CORE Bikes, Brews and Blues - 2015 edition

[Crawdaddy 96]

Another fun/successful CORE "Bikes, Brews and Blues" event in the books.

http://crawdadoffroadevents.com/

Lot's of positive feedback from the riders regarding this year's track set and the Festival of Beers/Bluesapalooza event. Only downside from the weekend (that I'm aware of) - one rider broke a collarbone.

I headed up to Ridgecrest Wednesday evening and stayed at the Motel 6. Wanted to get a jump start on the weekend so I could do some pre-running of tracks on Thursday before the riders showed up on Friday/Sat. As always, some of the singletrack was found/closed and even some of the two track was closed. Chris (Dress for Less) Ross joined me for Friday's pre-run of one of my short loops near Mammoth.......fun afternoon ride/made a few tweaks/improvements.

As usual, I stayed at the Holiday Haus in Mammoth Lakes. It's a very short walk from there to the Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza. I rented the suite, AKA - "The Clubhouse", and that worked out good for event headquarters. I've already booked the clubhouse again for next year's event. Motel mgmt has really invested in the last year to improve the quality of the rooms and they've also opened a bunkhouse/hostel.

http://holidayhausmotelandhostel.com/

I generally provide 2 short loops (<80 miles) and one long loop (Bodie) and a couple of hardway options and/or viewpoints. I change the short loops up every year. Many folks like these so they're done by the early afternoon with plenty of time to check out the Blues/Brews festival and/or do something else in town with friends/family after a morning "moto fix". Certain parts of the Bodie Loop are set in stone given the selection out that way. I rec'd feedback that the rains beat up some of the trails out that way - some deep/wide ruts.

Friday was a working/research day for me. I was literally out exploring from 9-5 digging up new options for next years event. I have some good/new variants for next year. You're gonna love it. Here are a few pics of areas that will be on next year's loops that were not on this year's loops.

We REALLY need a good snow pack in 2015/2016.....some areas are very dry.....there's usually a small pond here:

On Sat I rode the southern loop with Ron (Slowdown) and Chris (Dress for Less) and also spun off on a few solo "research" detours.......I'm always on the hunt for lightly ridden/whoop free (ideally) terrain. Sadly, most of the single track in the area is closed to motorcycles and/or not for public consumption.......that's just the way it is.......but there's plenty of fun two track.

A few pics from Sat:

Dropping down from Laurel Lakes......on a slight deviation from the main road........some great views up there

We stopped at Tom's Place to grab a snack and pick up a few cold brews to take over to Crowley Lake.......next year we'll need to remember to buy/bring an extra for the Sheepherder.

Why take the boring route to cross the highway?

Cold brew on a bluff near Crowley Lake

Stopped for a conversation with the Sheepherder......nice kid but no English and my Spanish is weak.....told him we'd bring him a cerveza next year.....

The section between the sheepherder and the pavement was an added tweak based on explorations with Christi last year.......I'm always working on the next year while riders are out enjoying the current year.....thanks again Christi....I have some more tweaks for next year......

Big country sites.......plenty of cattle on the range......Moooo

It's by no lack of coincidence that I hold my "Bikes, Brews and Blues" event in conjunction with the Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza (http://mammothbluesbrewsfest.com/) each year.....because life isn't all about riding.......sometimes "it's all about" ..........other things

Ran into many familiar faces at the Blues/Brews fest.......me and The Mountain Man Sat night......

Great line up of bands this year as usual....

Johnny Lang was the headliner on Sat and he delivered the goods.......outstanding guitar/vocals

Yesterday morning I took a quick spin up to Joaquin Ridge with Ron and also did a bit of exploring on the way back......great views up at ~10,200'

That's Mammoth Mtn in the distance......

The Minerets

Looking NE from the Ridge

I'll be working/editing active tracks this week/weekend while the explorations are fresh in my mind.......I'm already looking forward to next year.......hope to see some of you there.......

[Wierdrider 187]

I sure hope to be able to make next year, it loos soo awesome. Great job, wonderful photos.

[Schweddy Balls 0]

C'mon man, stay away from those nervous sheep. Remember, its all about the beaver.

Looks like a great time. I'd like to go next year!

[Bagstr 287]

C'Daddy,

Work, Work, Work, it never ends!

P.S. Go change your tires

[christi20 0]

We (four girl riders) had an awesome time. Thanks, Chris! The Laurel Lake route was gnarly. You can't lose focus for a second on that ride! But we all made it up and back without incident! I think all will be coming back next year! Our only issue was a parking nazi at our condo complex who was an A-hole. He even called the cops on me. Anyway....never stay at Mountain Shadows! I highly recommend this ride!

[Dress4Less 162]

I posted yesterday under the CORE - Bike, Brews and Blues section so I'll just post some pics here...had a BLAST! ~60 miles Thursday, ~160 miles Friday and ~60 miles on Sat...

More ! More! More!

[Bp619 104]

How bitchin

[Dress4Less 162]

We (four girl riders) had an awesome time. Thanks, Chris! The Laurel Lake route was gnarly. You can't lose focus for a second on that ride! But we all made it up and back without incident! I think all will be coming back next year! Our only issue was a parking nazi at our condo complex who was an A-hole. He even called the cops on me. Anyway....never stay at Mountain Shadows! I highly recommend this ride!

Christi - You are spot on about that LL trail...momentum, momentum, momentum...even going down it. Sorry to hear about the parking nazi at Mountain Shadows...scratching that place off the list for the next time.