A day on the Rubicon with Butch

[sbechtold]

Hi All. FNG here, but not new to riding or forums. I frequently ride with Butch and we decided it was time to ride the Rubicon and check that item off the Bucket List. I'm an avid offroader and I've run the Rubicon numerous times in my crawler and always wondered about riding my bike through. Butch, my buddy Jim and I had an epic time riding the Rubicon yesterday.

I did not take as many pictures as I would have liked, but here are few...

At the Loon Lake spillway getting ready for the day. I think Butch's comment was how difficult could this really be...?

Into the trail about 2.0 miles near Ellis Creek and Butch is still thinking it's easy.

Jim catching up at Ellis Creek after fighting is carb issues. He got them straightened out.

We hit the first real rock gardens just past Spider Lake and the Little Sluice Box, then decided to take a break. Butch was mumbling profanities at this point, but nothing too terrible.

We motored down the slabs and into Buck Island Lake where we decided food and hydration were in order.

 

[sbechtold]

We left Buck and headed for Rubicon Springs. The major obstacle that I was concerned with was Big Sluice, but it turned out that gravity was our friend on the way down. More the the way back up later.

Top of Big Sluice looking down.

We made it to the Rubicon Bridge and took the obligatory first time crossing pictures.

We cruised through the springs headed for Cadillac Hill. We made it up Cadillac Hill and decided to stop and have lunch at Observation point.

Can you say tired? Oh wait, you mean we have to ride back?

We finished lunch and headed back toward Loon Lake. On our way we ran into a group of guys on quads that came in from the Tahoe side.

Butch and Jim making slow progress trying to reach Big Sluice on the way up.

 

[sbechtold]

Jim cresting Big Sluice and looking for a line though the boulders.

We took our last break just above Buck Island. Then motored back to Loon pretty much straight through. A few obstacles on the way back slowed us down, but we pretty much rolled right through on the way back.

And, lastly here is a video of Butch coming up Big Sluice. Coming up wasn't nearly as bad as I had originally thought.

[youtube]TRcOrqwGcds[/youtube]

All in all it was a great time and I'm looking forward to riding it again.

 

[}Dragon{]

x10 Nice pix.

 

[2strokeYardSale]

(Jim on Yamaha)
Rubicon with jeans and sneakers, wow.

 

[-Gilly-]

cool pics. I did that *once* on a quad, I'll never do it again!

 

[2nsane]

OPEN UP that TWO STROKE man, going to load it up and faul a plug

 

[brprider]

looks good great pics guys...

 

[WoodsChick]

Excellent story and photos! Welcome to the forum, sbechtold. It's nice to have you and your storytelling here. Thanks for taking Butch out and showing him what real riding is all about



WoodsChick

 

[SLOryder]

that looks awesome! I'd love to do that ride! How long of a ride is it? Is it a defined trail, or better to go with someone that knows it?

 

[sbechtold]

Excellent story and photos! Welcome to the forum, sbechtold. It's nice to have you and your storytelling here. Thanks for taking Butch out and showing him what real riding is all about
WoodsChick

Thanks!

that looks awesome! I'd love to do that ride! How long of a ride is it? Is it a defined trail, or better to go with someone that knows it?

Definitely go with someone that knows the trail. There are a few areas where the trail is difficult to follow and there is a good chance that you'd miss the trail if you've never been on it before. The trail is 18 miles one way from Loon Lake to Tahoe. The last ~8 miles from Observation point to Lake Tahoe are flat and very few rocks and really not worth riding unless you want to say you rode every inch of the trail. We rode from Loon Lake to Observation point and back and it was 21 miles round trip.

 

[WoodsChick]

We left Buck and headed for Rubicon Springs. The major obstacle that I was concerned with was Big Sluice, but it turned out that gravity was our friend on the way down. More the the way back up later.

Top of Big Sluice looking down.

The photo above (2nd one in the quoted post) reminds me of Thompson Hill on the Dusy Ershim Trail. The backsides of all the trees are scarred from Jeeps winching themselves up the hill.


WoodsChick

 

[Butch]

that looks awesome! I'd love to do that ride! How long of a ride is it? Is it a defined trail, or better to go with someone that knows it?

Sol (sbechtold) has the telemetry, but we rode like ten miles from Loon Lake to Cadillac hill and back in a little over 2 hours riding time. The time wrestling bikes didn't count in that. So that's 10 mph while rolling with the motor running...

That took eight hours. Only as much time resting as we needed. Actually not enough.

The trial is pretty obvious, though many times there are many different paths to take to get to the same place. Big help to have someone who knows where the nasties are, and how to bypass.

I think. I've only done it once. Twice if you count the return trip.

 

[WoodsChick]

Hi, Butch

So when do we get your ride report?

Did you like it? Are rocks your thing? Are you looking forward to doing it again?

Details, man!



RockChick

 

[Butch]

Hi, Butch

So when do we get your ride report?

Did you like it? Are rocks your thing? Are you looking forward to doing it again?

Details, man!



RockChick

What?!? Dont' the pics tell the story?
I HATE ROCKS!!! It was one of the funnest days of my life!
I will do it again on a motorcycles if i can get a trials bike. Too brutal on a MX bike.

It was a tremendous experience. With just a hint of danger.

 

[sbechtold]

What?!? Dont' the pics tell the story?
I HATE ROCKS!!! It was one of the funnest days of my life!
I will do it again on a motorcycles if i can get a trials bike. Too brutal on a MX bike.

It was a tremendous experience. With just a hint of danger.

Next time we'll take the crawler and you can experience it from the passenger seat.

 

[WoodsChick]

What?!? Dont' the pics tell the story?
I HATE ROCKS!!! It was one of the funnest days of my life!
I will do it again on a motorcycles if i can get a trials bike. Too brutal on a MX bike.

It was a tremendous experience. With just a hint of danger.

Sounds to me like you're ready to hit up the Dusy Ershim now
I just wanted to hear how it went in your own words.

Is your bike actually set up for the MX track or is it set up for trailriding? I've found that lowering the gearing and making sure your jetting is spot-on will make the rocks much easier to manage. Do you have an 18" rear wheel? If so, a trials tire will make you feel like the King of the Rubicon...no kidding!arty

I used to hate rocks, too, but the more I ride them the more I enjoy them. I think it's an acquired taste


WoodsChick

 

[Butch]

Sounds to me like you're ready to hit up the Dusy Ershim now
I just wanted to hear how it went in your own words.

Is your bike actually set up for the MX track or is it set up for trailriding? I've found that lowering the gearing and making sure your jetting is spot-on will make the rocks much easier to manage. Do you have an 18" rear wheel? If so, a trials tire will make you feel like the King of the Rubicon...no kidding!arty

I used to hate rocks, too, but the more I ride them the more I enjoy them. I think it's an acquired taste


WoodsChick

I need to gear the KTM down for this shit, and yes I have an 18" wheel, and I will prolly buy a trials tire next. The ATK is much better for going slow, but it is er, sick. I can stop and chug away on that puppy.

Dusy Ershim, yes. Sol would be up for it too.
You be the guide?

 

[sbechtold]

Dusy Ershim, yes. Sol would be up for it too.
You be the guide?

Road trip! If Dusy hasn't been closed yet it probably will be closed soon as they have already had a small amount of snow. Dusy would be a blast on a bike. Just let me know when. I can probably get another buddy to join us as well.

 

[WoodsChick]

Road trip! If Dusy hasn't been closed yet it probably will be closed soon as they have already had a small amount of snow. Dusy would be a blast on a bike. Just let me know when. I can probably get another buddy to join us as well.

Dusy is closed already. I really wanted to do it again this summer but a broken ankle put the screws to that idea...quite literally. It's a total blast on a bike...I don't know about a 4-wheeled vehicle, though I think I'd be scared Have you done it on 4 wheels, Sol?



WoodsChick

 

[WoodsChick]

I need to gear the KTM down for this shit, and yes I have an 18" wheel, and I will prolly buy a trials tire next. The ATK is much better for going slow, but it is er, sick. I can stop and chug away on that puppy.

Dusy Ershim, yes. Sol would be up for it too.
You be the guide?

I'd love to be the guide, but I'm guessing it'll be a long while until I'm ready for that sort of pounding. I just missed 4 months of work due to a mangled ankle. I'm just now putting around carefully on my 610, and the very thought of grinding my way through rocks kind of makes my stomach queasy. I'll get back to it as soon as I can, though.

A trials tire shines in the rocks, for sure. It's perfect for picking your way through the nasty. The uber-traction you get from a rear trials tire also helps to loft the front (along with the aforementioned lower gearing and spot-on jetting) over the big rocks, ledges and step-ups. You'll be transformed into the Rubicon Slayer

I had a boyfriend that had a plated ATK 406 back in the day. That thing was an astonishingly fun ride around Lake Merritt



WoodsChick

 

[sbechtold]

Dusy is closed already. I really wanted to do it again this summer but a broken ankle put the screws to that idea...quite literally. It's a total blast on a bike...I don't know about a 4-wheeled vehicle, though I think I'd be scared Have you done it on 4 wheels, Sol?
WoodsChick

Kind of thought it might be closed already. I have not had a chance to run it yet. I was supposed to run it about 4 weeks ago after we did the Hammers down in Johnson Valley, but my schedule did not work with the trip schedule. The trail is supposed to be a blast on 4 wheels, so I can only imagine it on 2 wheels. Based on pictures I've seen of Dusy, I assume Dusy is easier on 2 wheels then the Rubicon.

 

[WoodsChick]

Kind of thought it might be closed already. I have not had a chance to run it yet. I was supposed to run it about 4 weeks ago after we did the Hammers down in Johnson Valley, but my schedule did not work with the trip schedule. The trail is supposed to be a blast on 4 wheels, so I can only imagine it on 2 wheels. Based on pictures I've seen of Dusy, I assume Dusy is easier on 2 wheels then the Rubicon.

I'm not sure if it's easier than the Rubicon or not. I'm sure some parts of it are. What makes the Dusy difficult is that the whole 30+ miles of the trail are at high elevation, mostly between 9000' and 10000', with an elevation gain/loss of over 1700'. I think the Rubicon tops out at a little under 6800' with a gain/loss of about 700' or so? Huge difference, at least for this sea-level dweller There are no easy go-arounds for the obstacles, either. It's not as open as the Rubicon and there are no bail-out routes. You either forge ahead to the finish or you turn around and go out the way you came in, one entry and one exit. Of course, that's what makes it so scenic-it's surrounded by wilderness. A lot of the trail is easy, but there are a few tough spots that make up for it in short order

Here is a ride report I did a few months ago...
http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=257985

There is a link in the first post to the first ride report I did on the Dusy. It has much prettier pictures, and more of them, and represents the trail much better, whereas the 2nd report I did has much better photos of Thompson Hill. No photos do any trail justice, though...



WoodsChick

 

[budman]

Very cool ride report.. and nice pic's...

I could not help but chuckle thinking how Butch liked to take me thru the shit part of a ride to laugh at my struggles..

Man.. those are some rocks.. very cool.. the video was good to showing the constant out of balance challenge that Butch had to fight.. a lot of work on the bod for sure.

Welcome to barf in a big way..! Nice thread.

Go dirty barf!

 

[yella600rr]

Awesome Butch!