team jenson has short names

my baby fit got her first taste of east LA on saturday, when jen and i headed out to claremont & mt baldy road with a group led by the jenson usa team (tim, rod, & rudy). ray and guy were two other peeps i met, but our group was about 12-13 people large, so i wasn't able to get everyone's info.



the ride was called the "Claremont/Potato Mtn./Marshall Canyon loops", though most of us just looked at potato mtn rather than riding it. these trails involved a lot of fire road climbing and "singletrack" that was more like skinny fire roads. the terrain felt like a bmx dirt jump course, but with lower and more spaced out bumps. loose, sometimes poofy dirt made it hard to go dangerously fast (and to see clearly), but it was a fun ride. definitely good for showing wary first-timers how it's done. no scary technical descents or rocky uphills.

we did about 12 miles, with a fair amount of elevation gain. halfway through the ride, 3 brave souls from our group bombed a steep squishy loose rugged eroded downhill that had no visible lines.



all three made it down safely, thanks to our cheering & hootin' & hollerin' & picture-takin', of course. later on we also saw three deer chomping away on the veg no less than 50 yards from us. they didn't bolt even when a horse came clomping through the clearing. beautiful day too. not too hot, barely a chilled breeze, and amazing views of the surrounding mountains.



big props to the 13-yr old kid riding a single-speed 49-lb downhill bike. and to his brakeless younger brother. and their supportive bike-obsessed dad. my kids will definitely learn to bike before they learn to walk.

what? biking makes you go faster! zoom zoom...

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directions to marshall canyon loops:
210N to exit 52 (baseline road)
turn left onto baseline road
turn right onto mills ave
parking lot is at the corner of mills ave & mt baldy road
the parking lot entrance is on mills ave, you don't need to turn onto mt baldy road

about 1 hour from west LA
google maps
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