# Ride with a hamfisted ending (warning graphic!)



## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

Yesterday I rode another one of my old favorites, the Salmon Falls Trail in El Dorado County, CA. This was only my second real mtb ride in 15 years. The first one was in Auburn last weekend.

This trail seemed more difficult than the ones I did in Auburn, due to how technical it is. I intended to climb the 2 mile long Flagstaff Hill, but I overshot the trail leading to it.

On the way out I saw people walking and resting on a climb, so I knew this would be a good climb on the way back. Sure enough, it made me live up to my username!  I made it all the way up without walking or resting. I did pick a wrong line and stall out once, but I restarted and continued on.

I saw another cyclist with a GoPro on his helmet. He was riding with a friend. They noticed my chest-mounted GoPro and that sparked a good conversation. One of the guys was riding a hybrid with 700x35c tires! 

On the way back I saw a lot of dog walkers and petted a few dogs. Then the hamfist of the day occurred when I attempted to descend the most ridiculously technical section of trail I've ever encountered. It was a slow-speed crash too.

Sign I should have heeded, at least on the descent. I had no problem cleaning this climb, but the descent was another story!

caution sign on Salmon Falls Trail technical section by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

The section I crashed on

extremely technical section of Salmon Falls Trail by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

The aftermath. It wasn't as bad as it looks, just a few scrapes.

mountain bike crash aftermath 2-12-12 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

After cleaning up

mountain bike crash aftermath 2-12-12 (cleaned up) by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

View of American River from near the above technical section

view of American River from Salmon Falls Trail by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr


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## Scott O (Aug 5, 2004)

Whoa, wait!?!? You warned us that there would be graphic footage but you didn't say it would include shaved legs! Slowing down on the technical stuff is not always your friend. Point that bike, stay loose, and let it go.


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## 53119 (Nov 7, 2008)

glad you're ok, op. got all excited when i read "graphic". it was your 29ers fault.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

Shaved female legs. 

Yup, after watching the video I see that mistake I made. The guy who made it down that section smoothly took a different line and rode a little faster.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

53119 said:


> glad you're ok, op. got all excited when i read "graphic". it was your 29ers fault.


This was the first time I've taken a 29er down that section. I used to ride that trail regularly with my old HardRock and Rockhopper 26ers, but I honestly can't remember if I used to ride that section or walk it. I'm pretty sure I used to ride the climb. That was no problem.


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## 53119 (Nov 7, 2008)

@ op- you had me @ "graphic".

i felt i was cheated on a marketing level but that's cool. buyer beware they say.

get back up there and ride that line clean flowin and smilin next time!! got no issues with the shaved legs thing BUT throw alot more graphic fake blood in next time! haha


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

I feel like I need to put that warning in there. People have complained about the heavy breathing in the climbing sections of my videos, so I figure if people can't handle the sounds of effort on a climb, they certainly can't handle the sight of blood. Better safe than sorry! . 

The reason I leave all my videos raw is because my videos document my rides exactly as they happen, I feel that natural sound tells the story much better than covering everything up with music.


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## 53119 (Nov 7, 2008)

"People have complained about the heavy breathing in the climbing sections of my videos, so I figure if people can't handle the sounds of effort on a climb, they certainly can't handle the sight of blood." 

i can handle heavy breathing in videos (depends whose breathing ofcourse) just preferrably not bike videos...just sayin...


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

That's another reason I always warn people what they're getting into when they watch one of my videos. 

When I watch a cycling video I like raw footage because it is inspiring. It motivates me to ride harder on my next climbing ride. The rider in the video is showing us just how difficult that climb really is. This is very inspiring, at least to me and quite a few other people I've talked to.

BTW, I'm a female cyclist. More common for us to have shaved legs.


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## Bill in Houston (Nov 26, 2011)

plus points for letting the blood run way down your leg. 

minus points for velcro sneakers.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

Hey, I like my cheap velcro shoes.  After all, aren't most cycling shoes velcro?


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## 53119 (Nov 7, 2008)

i'm with ya on the sneakers, freighttrainuphill. rockin flat pedals is always plus points! i'd try it without the toeclips and straps next time. girls rockin flat pedals _and_ shaved legs is a good thing. gotta post your next edit with you cleaning that section!


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

I'm actually much safer and more efficient while pedaling using toe clips and straps. I can pull up as well as push down, and my feet can't slip off the pedal. This is especially important when the pedals are wet or muddy. There were several creek crossings on this ride, so I'm sure the pedals got wet.

Hopefully I can clean that section. I'm tempted to go back there this weekend, but there's another new trail right across the road from this one that I've never ridden. I might do that one instead.


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## 53119 (Nov 7, 2008)

you just need some sticky 5.10s/wellgos/knee-shin pads!


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## ricky916 (Jun 7, 2011)

Nice , salmon falls is one of my favorite trails I haven't been in a few months though. That climb is brutal! Lol

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

53119 said:


> you just need some sticky 5.10s/wellgos/knee-shin pads!


Thing is, I love to climb, so I need more efficiency for climbing. Some people have recommended clipless pedals, but that would be disastrous for me on terrain like this. I have had slow-speed crashes with clipless pedals while riding a road bike on pavement and a mountain bike on technical stuff. I quit using clipless years ago.

One of the slow-speed road bike crashes happened right in front of an El Dorado County Sheriff's deputy.  I was climbing the Salmon Falls Road paved climb, and I veered off the pavement into gravel and toppled over before I could unclip and put a foot down. :lol:

He was very kind and asked me if I needed a ride. I thanked him and told him I would be fine. He said he was going to drive back through there in a few minutes and for me to wave him down if I needed help. Sure enough he did drive by. I kept pedaling though.

That was back in the days when I had no vehicle and I had to ride all the way from my place in downtown Sacramento to do climbing rides. That was an 80 mile round trip ride.


ricky916 said:


> Nice , salmon falls is one of my favorite trails I haven't been in a few months though. That climb is brutal! Lol


Yeah, that climb is a good one!  I'm gonna have to go back there and climb Flagstaff Hill. I remember that being a good one too!


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## Scott O (Aug 5, 2004)

freighttrainuphill said:


> BTW, I'm a female cyclist. More common for us to have shaved legs.


Aha. I was going to comment on why you didn't turn around to check out that girls butt at the end of the video.:blush:


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

:lol:

I did enjoy watching the male cyclists climbing the hill you see me descending in the video (no, not that way-get your mind out of the gutter! ). I pulled over to yield to them, so I had plenty of time to watch them climb.

Good thing there weren't any cyclists resting or walking their bikes back up that hill when I was climbing it and sounding rather, um, interesting, if you know what I mean.


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## One Pivot (Nov 20, 2009)

Last time I was at salmon falls some guy dumped a bunch of dead bodies by the lower parking lot!  Finished the ride to cops, crime scene tape, and media. Was pretty crazy.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

When was this? I don't pay attention to all of the local news, so I may have missed it.

I really wish there were more cops in that area. I quit road cycling there after the last ride. First thing I witnessed was some guy whipping his dog for scattering newspapers all over his driveway. Then on the return trip I got buzzed, honked at, and yelled at by a bunch of idiots in a passing vehicle.

I couldn't get a license plate to report them.

While driving up Salmon Falls Road for yesterday's MTB ride, I moved left to pass a road cyclist. A speeding motorcyclist who was two cars behind me passed all of us in the opposing lane at high speed.

Crap like this will keep me mountain biking more than road cycling. I am sick and tired of moronic drivers! :madman:


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## shelbster15 (Nov 5, 2008)

My Grandma called, she wants her sneakers back for speed walking the mall tomorrow afternoon


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## NicoleB (Jul 21, 2011)

glad we cleared up that you were female. i didnt see that at first, and i was thinkin, damn that dude has some seriously girly breathing! so high pitched, he must be close to death!


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

shelbster15 said:


> My Grandma called, she wants her sneakers back for speed walking the mall tomorrow afternoon




Function over form. The last thing I care about while riding a bicycle is fashion. Come to think about it, I don't care about it at all! 


NicoleB28 said:


> glad we cleared up that you were female. i didnt see that at first, and i was thinkin, damn that dude has some seriously girly breathing! so high pitched, he must be close to death!


LOL! I'm waiting for someone to leave a comment like that on one of my videos!


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## NicoleB (Jul 21, 2011)

speaking of fashion, i wear 5-ten shoes. damn they're ugly! the MTB shoes look like something Napoleon Dynamite would wear, but as long as i have "stealth rubber" i cant be too picky what its attached to.


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

53119 said:


> you just need some sticky 5.10s/wellgos/knee-shin pads!


+1 those shoes are an accident waiting to happen, well actually you did have an accident and I would blame it all on the shoes. 

Side note: *Freighttrainuphill* I thought you where a high pitched dude.... :lol:
Glad you cleared that up. Good video with the progress, ditch the cinderella velcro shoes.


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## jollybeggar (Feb 2, 2004)

Most riders won't admit how much they suck wind on climbs much less include the sound in their videos. I appreciate your honesty, I'd rather hear you gasping for breath than a rap music sound track.

I think you'd find you'd like clipless after you got use to them, Crank Brothers work great. 
Keep it up.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

Hutch3637 said:


> +1 those shoes are an accident waiting to happen, well actually you did have an accident and I would blame it all on the shoes.
> 
> Side note: *Freighttrainuphill* I thought you where a high pitched dude.... :lol:
> Glad you cleared that up. Good video with the progress, ditch the cinderella velcro shoes.





jollybeggar said:


> Most riders won't admit how much they suck wind on climbs much less include the sound in their videos. I appreciate your honesty, I'd rather hear you gasping for breath than a rap music sound track.
> 
> I think you'd find you'd like clipless after you got use to them, Crank Brothers work great.
> Keep it up.


As long as the better quality shoes don't have laces, I'm happy. I'd rather wear velcro shoes than deal with laces ever again. Ever since manufacturers started using nylon laces instead of cotton, I've had problems with them coming untied. That would be disastrous if it happened while riding! 

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the video!  I agree 110%. I would much rather hear the difficulty of the climb or technical section than have all the original audio replaced with music. A well-edited action music video is fine, but on a video with climbing or other tough sections, I would much rather hear the original audio. It is very inspiring and motivating.

Some of my best climbing was done after watching other cyclists' raw footage of tough climbs, road or mountain.


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## winchboy (May 2, 2006)

Freighttrain, check out the South Fork American River trail at same area, the start point is in the skunk hollow parking area, near the restrooms, it's just below and acrost the road from the start of Salmon. Not as technical as Salmon, wider smoother but more climbing. Fun and swoopy. 
You sound like youre in the Sacramento area, if so check out Flemming Meadows a bit further up hwy 50 at Pollock Pines. Take the road to Jenkins lake, (theres also a short trail around the lake) and follow the road around the lake, park at the lot at the end of the lake. There is a better discription and directions in the trail reviews section. These are a couple new trails that have been cut the last few years.


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## Ridnparadise (Dec 14, 2007)

Nice video of a real ride - fast at times. Maybe I'm wrong, but your bike seems to bob a lot on the climbs? Can you alter your low speed compression or lockout the fork and maybe the shock to reduce your effort? Post more.:thumbsup:


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

winchboy said:


> Freighttrain, check out the South Fork American River trail at same area, the start point is in the skunk hollow parking area, near the restrooms, it's just below and acrost the road from the start of Salmon. Not as technical as Salmon, wider smoother but more climbing. Fun and swoopy.
> You sound like youre in the Sacramento area, if so check out Flemming Meadows a bit further up hwy 50 at Pollock Pines. Take the road to Jenkins lake, (theres also a short trail around the lake) and follow the road around the lake, park at the lot at the end of the lake. There is a better discription and directions in the trail reviews section. These are a couple new trails that have been cut the last few years.


Yup, I'm in the Sac area. Thanks for letting me know about the new trails. The SFART D) trail is another one I plan on riding, probably this weekend if it doesn't rain. I'll definitely check out those others too! 



Ridnparadise said:


> Nice video of a real ride - fast at times. Maybe I'm wrong, but your bike seems to bob a lot on the climbs? Can you alter your low speed compression or lockout the fork and maybe the shock to reduce your effort? Post more.:thumbsup:


I think the bounciness in the video is due to the girls.  I tightened the GoPro chest strap and raised it a bit, but I noticed the footage from later on in the ride was bouncier than the earlier stuff. I'll tighten the straps some more before the next ride.

I ride a hardtail, but I never bother locking out the fork because the climbs have some rough sections too and I haven't noticed the fork bobbing on climbs.


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## Rock_Garden (Jan 30, 2011)

I think a bit more speed and you would have had it. Bikes are more stable the faster they go.

Also I'd suggest ditching the toe straps, clipless pedals (or even just some platforms) would help in sticky situations like this one. Much easier to get out of should you need to.

Keep it up!


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

You're right.  I did go too slow. The guy who made it down unscathed in the video went a little faster in addition to picking a different line.

I refuse to go clipless! I've had slow-speed crashes on road and mountain bikes with those. No way would I want to have that happen on trails like this! 

Believe it or not, I've never had a problem getting out of the pedals in time with toe clips and straps. Maybe it's just me, but they work perfect for my needs.

Here's some screen captures from the helmet-mounted ContourHD raw video files.

Climb just above the rocky section that I crashed on. This is on the way out.

climb just above Salmon Falls 'super gnarly' section by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Descent after the above climb

descent just past Salmon Falls 'super gnarly' section by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Fallen tree over the trail

fallen tree over Salmon Falls Trail by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Short steep technical section

short steep technical section on Salmon Falls Trail by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Very technical section that caused me to stall out and restart

Salmon Falls Trail technical section by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Bottom of steep sufferfest climb. This is the one I saw people walking and resting on while I was descending it earlier in the ride.

bottom of Salmon Falls Trail steep climb, near Flagstaff Hill by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Middle of climb

middle of Salmon Falls Trail steep climb near Flagstaff Hill by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Tree roots on the above climb. Picked the wrong line here, stalled, and restarted.

Salmon Falls Trail tree root section on steep climb near Flagstaff Hill by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Steepest part of the above climb. I really lived up to my username here! 

steepest part of Salmon Falls Trail climb near Flagstaff Hill by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Short steep technical section right after the "CAUTION WALK YOUR BIKE NEXT 100 YARDS" sign

short steep technical section on Salmon Falls Trail after warning sign by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

"Super gnarly" section right before I crashed

riding down Salmon Falls 'super gnarly' section right before crashing by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr


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## tesxyz (May 31, 2006)

Go right in your video at 4:20 for the Flagstaff climb. Good job on that climb out coming back! The high line on that rocky section is the way to go, next time just scout it out.


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## mestapho (Sep 3, 2011)

I just cleaned that steep climb (midway in through the trail return trip) for the first time this weekend. Felt good to accomplish.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

tesxyz said:


> Go right in your video at 4:20 for the Flagstaff climb. Good job on that climb out coming back! The high line on that rocky section is the way to go, next time just scout it out.


Yup, after watching my original version I see where I should have turned off. Damn that climb looks good! I'm almost tempted to go back there this weekend just so I can do that climb. That Sweetwater trail sounds good too though. Haven't done that one yet.

Flagstaff Hill turnoff by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr


mestapho said:


> I just cleaned that steep climb (midway in through the trail return trip) for the first time this weekend. Felt good to accomplish.


This one, right? Good job! :thumbsup:

steepest part of Salmon Falls Trail climb near Flagstaff Hill by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

That was the best climb on the whole ride! Yes, I do love to suffer!


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## ASiameseCat (Aug 21, 2011)

Back when I first got my 29er, I took it out to salmon falls and on that Rocky descent I went over the bars after my front wheel cleared the rock and touched the dirt. Luckily I fell to the left. I fell because I didnt have my center of gravity down low ie. wasn't in the decending position with butt behind seat. This has never happened on my 26er and I definitely learned my lesson.

Haven't been to Salmon Falls in a while, will need to go there soon.


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## mestapho (Sep 3, 2011)

freighttrainuphill said:


> This one, right? Good job! :thumbsup:
> 
> steepest part of Salmon Falls Trail climb near Flagstaff Hill by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr
> 
> That was the best climb on the whole ride! Yes, I do love to suffer!


Yep that one. Flagstaff hill is way worse though. I tried it when I first started riding again and was really out of shape. Made it about 2/3 up with a couple of stops, puked and turned around. Haven't tried it again now that I have a little bit of cardio and 35 less lbs to carry up.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

ASiameseCat said:


> Back when I first got my 29er, I took it out to salmon falls and on that Rocky descent I went over the bars after my front wheel cleared the rock and touched the dirt. Luckily I fell to the left. I fell because I didnt have my center of gravity down low ie. wasn't in the decending position with butt behind seat. This has never happened on my 26er and I definitely learned my lesson.
> 
> Haven't been to Salmon Falls in a while, will need to go there soon.


Yikes! Glad that didn't end up worse!  I'm definitely taking the high side next time down this. That is, if I don't chicken out before descending it! 

That's also why I didn't flip my stem after removing the spacers and lowering the stem as far as possible. I did that because the front wheel was coming off the ground on the steepest climbs during my Auburn ride the week before. It seemed to help, as I wasn't popping wheelies on the steepest Salmon Falls climbs.


mestapho said:


> Yep that one. *Flagstaff hill is way worse though*. I tried it when I first started riding again and was really out of shape. Made it about 2/3 up with a couple of stops, puked and turned around. Haven't tried it again now that I have a little bit of cardio and 35 less lbs to carry up.


Now I'm _*really *_looking forward to this climb!  I love a good sufferfest, so that sounds like the perfect ride! Since the last time I was on that hill was in the early 90s, I vaguely remember the first part of the climb being rather steep, then leveling off. Kind of like Stagecoach in Auburn. I may very well be wrong though.

I goofed in my earlier post. I said I was going to ride Sweetwater. I meant the South Fork American River Trail.


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## mestapho (Sep 3, 2011)

SFART is a fun trail. Once you hit Cronan stay to the right and do Gerle loop then up Up and Down (plenty of pain to be had here) then over to West Ridge and back out to the trail head. Should give you about 20 miles and around 3000' of climbing.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

To the anonymous coward who left me negative rep with the comment "pale legs for a California girl", the picture with the cleaned-up wound was taken with flash. The first picture, taken outdoors, was taken with no flash. Camera flash can make flesh look lighter than it really is.

Second, in case you forgot it is the middle of winter. Yes I live in California, but this is Northern California, not the warmer SoCal. Therefore I cannot always wear shorts. In order to get a tan you have to have exposed skin. Summer tans do fade over time, you know.

I hope I have given you the education you so desperately need.


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## Anonymous (Mar 3, 2005)

freighttrainuphill said:


> To the anonymous coward who left me negative rep with the comment "pale legs for a California girl", the picture with the cleaned-up wound was taken with flash. The first picture, taken outdoors, was taken with no flash. Camera flash can make flesh look lighter than it really is.
> 
> Second, in case you forgot it is the middle of winter. Yes I live in California, but this is Northern California, not the warmer SoCal. Therefore I cannot always wear shorts. In order to get a tan you have to have exposed skin. Summer tans do fade over time, you know.
> 
> I hope I have given you the education you so desperately need.


Dunno who it was, but you just fell for the Troll.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

mestapho said:


> SFART is a fun trail. Once you hit Cronan stay to the right and do Gerle loop then up Up and Down (plenty of pain to be had here) then over to West Ridge and back out to the trail head. Should give you about 20 miles and around 3000' of climbing.


Cool! Sounds like some good suffering!  Video will follow, of course! 


Anonymous said:


> Dunno who it was, but you just fell for the Troll.


I guess it just caught me by surprise, as every other forum I've frequented that has the rep feature lets you see who left you the rep. Not only that, but you had to really earn negative rep, either by saying something offensive or by getting involved in a flame war.


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## mestapho (Sep 3, 2011)

freighttrainuphill said:


> I guess it just caught me by surprise, as every other forum I've frequented that has the rep feature lets you see who left you the rep. Not only that, but you had to really earn negative rep, either by saying something offensive or by getting involved in a flame war.


I got neg rep the other day for using weary instead of wary. I've decided rep is stupid.


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## Corporal Punishment (May 26, 2011)

Sorry to take this off topic a bit, but I had an injury similar to yours once while MTB'ing. I fell and a pea sized rock was embedded into my knee. Tore right through the tissue. The rock fell out and left a big gash nearly 1/2" deep. The darn thing would just not stop bleeding, even after I got home and took a shower. My wife is into natural remedies and she looked up a cure on a website and found cayenne pepper for healing over a deep gash. I'm not a big believer in that stuff, but since nothing else was working, I gave it a try. It worked spectacularly. I sprinkled some ground cayenne pepper on the wound and it stopped bleeding almost immediately and scabbed over in the next 12 hours. Also, it didn't sting at all. I'm a believer now - at least for this remedy. Now I pack a bit of cayenne pepper in my bike first aid kit.


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## caspio (Apr 30, 2010)

Good job for trying it. My wife and I rode that trail for the first time last Friday and I chickened out on the way back, didn't ride that. The tech part doesn't really bother me. The long roll down the canyon wall if you fall the wrong way does though.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

mestapho said:


> I got neg rep the other day for using weary instead of wary. I've decided rep is stupid.


Sheesh! I agree with you 100%! I like to give people positive rep for good posts, but due to trolls I do think negative rep should be disabled. One forum actually did that due to abuse of the negative rep feature. You could only give a user positive rep, which is how it should be, IMHO. If you can't say something nice to the poster or give constructive criticism, then STFU!


Corporal Punishment said:


> Sorry to take this off topic a bit, but I had an injury similar to yours once while MTB'ing. I fell and a pea sized rock was embedded into my knee. Tore right through the tissue. The rock fell out and left a big gash nearly 1/2" deep. The darn thing would just not stop bleeding, even after I got home and took a shower. My wife is into natural remedies and she looked up a cure on a website and found cayenne pepper for healing over a deep gash. I'm not a big believer in that stuff, but since nothing else was working, I gave it a try. It worked spectacularly. I sprinkled some ground cayenne pepper on the wound and it stopped bleeding almost immediately and scabbed over in the next 12 hours. Also, it didn't sting at all. I'm a believer now - at least for this remedy. Now I pack a bit of cayenne pepper in my bike first aid kit.


No apology needed.  Your post actually brings the thread back on topic. I'm the one who derailed it with my rep rant.

I really appreciate the tip, as I prefer natural remedies too. I will keep this in mind in case I ever find myself in a similar situation.


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## Moozh (Jan 20, 2010)

Great vid...it's good to know that people actually make the same groaning and heaving sounds that I do while grinding away on the trails. I see so many vids of guys riding fast and flowy, railing berms, boundless energy...so unlike my trail riding experience.

looking forward to more..keep the grunting, groaning and heaving in!


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

caspio said:


> Good job for trying it. My wife and I rode that trail for the first time last Friday and I chickened out on the way back, didn't ride that. The tech part doesn't really bother me. The long roll down the canyon wall if you fall the wrong way does though.


Yeah, that part looked really scary when I viewed the helmet cam footage that I used for the second set of still pictures. In person it wasn't as bad, but of course I still try to be careful on sections like that.

A poster on another forum said that people have died on that gnarly section. I got the impression that there may have been more than one death, although I haven't heard anything. If I had kept mountain biking between the mid 90s and now, I may have heard something.

I was also warned not to ride solo because of mountain lions. Once again, I haven't heard of any mountain lion attacks along Salmon Falls or Clementine Loop in Auburn.

I am aware of my surroundings while riding. If I get a mountain lion or bobcat sighting on video, that would be badass! I've never seen a bobcat in the wild. I did see one huge mountain lion standing in the middle of the road way up in the mountains past the town of Foresthill. Unfortunately I was in a friend's car, and he kept driving slowly forward instead of stopping, which caused the cat to run off into the woods. I didn't have time to get my camera out. :madman:


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

Moozh said:


> Great vid...it's good to know that people actually make the same groaning and heaving sounds that I do while grinding away on the trails. I see so many vids of guys riding fast and flowy, railing berms, boundless energy...so unlike my trail riding experience.
> 
> looking forward to more..keep the grunting, groaning and heaving in!


Thanks!  I enjoy the sounds of a real ride, so I always leave the natural sound in. I also search YouTube for other riders' videos with natural sound. When I find another good sufferfest video with original sound, it inspires me to ride harder on my next climb.

When I searched for "Salmon Falls", I got a bunch of videos with all the original audio removed and replaced with music. I didn't see any footage of Flagstaff Hill or the steep climb you see in my video.

I just found another cyclist's YouTube channel with some great raw footage, including the Boggs Mountain Bike Race, which I did in 1993 in the Beginner class first, then later on in Sport class when they had another race with a different name on the same mountain.

I did okay (5th place), but by the time I upgraded to Sport class it became the kind of sufferfest I don't like. Northstar was the last straw for me. Now I suffer on my own terms!


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## mestapho (Sep 3, 2011)

I ride solo out there quite a bit, the chances of an attack by a mountain lion are remote.
I do have friend that had a mountain lion run past him on **** 8. Ran past him in the opposite direction within 10 feet of the trail. He swears it was as tall as his handlebars.


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## 1Slippy (Jan 20, 2012)

sheeesh i got tired watching it, i felt like i had just had a ride listening to your ride.. good stuff tho and yes next time keep your speed up throught the techincal stuff


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

deleted


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

1Slippy said:


> sheeesh i got tired watching it, i felt like i had just had a ride listening to your ride.. good stuff tho and yes next time keep your speed up throught the techincal stuff


Thanks.  That's why I enjoy watching videos like these from other riders. It gives the viewer the full experience of the ride. 3D would make it even better!


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## scmtbiker (Jan 11, 2007)

freighttrainuphill said:


> : A speeding motorcyclist who was two cars behind me passed all of us in the opposing lane at high speed.
> 
> :


I have had this happen a few times. Two of the times it has happened I saw the motorcycle and driver balled up in a ditch a few turns later.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

scmtbiker said:


> I have had this happen a few times. Two of the times it has happened I saw the motorcycle and driver balled up in a ditch a few turns later.


Yikes! I was wondering if I was going to see something similar, as he pulled his bonehead move right before a section of rollers that are a bit tricky even at 40 mph in a car. Also, visibility isn't that good. Not a place for speeding!


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## dth656 (Feb 12, 2009)

freighttrainuphill said:


> That's what I figured. I've always heard that mountain lions are more afraid of humans than we are of them. I love solo rides, and I think it's safer to ride on trails than it is on some roads. Especially in El Dorado County, where I had two incidents of road rage directed at me last year. Both of them were caught on video. I posted the last one earlier in this thread.
> 
> The first one happened on Mosquito Road in Placerville. Like on the Salmon Falls Road video, I was on a climb when it happened.


w. t. f?? from the video, you were pretty damn close to the shoulder, what more do they want??? EDIT: even if you aren't on top of the shoulder, california law allows you to "take the lane" if you are avoiding hazards, etc on the edge of the road.

years ago, i was riding my mtb up centennial ave in berkeley, on the shoulder, when a car's passenger side mirror whacked my bar ends (it was the 90s, i had huge bar ends on my bike). luckily, i didn't lose control of the bike nor was my hand struck, but it scared the crap out of me.  when i got home i phoned UCPD w/ a description of the car and partial license, but got the standard "nothing we can do" line.


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## Fiskare (Sep 5, 2008)

dth656 said:


> w. t. f?? from the video, you were pretty damn close to the shoulder, what more do they want???


I good friend of mine and I were talking about this very thing a while back. This guy has more miles than almost anyone else. He has never owned a car and never had a DL, commuted to his job in Alaska (from California-commercial fisherman-retired) by bike, and continues to live an almost exclusively (for transport) bicycle lifestyle. I ranted and he responded, 'they can not empathize, they can't relate'. Then he just stared at me.

My wife and I live an almost exclusively bicycle lifestyle, but are no longer 'roadies'. We do like to MTB though!


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## tesxyz (May 31, 2006)

Sorry to say but Salmon Falls road is super busy and that includes sport bikes and cars going quick. Its been like that forever and CHP occasionally will crack down on it. Of course you can also get stuck behind someone doing 35! Its best to just yield to the quicker cars and drive as mellow as you want. The super serious sport bike riders tend to go out at night to avoid traffic and bicycles. I hear them from my house all the time.


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## Bill in Houston (Nov 26, 2011)

freighttrainuphill said:


> That's what I figured. I've always heard that mountain lions are more afraid of humans than we are of them.


 Something I saw from Big Bend park basically said that a cat that will make eye contact with you has lost its fear of humans will eventually have to be killed, and that even one that just lets you see it probably will be also. Of course, this is Texas, and we tend to be a little more conservative on these things, but that was their take on the matter.


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## charlesinoc (May 17, 2009)

super cool thanks for sharing!


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

deleted


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## Bill in Houston (Nov 26, 2011)

Blow up a photo of the plate, and go visit the company. If you can't read the company name, you can probably find a PI who will trace the plate for a small fee. Go pay the company a visit.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

I wanted to do that so bad, but all I could read on the company sign was the area code of the phone number-530. Of course that area code covers Placer, El Dorado, Nevada, and Yolo Counties. Maybe even more than that.

Since this happened last July, I figure it's a little late now. Knowing my luck, the owner of the company was probably driving the truck. It's probably a pool or landscaping outfit with one employee.

I do have the plate memorized though. I have thought about leaving a note on the windshield if I ever see the truck again, but only if it has that company sign on it. After all, it may have already changed owners by now.


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## ROPECHA (Jan 5, 2012)

I prefer the raw video,the heavy breathing gives you a sense of the effort that the rider puts into it.

As for the drivers,well that's people for you.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

ROPECHA said:


> I prefer the raw video,the heavy breathing gives you a sense of the effort that the rider puts into it.


+1!:thumbsup: That's exactly how I feel. Nothing gives a sense of the difficulty of a ride like raw sound. I'd like to find some mtb videos like that from other riders. Some roadies have made good sufferfest videos, which are very inspiring.


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## flowmaster (Jan 22, 2004)

I love Salmon Falls, cool little local trail  Every time I come down that little wall I've wondered how many people have wadded it over the edge, glad you just got a little nick. I wish I could get in a little more riding but just haven't been able to get away from the house lately, enjoyed watching your ride though.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

Thanks.  It's great to be back! I was running out of new road climbs to explore, and the dumbassery exhibited by some of the motorists out there was making me rather uneasy. That said, I'm going on my first group road ride tomorrow just for the hell of it. I will ride like I always do, which means staying out of the way of motorists and not blowing through red lights and stop signs, so hopefully no drama happens. 

I need to burn off all the pasta I ate tonight before Sunday's mtb ride. I'm determined to lose the last stubborn 20 pounds before summer. I have a couple of hard road climbs in mind for summer: Mix Canyon and Ebbetts Pass. On the MTB side, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride sounds pretty fun, at least the climb part. I'm not sure about my descending skills yet for the downhill part.


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## kstovesand (Jul 15, 2010)

freighttrainuphill said:


> I feel that natural sound tells the story much better than covering everything up with music.


THANK YOU for not adding some music track to your video! I wish others would keep their favorite sound tracks to themselves.

73


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

kstovesand said:


> THANK YOU for not adding some music track to your video! I wish others would keep their favorite sound tracks to themselves.
> 
> 73


You're very welcome!  I often feel the same way! I would much rather hear what that rider experienced on the ride, as well as the nature sounds, gear shifting and other bike sounds. Besides, I have always tried to avoid imposing my taste in music on others. I know I don't listen to the "popular" stuff. 

The only two real ride videos I have (on Vimeo, not YouTube) that have music are a couple of descents filmed with a camcorder mounted in the moonroof of a friend's truck, so the audio was 100% wind noise. Even then, I left the original audio in place and mixed it with the music for effect.

I will always continue to make my first-person ride videos with natural sound like the ones in this thread.


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## flowmaster (Jan 22, 2004)

freighttrainuphill said:


> Thanks.  It's great to be back! I was running out of new road climbs to explore, and the dumbassery exhibited by some of the motorists out there was making me rather uneasy. That said, I'm going on my first group road ride tomorrow just for the hell of it. I will ride like I always do, which means staying out of the way of motorists and not blowing through red lights and stop signs, so hopefully no drama happens.
> 
> I need to burn off all the pasta I ate tonight before Sunday's mtb ride. I'm determined to lose the last stubborn 20 pounds before summer. I have a couple of hard road climbs in mind for summer: Mix Canyon and Ebbetts Pass. On the MTB side, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride sounds pretty fun, at least the climb part. I'm not sure about my descending skills yet for the downhill part.


My climbing skills are so-so, still working on them, my descending skills however you could say are better than average.  Been burning off a few extra pounds myself lately, I'm at 195 down from 217 in mid-Dec.

I'm not much of a road rider, other than riding to the trail I'm going to ride. A local for me I can ride to from my house is the Lake Natoma loop. If I do an out and back on the North shore that nets me a 13mi rt, all the way around 18mi, but the south shore is pretty boring imo.

We should get together sometime for a ride, might balance each other out. I could use the coaching/advice/pushing on the climbs, and could offer the same for the descents. :thumbsup:

I definitely want to try Mr. Toad's, I've heard nothing but good things about it.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

deleted


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## ghettocop (Jul 26, 2011)

Thanks for no music. I love hearing the true effort! Keep it up. Great stuff.


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## Blurr (Dec 7, 2009)

Uhgg the jarring reminds me why I got rid of my hardtail.


your breathing is a bit, uhm raspy, you sure your not a smoker :skep:


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

ghettocop said:


> Thanks for no music. I love hearing the true effort! Keep it up. Great stuff.


Thanks.  I'll be making another good one today!  This trail's supposed to have a good amount of climbing, so you know what that means. 


Blurr said:


> Uhgg the jarring reminds me why I got rid of my hardtail.


Believe it or not, the jarring wasn't too bad. What you're seeing in the video is most likely due to the "girls" bouncing around and jarring the chest-mounted camera.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

Blurr said:


> your breathing is a bit, uhm raspy, you sure your not a smoker :skep:


Blech! Hell no! I despise cigarettes! In fact, I have a sign in my living room that says "Breathing Area No Smoking Please".

The raspiness may be due to the aliasing in the audio of the GoPro. It is a known problem with GoPro cameras. Scroll down to "Sound Quality" in the article I linked to.


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## Blurr (Dec 7, 2009)

freighttrainuphill said:


> Thanks.  I'll be making another good one today!  This trail's supposed to have a good amount of climbing, so you know what that means.
> 
> Believe it or not, the jarring wasn't too bad. What you're seeing in the video is most likely due to the "girls" bouncing around and jarring the chest-mounted camera.


God bless you for bringing more attention to that area and giving us no real reason to make an excuse for looking there. :thumbsup:


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

Here's yesterday's ride. No crashes this time, but plenty of climbing to make me live up to my username! :lol:

This is the South Fork American River Trail (SFART). The trailhead is right across the road from the Salmon Falls trailhead. It starts off with quite a bit of climbing on technical singletrack with tight switchbacks. Good stuff! 

There's not nearly as much technical stuff as on Salmon Falls though. There's lots of smooth singletrack and doubletrack.

It ended up being almost a 24 mile round trip ride with 3,442' of climbing.

Nice switchback where I waited for some climbing cyclists before descending.

switchback on SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Abandoned structures at the Cronan Ranch trailhead

abandoned buildings on SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

abandoned buildings on SFART 2 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

abandoned house on SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

I'm used to seeing "connector", like the trail near Auburn. There were several of these signs along the trail.

'connecter trail' sign on SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

View of the American River on the way back towards Salmon Falls Road

view of American River from SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

A trail that definitely lived up to its name, and made me live up to my username! 

'down and up trail' sign on SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr


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## michaelsnead (Aug 31, 2005)

freighttrainuphill said:


> ......Abandoned structures at the Cronan Ranch trailhead
> 
> abandoned buildings on SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr
> 
> ...


Hi Ms. freighttrainuphill,

I'm a Coloma resident of many years and these are my home trails. The urban legend around here is that these were build as a movie set. If you look inside one of them you'll see that the construction fits that story.

Take care,

Michael:thumbsup:


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## Bartleyr (Feb 20, 2012)

I love that trail! Best part is jumping off the bridge into the water after a long ride!


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

michaelsnead said:


> Hi Ms. freighttrainuphill,
> 
> I'm a Coloma resident of many years and these are my home trails. The urban legend around here is that these were build as a movie set. If you look inside one of them you'll see that the construction fits that story.
> 
> ...


I'll have to take a walk around the next time I'm out there, which will be when I ride the Cronan Ranch trail. I thought about walking into the old house yesterday, but I didn't know if it was a good idea or not.

I love road cycling in the hills surrounding Coloma! Prospectors Grade, Lotus Road, Marshall Grade, and hopefully soon, Coldsprings Road. That one's supposed to be good steep sufferfest! 

20 years ago I climbed the dirt part of Mt. Murphy Road on my old HardRock hardtail with a Girvin Flexstem. Good times!


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

deleted


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

freighttrainuphill[/QUOTE said:


> I thought you where on my trails the other day as I'm at the top of a climb I hear this very very very loud breathing person chugging along. Turns out it was not you though. But it did make me think of this thread because after I talked to the gentlemen he told me how this was his first ride in 15 years not to mention his first time on our local trail system with his first MTB. Cool part was he purchased the bike from CL for 150$ which was a Schwinn Moab 3 from 1999, which literally looked brand new from the shop with the original tires in all. Keep chuggin freighttrainuphill. :thumbsup:


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## fst aslp (Aug 17, 2009)

I can't wait to have some trail open. Glad you are OK after that fall!


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

Hutch3637 said:


> I thought you where on my trails the other day as I'm at the top of a climb I hear this very very very loud breathing person chugging along. Turns out it was not you though. But it did make me think of this thread because after I talked to the gentlemen he told me how this was his first ride in 15 years not to mention his first time on our local trail system with his first MTB. Cool part was he purchased the bike from CL for 150$ which was a Schwinn Moab 3 from 1999, which literally looked brand new from the shop with the original tires in all. Keep chuggin freighttrainuphill. :thumbsup:


Cool! :thumbsup: Hopefully he enjoyed himself enough to stick with it.

I'm glad these are only my first few mtb rides in 15 years and not my first time on a bike, otherwise rides like last weekend with almost 24 miles and 3,442' of climbing just wouldn't be possible until I built up fitness first. Most road climbing rides are around 25-50 miles with 2,400'-5,000' of climbing. I think the 50 mile road rides may be easier than the 24 mile mtb rides.

I know I need to get stronger still, and I definitely need to hone my bike handling skills around switchbacks while descending. I don't have a problem descending fast on pavement, but mtb descents are a new challenge.


fst aslp said:


> I can't wait to have some trail open. Glad you are OK after that fall!


Thanks.  It wasn't a bad fall, luckily.

My mother likes to watch my cycling videos. The first time I uploaded a mtb video, I got a freaked-out email saying how scary it looked and to please be careful.

I explained to her that the chest-mounted camera makes it look like I'm going faster compared to a helmet-mounted camera. The lower the camera is to the ground, the faster it looks like you're going.

I wondered why I didn't get another freaked-out email after the Salmon Falls video. Turns out she hadn't seen it yet. When I visited her she wanted to see it. When she saw me riding up and down the technical singletrack with the steep drop-off on one side, she was horrified. Once again I told her that the camera makes things look scarier than they really are.

Surprisingly, she didn't freak out at the crash scene or the bloody leg. Whew!


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## Acme54321 (Oct 8, 2003)

freighttrainuphill said:


> I'm actually much safer and more efficient while pedaling using toe clips and straps.


You'll change your tune on this the first time you have a nice crash and your foot get twisted up in that cage.


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## flowmaster (Jan 22, 2004)

freighttrainuphill said:


> Here's where I think the 29er comes up short. These are all the tight singletrack switchbacks on the descent down to the river near the end of the ride. I felt like I had to crawl around these corners. Maybe it's just me though. After all, this was only my third mtb ride after 15 years of road cycling. I may be a little rusty.


That was fun to watch :thumbsup:

We definitely need to go on a ride soon here, I can show you how to go way faster on those switchbacks if you can put up with a slow climber 



Acme54321 said:


> You'll change your tune on this the first time you have a nice crash and your foot get twisted up in that cage.


I have to admit, I did try power straps not too long ago for the first time as someone who has never ridden anything other than flats his entire life. After the initial weirdness, I did find that I felt more connected to the bike and really did have an increase in efficiency, though it was small. Of course, that could be due to not really knowing the best way to pedal making use of the upstroke, but it is what it is. Anyway, after rolling those for a while, I started to get sick of slow starts trying to jam my foot in there, precariously balancing sometimes. And in the end I ditched them and went back to flats, just wasn't for me even for XC/AM, would not consider for DH. Just my 2 cents.


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## bigbadwulff (Jan 18, 2012)

freighttrainuphill said:


> When was this? I don't pay attention to all of the local news, so I may have missed it.
> 
> I couldn't get a license plate to report them.
> 
> ...


Oh yeah, it's the SUV...oh gees. The person was an idiot, not the vehicle.


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## freighttrainuphill (Feb 3, 2012)

Acme54321 said:


> You'll change your tune on this the first time you have a nice crash and your foot get twisted up in that cage.


I have the straps adjusted tight enough to keep my foot from moving off the pedal on the upstroke, but not so tight that I can't quickly pull straight back and out in an emergency.

I've been using toe clips and straps ever since I got into hill climbing and mountain biking in the early 90s. I've crashed with them and never got hurt, due to the fact that my feet can release easily.


flowmaster said:


> That was fun to watch :thumbsup:
> 
> We definitely need to go on a ride soon here, I can show you how to go way faster on those switchbacks if you can put up with a slow climber


I'm surprised anyone thought that was a fun clip, due to the slowness.  I'll have to take you up on your offer. 


flowmaster said:


> I have to admit, I did try power straps not too long ago for the first time


I tried Power Grips many years ago too. I went right back to toe clips. I don't like the side entry, and I don't like how my feet worked their way out of them often.


bigbadwulff said:


> Oh yeah, it's the SUV...oh gees. The person was an idiot, not the vehicle.


Don't tell me you honestly think I'm one of those stereotypical "hippie" types who hates SUV's. After all, I own a vehicle that probably would have qualified for that extremely wasteful and stupid "Cash for Clunkers" program, due to the gas mileage. It's a 4.0 V6, so the mileage is in the teens.

The reason I put the word "SUV" in the title is because I knew it would grab the attention of those who like to watch videos of bad drivers, and in case anyone who lives and rides in that area is familiar with that vehicle. It also gives those cyclists a heads-up.

If you're the same "bidbadwulff" that posts on Bike Forums, you should be very familiar with my posts there. You should know by now that I don't hate a particular type of vehicle. I have a passion for cycling, not for that confrontational "A & S" attitude.


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