Who wants to ride Toad's on Labor Day (9/5)?

[Superstar Punani]

Car shuttles from 89/Waterhouse.

So far it's me, the Dirty Aussie, and maybe WSD. Anyone around South Lake this long weekend?

[Arty50]

Hit Toads and Gnardanelles last Sunday. Fuck, I was tiiiiired after that. Anyway, the trails are in great shape right now. Get sum while it's good.

[NorCalSJK]

I might be down...i don't have a DH specific bike, i'm assuming my Prophet(6"front/6"rear) should be enough? Any thoughts...Arty? SuPu?
BTW, i rode Downieville on my Stumpjumper HT...so, my Prophet is damn "squishy" for me.

[Superstar Punani]

I've done toads on my piece of shit with 4" of front/rear travel.

Also I heard it rained recently so the sandy shit should be packed down.

[Kellie]

37% chance I'll be there . . . may be down to shuttle . . .

[Arty50]

Also I heard it rained recently so the sandy shit should be packed down.

Last weekend, it was barely sandy at all. Really just perfect conditions.

I might be down...i don't have a DH specific bike, i'm assuming my Prophet(6"front/6"rear) should be enough? Any thoughts...Arty? SuPu?

6" is plenty. I ride both trails on my 5 Spot (5/5). Hardrider used to ride both on an old GT hardtail with 1-2" fork. The more squish the better, but 6" will be great.

These are two of Tahoe's more challenging trails, and two of the most fun. Enjoy!

[Telenater]

Whaaaaaaa, I want to ride.....
T-minus 2 months till I'm off restricted activities.....

Have fun. I'm so unbelievably jealous that it's making me want to beat my head against a wall.

Edit: I've ridden it quite a few times on my 3 inch travel bike. 6 would be wonderful.

[lph]

you can ride toad's on HT, no problem, 5" is perfect for toads.

norcal, it really isn't that tough, there are some spots, but 95% of it is rideable or almost any level and it is fun for the whole family. it is tougher than downieville, but also a helluva alot more fun.

it is sandy at spots, but really both rides are so much damned fun, it really doesn't matter. I think Arty is finally getting used to the sand if he isn't bitching about it like last year.

(and NO you may not ask why i am posting when i should be in Lenas--put it this way I am an idiot and my idiocy will cost me a full day, hopefully all will go smooth from here on out and i will only be a day late. )

[Superstar Punani]

you can ride toad's on HT, no problem, 5" is perfect for toads.

norcal, it really isn't that tough, there are some spots, but 95% of it is rideable or almost any level and it is fun for the whole family. it is tougher than downieville, but also a helluva alot more fun.

it is sandy at spots, but really both rides are so much damned fun, it really doesn't matter. I think Arty is finally getting used to the sand if he isn't bitching about it like last year.

(and NO you may not ask why i am posting when i should be in Lenas--put it this way I am an idiot and my idiocy will cost me a full day, hopefully all will go smooth from here on out and i will only be a day late. )

Shouldn't you be in Lenas?

[divegirl]

It's a possibility, SuPu. Lego and I were going to ride Mt Lola Peak North of Truckee on Monday. I haven't mtn biked much this summer (boooo to me) so I have a question for you: can a jong do Toads?? Lego, on the other hand, is fully ready to mtn. bike. No jumps, though!!

[Superstar Punani]

I'm planning to get 2 rides in. One will be around 9-10am starting across H20house, and the second will be around 2-3pm.

Mon start time depends on how much I get fucked up at my buddy's wedding on Sunday.

So far...WSD (1 run only), Me and Dirty Aussie (2 shuttle runs) are in.

[Arty50]

(and NO you may not ask why i am posting when i should be in Lenas--put it this way I am an idiot and my idiocy will cost me a full day, hopefully all will go smooth from here on out and i will only be a day late. )

If you need a ride to Lenas, Foggy and I are catching a Land Rover shuttle on Sunday.

Slacker. You missed your flight, didn't you? Or you booked wrong. Or you and Squirrel got fucked in customs in Santiago and are going gambling, womanizing, and drinking esta noche in Mendoza.

[Darkside]

Fuck, I gotta work, how about Sunday?

[lph]

WSD here....

I'm hoping to still be in for a Monday am ride. I'm feeling pretty miserable right now - swollen tonsils and post nasal drip and all that yummy fun stuff. I'm laying low today to get better!

Norcal - the first time I did Toads was on a hard tail with very little front suspension. You'll be fine without a DH bike.

Sunday morning edit: still feeling like absolute crap. Unless I make a miracle recovery, I'm out for tomorrow. Blah.

[lph]

If you need a ride to Lenas, Foggy and I are catching a Land Rover shuttle on Sunday.

Slacker. You missed your flight, didn't you? Or you booked wrong. Or you and Squirrel got fucked in customs in Santiago and are going gambling, womanizing, and drinking esta noche in Mendoza.

yup, spaced on the time change in SLC, missed the atlanta flight and that has simply screwed everything up. i am not really sure what day it is, i thinkit is friday, no it is saturday (god i feel like shit) i am gonna try and catch the bus out of mendoza tomorrow morning so ican skithe afternoon. however, my lack of adequate spanish, andthe fact that i am 15 minutes from the bus station makes theidea of catching a 6am bus seem unlikely ashell. so far this hasbeen the trip from hell, as i have donenothing but sitin airports, crappy hotels and eaten shitty food.

hopefully the snow will bedecent when i finally get there.

gotta go back tomendoza airport to pick up my skis which didn´t arrive with me.

[watersnowdirt]

Sorry I missed the Toads laps. Still felt like dogpoo this morning and all day. Give me the update so I can bang my head against a wall for being sick all weekend!

[Superstar Punani]

HOLYFUCKING SHIT!!!

It was as fun as it was painful. I used my 661 knee and shin guards and chest/back protector for the first time. I have never gotten my ass handed too many so many times in one day, and I am fucking hurting.

There's something about armor that lulls you into a false sense of security. The morning lap started around 10:30 yesterday. As we bombed through the rocky sketchy technical section near the top, I found out the hard way that my rear discs weren't working due to a certain Dirty Aussie tooling with it just before the ride. He basically did the same thing that fucked me over in Skegg's not too long ago, the difference being Skeggs has a lot of thick bush (I love thick bush) and soft greenery, not Toad's sharp granite, boulders and multiple drops.

I dropped some shit and made the mistake of fingering the front brake. Next thing I was flying through the air, then I see ground, then blue sky, then big rocks, then sky, then a flash, then shooting stars, then hear a crack, and another and came to rest in a big cloud of dust with shooting stars everywhere. My bell was rung. Hard. My 661 knee/shin guard bore scratches that saved my kneecap and leg from a world of pain.

The Dirty Aussie redeems himself by fixing the brakes....this time he swapped out the front and rear pads so now my front discs were useless, and soon I found myself skidding the back out, fishtailing and getting my ass kicked again on the next turn. We cleared the rest of the technical part and mached through the Jedi forest at full speed. The lower section was a little sandy but it felt like doing a pow turn and getting a face shot of dirt

It was fuckin SWEEEET!!! We had the whole place to ourselves. The trail spat us back out at MEyers. We piled in the truck, went up to Waterhouse to get my truck then back down to Meyers. Grabbed a Lira's tri tip sandwich with extra jalapeno and cheese washed down by a 64 oz gatorade, then it was game on for the afternoon.

The 2nd lap started around 3pm. Little Red Riding pants was asleep on his couch so my calls to get his ass up there went unheeded. He's probably dreaming of pow, or having nightmares of getting chased by half of South Lake Tahoe's cougar population.

The second climb was brutal on a full stomach. I was squeezing my ass shut hoping that the jalapenos will wait until after the ride to unleash their fury. We got to the top exhausted and ready for naptime. Just as I sat down the Dirty Aussie threw the gauntlet down and was off.

So I thought I learned from mistakes in the previous lap- what lines to pick, what shit to avoid and whatever. As I'm smokin down the first portion of the tech section a rock ran out in front of me and made me eat an unbelievable amount of shit. This time I endoed, then took the impact of that fucking rock with my chin, before I bounced down a rock staircase. Not wanting to lose too much time, I grabbed my bike, got on it at a steep section and as soon as I pushed off the ledge my rear tire locked up, and the sudden stop sent me on my 2,317th endo of the day. WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?!?!?!?

When I picked up my bike I realized that the piece of shit Shitmano derraileur had gone through the piece of shit spokes of my piece of shit rear wheel and there I was stuck with a useless piece of shit. I let out an Ogre-esque GRRRRRRRRR!!!!! before grabbing the piece of shit derrailleur and pulled it back through the spokes. Somehow that worked and I was rolling again.

I could hear the Dirty Aussie mocking and taunting me from far below so I had to pick up the pace. I cleared the next section of drops. I figured that I've eaten enough shit for today and that it was all behind me. I thought wrong.

As I hit the next staircase section I rounded the right hand corner and found a gaggle of gapers having a lunchbreak and eating their sandwiches on the rockiest section of the technical part that has kicked my ass many times over today....FUCKING SANDWICHES!!!! ...IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING TRAIL!!! ...ON A BLIND FUCKING CORNER!!!! GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!

All I could see was the whites of their eyes and their gaping mouths full of half-chewed BLTs as I did a quick course correction to avoid mowing them down like Tiananmen Square protestors. Pretty soon enough I was in he Superman position, which I've now gotten used to, staring at an LZ of rocks and boulders and other hard shit. I got slammed down onto the nearest boulder and took the brunt on my 661 knee-shin guard....Owww ow owow . FUCK! I swear my tibia would have snapped like a toothpick if it wasn't for my 661 knee/shin protector that I got for $19.95 at the sierratradingpost.

I can't believe I had escaped grievous bodily harm. I swear there's a patron saint for MTB JONGS working overtime up there yesterday to keep me in one piece. I seriously would have brnken bones if it weren't for my 661 knee/shin guards and chest/back protector. 661 rules and I will plug them wherever 661 I 661 can 661.

When the dust cleared I couldn't stop laughing imagining what it must have looked like. The Dirty Aussie was actually becoming increasingly concerned for my welfare at this point and wouldn't let me out of his sight for the rest of the ride.

With the technical section over we careened through the jedi forest faster than before and ended up in Meyers close to 6. Then it was time for beer and barbecues.

Man it was so much fun. Body Armor rules because you can do stupid shit and not get too fucked up!

[NorCalSJK]

GREAT TR...haha...maybe it's a good thing i stayed at home with the family and changed dirty diapers all day, less carnage. I too pimp the 661 and it has saved my A** numerous times. Glad you made it through in one piece(semi).

[Kellie]

That was the funniest TR I've read in awhile! I think I need 661 armor . . .

[watersnowdirt]

hahahahaha! that's a great TR. Sounds like I missed some serious pain/comedy. After all, nothing induces side splitting laughter like some good endos!

[LIP]

I've done toads on my piece of shit with 4" of front/rear travel.

Also I heard it rained recently so the sandy shit should be packed down.

You don't need no stinking big travel bike, or even a soft-tail for that matter. Did and loved it dozens of time on my hardtail when I lived there!!!!!!

[Sierra Cement]

. You shuttlers would love Hawley Grade, no Climbs at all. Great to do if you coming in on 50 with time to ride. Right before you take the big left which heads downhill on 50 into the Basin there is a fireroad to the right that leads to some forest service cabins.

Be fuggin' careful crossing Hwy 50 at this turn if you ride up the old Meyers grade. I almost got tooled as I crossed the highway with plenty space...I thought.... until this crazy lady came screaming up towards the pass with no intention of slowing down at all for my pedaling ass. (It's the end of the passing lane, so maybe that contributed to her speed). Those burly first steps seemed like a safe haven after that episode.