Cleaning your favourite trails

funny, i get more excited about cleaning uphill sections than i do down. every time i ride salamander/sticks'n stones and bottletop over to hyannis i get excited about cleaning a rock/root uphill section, or a steep uphill. my focus has changed, or maybe it's because of the people i ride with. but it's good.

Damn straight LG, damn straight. It takes more skill to clean technical climbs than to coast down a technical trail. But it's the downhills that take the guts, cojones, minerals or whatever which is a skill too. Similar to a biathlete calming the pulse and nerves to make the shots.

funny, i get more excited about cleaning uphill sections than i do down. every time i ride salamander/sticks'n stones and bottletop over to hyannis i get excited about cleaning a rock/root uphill section, or a steep uphill. my focus has changed, or maybe it's because of the people i ride with. but it's good.

Is anyone cleaning the climb around that giant ass rock on sticks and stones when riding it backwards (East to West) ? I come around the bottom of that thing, and just see impossible rock climb.

I believe I cleaned Boogieman in 2007 on my V-Tach (2nd generation with 888 ATAs). Actually I didn't make it all the way up the climb out of the swamp but I rode all the technical features consecutively including the pile driver. It was quite a victory and one I haven't since repeated.

Goal for 2013: Bookwus[HTML_REMOVED]Ladies[HTML_REMOVED]Lower Ladies in one shot.

Oh, the damn pile driver. I was giving it the serious looks about 9-10 years ago, pretty much ready to give it a go. I'd done all the smaller drops that one would hit as a lead-up to the pile driver.

Then I had a massive crash on a drop half that height. Landed full body weight on my head. L1 disc became wedge-shaped, massive pain for 2 months. I lost the whole season of riding and never had the drive to go that big again. Risk/reward just wasn't there any longer.

First time I cleaned Bogeyman, strangely enough, was as a night ride in about 10-15 cm of snow. Amazing how, when you're not distracted by stuff in the periphery (cause you can't see it!), it becomes so much easier to focus on the lines. I suppose a contributing factor was the fact I was riding on my brand new bike with this new-fangled thing we called "disc" brakes.

Kn.

Is anyone cleaning the climb around that giant ass rock on sticks and stones when riding it backwards (East to West) ? I come around the bottom of that thing, and just see impossible rock climb.

i've seen it cleaned the other way (coming down) but not back up. it's on my list. i haven't yet ridden s[HTML_REMOVED]s backwards, it's a challenge for me just going west/east!

i'll drop that challenge to the billy goat that i ride with and see if he can do it.

Is anyone cleaning the climb around that giant ass rock on sticks and stones when riding it backwards (East to West) ? I come around the bottom of that thing, and just see impossible rock climb.

I've cleaned all of Sticks n Stones, both directions (there is no backwards) except for the rock. The sharp right before "the move" kills me. I'm like Zoolander. I can only turn left. Scott said he got close to doing it. Got his wheel over the hump then stalled. Norona videoed himself doing it but some people think he used video trickery to make it look as though he actually cleaned it. I think he just session-ed it until he got it dialed. I know it can be done.

Is anyone cleaning the climb around that giant ass rock on sticks and stones when riding it backwards (East to West) ? I come around the bottom of that thing, and just see impossible rock climb.

Yes, I finally cleared that stupid rock. First ride on the 29'er and I nailed it. Big wheels help.

I have not made it up the rock yet, I can't even get into the right position to have a real go at it. I don't ride East to West very often, is it getting any easier? I know guys ride it and I would like to follow them up the rock.

I've cleaned all of Sticks n Stones, both directions (there is no backwards) except for the rock. The sharp right before "the move" kills me. I'm like Zoolander. I can only turn left. Scott said he got close to doing it. Got his wheel over the hump then stalled. Norona videoed himself doing it but some people think he used video trickery to make it look as though he actually cleaned it. I think he just session-ed it until he got it dialed. I know it can be done.

Same. I've gotten up on the hump a few times but I can't keep my pedals moving enough to keep going around the rock and up. Cleaning SS east to west is high on my list this year.

Is anyone cleaning the climb around that giant ass rock on sticks and stones when riding it backwards (East to West) ? I come around the bottom of that thing, and just see impossible rock climb.

That rock climb is not really worse than half dozen other tricky spots going on Bridle Path going either way.

That rock climb is not really worse than half dozen other tricky spots going on Bridle Path going either way.

I dunno man, maybe it;s because I've riding Bridle Path for 20 odd years but I have Bridle pretty much dialed now. The problem I have with that rock is the momentum killing turn just as you need the speed. Plus you need to aim it a bit due the the rock being on the right so you can't just flail it.

When I first started riding shore about 5-6 years ago I took some pretty bad spills riding the cobble stone highway aka CBC. Ended up walking my bike down one or two sections because they just got in head and couldnt shake em. Then I bought a Demo 7 and rolled through sections not even realizing they had bothered me in the past. It felt good, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I had cheated a little bit…

My latest glory moment was hitting the big(ger) creek gap at the bottom of Dirt Merchant. I never really felt like I had "cleaned" the run until I built up the cojones to hit it. I'd ridden the Crabby hits before which are significantly bigger, but something about the gap just takes it to a whole other level.

What is this Warden's climb? The shortcut that bypasses the 4th?

yes

My latest glory moment was hitting the big(ger) creek gap at the bottom of Dirt Merchant. I never really felt like I had "cleaned" the run until I built up the cojones to hit it. I'd ridden the Crabby hits before which are significantly bigger, but something about the gap just takes it to a whole other level.

That's funny. I never hit that gap. I guess I should, for the same reasons you did!

yes

If I have the right segment in might, I don't find the Wardens climb that hard. I just plod up it very slowly in granny gear trying to keep the lungs from exploding.

The rock on S[HTML_REMOVED]S is still on the list to clear. Have got the front wheel up a couple of times but never really felt like I was close to cleaning it. Running S[HTML_REMOVED]S clockwise (bottom to top) is tough as well as it really feels like the ups far out weigh the downs, especially near the end when both lungs and legs are toast.

I do enjoy making certain tech climbs. Even the Bridle path coming from Old Buck toward Hyannis has a few difficult technical ledgy type climbs. All good fun.