GORC Road Trip - Sun Valley,
Idaho : August 2003
Riding High in Idaho
as written/reported by Matt Hayes to the best of his knowledge.
Facts might be inaccurate here or there...
Photo gallery for those
who prefer pictures over words
Partakers in the quest to bring some STL hi jinx to the
high country:
Scott Whitaker, Mike Donais, John Donjoian, Matt Hayes,
Doug Smith and Matt Stenberg from St. Louis
Scott Nelson, formerly from St. Louis, now in Park City,
Utah.
Doug Wright from Durango, Colorado.
Idaho IMBA rep: Harley Pearson
Former IMBA Trail Care Crew, Rich and Jen Edwards
Saturday August 2, 2003
We
come out into a beautiful high altitude valley. Harley
tells us it's being threatened by the Wilderness Act.
Over half of this trail would be off-limits, including
this mesmerizing field of wildflowers. Over a mile and
a half long and half a mile wide, surrounded by mountains,
I've never seen anything like it.
After getting through the field, we drop (!) again and
pass a swift waterfall. We haven't climbed for over an
hour - definitely not St. Louis riding. Harley leads us
into second half of the trail and it rides more like Missouri
- rocky and semi-technical (a combo of Castlewood and
Chubb). Johnny D, GORC pimp extraordinaire, leads into
the switchbacks. His front Avid disc locks up a bit, checks
it out, starts out - boom, he endos onto his head/face.
He's fine but the helmet died. Idaho has taken its first
victim - but he's not the last.
Nearing
the last hour it begins raining - a cold rain. We hold
our own and complete the Sunday Epic intact. 21+ ? miles.
A shuttle picks our tired bodies up and drives an hour
back to the trailhead. Beer is passed around and it is
good.
Monday, August 4th, 2003 : Up, and Up and Up
and Damn! Up!?
This ride starts on the road and ends on the road. Today
we will do 33 miles. Ketchum has a sweet bike path network
for miles along its roads - we ride 10+ miles before we
turn up the gulch to our trailhead. We climb for about
an 45 minutes on tarmac and then head up onto scrub mountains.
Tons of suns today, no shade, heavy sunscreen recommended.
This climb is brutal. Everyone is feeling it. Mike Donais
who had broken his collarbone 6 weeks prior was carrying
himself quite well despite the circumstances. We climbed
9+ miles continuous (maybe more - I forget). Up and Up,
steeper and steeper, it's not letting up. John Donjoian
begins pulling away from both Matt's and leads to the
top.
The
downhill on this run is fast and somewhat sketchy. Loose
and gravelly from motocrossers we haul ass through switchbacks
and whoops. It's so dusty there's mud in my mouth and
I can't see the ground where my tires are headed. I'm
using up way too much karma on this ride.
We run into a herd of sheep in the middle of nowhere!
Hundreds of sheep are clogging the trail and the hispanic
farmer doesn't seem to care. He tells us to just push
forward and they'll get out of the way. We parted the
great sea of sheep and continued onward downhill.
Again John goes down. He was out front so no one saw
it. He said it happened too quick when his pedal hit a
rock. Nothing serious, we finish out the trail by crossing
the gulch creek over 10 times. The trail ends at the warm
springs. The frigid creek has two natural warm water springs
that people chill out in. Doug Wright is a water nut (sea
otter?) and doesn't want to leave.
Doug Smith, Matt n Matt and John head out on the road
back. We draft a semi and keep a 23-26 mile pace all the
way back to the house. What a way to end a killer ride.
Tuesday, August 5th, 2003 : Bike Death or Death
Ride?
Today the crew splits up. Scott, Mike, Doug Smith head
out to do an easier loop without so much climbing. Turns
out that their ride is just as tough as the other ride
that Matt, John, Doug Wright and Matt Stenberg go on.
They are doing Chocolate Gulch. The ride is awesome until
we climb switchback after switchback. We meet an original
mountain biker out there still on his rigid steel hardtail.
He's 50 something and keeping pace with us.
Stenberg begins pulling away from Matt, Doug and Pimp
Daddy. Hayes says hell no and kicks his Giant NRS into
2-1 mode and catches up. At the top the view is incredible.
Matt notices his Rockshit Duke is leaking oil like an
old tanker. Oh well, at least it still bounces.
We end the ride with a fast and swoopy stretch along
scrub brush hill sides. Speeds close to 30mph are achieve
and brakes are beginning to smell. Life is good.
The
crew meets up at the pad and swaps stories. Turns out
Scott put the hurt on the Ellsworth by pulling a JRA (just
riding along) and cracks, no strike that - completely
separates, his seat tube. The bike is dead. Time to rent
a Kona Dawg. Scott likes it so much that he buys it! Time
to drain the keg Mike Donais purchased for us. He's alright
in my book.
Wednesday, August 6th, 2003 : Fisher Creek Revisited
Scott Nelson meets up with us and we tackle the other
half of Fisher creek. He is riding Spot the single-minded
singlespeed. He is a monster and climbs the whole 7 mile
ascent. Matt Hayes reaches the top in 54 minutes, the
best time. He climbs without dabbing the whole thing.
He had a score to settle with that mountain.
We
re ride the rollercoaster downhill, faster this time.
Faster, faster. No one crashes. Now we ride the new section
and climb again. Scott is leading us on the uno gear.
Matt's fork is still crying like a little beyatch.
Awesome ride, one of the best of the week. The keg must
die today. Not a problem with GORC.
Tonight we party. The goal - get Stenberg trashed - at
The Casino.
Mission accomplished after he begins craving food and
seeking out fast food Jack in the Box in a town with NO
fast food joints. The vodka makes him slightly scary to
me. Very solemn, gotta watch the quiet ones. Matt Hayes
again has too many Long Island Teas. The Casino treats
us well. Good night.
Thursday, August 7th, 2003 : Gotta do your own
Thang
The crew splits up again. John, Matt H, Scott N and Doug
W decide to ride the pain train and do a 26-30 miler to
end on the week of epics.
Mike,
Scott W, Doug S, and Matt S all decide to try downhilling
on Bald Mountain.
Sidenote: Weird ass trip - Everyone has similar first
names except for John and Mike -
Scott Nelson, Scott Whitaker
Matt
Stenberg, Matt Hayes
Doug Smith, Doug Wright
John Donjoian
Mike Donais
Weird stuff. Anyway, the downhill according to Scott
W is "f'kin incredible" and he ranks it as one
of the best rides all week.
Meanwhile,
the pain train is climbing and then walking double black
diamond uphills. Holy shizzle, we end up walking the gulch
for about 2 hours until we reach the summit. The last
100 feet is straight up the fall line, probably 25-30
degrees. But it's a postcard view! We ride to the base
and are all feeling it. We stop for a crash junk food
lunch at a lone gas station supposedly where Marilyn Monroe
filmed "Bus Stop"
Six hours later we're finished. Finished in all aspects
of the word.
Tonight we party. Again. The Roosevelt bar has good jammin'
rap and dance mixes. Free beer for an hour. Good enough
for GORC.
Friday, August 8th, 2003 : Quickie Downhill
We need to prep our bikes for shipping and prepare to
leave at the crack of dawn. It's Doug Smith's 30th birthday
so we gotta celebrate. Everyone is completely shattered
from the daily epics. But someone spreads the word of
just one more downhill on Bald Mountain. We didn't come
all the way up here to blow a day without riding, right?
Hell no!
We
pay our $15 for the ski lift up. An hour later we're heading
down the 9 mile downhill. The run condensed:
First couple of miles are on side slope of mountain with
lots of exposure. 25+ mph.
Scott gets a flat, then this spare shreds while pumping
it up.
Ride more and get into the forest. Dusty!
Matt H gets a flat.
Ride uphill on the downhill, ironic, but it doesn't last
too long.
John D gets a flat. The sharp rock is brutal.
Switchbacks catch a few off guard and then we find the
flow.
The ride ends almost in back of our house. Takes about
45 minutes to do - give or take a flat.
Time to prep the bikes. Riding time is over.
John, Doug and Scott head out to celebrate Doug's birthday.
The rest of us are destroyed from the week of heavenly
riding.
Saturday, August 9th, 2003 - Homeward Bound
We
leave around 5 am to head back to Salt Lake. I know I'm
gonna miss Ketchum. We get on the plane and come home.
145+ miles
The end as I remember it...
