well, i wont lie to ya, there is 3 straight miles of it about 2/3 of the way...but its not 2K of ascent. its actually almost completely flat for all 3 miles... but the sand will make up for that....trust me.

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'the notorious North County Sancho'

Deep sand or manageable but pain in the ass sand? lol

I love the wash, it absolutely mind fucks some people. You go from that trail was awesome, to this isn't so bad, to holy shit does this ever end!

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A mountain biker who doesn't ride road has no legs
A road biker who doesn't ride mountain has no soul

I'm looking forward to the "mind fuck".

Yours truly enjoying the mind f ck (photo credit Evdog)

Here's one of the longer HAB sections......(photo credit EvDog)

That's a HAB. I can ride that on my big ring.

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I remember it seeming very flat, but it actually gains ~900 ft in that 3 miles.

It was easier to get off and walk, not because of the slope though.

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"Those skilled at the unorthodox are infinite as heaven and earth, inexhaustible as the great rivers."
— Tzun Tzu

In

Where exactly is this Vons parking lot for the meeting location?

google;
Vons Rimrock - Palm Springs, CA
on HWY111 and nearest main cross street is Gene Autry Trail

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'the notorious North County Sancho'

I'm in if my GF lets me borrow her bike. Been looking forward to riding this trail.

I'm not sure if Italo has planned out the logistics yet, but we should do it before sobriety eludes during the holidays.

Logistically speaking, in order to avoid the extra 52 miles (round trip) we would need to drive in order to pick up the excess people at Vons post-ride, there needs to be enough shuttle vehicles to shuttle us up to the upper trailhead twice. If there aren't enough vehicles to transport everyone and their bikes from Vons to the upper trailhead after the ride, people would have to drive back down to pick up the others. And I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather not spend an hour doing that after this ride. (having excess vehicles at Vons that aren't capable of hauling all the bikes won't help us.)

So, can those who have a truck or other shuttle worthy vehicle who are driving post up so can get assess the best way to do this.

I plan on driving and may have an extra space or 2.

I have a Nissan Frontier 4-Door pick-up truck.......I can carry 4-5 bikes (including mine) w/ the front wheel over the tailgate (DH style) if folks don't mind.....I'll have a blanket and some tie-downs to secure them.......I have room for 4 passengers but I won't guarantee you will be comfortable


Not necessarily..........since you guys coming from SD are gonna pass the trail-head at the top anyway.....and don't mind having folks/bikes wait up there.

Its more important to have enough vehicles capable of carrying all passengers/bikes at the Vons at the end of the ride. In the morning, only the drivers (and their vehicles) that need to come down to the Vons are the ones that will be required to shuttle all bikes/drivers back to the top after the ride. In addition you also need the car that will get those bodies back up to the start and it only needs to be able to carry one bike (mine.....I'm coming from Riverside, I have to go to the Vons anyways since I'm coming up from the 10 FWY....)

I'll find out from my co-worker if he's bringing his truck or his scion.