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Planning to give Rocky Hill a try this afternoon


Ridenfool
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Hopefully I make it to Water 1 this time. After which things should be okay. Last attempt around New Years the clay bands crossed on the way up were quite adhesive and stopped my wheels. That day there were two other riders I found and was guiding them to avoid the muck best we could. One was on a new bike, and he was blamed for causing the conditions. The other was from Aridzona where such things as rain is a rarity. They pressed on where I turned back.

There have now been a slew of days without precip for it to have soaked in, if that is possible at this saturation level. The tried and true Gopher Mound test in the yard is rendering mixed, but promising results. Keeping fingers crossed a ride can be had today as near half an inch is expected overnight.

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Apparently not. On occasion I have gotten lucky and found a way, just not so much during this Monsoon season.

Though I've been seeing vehicles with bike racks parked there on the way home from work each day this week and am hoping this is a good omen.

Edited by Ridenfool
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The 24 hour race re-route works pretty well.  You stay on the double road to the south, look for a path into the weeds.  It intersects into Grey's Way.  That will be the worst mucky part.  That takes you into Fat Chuck's.  After that, there are some sections were you may hit water, but none of the sticky mud. 

https://www.strava.com/activities/1915269157/segments/48348948408

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7 minutes ago, AntonioGG said:

The 24 hour race re-route works pretty well.  You stay on the double road to the south, look for a path into the weeds.  It intersects into Grey's Way.  That will be the worst mucky part.  That takes you into Fat Chuck's.  After that, there are some sections were you may hit water, but none of the sticky mud. 

https://www.strava.com/activities/1915269157/segments/48348948408

I can't see Strava routes as I'm not a member, but I think I know what you are talking about. It probably uses a section of Grey's Way I built when Grey asked to reroute the trail up Ike's Peak (he thought he would build a cabin there). This new section starts where Grey's Way from the Upper Campground comes close to the road and makes a hairpin to the right. About midway up that newish section there is a bail to the right onto Fat Chuck's. There are a few off-camber spots on that section that might be problematic if still wet from seepage.

Or, it could be the bail before the Carpet Bridge on Mini-Me that also cuts over to Fat Chuck's.

My plan is to take the road (Grey's Highway) all the way up to intersect Fat Chuck's between those two bails described above, and take a left and do that last climb up to Water 1. My mistake last time was in attempting to take SuperSecretSwitchback, which goes through several clay layers on that hill. That, and running a 3.0 front and 2.8 rear that loaded up quickly.

Once on top my experience has been that the trails are pretty good after a rain. Mostly gravel and sand with much fewer clay spots.

Getting up to Water 1 has always been the determining factor for getting the ride started after a rain. (I could also sneak in the back entrance by the 512 area, but that always feels like cheating)

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Man, I haven't been out there since I first moved here in 2008. All I remember it was brutally hot and the sandy soil was a killer. That, and we lost my buddy for a while, then he came out of the woods with one glove on. When asked what happened to his other glove, he replied that he didn't have any toilet paper. 

I should probably give it another try when it dries out more. 

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Sorry about that.  Strava changed privacy settings.  My default now is followers only for when I ride unmentionables.  I've made my ride public now.  

This was the worst spot for sticky mud.  From when you turn off Grey's Hwy, until the first left hand hairpin.  I walked this climb on every lap.  Not worth the energy for me since I was SS, but Johnnymotox rode this 22x in 22 hours in his SS.

image.png.6b7830abf1b3e4a94a5ff81b2e4af782.png

 

The good thing is that after some sticky mud, in Karaway, you got to go through the puddle so you rinse off the mud.  You know in that section where a little ladder bridge skinny has been built but has fallen apart? That was all 3" of water.  It still sounded awful, but I somehow didn't have to replace anything but the bottom bracket.

 

This was the worst part of the trail as far as non-sticky mud.  Basically the stuff close to the fence line, and before and after that. (fofenique?):image.png.50655a1803b4731b1775d781185353be.png

 

 

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It was a perfect day for a ride. The trails were 99% Hero Dirt where the tread leaves its imprint and nothing sticks to the tire, temp was air conditioned, overcast sky distributed light equally, and I had the place to myself. There were three places other than creek crossings with standing water. One on Karaway, one on Frontal Lobotomy, and one on Longhorn Loop. There were plenty of tracks through them as I think these may have been part of the EE last weekend.

Here's a photo of the bike after the ride.

IMG_20190111_151953078.thumb.jpg.2ce0a3845dec89eff5114c06064d7198.jpg

Afterwards I downed a Modelo Especial and loaded up. Just as I started the engine sprinkles of rain began landing on the windshield.

Perfect timing.

 

Edited by Ridenfool
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4 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

his was the worst part of the trail as far as non-sticky mud.  Basically the stuff close to the fence line, and before and after that. (fofenique?):image.png.50655a1803b4731b1775d781185353be.png

 

 

That's Super Secret Switchback. The section that turned me around last time out because of the high clay content. When wet it is just slippery, and as it dries it becomes some sort of epoxy.

Edited by Ridenfool
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