Finally made it to Downieville and caught a few laps in perfect fall conditions with friends. Best day on bikes so far and even on a rigid single speed. Perfectly moist dirt from Gold Valley Rim to 1st Divide and perfectly groomed tread on 3rd Divide. It looked like we just missed the trail crew as we put the first tracks through buttered-out tread on a Thursday. Fall colors everywhere. Unreal. Thanks for the tips @jay.barre
@tediseasy and I set out to do some trimming on Condor and see @kurt.refsnider roll through on his ground truthing mission of the @orogenesiscollective bike packing route. He’s been riding for over 60 days and 2,600 miles since his depart by the Canadian border.
From Fox Saddle we saw the silhouettes of Kurt and his pal @topofests crest over the high point of Condor Ridge after the sun had set. Too dark to get any pics, but I got a shitty video hella zoomed in of them making their way down (slide 2). We all had a ripping descent starting in the twilight and finishing in the dark of which Kurt said was easily one of the best so far. I congratulated Kurt on his important mission with a giant sack of burritos then they slinked off for rest along the Big Tujunga. He says 2 more weeks to Mexico then 7 more to the tip of Baja.
@gabrielamadeus you’re a damn genius and an amazing human!
Scouting and minor access improvements with @erikhillard today as @lowelifesrcc switches gears to begin work on Idlehour from the Mt Lowe Rd side of things.
Labor Day weekend well spent with my fellow @lowelifesrcc working on our home away from home projects with @krvmba in Sequoia NF. We spent the weekend working on Tobias Creek Trail which has been a big project since the 2021 Windy Fire ripped through. Annual maintenance on this route has gone up tremendously since the fire, but we are starting to make good headway. Fallen trees will continue to be a problem on the upper and brush will be a constant battle everywhere with so much new sunlight introduced to the landscape. All trail work BS aside, it was a really great weekend with a solid crew @krvmba@lowelifesrcc@rachelleboydart@ericjmelanson@evdog_sd@tediseasy@robertdaniel4336@yasharrahim@rankest_amateur@lynnecherch@sophiapellmann . A big thanks goes out to Brent for a solid weekend.
Solo couple days out there. Always great to reflect on and recognize what makes you happy. Spent a lot of time being humbled by all the people who made doing this possible for me after starting over. Best part of this tour was meeting Little Ken at the river finish.
After the fire, I knew I needed to get back to biking in the mountains and working on trails as soon as possible for mental stability. I’ve been struggling to get out in the mountains on my bike and feel normal. Like it was before the fire. Yesterday, I went on a big ride across a bunch of the singletrack @lowelifesrcc has fixed up since the Bobcat Fire. A proper day in the mountains. And on my new Ti-Hayduke to replace the one I lost in the fire. Immediately I felt at home. Everything felt familiar and I had the best day touring years of hard work we have completed in the Angeles National Forest.
Friends reached out to their pal @dirty_biker@eskercycles about me loosing my Ti-Hayduke I’ve been riding around working on trails with since 2016. Dirty immediately wanted to help me out not knowing me at all other than the homies that vouched for me. Friends Chris @oldmanmountainracks@robertaxleproject and Travis @theradavist teamed up with Dirty to find everything for the build. Huge thanks to @tuck.carruthers@k.y.l.e_d.a.v.i.s@tkadv over at Esker for donating time and pieces to the build. Big thanks to all the brands who answered the calls of my pals screaming to help me out @astralcycling@monebikes@whiteind@srammtb@hopetech@oneupcomponents@dtswiss .
Blown away at the generosity, I made my way out to SSAZ this year to meet Dirty and thank him in person. And of course to party and ride bikes… A true blessing to be connected through bikes and friends to all these wonderful people I’ve met as a result of stewarding trails. 🖤
Big shoutout to the many people who were among the first to step up to help me out. A side note to this bike. I’d like to also thank @reverend_dick@name_and_number@ericjmelanson@atomiccycles_fanpage@jasonfitzgibbon@copper.tonez for being the very first to facilitate me getting back on two wheels in the dirt. Forever grateful 🥀 #bikes
