An exploration/ experiment

We headed up Ferris Gulch to a ridge road that is normally used pretty heavily by motocross riders.  We have been up this road before. We double backed last time because we missed the trail that hooks up with the top of ferris gulch.  It would have been a pretty easy ride if I hadn't kept diverting off the road and hitting the ridge motocross trails.  I was the navigator, I kept thinking we were reaching the end of the spur road and it was time to hit the trail.  All the trails except the last one tie up with the road.  The road is gated so there isn't any vehicle traffic up there.  We went on a week day this time so there wasn't any motocross traffic either- great day for a ride! 

No Granny Gear

I scored a few nice pieces of mountain bike gear for my birthday this year.  I got a Giro Hex helmet and a pair of Serfas Astro shoes.  These new shoes are super stiff, I was hoping that they would make a difference in power transfer.  Each pedal did feel stronger.  Up findley I didn't have to shift down to the granny gear, which was a big accomplishment for me.  Of course I was using number 8 gear instead of number 9.  I realized that I probably need to get some new in soles for my new shoes, they inserts aren't that comfortable...  I am thinking about riding to the Oregon Caves.  My family would meet me over there- about 27 miles, but a pretty good climb I'm sure.
View Larger Map

The Findley Double Double (Happy Birthday)

It sounds like we will call it the Findley Double Double.  Maybe it is the Findley Double Trouble...  Happy Birthday to me I got to go on a killer ride!  Anyway, the ride is up Findley Rd to the top of the Ridge (2000 vertical feet in 4.5 miles).  Then you tie into Panther Gulch and ride along the ridge (just a bit more climbing) and hook up with upper east fork.  It was 19 miles ride and a total of 2500 vertical feet.  We were supposed to bring the camera.  This blog needs a lot more pictures.

Findley

Did a quick ride by myself late tonight. The weather has really turned great lately. I headed out about 7:00 pm- the temperature was still in the mid 70's. It wasn't too hot on the heavy exposure areas since the sun was starting to go down. I saw a guy doing wildlife surveys from the BLM. I think I scared him... Just about everything is completely dried out at this point. I made pretty good time, right at 35 minutes to the top from my house. I keep forgetting to start the timer at the bottom of the hill.

A new Findley Ride

We finally got the opportunity to try a little different ride starting from Findley.  I had seen several trails coming up towards findley road off panther gulch.  These are all motocross trails.  I thought that they must connect with some of the roads up into Findley.  I studied these from the ariel photos in google maps and it looked pretty promising so Dan and I tried it out today.  What a climb!  Coming up from Findley road to the top of the ridge system was 2000 vertical feet.  The top of the ridge was 3300.  Amazing vistas of the williams and thompson creek valleys- next time bring the camera.  The climb was in the span of about 4.5 miles.  Total Mileage was 18.  Great ride.  There were some sections with lots of Buck Brush starting to grow into the old road.  Lots of rocks and other debris to naivigate around- very technical.  Once we hooked up with the motocross trail it was pretty steep downhill with lots of ruts- a very fun section as well.  Once we hooked up to Panther Gulch Road it was an easy downhill back to the house.  (I hit 41 mph on the way down)- it was on the paved part..  Fantastic workout and a lot of fun!

Muddy up Findley

It has been raining lately- a lot actually.  I got up pretty early so I decided to head out for a quick ride up Findley Rd.  Since it was pretty muddy I knew I wasn't making great time.  It was right at 37 minutes to the top- not a great time but not the worst I've had.  I turned on my stopwatch at the bottom of the hill and it took 32 minutes from the bottom of the dirt road.  I'm going to start timing how long it takes from the bottom of the hill rather than from my house.   

The Findley Grind

Dan and I headed out about 6:00 for a quick ride up Findley rd.  It has been rainy and cold lately.  It wasn't short sleeve weather- even for the climb up Findley.  On the highway we had a pretty strong headwind that we were going against.  Once we hit the road we kept a brisk pace to the top.  We got to the top in 35 minutes.  We are decided that we will start the timer when we get to the bottom of the hill.  Dan's altimeter said we had about a 1300 vertical feet to the top.  It is a strong incline when you look at how many miles it takes to get to the top of the first saddle.