once i got to A.O. the redbull girls were at the store, since i had only had 1-cup of coffee i said sure slammed a red bull and headed down middle control rd. to the beginning of my climb up1n54.i didn't start my day til around 10:30 (worked the night before) so the sun was already beatting down on me.
with about 2 miles to go both legs cramped and i was doing the robot to the top. the long slow walk did me good once i got to 2n10 i had recovered and headed to Grandview. At GrandView had i bite to eat, and headed down, sweet trail.
after popping out on the pavement headed to the shop to say Hay! then it was over to pineknot to see if i could get a spot. all camp grounds were full is what i was told, in disbelief i decided to go find i chill spot and rethink my day. stopped by 7-11 for some icecream!!! after stocking up on water i headed over to the northside, and road the alpine bike path, found a shady spot by the lake and took a nap for about an hour.
refreshed and still feeling good, rode the northside of the lake to Polique Canyon rd climbed Polique canyon to 2n71. 2n71 is an Awesome view of the lake.
from there i headed to Hanna Flats campground, and it was full. But i did find out that i could reserve a spot in the future. so next time. so i headed down to Fawnskin. the fire roads in big bear are so smooth right now. i think i hit 38 miles an hour on the singlespeed. headed back to big bear, stopped by la montana for some tacos, beans & rice and a couple pints of blue moon.
After dinner heaed back to pineknot to see if anyone canceled. the answer was no so i was gonna sleep out by bristle cone or back at the picnic area but by now i was getting tired and it was starting to get late. So i made camp by Summit then i started thinking, it's 9 p.m. and i don't think anyone will be showing up this late at pineknot, so i headed back there.
found i empty site with a reserved sign on it, busted out my sleeping bag and mat and crashed out. woke up around 1a.m. and the moon was so BRIGHT! i almost couldn't fall back to sleep. no one had shown up in the spot so it all worked out. made breakfast around 4:ooa.am. My new jetbowl is awesome. boils water in less than 2-minutes . had some bacon and eggs in a bag.
packed up kinda quick and stopped by 7-11 for some coffee to go.
Only thing i forgot was full fingered gloves, riding along the lake at 5a.m. is a knuckle burner. so i rode with coffee in hand trying to warm em up. Once i got to Grout bay i decided to stop, make some beef stew to warm me up
grout bay picnic area
,and repack my bags alil tighter. i love my set up. it's gonna work out great.
i had planned on riding to silverwood but decided to pull the plug and save my legs for another day. gary was riding Keller peak so i decided to meet him at the Deerlick forest station at 8:30. when he showed up by himself we gave the B.S.15-minute rule to see if anyone would show. no one showed so we headed to rim nordic to ride the course. made me want to put on a number plate. the new single track sections are sweet.. then it was back down the mountain. it was a total of 10hours of moving time with 8668 ft of climbing. good weekend. can't wait to do it again.
