Toyota Yaris Forums - Ultimate Yaris Enthusiast Site
 

 


 
Go Back   Toyota Yaris Forums - Ultimate Yaris Enthusiast Site > Members Area > Off-topic / Other Cars / Everything else Discussions
  The Tire Rack

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-29-2010, 09:17 PM   #1
BailOut
Steals terrorist's lunch
 
BailOut's Avatar
 
Drives: 2007 Yaris Liftback
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Reno, Nevada, USA
Posts: 1,299
Mountain Bike Ride Memorial Day weekend 2010

Winter keeps hanging around and we've all been trapped indoors for a few days, so when the weather cleared and the latest snow melted I was ready to go!

I rode my favorite conditioning trails, the Whites Creek/Dry Pond/Thomas Creek loop at the base of Mount Rose near Reno, NV. It's a 6.25 mile ride with just over 1,000 vertical feet of climbing (from 6,000 to 7,000 feet).

I set out at about 9am and had a solid ride up to the Dry Pond. Here is a view of Mount Rose when winding up the Dry Pond Trail from the Whites Creek Trail:



When I reached the Dry Pond itself I came across this dead tree that is sinking into the ground:



It is named the Dry Pond because it only holds water for 2 to 8 weeks each year. This year it's doing quite well:



Here are some shots of my mountain bike, a 2008 Giant Yukon FX that has been modified with a Shimano drive train and Fox suspension as I wore out OEM components. It is quite dirty as there are many creek crossings in this region and it's been too cold to wash it for the last 2 rides:





At the beginning of the descent to the Thomas Creek Trail are 4 switchbacks (there are 3 switchbacks approaching the Dry Pond from the Whites Creek Trail). In road courses we teach bicyclists how to turn in 10 feet, and this is considered difficult. These switchbacks are on dirt, full of roots and rocks, and are about 8 feet wide on 4-7% grades:



This one always gives me the willies. You come in from the upper right from a high speed segment. I watched a rider go down here earlier this week:



Once home I took advantage of the warm weather and washed and lubricated my mountain bike:



Not a bad way to spend a solo Saturday morning in the spring.
__________________
- Brian

Share the Road


I often carry 2 carpool passengers and mountain bikes
or snowboards/skis over a 4,500 foot elevation difference.
Click the graphic above to see my detailed mileage logs.
BailOut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2010, 12:50 AM   #2
tomato
Super Moderator
 
tomato's Avatar
 
Drives: Yaris 2DR LB 07, MT, Abs. Red
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,155
no, not a bad way at all! Great shots and really cool bike!!

This is some serious mountain biking, though, not for beginners, i assume? The trail (3rd photo from the bottom) looks downright dangerous.

You just inspired me to get some air in my tires and head out to Marin County. I wonder if the local peeps would be interested in doing something like that. Could be really cool.
__________________
Follow Bamboo the YarisWorld Traveler here
tomato is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2010, 12:08 PM   #3
BailOut
Steals terrorist's lunch
 
BailOut's Avatar
 
Drives: 2007 Yaris Liftback
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Reno, Nevada, USA
Posts: 1,299
Hi tomato,

I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures. These 3 trails are considered intermediate and are definitely not beginner friendly. I learned how to mountain bike here after not riding a bicycle for 15 years and, to put it mildly, it was challenging. I bruised two ribs my first time out.

I learn things quickly, though, and soon it was my favorite training/conditioning trail, especially as it's on my way to work. Still, I strongly recommend starting out on beginner trails.

Marin County is the birthplace of mountain biking so it's a wonderful destination for you. If you have Netflix grab "Klunkers", a documentary about the earliest days of the sport and the people that forged it by creating new frame types and having a lot of courage.

If you watch it look for a red-headed guy taking an over-the-bar digger on an old "Postman" steel bicycle. His wife came to Reno to be an assistant instructor for my League Cycling Instructor course a few weeks ago. Small world.
__________________
- Brian

Share the Road


I often carry 2 carpool passengers and mountain bikes
or snowboards/skis over a 4,500 foot elevation difference.
Click the graphic above to see my detailed mileage logs.
BailOut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2010, 12:21 AM   #4
tomato
Super Moderator
 
tomato's Avatar
 
Drives: Yaris 2DR LB 07, MT, Abs. Red
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,155
sounds good, Brian! Will put it in my queue, thanks.
__________________
Follow Bamboo the YarisWorld Traveler here
tomato is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-02-2010, 04:10 PM   #5
STC
"LibertyRides!"
 
STC's Avatar
 
Drives: 2010 Yaris 3Dr LB | 2020 Stang
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: State College, PA, USA
Posts: 576
Thank you for sharing, Brian!

Very nice pictures...

The switch backs remind me of Brian Head, Utah outside of Cedar City! In the 90's we took a extreme biking trip, exclusively in Utah! Moab was awesome especially "Poison Spider" single track!

I needed the adventure because, at that time I lived in Miami. The flat Everglades back country rides were boring...

Once again... thank you for the great pics...
__________________
~ Mark ~
2010 Yaris 3-Dr Liftback, 5-Speed Manual, P185/60R 15, Bayou Blue Pearl
I Love my YARIS - (Click below to see Gaslog):

Most miles Tank: 538 tank/10.148 gal = 53.015 MPG / Most MPG: 54.95 MPG (ethanol) 425 tank/7.73 gal

"The evils of government are directly proportional to the tolerance of the people." -- Frank Kent
STC is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Labor Day Weekend in Malibu/Rock Store (do people still have 56k?) AdeJong 03 Photo-Video-Media Gallery 15 09-09-2009 06:17 PM
best way to improve ride for every day driving ellenbetty Wheels, Tires and Suspension Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack 18 07-13-2009 05:30 PM
Mountain biking on the 4th of July weekend BailOut Off-topic / Other Cars / Everything else Discussions 2 07-07-2009 12:13 PM
TWM Performance Memorial Day Sale – 5% off everything! TWM Performance TWM Performance 0 05-25-2009 02:21 PM
Black Friday Bob_VT Off-topic / Other Cars / Everything else Discussions 70 11-29-2008 07:07 AM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:05 PM.




YarisWorld
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.