Introduction by Francis Cebedo
Do you have a 'local crusher' in your neck of the woods? Well we have Sean Allan here in Norcal. He not only climbs fast and descends with flow, he has the endurance of diesel train. What he does though is he goes out on big rides. He just steps out the door from his home in Auburn, situated in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. He rides and then rides some more. And when most of us have had our fill, he rides some more and goes out again the next day.
Then on Monday mornings, as we relive our own experiences and nurse our battle scars, we read about Sean Allan's adventures in the Norcal Forum. That's what mtbr is all about. Living the dream and living vicariously through the adventures of friends.
Sean's Forum Profile
Sean's Photo Gallery
Story and Photos by Sean Allan
Day 1
Man, life's been crappy, too much work and the fallout of a failing relationship had me looking for a way out of here. I finally managed to schedule a Fri and Mon off and took off from the back door for places unknown, really, I had no plan and no one knew where I was going.
I had packed the bike the following week for a warm dry route. Friday morning arrived and the forecast was for thundershowers and rain in the Sierras. Crap! Out came all the wet weather gear and my bike magically gained 5 pounds.
I figured I'd head for Tahoe via Soda Springs. I figured if I got dumped on I could bail to my cousins house in Tahoe Vista. Sure enough, after heading out Foresthill Road, up to Robinson Flat, out through the Cedars and up to Soda Springs and cresting Donner Pass I got hammered. All the way across Truckee, Martis Valley and up 267 to Brockway Summit I got caught in the worst T-Storm I've ever ridden through, that includes some pretty nasty stuff on the Western Slope of Colorado.
I crested Brockway summit and the sun was shining, literally in the space of a 1/2 mile the weather changed 360 degrees. I figured I'd head to my cousin's anyways as it would give me a chance to pull everything out and get my gear and myself dry for the next 3 days.
Foresthill, Soda Springs, Truckee, Tahoe Vista by seanallan at Garmin Connect - Details.
Day 2
Saturday morning arrived with a few showers. I was dressed and off by 7am for the long day over to Luther Pass or Scotts Lake, whichever I could make before dark. After yesterday's rainout, I wasn't going to do that again, my rear was pretty chafed from wet chamois.
So I guess I did the super punisher route with a bonus Hwy89/Mount Rose/431 climb but no Marlette Peak, so I'm not sure what that gets me...
Trails were awesome from the previous day's rain, maybe the best I've seen the Spooner and Kingsbury sections. Simply an outstanding day, perhaps a Top Ten day on the bike.
Bonus shots of all the stuff that spills out of the bike plus what I wear when off the bike.
Tahoe Vista, Mount Rose, Marlette, Spooner, Kingsbury, Luther Pass by seanallan at Garmin Connect - Details.
Day 3
After spending the night just off of Luther Pass I was off to ride the Scotts Lake Connector so I could go down Scotts Lake trail to Big Meadow Trail and then down Christmas Valley to start the day off, pretty stellar way to wake up!
After a spending spree at Lira's market in Meyers I was off to climb to the top of Echo Summit and the Pony Express Trail. The Pony Express trail had seen a bit of rain as well and was in great shape, certainly not many folks riding this gem.
A lunch break in Strawberry and I was off to conquer the dreaded paved Wrights Lake Road to make my way up to the Barrett Lake OHV trail. This is a tough little climb, especially on tired legs. I finally made it to Barrett Lake OHV and rode/walked this trail for 4 miles till I reached the Two Peaks Trail.
I have been looking for this trail for a couple of years and finally found the top of it a couple of months ago (hours of bushwhacking to find it!) This trail is essentially a stock trail; they use it to run cattle from lower elevations up into the high country. They had already moved the stock up so the trail was totally beat in, real easy to follow and apart from being a bit loose a really fun but tough trail. I averaged 3 MPH over 10 miles on Barrett/Two Peaks
From the end of Two Peaks I slogged/pushed up to the Tells Creek Equestrian Camp and then it was a road ride from there to the Rubicon River on Eleven Pines Road off of Wentworth Springs Rd. I set up camp below the bridge on the mighty Rubicon River.
Scotts Lake, Xmas Valley, Pony Express, Barrett Lake, Twin Peaks, Rubicon by seanallan at Garmin Connect - Details.
Day 4
I was awakened by logging trucks going over the bridge at 4am. WTF, I guess these guys get paid by the load and they are going to get a full day's runs in!
I was off at 6:30 for the long road climb up to French Meadows Lake and then on to the Western States trail for the remainder of the day. My water filter had broken the prior evening so I was in a pickle. I had enough water to make it to the spring just before Hell Hole Rd but I was reluctant to drop the Western States without a filter, I had Iodine tabs with me but really didn't want to jack my stomach up for the next week. As I made my way up to French Meadows I decided that as long as the pump at Deadwood was working I would be fine, or dead if it was broken
As I dropped down the WS towards the swinging bridge the temp was really beginning to rise, I was starting to think I was a dumbass for thinking this was a good idea. For those of you lucky enough to have done this section from Last Chance to Devils Thumb (or Middle Finger as I like to call it) you know what the deal is.... 1.2 miles and 1,800' of hike a bike
I made it to the spring at Deadwood in a respectable 58 minutes. Man, it was really hot in the exposed sections though and I knew it would be even hotter on the way to Michigan Bluff. I ate pretty much the remainder of my food at the pump (which was working thank God) and headed off for Michigan Bluff. The WS flowed out as usual, excellent. No one was out on a hot Monday so I had the place to myself (also had to be careful since no one would find the body either!).
At the bridge over El Dorado Creek I dunked my head in the creek and hit the trail. I rode most of this section to my surprise. I was at about 300 miles so far and had figured this would be pretty ugly; 56 minutes later I was sitting in Michigan Bluff. Crap was it hot. I had slurped the last gulp out of my Camelbak coming into town so I blew off the idea of dropping down to Volcano Creek and instead hit the pavement for the slog up to Foresthill Rd.
I beat it down Foresthill Rd to Wortons Market and bought the biggest cheeseburger and fries they would sell me. Man was I a stinky mess though, so I hit myself up with some AXE body spray before I fouled up the store. The smell of 3 days of B.O. and Axe body spray must have been a sensory overload, although it is Foresthill so...
All in all a great few days, a good time to ponder the road we could have traveled and the road we traveled down. Thanks for reading
Rubicon River, French Meadows, Western States, Foresthill by seanallan at Garmin Connect - Details.
Visit Sean Allen's Well, I had an adventurous weekend..... forum post
Follow Sean Allen's blog https://theadventuresofseanandmary.blogspot.com/
Q&A with Sean Allan
Thanks all for the positive theme to your posts, we all deal with the crap life throws at us in our own way. I don't typically find riding to be therapeutic in dealing with the crisis of life, in fact it has been quite the opposite lately, too much space and time alone to think, which is not always good.
So to answer a few questions
Oh, what's with the roses?
For my lovely Cousin, it was her and her husbands 28th wedding anniversary on that Sunday.
Is this the route for your adventure race?
Some of it, from Mount Rose to my house is included. Unfortunately the race will be so much harder coming and going all the way from Auburn, out through the Rubicon and doing all of the legal TRT, it is a monster. It's another 100 miles and almost 25,000 feet of climbing in addition to what I did. I couldn't pull off the organization of it this year, it's on for next year though.
What did the setup weigh and was it hard to get used to the loaded down bike in technical sections? Care to share your food/water fueling?
The setup when I left the house was 10 pounds on the bike. That was including a lot of gear I would not normally take because of rain. That also included 4 days of dinner and breakfast, lunch and other stuff I just got along the way. Since I was just cruising I also took my Ipod, phone and a portable charger and 10 AA lithium batteries. I also took a helmet light and battery just in case I got caught out. A SPOT is necessary and needed. Camelback weighed in at 14 pounds with a full bladder.
I can ride roughly 90-95% of what I would normally ride on the TRT. Example would be I didn't put a foot down from Spooner to Kingbury. Once you've been riding for a couple of hours you can't tell the difference other than the added weight. It's like riding a 40 pound 4" downhill bike If you're tired, technical climbing and climbing in general become harder due to the extra weight, but not a huge deal. Hike a Bike can be brutal. Plus the more you eat, the lighter the load gets MSR water filter( which has broken for the second time) for water. Bought some at the Tramway market, love that place!
Freeze dried dinners unpacked and then vacuum packed to make them smaller for dinner, instant oatmeal for dinner. No racer boy stuff when your touring, although I did take 4 days worth of Recoverite. Self supported racing is a whole other beast......
Where did you find the saddle bag(s)?
Those are Carousel Design Works in front and Revelate designs in back. High quality stuff for not a ton of money.
But was it therapeutic? Have you punished yourself enough yet to get over it?
Neither, which is good, since I wasn't looking for either. I used to race a lot and was pretty good at it, I still do occasionally, but this type of riding appeals to me more these days. Self supported racing, ala Tour Divide, Colorado Trail Race and such are the places I try to punish myself at. Finding the time and mental strength to do them lately has been really hard though, some people thrive on conflict and pain, I'm not one of those people. I do this stuff quite often if time permits. I just can't usually find the time to write about the adventure, plus you all would get bored if I wrote about it every time
Amazing journey Sean, I hope the mountains brought you some much needed solace and peace.
That is what I generally find on these trips. Sorry to have missed you Jeff, I saw you as well. I also saw Wherewolf and his riding partner on Spooner. I was not in a good place and felt bad for not stopping to talk to them, it wasn't till I saw their post that I realized it was them. I hate that climb to the bench for some reason and the rain the day before had rubbed my ass raw. No chamois butter at the Spooner bike shop left me in a foul mood. I must have looked like someone shot my puppy when they told me they didn't have any....
Someone on the the comments section of the feature story sounded as if this was some sort of adventure that he could never do. Anyone of you could do this or your own version of it. Whatever you think is epic or adventuresome is exactly that, yours and yours alone.
Like I said, I do this and other stupid stuff often enough that it seems somewhat normal, in fact my happiness depends on adventures like these. Hopefully you can find happiness in your next adventure
Do you have a 'local crusher' in your neck of the woods? Well we have Sean Allan here in Norcal. He not only climbs fast and descends with flow, he has the endurance of diesel train. What he does though is he goes out on big rides. He just steps out the door from his home in Auburn, situated in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. He rides and then rides some more. And when most of us have had our fill, he rides some more and goes out again the next day.
Then on Monday mornings, as we relive our own experiences and nurse our battle scars, we read about Sean Allan's adventures in the Norcal Forum. That's what mtbr is all about. Living the dream and living vicariously through the adventures of friends.
Sean's Forum Profile
Sean's Photo Gallery
Story and Photos by Sean Allan
Day 1
Man, life's been crappy, too much work and the fallout of a failing relationship had me looking for a way out of here. I finally managed to schedule a Fri and Mon off and took off from the back door for places unknown, really, I had no plan and no one knew where I was going.
I had packed the bike the following week for a warm dry route. Friday morning arrived and the forecast was for thundershowers and rain in the Sierras. Crap! Out came all the wet weather gear and my bike magically gained 5 pounds.
I figured I'd head for Tahoe via Soda Springs. I figured if I got dumped on I could bail to my cousins house in Tahoe Vista. Sure enough, after heading out Foresthill Road, up to Robinson Flat, out through the Cedars and up to Soda Springs and cresting Donner Pass I got hammered. All the way across Truckee, Martis Valley and up 267 to Brockway Summit I got caught in the worst T-Storm I've ever ridden through, that includes some pretty nasty stuff on the Western Slope of Colorado.
I crested Brockway summit and the sun was shining, literally in the space of a 1/2 mile the weather changed 360 degrees. I figured I'd head to my cousin's anyways as it would give me a chance to pull everything out and get my gear and myself dry for the next 3 days.
Foresthill, Soda Springs, Truckee, Tahoe Vista by seanallan at Garmin Connect - Details.
Day 2
Saturday morning arrived with a few showers. I was dressed and off by 7am for the long day over to Luther Pass or Scotts Lake, whichever I could make before dark. After yesterday's rainout, I wasn't going to do that again, my rear was pretty chafed from wet chamois.
So I guess I did the super punisher route with a bonus Hwy89/Mount Rose/431 climb but no Marlette Peak, so I'm not sure what that gets me...
Trails were awesome from the previous day's rain, maybe the best I've seen the Spooner and Kingsbury sections. Simply an outstanding day, perhaps a Top Ten day on the bike.
Bonus shots of all the stuff that spills out of the bike plus what I wear when off the bike.
Tahoe Vista, Mount Rose, Marlette, Spooner, Kingsbury, Luther Pass by seanallan at Garmin Connect - Details.
Day 3
After spending the night just off of Luther Pass I was off to ride the Scotts Lake Connector so I could go down Scotts Lake trail to Big Meadow Trail and then down Christmas Valley to start the day off, pretty stellar way to wake up!
After a spending spree at Lira's market in Meyers I was off to climb to the top of Echo Summit and the Pony Express Trail. The Pony Express trail had seen a bit of rain as well and was in great shape, certainly not many folks riding this gem.
A lunch break in Strawberry and I was off to conquer the dreaded paved Wrights Lake Road to make my way up to the Barrett Lake OHV trail. This is a tough little climb, especially on tired legs. I finally made it to Barrett Lake OHV and rode/walked this trail for 4 miles till I reached the Two Peaks Trail.
I have been looking for this trail for a couple of years and finally found the top of it a couple of months ago (hours of bushwhacking to find it!) This trail is essentially a stock trail; they use it to run cattle from lower elevations up into the high country. They had already moved the stock up so the trail was totally beat in, real easy to follow and apart from being a bit loose a really fun but tough trail. I averaged 3 MPH over 10 miles on Barrett/Two Peaks
From the end of Two Peaks I slogged/pushed up to the Tells Creek Equestrian Camp and then it was a road ride from there to the Rubicon River on Eleven Pines Road off of Wentworth Springs Rd. I set up camp below the bridge on the mighty Rubicon River.
Scotts Lake, Xmas Valley, Pony Express, Barrett Lake, Twin Peaks, Rubicon by seanallan at Garmin Connect - Details.
Day 4
I was awakened by logging trucks going over the bridge at 4am. WTF, I guess these guys get paid by the load and they are going to get a full day's runs in!
I was off at 6:30 for the long road climb up to French Meadows Lake and then on to the Western States trail for the remainder of the day. My water filter had broken the prior evening so I was in a pickle. I had enough water to make it to the spring just before Hell Hole Rd but I was reluctant to drop the Western States without a filter, I had Iodine tabs with me but really didn't want to jack my stomach up for the next week. As I made my way up to French Meadows I decided that as long as the pump at Deadwood was working I would be fine, or dead if it was broken
As I dropped down the WS towards the swinging bridge the temp was really beginning to rise, I was starting to think I was a dumbass for thinking this was a good idea. For those of you lucky enough to have done this section from Last Chance to Devils Thumb (or Middle Finger as I like to call it) you know what the deal is.... 1.2 miles and 1,800' of hike a bike
I made it to the spring at Deadwood in a respectable 58 minutes. Man, it was really hot in the exposed sections though and I knew it would be even hotter on the way to Michigan Bluff. I ate pretty much the remainder of my food at the pump (which was working thank God) and headed off for Michigan Bluff. The WS flowed out as usual, excellent. No one was out on a hot Monday so I had the place to myself (also had to be careful since no one would find the body either!).
At the bridge over El Dorado Creek I dunked my head in the creek and hit the trail. I rode most of this section to my surprise. I was at about 300 miles so far and had figured this would be pretty ugly; 56 minutes later I was sitting in Michigan Bluff. Crap was it hot. I had slurped the last gulp out of my Camelbak coming into town so I blew off the idea of dropping down to Volcano Creek and instead hit the pavement for the slog up to Foresthill Rd.
I beat it down Foresthill Rd to Wortons Market and bought the biggest cheeseburger and fries they would sell me. Man was I a stinky mess though, so I hit myself up with some AXE body spray before I fouled up the store. The smell of 3 days of B.O. and Axe body spray must have been a sensory overload, although it is Foresthill so...
All in all a great few days, a good time to ponder the road we could have traveled and the road we traveled down. Thanks for reading
Rubicon River, French Meadows, Western States, Foresthill by seanallan at Garmin Connect - Details.
Visit Sean Allen's Well, I had an adventurous weekend..... forum post
Follow Sean Allen's blog https://theadventuresofseanandmary.blogspot.com/
Q&A with Sean Allan
Thanks all for the positive theme to your posts, we all deal with the crap life throws at us in our own way. I don't typically find riding to be therapeutic in dealing with the crisis of life, in fact it has been quite the opposite lately, too much space and time alone to think, which is not always good.
So to answer a few questions
Oh, what's with the roses?
For my lovely Cousin, it was her and her husbands 28th wedding anniversary on that Sunday.
Is this the route for your adventure race?
Some of it, from Mount Rose to my house is included. Unfortunately the race will be so much harder coming and going all the way from Auburn, out through the Rubicon and doing all of the legal TRT, it is a monster. It's another 100 miles and almost 25,000 feet of climbing in addition to what I did. I couldn't pull off the organization of it this year, it's on for next year though.
What did the setup weigh and was it hard to get used to the loaded down bike in technical sections? Care to share your food/water fueling?
The setup when I left the house was 10 pounds on the bike. That was including a lot of gear I would not normally take because of rain. That also included 4 days of dinner and breakfast, lunch and other stuff I just got along the way. Since I was just cruising I also took my Ipod, phone and a portable charger and 10 AA lithium batteries. I also took a helmet light and battery just in case I got caught out. A SPOT is necessary and needed. Camelback weighed in at 14 pounds with a full bladder.
I can ride roughly 90-95% of what I would normally ride on the TRT. Example would be I didn't put a foot down from Spooner to Kingbury. Once you've been riding for a couple of hours you can't tell the difference other than the added weight. It's like riding a 40 pound 4" downhill bike If you're tired, technical climbing and climbing in general become harder due to the extra weight, but not a huge deal. Hike a Bike can be brutal. Plus the more you eat, the lighter the load gets MSR water filter( which has broken for the second time) for water. Bought some at the Tramway market, love that place!
Freeze dried dinners unpacked and then vacuum packed to make them smaller for dinner, instant oatmeal for dinner. No racer boy stuff when your touring, although I did take 4 days worth of Recoverite. Self supported racing is a whole other beast......
Where did you find the saddle bag(s)?
Those are Carousel Design Works in front and Revelate designs in back. High quality stuff for not a ton of money.
But was it therapeutic? Have you punished yourself enough yet to get over it?
Neither, which is good, since I wasn't looking for either. I used to race a lot and was pretty good at it, I still do occasionally, but this type of riding appeals to me more these days. Self supported racing, ala Tour Divide, Colorado Trail Race and such are the places I try to punish myself at. Finding the time and mental strength to do them lately has been really hard though, some people thrive on conflict and pain, I'm not one of those people. I do this stuff quite often if time permits. I just can't usually find the time to write about the adventure, plus you all would get bored if I wrote about it every time
Amazing journey Sean, I hope the mountains brought you some much needed solace and peace.
That is what I generally find on these trips. Sorry to have missed you Jeff, I saw you as well. I also saw Wherewolf and his riding partner on Spooner. I was not in a good place and felt bad for not stopping to talk to them, it wasn't till I saw their post that I realized it was them. I hate that climb to the bench for some reason and the rain the day before had rubbed my ass raw. No chamois butter at the Spooner bike shop left me in a foul mood. I must have looked like someone shot my puppy when they told me they didn't have any....
Someone on the the comments section of the feature story sounded as if this was some sort of adventure that he could never do. Anyone of you could do this or your own version of it. Whatever you think is epic or adventuresome is exactly that, yours and yours alone.
Like I said, I do this and other stupid stuff often enough that it seems somewhat normal, in fact my happiness depends on adventures like these. Hopefully you can find happiness in your next adventure