Local big ride...Head up Grouse...or something else?

[walleater]

I fancy brushing down my XC hardtail on Friday if the weather is OK, but my vehicle is somewhat lacking in insurance at the mo, so I was thinking about cycling up Grouse for the hell of it.

Does one simply carry on past 7th on Fromme and keep going until you get to the top, or are there any turnings to think about? Very roughly, how long does it take to get up (reasonable fitness / steel hardtail that weighs about 33lb with DH tyres which I'm not going to bother changing...)? Also, I'd be starting from Lonsdale so is it ultimately less hassle to hike up St Georges for the first part, or are there any other trails that head up that are more 'cycleable' without having to head all the way over to Mt Highway?

Or is there something completely different I can do instead?!

Thanks

[walleater]

Well I think I've answered a couple of questions by cunning use of googlemap....I'll just head up Lynn Valley Rd and if I've not died of boredom cycling up Mt Highway, I'll just head up that way.

Also, is it worth looking out for trails when coming down, but above 7th? I guess any trails up there don't exist, so in other words, if I happen to find anything, am I likely to die if I headed down one?

Cheers - with hindsight I should have put this in 'ride planning' or 'I iz XC Jeyboy' but it's here now...

[Lady Gravity]

Also, is it worth looking out for trails when coming down, but above 7th? I guess any trails up there don't exist, so in other words, if I happen to find anything, am I likely to die if I headed down one?

i think gmg is above 7th, and yes if rumours are true you will likely die heading down it on an xc bike. basically if you DO crash and kill yourself, S&R may take a very long time to find you, so plan accordingly.

[Spaz]

33 lb XC hardtail with DH tires???????

[walleater]

i think gmg is above 7th, and yes if rumours are true you will likely die heading down it on an xc bike. basically if you DO crash and kill yourself, S&R may take a very long time to find you, so plan accordingly.

Thanks LG. I've done 10ft drops and the like on my 'XC' bike and am not too shabby a rider, but yes my over-riding concern is not wanting to casually head down some unknown trail and potentially becoming a burden on others. [Memories of Gargamel] Having said that, I'd probably ride the gnar fine and then wipe out on a fireroad.... [/memories of Gargamel]

[walleater]

33 lb XC hardtail with DH tires???????

LOL! I used it for guiding around Whistler, Pemby, Squamish etc last year and it rocks. Bit of a pain on rocky climbs with flat pedals but it loves going down....

http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=yrr9zy&outx=800&quality=70

[shirk]

Just ride up Mountain Hwy and keep on truck'in past 7th. It'll be flat ish for a bit till you reach the ski hill then the climbing starts again. Only trail above 7th that you might find is the entrance to Per Gynt. You won't stumble your way onto GMG so no worries.

It's about twice the distance as a regular Fromme lap. Off the top of my head my best time from home to 7th is an hour and best to top of Grouse is just over 2 hours. So you can judge your own time off that.

[walleater]

Thanks Shirk. That's roughly what I figured from googlemap so sounds OK to me. I normally cycle up on my 40lb Bullit so I'm sure I won't have any problems with the climb. On the way down I'm thinking of doing some of the more XC type trails that I've never ridden, like Leopard, and the other ones that run along the north side of the main fireroad up / down.