Mixed Surface Roadirt Ride

Ride Name: Mixed Surface Roadirt Ride
When: Saturday, September 1, 2018
Time: 0615
Where: Intersection of GMR & Sierra Madre Ave
Ride Description or Details:
I'm going up til I can't go up no more. Intent is to hit the top of the Baldy Ski Lifts. Maybe Sunset Peak on the way back. Definitely Monroe Truck Trail. It's 43 miles and 5,200 feet just to Mt Baldy Village and back. There's 1,000 feet of elevation gain to get back down the mountain. Really cool scenery and history along the route, too.
~~~~~ Optional Details ~~~~~
Meet Location: On GMR, just north of Sierra Madre Avenue. Like, maybe 50 feet north.
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Storm Trooper, Suicidal
Ride Pace: Social Cruise, Easy with Moments of Effort, Moderate Pace
Type of Ride: Out and Back
Rider Limit: 987,654,321
Anticipated Mileage: 50+
Elevation Gain: 7,000+
Ride Duration: 7 hrs +
Previous Ride Reports: Search on my GMR rides.
Possible Bail-Outs: Turn around.
Facilities: Bushes and rocks until Mt Baldy Village. Water at Mt Baldy Village 22 miles in.
Food/water suggestions: Bring whatever you need to climb 22 miles and 4,400 feet before anything is available. Then climb some more.
Option to Upload:

 

Hmmmmm... Which bike are you riding?

I'm wondering if I can start that late... Or if I should go out for something really early from home. I have some things to do later in the day.

 

I'll be on the XTC.

 

As fun as this sounds..:::k, not really, too much pavement.


I’ll stay local and figure something out.

 

Tire choice for this endeavor?

 

Same as always. 2.4 Ardent on the front and 2.35 Forekaster on the back.

 

Blech

I learned at Strada Rosa that Forecasters 2.35 F&R don’t make good road tires.

 

This route should be done on a 6" travel bike... Smooths out the asphalt. Ha-hem, @Grego . This route is also not recommended for Stans hubs.

I'm probably going to do a mixed ride of my own locally. I need to drive to LA later in the day, and don't want to cut things too close.

 

Well, the good road tires are on the Defy...

 

The reason I ask is because I did a mixed-surface ride yesterday (Meadows from the ranger station) and saw how much faster the roadies' tires rolled on pavement over my Ikons. It's like my Ikons were stuck to the asphalt.

In the past I used a set of Performance Forte Fas-traks that rolled much better for mixed-surface rides like this.^^ Like unbelievably fast, but with outside knobs for dirt. I didn't trust those knobs for cornering on pavement, but they were acceptable on dirt. Quick search shows Maxxis has a comparable tire, the Tread Lite, and Performance has a Forte Dartmoor ($20). Maxxis also has the Pace which looks very fast but has less aggressive side knobs which might be better for pavement but worse for dirt.

 

I'm one of those weirdos who doesn't want to change tires just because I'm doing a different type of ride. I'll ride what I got!!

 

I was seriously considering taking the Kona (Sutra LTD, 36 x 11/42; 1x11 drop bar wunderbike) on this ride, but the adapters for the front wheel are not being moved right along. I ordered them a week ago; one would think that would be sufficient time to get here even from Minnesooooooota. But no.

So, it's the XTC or the Defy. Given the rousing response I've gotten for this ride I may just go full roadie.

 

LOL I didn't see this just asked about it in the other thread.. yikes I'd the road bike can skip the Monroe Truck Trail on the way down but that's not going to happen tomorrow

 

Couldn't agree more. In fact, that's how the "I Road My Bike" thread got started. Not as a road bike thread, but how I roadied out my MTB for a plush road ride.