I was a road cyclist for everything in my adult life. In fact, it was the love of the same road bike that caused my career change from the music world to the owner of the bike shop. For centuries for centuries for centuries over the centuries for centuries for centuries for centuries for centuries for centuries for centuries for centuries for centuries for 20 years. Structured races are not included. I can count the number of times I've done my neighbor mountain bike many times with both hands. My total time from the road has doubled.
I have recently contacted my long friend. Someone shared a lot of difficult prolonged roads. He was as passionate as mountain cycling and told many things about his experience on Catalina Island. There, taking vacation three or four times a year, I mount the mountain bike deep into the island. For people not familiar with Catalonia, it is 24 miles away from the coast of Southern California. This is the largest one among the chain of barrier islands known as Channel Islands. Catalunya is the only one in the Channel Islands with a permanent population. The whole island was owned at once by Wimligley and was the owner of Gum's fame and destiny. He founded the town of Avalon, making it the best resort in Southern California. Popular bands in their thirties and forties were hosted in the famous casino as the main highlights of Catalonia's architecture. Today, most of the islands are nature conservation activities, except for Avalon, Twin Habbers' small village and airport.
You can ride a bike across the island, but because the road is dirt that is largely inadequately maintained, you must have a mountain bike. You also need to purchase an annual pass. My friend invited me a ferry for Catalina on Sunday and told me to have an island bicycle tour. He told me that it was really a hill, but I thought I could manage it. This brought me a dilemma. I was on many roads and had a pretty good shape, but I was worried about my mountain bike skills and the necessary durability. Shawn Charlton, the service manager of my shop, is a serious and highly skilled mountain biker. He suggested that I take a hard tail 29er for my trip. This is a motorcycle that has a front suspension but is not behind. Since we are mainly in the vicinity, there is no need for extra control by the rear shock. Even without the rear suspension mechanism, you will lose weight of the bicycle with some efficiency. Mountain bikes equipped with 29-inch wheels are highly reliable new products. It is not a technical single track.
For my adventure, I chose Specialized Stumpjumper Hardtail Comp 29er. Stumpjumper is the highest peak of three specialized hard tail mountain bikes, including Rockhopper and Hardrock. Comp is an entry level 29er of the Stumpjumper series. It has a 90 mm RockShox Reba front fork (29ers front end is in a rather high position so 29ers is less moving than the equivalent 26 inch model). Roll up SRAM 10 x 3 speed drive train and Avid Elixer SL hydraulic disc brake package. Fortunately for me, this bike really climbs really well for ultra light alloy frames and large wheels.
This is one of the most breathtaking rides I have ever done for both difficult climbing and incredibly beautiful scenery. Of course, my business is in the wonderful landscape of Palos Verdes, I did a lot more than I was there, so I was familiar with the beautiful scenery. We began with the ferry dog and tourists climbing from the town of Avalon where they are lying on the smallest beach in the world. That first rise was an elevation rise of about 1500 & # 39; at 2 miles! I was able to instantly lock out the front shock with a dial flip. Efficiency improved a bit more at a steep climb. After running a few miles on the paved road, we took a muddy road and hit the first big downhill. I canceled the front shock and let it rip. The bicycle handled all the unevenness and loose dirt easily, and I was able to fly just under the hill. We passed through an old abandoned hunting lodge, watching rare Catalina Island Fox, seeing sanctuary of extinctive eagle whose species were saved from extinction after most DDT pollution has been wiped away went to.
We encountered the following rugged climate. At the summit there was a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Ocean on the upwind side of the island. Another steep downhill took us to the water. And we went through Little Harbor which is an almost unmanned cave where the boat can tie. Next, a steep climb continued, overlooking Isthmus which is a flat area connecting half of the two mountains of the island to the summit, bridging the land below the mile width on the upwind side and the leeward side of Catalina. We were watching several flocks of Buffaloes (Bison) on the island from a distance, but the gorges had a huge one. I was able to get in about 15 feet and snap some pictures.
I went around a small village in Twin Habbers in the canyon, walked down about the site of the retreat in the northern half of the island that I visited rarely and walked for about 30 minutes. I am hungry now, so I had lunch at Twin Havers. Hamburger was never very good! After lunch, we returned and started the way we came. Unfortunately, another huge mountaineering trace back to the mountain and returned to Little Harbor. Until now we have climbed about 6,000 feet and my legs are starting to feel everything. Fortunately, the Stumpjumper played beautifully with big wheels and hydraulic brakes shaking something on that road and gave greater control and confidence at the fast downhill of the lightning bolt. The most difficult part is over, but I was rude shocked.
At Little Harbor, we turned to another on a muddy road leading us to the Catalina airport at one of the highest points on the island. My companion stopped stopping me to the high mountain top in the distance. He pointed out what looks like a flat saddle just down from the peak and said it was the airport runway. I turned the Stumpjumper into the sky and saw a place that looked like hours as if it was slowly crawling towards that place. When we seemed to be nearly at the top, the road suddenly turned down to the right and kept us away from the airport. We took the working horse farm El Rancho Escondido founded by Wrigleys, where champion Arabian horses are raised. We passed past pastures and began climbing again and finally wrapped around the mountain next to the airport before we finally got off to the airport. That was one of the toughest climbs I have done so far.
From the Little Harbor to the airport, there was a loose stain with a height of about 2,000 feet, 7 miles. I had to stop several times on the way to catch my breath, but a big 29 inch wheel gave me all the mechanical advantages, I could make it without walking all the time. We left the airport at 4 o'clock. It saved an hour to return to Avalon before the sun danced. Fortunately, because it was paved, we had a pretty good time. We got dark in 3 minutes, 5:15 before 5 o'clock. My body and stamp jumpers towed 51 mph at an elevation angle of over 8,000 feet. It is one of the most difficult rides of my life. And how can we test the bike?
