Chicken Gulch DH (both combine for about 2500 Ft. of continuous
singletrack descent) and we spin back to town on the highway.
We did it in about 3.5 Hours, which is my fastest time yet. Having a
very small group helped, and Kevin's pace-pushing was also big factor.
We also had no mechanicals, which is always nice.
Then I stopped by the park to meet my son and wife at his friend's 4th
birthday party and "cleaned up" the left over pizza. Yum!
It was a good day for a Death March. I hope to do it at least once or
twice more before the snow flies.
Matt
It's cooling off around here. It was about 20 Deg. F when I rode to work
this morning. As things cool down, some different rides become very nice
that I consider too hot in mid summer.
So Sunday I decided to do my Signal Mesa Death March Loop. It's one that
took me about three years to figure out. It combines many different
little pieces of singletrack and a bit of two track to make a 28 Mile,
4100 vertical Ft. loop from my house.
I called Kevin, a wrench at the LBS on Saturday to see if he wanted to
join me. He's been interested in figuring out that area for a while so I
thought I'd bring him along.
He met me at my house a little after noon on Sunday and we headed out
shortly after. Conditions are good, but maybe a little soft due to lack
of use in spots. We made quick work of the initial climb up to the
Signal Peak area (5 Miles and 8 or 900 vertical Ft.). I like playing
tour guide, and I pointed out all the important landmarks I thought he
may not know already.
We dropped down the Lower Singletrack to the Lost Canyon connector and I
let him take the lead for the DH. I feel like I'm no slouch on DH, but
Kevin is *really* fast and he was riding his Tomac with 5" of travel.
You can tell he enjoys riding by watching him playing of every possible
feature on the trail, pulling tabletops at will on the bigger features.
I find myself struggling to keep up and we periodically regroup at
intersections.
Before we know it we're down on Lost Canyon Road and Kevin is sporting a
big grin. "That was GREAT!" he says, and we cross to what I call the
Redneck Shootin' Spot. There's a trail head right where they set up the
targets that climbs away form the road. Fortunately nobody is shooting
so we pick our way across all the empty casings, broken glass, and
various items used as targets to where the trail starts to climb back
out of the Canyon.
The climb starts pretty steep, and it's only barely doable in the middle
ring for me, and it's hard. It's also goes up a draw that is South
facing and protected from wind, so we're both red faced and sweating in
no time. It's pretty slow going and there are some tricky spots where
the sage is tight around the soft, infrequently ridden singletrack. I
make a couple of moves Kevin didn't, which is rare. I feel extra-good
when he compliments my technical riding. It's like hearing I'm a good
spinner from Lance Armstrong.
We make our way out of the hot lower section and break out into a nice
open, breezy area with nice views of the valley. Then we drop back into
the hotter lower sections. This cycle repeats a few times and we
eventually cross the road again to head back towards Signal Mesa.
We stopped a couple of times to rest and have a snack, and have some
good chats about our kids (he's got one a year younger than mine).
Then we hit the final big climb, Sheep Gulch which is maybe 1500 Ft. on
a two track over about four Miles. It's a bit of a grunt, but the payoff
when you emerge from the aspens at the top is great. Cool breezes and
beautiful views of our valley. We snack, chat, and admire the views one
more time and finally head back for the Signal Mesa DH after a fast spin
along the top plateau. Kevin drops me like a hot potato when we start
the descent - man, he's fast. I'm getting tired at this point and don't
feel like pushing my limits. We regroup a couple more times, hit the
Chicken Gulch DH (both combine for about 2500 Ft. of continuous
singletrack descent) and we spin back to town on the highway.
We did it in about 3.5 Hours, which is my fastest time yet. Having a
very small group helped, and Kevin's pace-pushing was also big factor.
We also had no mechanicals, which is always nice.
Then I stopped by the park to meet my son and wife at his friend's 4th
birthday party and "cleaned up" the left over pizza. Yum!
It was a good day for a Death March. I hope to do it at least once or
twice more before the snow flies.
Matt