Post by: mudworm on April 08, 2012, 12:53:16 AM
=====
It started out as an email thread discussing "Just show up and ride on March 24", and then "Agua Extrema" on April 1, but somehow, it ended up being 2012 Henry Coe Spring Classic that actually took place for the 11 of us on this fine day, April 7. ElHombre was the proclaimed ride leader, but , Skyline35 seemed to always find a way to force ideas onto him by prefixing his sentences with "it's YOUR ride..." Those were excellent ideas as Skyline35 took us on many quality trails that we would not have known existed.
I tried to stay with the three Henry Coe Musketeers, namely plymmer, ElHombre, and ratpick, whenever I could hoping to absorb some of their awesomeness, esp. in climbing, simply by proximity. I think it really worked because I was feeling fairly strong all day. Was very happy to clean the Serpentine climb at the end of the ride.
Lots of goofiness on this ride, which made this long (near 9 hours elapse time with 5 hours of riding time) ride seem to go really fast. I enjoyed every moment of it, and I think one man contributed the most. Guess who?
Oh, Skyline35, this bears repeats: pie or no pie, you *are* my favorite. Now, thanks so much for that Marie C. Pie. OMG, that's the best apple pie I'd had in my life!
Without further ado, let's look at some action shots. (There are a lot more in my photo album.)
ID the riders topping out on Jim Donnelly Trail.
Did you get it? ... The joke.
Skyline35 dictated, "A riders go straight up (taking Steer Ridge Road); B riders go left (taking Jim-Jones cutoff)." But I'm an A-wanna-B rider, so it confused me for a second there. But the cutoff is much more fun to ride, so I went left.
So pretty!
d-bug always puts on a happy face when he rides.
A cross above Hoover Air Strip.
Pacheco Falls are that way!
Come on, what are you waiting for? Pacheco Falls are down here! Um... where?
Rock in the pocket
Rock in the pocket
More, Rock in the pocket
A ride with TahoeBC is guaranteed to have a lot of laughs.
Except when he tries to steal your bike... my bike to be exact.
The three Henry Coe Musketeers at the top of Serpentine Trail, waiting for TahoeBC to emerge. It was five for five. Others should all have gone this way because it was guaranteed success.
Post by: Elhombre on April 08, 2012, 09:32:59 AM
Post by: Brad Young on April 08, 2012, 10:35:40 AM
Henry Coe looks beautiful this time of year.
Post by: mynameismud on April 09, 2012, 01:35:50 PM
Welcome hope you enjoy it. I ended up not doing an all nighter just worked to 1:30 AM. It is amazing watching what happens. One person very well prepared ( had done lots of home work ). One person was not well prepared ( had done no home work ). Guess which person/environment major had issues and an attitude.
Post by: Elhombre on April 09, 2012, 10:00:46 PM
Three, four days before the ride it looked like only two or three Coe veterans would partake, hence only vague plans were made for what would turn out to become a veritable spring Classic. I must possess previously unknown powers of persuasion, as a really great group of none less than eleven riders lined up at the start. I was a poor excuse for ride tyrant, but thanks to some great and creative route suggestions by Skyline35, my insistence on checking out the Pacheco falls from the 'hard' side and the admirable patience displayed by this fine group when yet another ridiculous idea - or ludicrously steep hill - was thrown at them, it turned out to be a very memorable day. The only negatives were SecretSquirrel's forced early retreat due to a torn sidewall, and what became perhaps the first scratch on tburger's purrty Potts (but it's Ti, and self-healing).
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3929.JPG)
JDT was (mostly) climbed in full compliance with DPR riding standards.
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3938.JPG)
Ratpick is here seen in holistic buddha pose, attempting to encourage the wildflowers to put on a better show soon.
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3942.JPG)
The Law is understandably very dismayed, as she witnesses mudworm nab her Willson Peak descent QOM acquired moments before.
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3952.JPG)
TahoeBC skirting the edge of That Rock...
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3953.JPG)
...and desperately trying to not get sucked into the abyss.
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3958.JPG)
The Hoover air strip treated us to some pretty flowers.
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3965.JPG)
And the White Tank + Rose Dam trail combo provided plenty of singletrack thrills and grins.
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3967.JPG)
TahoeBC started a running gag by putting rocks in people's backpacks. Ratpick, visibly upset at this juvenile behaviour, tries here to get even by pushing the offender off a cliff.
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3969.JPG)
Everyone made it safely to the - ahem - mighty Pacheco Falls. I tried to put on a show by pretending to slip on the green scum and tumbling in one of the pools, but nobody seemed to have captured it on camera...
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/IMG_3248.JPG)
TahoeBC never ceases to make new friends on the trails.
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/IMG_3249.JPG)
Plymmer doing his make-up.
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3979.JPG)
Steve Potts in the green grass of Coe.
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3980.JPG)
Turned out Pai Me from Kill Bill fame was on the ride as well...
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3981.JPG)
It was time to round up some volunteers to climb up Serpentine. Notice how everyone seems to casually look away... all except mudworm.
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3982.JPG)
With good reason, as she ended up destroying that hill!
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/CIMG3983.JPG)
She was so happy she started dancing around on Steer Ridge road.
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/IMG_3262.JPG)
Later on, we ran into a friendly sleepwalker on the parking lot, who offered us some tasty pie!
(http://californication.mtbguru.com/pics/CoeSpringClassic/IMG_3261.JPG)
Awesome day, and lots of fun was had.
More pics here: Coe - 2012 Spring Classic (http://www.mtbguru.com/trip/show/137107-coe-2012-spring-classic)
Post by: mudworm on April 09, 2012, 10:22:38 PM
Sorry, I didn't get the joke? But then I don't speak "mountainbikese."Hi Brad, thanks for willing to talk to mountain bikers. Let me see how to explain that joke... In my mind, Henry Coe to mountain biking is like Pinnacles to climbing. We love it, and many others do too.
One very short trail, Final Exam, has been favored by some mountain bikers due to the challenges it offers -- narrow and steep at spots. It's been there for many years, but recently it was closed for rehabilitation. And a neighboring trail was also sanitized (meaning features such as log rolls and buildups made out of natural fallen trunks and branches that are considered fun to mountain bikers were removed). Both these trails are just bypasses and could not have imposed any impedments to anyone's enjoyment of the park. Yet, some people complained and the park had to take action, which, as you can imagine, upsets Mr. Mud.
Not too far is another trail, Jim Donnelly Trail; it is undergoing major realignment with tons of volunteer involvement under the leadership of trained and seasoned trail builders. Literally, volunteers, including the Muds, have put in hundreds of man-hours, if not more, combined on that project. It's an approved project and has been shaping up well, but the governing body (DPR -- California Department of Parks and Recreation) got words that some work on the trail may encourage mountain bikers to have fun. One example is how some bends are sloped. They were built with sustainability in mind, but they are also fun for mountain bike to go down following a natural turn -- not too different from how a well built twisty road is where you don't feel that your car will slide out at every bend. However, the superviser from DPR, upon review, ordered to have those bends reconstructed without any slope. Stuff like that. That upsets Mr. Mud too.
The joke is, this "Trail Closed" sign most likely was at the entrance to the closed trail Final Exam, and someone took it off and moved it to the top of Jim Donnelly Trail. Just to confuse people, you know. :D
When I showed the photo to Mud when he came home after midnight, I believe he first fell for it thinking that Jim Donnelly Trail was closed by DPR too. By the expression on his tired face, I thought he was just about to flip, so I immediately pointed out to him that it had to be a joke.
Next weekend, supposedly 150+ voluteers from VoCal (Volunteers for Outdoor California) will be working on that trail (under DPR supervision of course). It's cool that the project brings so many people out to Henry Coe. The trail was, is, and will be nice no matter how it turns out.
Come to visit Coe when you all get a chance! They do a back country weekend yearly that I heard is always great to partake (and usually gets sold out).
Post by: Brad Young on April 10, 2012, 04:32:59 AM
Post by: Elhombre on April 10, 2012, 07:06:33 AM
So, unlike climbers mountain bikers have a sense of humor? Or maybe not since Dennis didn't seem to have a humorous reaction? But then he is, after all, a climber too...
The humor is just a survival technique - dealing with the inanity and burocracy of agencies like DPR, MidPen (probably the worst of all), Marin County style 'trail nazi's' etcetera demands it!
But we can't really complain - the greater Bay Area and rest of California offers fantastic opportunities for mountain biking.
Post by: Skyline35 on April 10, 2012, 08:32:59 AM
The joke is, this "Trail Closed" sign most likely was at the entrance to the closed trail Final Exam, and someone took it off and moved it to the top of Jim Donnelly Trail. Just to confuse people, you know.
Oh, I figured that the State sent Barney Fife to put that sign at the Jim-to-Jones trail and he put it in the wrong spot. (So using insure instead of ensure wasn't the only mistake.)
Brian W took this photo of the one at the top of Final Exit:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1FSWKjVQxCw/TzgURmjg62I/AAAAAAAAIzU/Vwr1af9VL3w/s640/P1060887%2520copy.JPG)
Different wording but maybe there was a sign at the other end too.
However, both scenarios are pretty funny!
Best ride ever and you guys *are* my favorite!
///Charlie
Post by: mudworm on April 10, 2012, 09:19:42 AM
Dam it, I got so many facts wrong, but who needs facts since all they do is just get in the way! I knew it was Final Exit before, but when I wrote the post, I forgot it and only had two combinations in mind that I debated about: "Final Exam" and "Final Entrance" and thought it couldn't be an Entrance.
Oh, you think it was not Sally's act (reference (http://forums.mtbr.com/california-norcal/henry-w-coe-sp-4th-sat-jim-donnelly-tr-building-3-24-12-hunting-hollow-exxon-valdez-776336.html)) that the sign got moved? Oh my, now the joke gets even funnier!!!
See, the nice thing about being a silly person is I always get a very good laugh whether or not I really get the joke or not. :D
Post by: CruxLuv on April 10, 2012, 09:24:57 AM
Looks like a really great time - nic pics!
Post by: Elhombre on April 10, 2012, 11:59:46 AM
Oh, I figured that the State sent Barney Fife to put that sign at the Jim-to-Jones trail and he put it in the wrong spot. (So using insure instead of ensure wasn't the only mistake.)
This would be beyond hilarious. Jim-to-Jones (or Steer Jones) remains untouched and very inviting whereas the brand spanking new JDT alignment gets the no-go sign. Maybe this Barney guy is also secretly upset with the inane behaviour of DPR and did it on purpose?
Best ride ever and you guys *are* my favorite!
///Charlie
You know you are too! (at least, as long as you bring along pie... just kidding!)
Post by: mynameismud on April 10, 2012, 04:02:40 PM
who needs facts since all they do is just get in the way!
Post by: mudworm on April 10, 2012, 08:07:17 PM