It's about time for a bicycle/mtn bike thread!

[BikingBrian]

Since that part of Highway 2 is closed to vehicles, Caltrans does indeed have the authority to close it to bicyclists.  Yet it seems strange that they would have a sign prohibiting bicyclists while being silent about pedestrians.

A while back someone posted some pictures showing part of the road washed out between Grassy Hollow and Vincent Gap.  Perhaps Caltrans is afraid of legal liability if a bicyclist were injured due to the poor road conditions.  The blanket governmental immunity from liability on trails (and dirt roads also, I believe) does not extend to public paved roads. 

Although I'm not a lawyer, it basically works like this.  If you're mountain biking on a trail and crash because part of the trail ahead has washed away, then you can't sue.  But if you're bicycling on a public paved road and crash because part of the road was washed away, you can sue - if the responsible government entity was or should have been aware of the condition.  In this case, since they've closed the road to vehicles, they are obviously aware of the dangerous condition.

This whole liability thing applies to pedestrians also, so if Caltrans was afraid of being sued, you'd think they have a sign prohibiting pedestrians also.

[Nick]

It may say something about peds.

[SteelCommuter]

Since that part of Highway 2 is closed to vehicles, Caltrans does indeed have the authority to close it to bicyclists. Yet it seems strange that they would have a sign prohibiting bicyclists while being silent about pedestrians.

A while back someone posted some pictures showing part of the road washed out between Grassy Hollow and Vincent Gap. Perhaps Caltrans is afraid of legal liability if a bicyclist were injured due to the poor road conditions. The blanket governmental immunity from liability on trails (and dirt roads also, I believe) does not extend to public paved roads.

Although I'm not a lawyer, it basically works like this. If you're mountain biking on a trail and crash because part of the trail ahead has washed away, then you can't sue. But if you're bicycling on a public paved road and crash because part of the road was washed away, you can sue - if the responsible government entity was or should have been aware of the condition. In this case, since they've closed the road to vehicles, they are obviously aware of the dangerous condition.

This whole liability thing applies to pedestrians also, so if Caltrans was afraid of being sued, you'd think they have a sign prohibiting pedestrians also.

Brian is right.  I talked to someone working the ranger station about this.  I asked her what were the risks if my wife and I ignored the signs and rode in and camped somewhere, maybe for a few nights.  She told me:
1.  Chunks of the road are missing, washed out, destroyed.  This applies to sections of road before and after Vincent Gap. 
2.  For a while (now?) an enforcement officer had been paid to monitor the closure and fine any trespassers.
3.  If you have any problems, there will be no cell coverage, nobody will be nearby, no rangers to assist.  This should not necessarily scare you off, but it means be prepared.  If a trip in the closed area would be your first attempt at such a trip, you probably should not do it.

From the above, my main concern is that I have a path to travel on.  I have to examine the pictures posted of the road conditions to figure that out.

As for pedestrians: when I rode my bike from my house over to Grassy Hollow about a week ago, the sign I saw prohibited pedestrians, too.

Justagiglio, if you decide to go camping, for god's sake, don't wear a backpack with your gear while on your bike.  Get a trailer, a rack and panniers, a saddlebag, or an Xtracycle.  A weighted backpack while riding ruins the fun.  It's like getting in a car, and instead of putting your pack in the back, wearing it while sitting down.  Why??   

[SteelCommuter]

I rode up hwy 2 yesterday afternoon, and came back to the East side through town. A lot of gnats in the residential areas in town. I don't really notice them unless I'm on my bike. Enough to make you keep your mouth shut. Have they been around long?

The gnats appeared around two weeks ago, and I share your pain.  Sunglasses and breathing through your nose are the usual defense mechanisms.  In fact, breathing with your nose and shutting the mouth is so much better for air filtration.

Gnats and other bugs are worse in the May/June and September periods, at least for biking.

[Nick]

Thanks guys...I will sit down with the boys to discuss everything and together we will make a collective decision.
Thanks again.

[SteelCommuter]

I mentioned the Xtracycle, which allows you carry two hundred pounds of various kinds of gear or cargo.  My wife and I have one, but I don't have a ready pic of our bike.  Here's a pic snagged from the company website.



You can carry surfboards, kayaks, camping gear, lumber, a second person or a dog.  Here's a few examples:



If you don't know already, dogs love to run while you bike!  In fact, I'm going to take a picture of mine today when we go out, and post it.





I imagine skiis would be easy compared to the kayak.

If you have big gear, you can just a trailer or bags.  This guy posted pics of his set-up on crazyguyonabike.com.  He's carrying more weight than most need, though.



Kent Peterson is training for the Great Divide race this year.  A trail that runs along the continental divide, it is the longest course in the world.  John Stamstad set a record back in the nineties people are still trying to beat.  Anyway, Kent rides his bike everyday the way it will be set up for the off-road race.



You might notice that his bike is a single speed. 

For off-road (and road) camping trips, like the White Rim and Kokopelli trails in Utah, some people prefer to take the Yak one wheel trailers.

[SteelCommuter]

As promised, here are some pictures from one of my days with the dogs at Table Mountain.

Here's the crew that went with me: my wife, and two rascal dogs.  I didn't realize it until later, by my dog was, um, occupied.



Here I am, with a friend's dog.  She is happy!



This one shows one of the sections that was completely blocked by snow.  My wife is shouldering her bike and walking.



Here is a close up picture of the big butthead.



It was a very beautiful day.  Here is a picture taken when I was riding the unpaved road that splits off the East Table Mountain road and runs down to the desert.


I might post more, but I have some errands to do.

[BikingBrian]

While going over to the Yodeler for lunch today, I saw a Trek T100 mountain bike tandem with a baby seat parked in front of the Evergreen Cafe.  It had a hard to find dual-legged Esge kickstand.  Is the owner anyone on this forum?

[Chesslike]

I don't know who they are, but I saw them riding down Apple Ave. with baby on board this afternoon heading towards town.

[SteelCommuter]

Over last fall and winter, I sold my mountain bike and then bought a Gunnar Rock Hound.  I thought I'd share a picture.



BTW, the picture was taken as dusk; it could be better.  That sticker says, Bikes Just Smell Better.

[BikingBrian]

Yeah, it's about four miles, if you go to the top.  There are a few trails/roads you can take to make it longer, which I suggest.  Otherwise, it's a pretty short 8 miles.  I often ride there from town to make it longer, but your friends probably wouldn't appreciate that. 

What I'll do is have the beginners do the 8 mile route, while giving the advanced people the option to make it longer.  Any suggestions?

BTW, there is still a major snow bank about 2 1/2 or 3 miles from the start, right where the road starts getting steeper and an unpaved road splits off to the north down the mountain into the desert.  I don't know what the road is called, but that is also covered in snow.  If you want to ride to the top, you can just walk over the snow bank and keep riding, or ride up one of the fire roads that allow you to bypass the snow by going east and then north.  It's very steep, though.  Anyway, that snow should be gone not too long from now.  It hasn't stopped me.

Is that at the fork where you see a view of the desert to the north and a big hill to the northeast?  I couldn't find the right way to go from there, maybe the snowbank was hiding the route.  Any update on the snow?

[SteelCommuter]

What I'll do is have the beginners do the 8 mile route, while giving the advanced people the option to make it longer.  Any suggestions?


Is that at the fork where you see a view of the desert to the north and a big hill to the northeast?  I couldn't find the right way to go from there, maybe the snowbank was hiding the route.  Any update on the snow?

Yes, it's that fork.  When the snow is gone, it's easy to remember to head right and stay on the paved road.  As far as I know, it's probably passable by now.  After all, it's been hot the last several days.  I'll check today, go for a ride there.

Again, for the more adventurous, you can pick either of two fire roads and ride up to a clearing, then ride (I would probably have to walk) up a doubletrack trail at something like a 20 percent grade to the top of the hill, where it joins up with a fire road you can take north and then west to the paved road, past the part with the snow drift.

The longer routes sort of depend on who wants to keep riding.  About a mile into the road, there is a alternate off-road route on your left that has about a quarter mile or so of rolling singletrack which then rejoins the paved road again further on.  There are numerous fireroads, including that left turn at the fork you mentioned.  There are also fireroads that, as far as I can tell, descend down the east face of the mountain towards Wrightwood.  I suppose that one could take one of these fireroads down to the 2 and return to WW.  Your house isn't the most difficult one in WW to find, if someone takes this option.

The one caveat anyone with you probably should take to heart is that there are always climbs.  This is not a downhiller's dream, that's for sure.  And it's been pretty warm, so if they do the climb to the top of TMnt, they might be winded and tired, already.

Let me know when you go, I'd be glad to come with.

Another idea you could try is to park a car at Jackson Lake, ride everyone to Inspiration Point, park, ride to Grassy Hollow and down the fire roads to the lake, and shuttle people back.  If they are all into off-road biking, that's a short but fun ride.

[BikingBrian]

It looks like we'll do the ride on Saturday, June 18.  If anyone else reading this is interested, drop me an instant message.

We've done the fire roads near Jackson Lake a couple of times, so we'll stick to the Table Mtn concept to give them something different.

[BikingBrian]

Did anyone see the group of high schoolers passing through today on their ride from Savannah, GA to Los Angeles?  The timing seems to match with this tour group's plans, so it's probably them:

http://www.overlandadventures.com/article/view/6147/1/765/

I started talking with a couple of the riders just as a local in a red shirt had to leave.  (Was that you, ezzpete?  Sorry I didn't introduce myself.)

[Patchylou]

[ezzpete]

anyone want to go for a night ride out table mt. road on friday night? we could start about 7:00PM, and have a sunset. the lights of the desert communities should be awesome.

you'll probably want to have a light, since there is no  moon.

[SteelCommuter]

Yeah, that's right! It's time to bump this thread back up.  Hiking is cool and all, but bicycles seem to get neglected in the Outdoors forum.

I moved to NY last summer, and will be moving this May back to WW.  Who is biking this summer?

I have a 29er frame that has been sleeping in a cardboard box while my wife and I were on the east coast, and I plan on building it up for this summer with parts I have lying around.  It will be a rigid/no suspension bike (Surly Karate Monkey frame).  What are other people building or buying?

I want to have some comrades to bike with this summer, and I have road and mountain bikes, so I'm versatile.  My most used bicycle is built up as a commuter/randonneur/camping bike, and has a generator light.  Here's a pic of it and my wonderful dog:




and with a basket, yes, a basket:





Here's a pic of my wife's bike, a mixte with style:



and


Here's a pic of the 29er frame I haven't built up yet (someone's else build):




So, who will be riding this summer?


I've posted this pic in the past, but it bears repeating:




If you know Queenie (Carol's dog) then you know what a cool dog she is.

[BikingBrian]

Here's some pictures from Austin's first bike ride.  He slept during most of it!  We didn't go riding very far, just around town.  Next time I'll have the upgraded seat inside the trailer, with the five point harness to hold him up better.

[SteelCommuter]

Here's some pictures from Austin's first bike ride.  He slept during most of it!  We didn't go riding very far, just around town.  Next time I'll have the upgraded seat inside the trailer, with the five point harness to hold him up better.

Brian, that's really cool.  I can't wait, but Sierra is younger than Austin.  She 3.5 months, and I always hear that 18 months is the safest time to start taking them in trailer rides.  It's not a hard rule, it's a matter of when they have the appropriate neck muscles and control.

Those are wonderful pictures.  The only problem is Austin wanted to be towed by your Litespeed.  What were you thinking?

[BikingBrian]

The generic rule I've heard nowadays is one year, although sometimes sooner.  Key is neck muscles and control, as you say, including being able to support the weight of the helmet.  I think another part of it is that bike trailers have gotten better, with harnesses similar to car seats.

Before riding, we converted the trailer to stroller mode, then put Austin in with his helmet and went for a walk.  I thought that was a good test to see if his neck muscles and balance were good enough.

No, he didn't want to be towed by the Litespeed, he wanted to be towed by Mommy and Daddy on the tandem bike!