I DIDN'T Ride My Bike Today, Cuzz....

Actually, DH laps are their own special kind of pain and fitness. Like alpine skiing. Not easy.

 

Yes, my buddy and I were exhausted after 4 runs. A beer would have typically helped with post ride pain. The restaurant we ate dinner at actually had Heineken zero . Still holding strong.

 

27 years ago I gave my son a Santa Cruz Heckler, and since he's replaced it with a SC 29er, he repatriated me with it. Worked on it today and took for a short jaunt up B*.

 

I’m old enough to remember when kenda dominated the trails. I still roll a nevegal on my gt.

 

Nevegal has the softest rubber, I still use them

 

Interesting way to get the bars higher. And rear suspension without front suspension? Hard-fork? That thing looks frightening to ride.

I'm just heckling....

 

And... How was the trip down memory lane on the old steed? Did you have the uncontrollable urge to hit the single tracks?

 

The seatpost was too short, so ascending was arduous, but the descent, by an admittedly poor DH rider (poor uphill too), was really fun. Couldn't believe the shock, which has never been rebuilt AFAICR, was functional. Also, the bushings in the frame are original. All surprising since my son had raced the bike and is a pretty gonzo rider.

 

Spent a few days up in Sequoia N.P. with the family. Has been on my hitlist for a few years now, so I am glad I finally got up there. Stayed at a little vacation home in 3 rivers about 4 miles from the park entrance.

Day 1.

It's hot out there. Didn't really know what to expect as we began our drive up the winding road to the sequoia groves. Temps at the top were a decent 80 degrees. This was also a huge test for my 2 year old son who gets notoriously car sick, especially on twisty roads. Added a static strap to the car, got him some "sea bands" wristbands that supposedly help with motion sickness, and a homeopathic tablet that many swear by. In the end, I kept him on low doses of Dramamine. Entire trip was puke free. (exciting news for me, because now we can explore some of the local goods). First stop was Moro rock. Found parking right at the lot, crowds were not too bad. Definitely the views of Yosemite without the crowds. Moro rock, was a bit too crowded though when considering the current Covid situation. Not much room to move around out of the way for oncoming traffic. Stuck to less dense areas after this. Kudos to my 70+ mother in law for making it up all the steps to the top.


From there, we drove through the tunnel tree, and picnicked at Crescent meadows. Let my son out of the backpack here to run around and burn some energy.


It was now his nap time, so the plan was to scoot across to Kings Canyon, and get in some of the scenic byway while he napped, then stop at a few places after he woke. We ended up waiting for road construction on General's Highway for 1 hour 20 minutes between the parks. This put a major damper on the plans. So we instead checked out "General Grant".


The original plan was to go back to Sequoia side and stop at Sherman, before leaving the park for the day. Rather than sit in Traffic, we headed down HWY 180, then down the 245 to tour the back country on our way back to the cottage.

Day 2.
Really wanted to see General Sherman. But rather than head back to the crowds (even though small crowds) we headed up the Mineral King Hwy. For those of you who have never been, this is a SERIOUS road. Very steep. Very twisty. Very narrow. Very large cliffs on the edge. We crept up this hwy to the small section of Sequoia Park at the top. (stopping at a cool granite cascade halfway up)


We travelled to the Atwell Hockett trail, and descended 500 ft, the mile and a half to the bridge and waterfall across the East fork of the Kaweah. Hung out on the bridge and relaxed. Then headed back up.
AMAZING views up there.





Back to the car, guzzled some liquids. Then back down the twisty death road, and onward back to L.A....

 

Great area. Mineral King would be (is) an awesome climb.

 

Not sure why my image links don't work......

 

I planned last Sunday to go up and see the General Grant tree with my son, plans changed and we went up to the Trail of 100 Giants. It was very crowded but we had a good time.

 

I was busy selling the p.o.s. Ford Fiesta and buying this:

 

Nice upgrade.

 

Holy shyt, you guys have good excuses. I got jack – woke up before 4, said fuggit, back to bed.

 

What church is in the background of your photo? Do you hear bells every hour?

 

I was wondering how long it would take you to notice...

St John the Baptist Greek Orthodox. Friggin' outstanding Greek Festival every year, λουκουμάδες to die for. But not this year.

No bells.

 

With a manual transmission the only problem was the engine but if you were one of the unlucky souls that bought one with a slick shift transmission you've got my sympathies.

 

Remember the kids doing the folk dances in traditional garb? It's safe to assume most 10 year olds are forced into that by the hand and belt of their fathers. Practice every Tuesday and Thursday. It sucked for my social life those years, but you can imagine all those hops and skips and jumps make for a strong pedal stroke.

 

Yeah, the "automatically shifted double-clutched (dry) manual transmission." Oh well, Ford wisely quit making cars. They were never any good at it anyway.

 

You mean the scowls were of disgust, and not of concentration? It always looked like they were enjoying themselves.

 

Around the time those were new, I was at an automatic transmission rebuilders convention and a guy from a local Ford dealer said there were 30 of those sitting in the lot waiting on him to repair them under warranty. They didn't change a thing, just kept making and selling them.

 

If you had to perform looking like this in front of hundreds of strangers (and dozens of relatives), you must be on adrenaline.

Gobble Gobble.

 

They didn't look like that....

 

Woke up, replaced a broken door bell button, used only half of my expletive library; drove out into the wild and bought a nice b-card for mi esposa (later this week, gotta be prepared), got some garlic cheese bread from 85* C bakery while I was out. Spies from ___ ( in the appropriate asian country) taking pictures of everything kept the line of real customers outside while they sauntered and stole all our bakery secrets (hey, not prejudiced, just live in Hacienda Hts-'nough said), cleaned and lubed a filthy bike chain (dust never sleeps), spent way too much time on the computer figuring out the stuff I'd need to change my Bronson from 2x10 to 2x11 (because I dig the way the timber ti came out), then spent half a day in the kitchen making bolognese sauce from the garden (fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil, jalapeno - diavolo style don't you know?), showered, forgot to wash my hair, showered again, turned on the flow playlist and settled back while the sauce is 'a simmerin'. Linne Calodo "Rising Tides" breathing in the meantime. Oh yeah.

 

That sounds way complicated.

 

Cliff notes version, I didn't ride my bike today.

 

Because of the Lake Fire...stupid Lake Fire!

 

Shlepped 15,000 textbooks around and prepped 2000 plus Chromebooks. Not all today, but all day. Brought my bike with me to work, but didn't get out until 6 pm. No ride. Maybe tomorrow.

 

What kind of text [books]? Are they still relevant?