Best resource to find epic rides, no matter where you live

Triathlon Forum
1

Slowman and I just finished off the best weekend of riding I have done in a long time. We took off from his house on Thursday evening and headed north. After fueling up on a big hearty meal of liver and onions at the Black Bear Restaurant in Porterville, CA, we drove the camper the rest of the distance to the base of the mountains.

Friday AM, we knew we had out hands full. Never mind the $100 of groceries we bought at Trader Joe’s before we hit the road, we bellied up at the local breakfast cafe in Springville, Ca. Dan had his usual, minus the swine- as he has cut this out of recent- while I enjoyed my pancakes with an egg added to the middle.

The chore for the day was a 26 mile climb with 6400ft of vertical gain, ending in Ponderosa, Ca. (We started at 1000ft and finished at 7400ft) Because of my lack of fitness, Dan and I were great riding partners for the day. (That’s my way of saying that I would normally spank him if I had a few more miles under the belt!)

While my KUOTA KOM is generally a great climber and descender, I had my first crash in 12 years while descending down this wonderful mountain. 8 miles later, Dan was very hospitable and caring as he scrubbed the dirt, stickers and rocks form the wounds with hydrogen peroxide.

Without boring you of the rest of the day with our epic swim hole and bags of ice used to heal me up, I want to shorten this email to keep you awake to learn how to find these epic places to ride.

If you are one that is looking for the epic places to ride, which may be right under your nose, click on the following link. We were lucky enough to have learned from Larry Williams of this particular riding mecca. I believe he has the entire USA wired. He even knows the best places to stay.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KTLALlS4Vhc

Enjoy the ride!
PS…When I woke from the few moments of sleep that I had, I could hardly walk into the Ponderosa Cafe for breakfast. Dan missed the boat on the breakfast choice for the second day in a row. Somehow I managed to get my right leg over the top tube and make it for the second day of climbing. Because he did not get the egg, his day of climbing was about as painful as my previous day’s descent! Don’t forget the egg!!!

2

This is the stuff that spurs legandary tales…Ten years from now it will be higher than Whitney, and 105 degrees…Good stuf Paul, and anyone wondering about the direction link, I highly suggest you watch for a laugh…I used to deliver pizzas in the 70’s, and I would routinely get directions over the phone like this. The customers were always drunk(thus the need for a delivery back then), and it would go on and on. Thank god for thomas guides…

3

“We were lucky enough to have learned from Larry Williams of this particular riding mecca.”

and then you turn to the left. to the left. to the left. to the left. and then… BAAM!

fortunately, we found an idyllic spot to scrape the dirt off paul’s road rash, the worst underneath his bib and not visible in the pic. i made a poltice out of the innerside of cottonwood bark and some trail mix, and bound it to his wounds. (not really, i just scrubbed with hydrogen peroxide).

http://www.slowtwitch.com/images/paul_crash.jpg

http://www.slowtwitch.com/images/tule_river.jpg

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Is this for real!!! Gorgeous!

http://www.slowtwitch.com/images/tule_river.jpg

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Judging by the look of Paul’s lack of belly, you didn’t eat to many meals at the Black Bear Diner.

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" Is this for real!!! Gorgeous!"

best-kept secret in the sierras. it’s the tule river, on the southwestern slopes of the sierra. this and its tributaries are like this for miles. and, many climbs that extend for 6000’ and more from bottom to top. i’ve written before about the greenhorn mountains (the other name for this area). i think paul and i are going back in a few weeks for some more climbing.

7

Yes!! We plan on going back. In the meantime, I am looking for a roll cage for the KUOTA!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KTLALlS4Vhc

8

Those bibs don’t come with a roll cage? They should… :slight_smile:

9

I’ve ridden up in the Camp Nelson area but have never started in Springville and made the whole climb. Too afraid of the locals and logging trucks whipping around the corners. Did you feel like it was a safe ride?

10

Wow, thanks for the post and the pics. Oh, and for reminding me that Indiana is really ugly and boring.

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The scariest part of the day was not the acual crash. It is when we were standing on the side of the raod, trying to gather up the yard sale, when a truck came around the same corner (with a trailer in tow) nearly fishtailing us completely off the mountain!!!

Other than that, it was calm.

12

well, next time you guys come up give drop me a line. we’ll go in the back way and extend the trip by a few miles and a few feet of elevation. really is a great ride, but please, stop giving away all of the local secrets! btw, that epic is where a few pro teams have done their camps this year.

13

Paulie!! The best place to find epic rides is right here. Local knowledge from around the globe. Anyways, on a more important note, who cares about YOUR road rash, how is THE BIKE! Did you damage that lovely KOM or the fancy saddle I traded to Dan who traded it to you?? :slight_smile:

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You should know better by now…it’s be a roll Kage!

I am looking for a roll cage for the KUOTA!

15

trout in that stream?

16

“we’ll go in the back way and extend the trip by a few miles and a few feet of elevation.”

on day-2 we drove to the base of sherman pass and commenced that climb. but, day-2 was supposed to be balch park road. would it be that to which you refer?

17

From Springville go out Balch Park Road to Yokohl Road.

Yokohl to Meyer Drive, head south zig and zag to Road 216 which will take you through Lindsay.

Zig and zag a bit in Lindsay and get on the Orange Belt Highway south to Strathmore

East on Avenue 196 then south on Road 276

this road will take you to Highway 190 west of Springville near the River Island Golf Course.

the ride is about 65 miles. about half is hilly, with the Yokohl road being the biggest climbs (maybe 2500 feet). fast descent on the back side of blue ridge. watch out for potholes, the road is rough. ranger station on that side if you need water.

18

i’m actually looking for other ways to get to ponderosa/quaking aspen from the central valley. i’m familiar with parker pass, and portuguese pass.

i’m hoping for pavement, or very good dirt, that gets me from mountain home or camp nelson or wishon up to ponderosa or thereabouts. or from mountain home to camp nelson. i thought perhaps bear creek, or balch park, or wishon road, hooked up and got me back to #190.

who’s got the 411 on this?

19

Whew! Good luck.

Great mountain bike loop in quaking aspen if you into that.

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here ya go. this is one of my favorite rides, one that everyone must do in a lifetime. sorry I’m linking to BT’s, but i use their logs and route tracker.

Visalia (my house) to Blue Ridge towers forty eight miles one way, and upwards of 10,000 feet of climbing.

http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/map.asp?routeid=2820

around 48 miles one way from my door to the towers. last few hundred feet approx 10%-15% grade on bad, bad roads. I would go up to the top from Visalia, come down and head toward Springville and maybe spend the night there. Up the highway the way you went to Ponderosa, then back down through Bear Creek to Balch Park road, and home to Visalia. That would be my epic weekend. If you guys want, you are more than welcome to crash at our house. I’ll ride as far as my little 53 1x8 will hang with you guys, then leave you with some cue sheets.
You guys can also leave your vehicle at my office in Porterville and head up to springville via Frazier Valley road (where they used to have the masters TT championship) My office is secure and right across the street from the Police Dept.