tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-335941032024-03-21T14:55:36.774-07:00The Musings of a Zen MonkeyBananas for AdrenalineZen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-31084631870216082462009-07-04T23:47:00.000-07:002010-01-19T11:23:11.542-08:002009-07-03 Hollenbeck CanyonI met Gardner at the parking lot and we waited a considerable amount of time for Bryan to show up. In the mean time, we watched a couple of moderately out-of-shape riders get on their bikes and ride away. Within about 10 minutes they were back, and approached us asking us for help. It seems the woman had fallen and done something to her thumb. I took a look at the thumb, which didn't look broken or bruised, but the woman started to puke. I let her finish, then we got out the phones and tried to find the nearest medical facility. I called 411, but of course they are absolutely no help if you don't know the address. The couple went on their way to find the medical facility at Palm and I-805 and Gardner and I continued to wait.<br />
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Bryan finally showed up about 45 minutes late and we got ourselves ready. Bryan was riding his new bike for the first time, a Pivot. We took off and rode the singletrack until we came to the road at which point we continued upward. We finally got to a spot where I suggested we turn around because the road was taking us away from where we wanted to go. <br />
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We then found another turn off on the road and continued to follow that as it approached some houses. These houses had BIG dogs and the dogs weren't on leashes or penned in, and Bryan got a little scared. I don't think we would have had any problems, but we chose to go back down the way we came. The funny thing is that the way back was so fast and furious and yet, I didn't recall climbing so much.<br />
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We explored a bit more and then finally headed back to the cars. Gardner and I went to dinner at the nasty sushi place. Afterwards, I bid him fairwell and headed off to Skydive San Diego to set up my tent and start drinking.Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0Hollenbeck Canyon, California 91935, USA32.6736674 -116.83502232.5291704 -117.06848149999999 32.8181644 -116.6015625tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-78314271207435084082009-05-27T16:13:00.000-07:002009-05-27T16:13:40.116-07:00La Costa 2009-05-23I hadn't been on my bike for so long that I was feeling very guilty. Worse yet, when I got on the trail, I felt so unstable that I was scared. Regardless, I rode up Switchbacks and down Camino del Mar. It was a short ride, but it was fun and got me going. <br />
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The trails at La Costa are really nice but there are a lot of rocks sticking out of the ground to add a challenge and keep the riff-raff out.Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0Carlsbad, CA, USA33.09111 -117.2652833.0899865 -117.267104 33.0922335 -117.263456tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-71341653079452862642009-03-08T23:13:00.000-07:002009-03-12T17:01:57.590-07:00Hollenbeck Canyon - 2009-03-08I sat at Skydive San Diego, waiting for Brian and Wendy. I had expected them around 12:15, so at 11:45, I got out of my jumpsuit and waited. An hour and a half later, they finally arrived. I was slightly miffed that I could have done two more jumps in the time I waited, but that was milk already spilled, so off we went to ride at Hollenbeck Canyon. <br />
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The drive from Skydive San Diego was only about 10 minutes through lushly green rolling hills. Once we got to the parking area, we went about getting dressed and prepped. <br />
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We started down the access road, and quickly we entered the canyon. After several creek crossings, repleat with black goo that splattered all over our legs and bikes, we started to climb. The climb was not too strenuous and offered intermissions from the exertion as the road turned to singletrack that followed the side of a hill. Below us, was a creek, at times noticable and at times hidden from our view. At several locations the singletrack was retained to the side of the hill by stone walls. It was easy to see how someone might get hurt if they went over the edge as the fall at points would be 20+ feet, with a rock bed waiting to exact a penalty for inattention or lack of control.<br />
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We followed the singletrack as it continued to climbed and eventually widened out into a still beautiful, but less exciting widetrack. All around us, the hills were green with splashes of early blooming California Poppies and other wildflowers. Orange, purple, and red flowers greeted us as we rounded each corner or summited each hillock.<br />
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The trail vascilated between widetrack and singletrack, almost as if it wasn't certain who it wanted to be enjoying it. But finally, it ended at a major dirt road. The GPS said that we were now in the Cleveland National Forest, but there were no markings on the road to let us know where we were or where to go. We decided to continue to climb, hoping that soon we'd find a singletrack leading off to some hidden bucolic treasure.<br />
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After about 10 minutes, with the wind blowing cold even under the bright mid-afternoon sunlight, and without encountering any singletrack, I decided to turn around. Wendy and Brian decided that they would continue climbing. <br />
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The ride back to the car was quick and fun.Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com01500 Honey Springs Rd, Jamul, CA 91935, USA32.670954115379111 -116.8238067626953132.666438615379114 -116.83110226269531 32.675469615379107 -116.81651126269531tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-36878532241256143362009-01-30T22:29:00.000-08:002009-02-04T11:41:31.662-08:002009-01-30 Sycamore Canyon fragment<div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left">On Tuesday, I received a phone call from Bill R asking me if I was interested in a Friday After Work Ride. Hell Yeah! I've been such a slacker on the MtB recently, that this was just the invitation I needed. As an added incentive, I invited all the Southern California Mountain Biker Boys to join. </div><P><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left">We were scheduled to meet at 4pm, but thanks to heavier than expected traffic, my trip from Torrey Pines took much longer than the 30 minutes I had allotted, and as a result, it wasn't until 4:15 that I arrived at the West Hills Park parking lot. Bill was already there, and no one else had RSVP'd that they would be joining, so it was just the two of us. Unfortunately, Bill didn't bring a light so our ride was bound to be shorter than I would have liked.</div><P><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left">After getting dressed and our tires pumped, we headed down Mast Blvd. to the trail head. I was in the lead, so, I took the sweet singletrack that I'd been exposed to on the New Year's Day Ride. There was much less water to contend with as we criss-crossed the creek, which was nice because the sun was going down quickly and moving north we were blocked from remnants of warmth coming from the west by the canyon wall. Bill was about 100m behind me for most of the easy part of the singletrack, but when we got to the uphill portion, he demonstrated skills matching the nick name I'd given him: "Billy Goat". While I struggled to stay on the bike, he simply climbed the hill as if it was an easy task.</div><P><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SYaBTY3BfRI/AAAAAAAACLY/nuUd9AY9PSs/s1600/P1000951.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SYaBTY3BfRI/AAAAAAAACLY/nuUd9AY9PSs/s400/P1000951.JPG" border="0" xi="true" /></a></div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a style="CLEAR: right; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; cssfloat: right" href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SYaBUuWEpXI/AAAAAAAACLg/N5fMzjY56Ew/s1600/P1000952.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SYaBUuWEpXI/AAAAAAAACLg/N5fMzjY56Ew/s400/P1000952.JPG" border="0" xi="true" /></a></div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left">When we got to the top, we headed up the road, but I couldn't remember the exact route, so I had us zigging when we should have been zagging, and after an aborted run that brought us to a dead end at the bottom of a steep hill, we finally continued down the gravel road that ended at the power poles. At this point we determined it was getting too dark to continue so we started on our way back.</div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><P>Along the way, we rode through the area where the local kids had built several jumps. I was determined to hit one of the jumps, so I started to pedal very hard and fast, wanting to gain enough momentum and speed to launch me high into the air. However, at the last moment, I swerved to miss the jump. I felt a bit disgusted at myself for chickening out, especially when I considered that I jump out of airplanes but wouldn't hit a 1/2 meter jump.</div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><P>We made it back to the cars just before it got completely dark. After changing clothes and some chit chat, we parted ways with another 1 hour ride under our belts. It felt good, but I wish it had been longer.</div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-48138440194022518022009-01-10T19:52:00.000-08:002009-01-13T12:29:08.815-08:002009-Jan-10 La Costa<div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="CLEAR: right; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; cssfloat: right" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SWqrm-dMhiI/AAAAAAAABsU/6rmMYGlKM7c/s1600/P1000591.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SWqrm-dMhiI/AAAAAAAABsU/6rmMYGlKM7c/s400/P1000591.JPG" border="0" vi="true" /></a></div>After all of the errands and long planned events of the morning were finished, and the morning trail work event at La Costa Conservation Area well passed, I ventured out to get a quick ride in before the planned events of Saturday evening.<br /><br />I arrived at the starting point at about 3:15, surprised to find several SDMBA members (Rich J, Matt M, Gardner G, among others) still hanging around, drinking beers and chatting. I joined them for what I wanted to be a brief moment, but I ended up hanging around for around 45 minutes. Part of the reason I stood around for so long was because I was feeling a big guilty for not having been there for the morning trail work, even though I had scheduled the other events long before I learned about the trailwork. The other reason was because there was never a long enough pause in the conversation to interject that I was going to go riding. When I finally noticed that it was 4pm, and I needed to be home within an hour, I bid farewell and got myself going.<br /><br />I took Switchbacks up, moving very quickly toward the top. I felt strong and solid on the bike, making corners and climbs that I often need to walk. When I got to the top of the singletrack and continued toward the kiosc, I was in a race against the clock, although the rider I had caught up with must have been in a self-imagined race with me because he didn't seem like he wanted to let me pass him.<br /><br />When I got to the kiosc, I had the intention of taking a picture holding a Moosejaw flag (Moosejaw is this really cool outdoor gear company that has all sorts of opportunities to earn points redeemable for goods. A picture with a Moosejaw logo in it is only worth $1, but it's not really any sweat to send it in.) I snapped a few pictures of myself using the timer function on the camera and then, without thinking what I was doing, I headed back down the hill the same way I came.<br /><br />About half way down the hill it dawned on me that I really should have taken the "Camino Del Mar" trail, with it's windy, sweet swoops and much greater length. But by that point, I was already committed to getting down the hill, so I continued to zip through the switchbacks.<br /><br />When I got back to my car, a few of the SDMBA organizers were still hanging around. I stopped by again to chat and then changed into dry clothes and drove home. It wasn't a very long ride, but it was better than nothing and burned some calories and put my head in a great space.Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-70211458443328788242009-01-01T22:29:00.000-08:002009-01-02T18:44:52.758-08:00Sycamore Canyon 2009/1/1/ - First SDMBA/NMBP Patrol<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6Lk2gJYnI/AAAAAAAABkU/lqrG2byumCo/s1600/P1000556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6Lk2gJYnI/AAAAAAAABkU/lqrG2byumCo/s400/P1000556.JPG" vi="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So, the DirtTreaders were riding on New Years day. And not only were they riding on New Years Day, but at 9am. That meant, at least for me, an early night on New Years Eve. I know myself. I know that it will take me an inordinant amount of time to get ready and get out of the house. I know that once I get to the ride site that it will take me a good amount of time to get everything organized since I bring the kitchen sink with me on a ride. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
Clothes are no problem, since I have my riding clothes anal-retentively organized into sacks. It makes it very easy to just grab a bag and go since each one already contains everything I need to wear. On top of that, there's the helmet cam to set up. Then there's the still cam to hook up to the camelbak. Then there's the iPod and headphones. Then there's the elbow and knee & shin guards, heart rate monitor with chest strap... The wheel needs to be put on the front of the bike... You get the picture.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
I decided it was a good time to put the SDMBA/NMBP into action with the first patrol activity ever. So, I left at 7:45am for the ride. The drive out of Leucadia was a bit sketchy with deep pockets of fog all along the freeway. It wasn't until I got south of the hump at Del Mar Heights that it started to clear up, and by the time I made over Mission Trails Summit it was bright and sunny.</div>I arrived with about 40 minutes to spare, got myself together and by the time the ride was ready to depart, I was just putting on my helmet. :)<br />
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There were 13 riders in total, which is a pretty big group to manage. I had an interesting observation resulting from seeing another rider, Rob, with a brown Mojo SL with red linkages. I haven't seen too many Mojo SLs, or for that matter, Mojos at all here in San Diego. Rob had added a few nice upgrades from my ride, with a Talas fork over the RLC and some very nice wheels. The observation I had was how funny it is that a bike can create a connection between two people that I didn't experience with anyone else. It's almost that, at a minimum, the brand of a bike someone owns, but even more so, the brand and model can generate a bond between riders that riding itself doesn't necessarily do. The Specialized people recognize each other and the Trek people have something to chat about. And I've seen how the the river of component difference slakes single-speeders off from geard bikers on a group ride. Anyway, the group took off before I was quite ready to ride, but I jammed on it, and with some effort caught up with the leaders of the group within 2km from the car. Oops, I forgot to lube my chain. I was hoping that it would have had enough from the last ride at Palm Canyon. (It turned out OK. It was only at the end, after going through a bunch of mud, that the chain had any issues.)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"></div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
Almost immediately after the ride started four riders were missing. At the first regrouping, we learned that one rider was waiting at the parking lot for someone who was late arriving. The two of themadded to the other two who zigged while at the front of the group while the leader and remainder of the group zagged. It wasn't long before we were all herded together, and off we rolled. Our ride organizer demonstrated a new route which took us up a very scenic stream bed. With many crossings, I'd be amazed if anyone had dry feet. When we got to the bottom of the first serious climb, we regrouped. This took much longer than the first regrouping, but we good naturedly stood around talking and enjoying the beauty that was surrounding us.</div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6LmdOPOCI/AAAAAAAABkc/08-0F2wKCZU/s1600/P1000557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6LmdOPOCI/AAAAAAAABkc/08-0F2wKCZU/s400/P1000557.JPG" vi="true" /></a></div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
After climbing the hill which was soggy, loose and off cambre the whole way up, we regrouped again, this one taking much longer. We then made our way down a road, until a well hidden singletrack presented itself to our guide and we were soon zipping our way downward on a cobble-lined ribbon. The downhill was fun but a bit bumpy. Our guide and another rider were out in front. I was trailing a bit further behind, the remainder of the other riders staggered well behind me.</div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
After some technical drops and slides that proved to be too much for the vast majority of us, resulting in muddy shoes as we hopped and slid our way down, we regrouped again, and then continued on our way toward the switchbacks climb and descent. At the break-off for the western switchbacks, we waited again for the group to catch up. At least one rider decided at this point to head around to the spot where the eastern switchbacks rejoin the main trail. The rest of us proceeded at various speeds to climb the western switchbacks. Rob, the racer, was the first to make it to the top. I was in hot pursuit, but once again, I've proven to myself that I don't need to pay money to find out that there are some people faster than me and some people slower. At the top I grabbed the camera and snapped pictures of everyone as they crested the ridge.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"></div><div align="left"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6L0tu_8GI/AAAAAAAABmA/VnSceg9LLkg/s1600/P1000569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6L0tu_8GI/AAAAAAAABmA/VnSceg9LLkg/s400/P1000569.JPG" vi="true" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6L2wIXIkI/AAAAAAAABmQ/B1m9whKwT9k/s1600/P1000571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6L2wIXIkI/AAAAAAAABmQ/B1m9whKwT9k/s400/P1000571.JPG" vi="true" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6LzjPMeWI/AAAAAAAABl4/MtfH9cDEL9Q/s1600/P1000568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6LzjPMeWI/AAAAAAAABl4/MtfH9cDEL9Q/s400/P1000568.JPG" vi="true" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6LuJvLKqI/AAAAAAAABlQ/MAJoKWqIo3w/s1600/P1000563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6LuJvLKqI/AAAAAAAABlQ/MAJoKWqIo3w/s400/P1000563.JPG" vi="true" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6Ls-y5wAI/AAAAAAAABlE/-Z3VRSiaBA0/s1600/P1000562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6Ls-y5wAI/AAAAAAAABlE/-Z3VRSiaBA0/s400/P1000562.JPG" vi="true" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6LqreVOrI/AAAAAAAABk0/c4O7Kb6lyaU/s1600/P1000560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6LqreVOrI/AAAAAAAABk0/c4O7Kb6lyaU/s400/P1000560.JPG" vi="true" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6LwERzUzI/AAAAAAAABlg/Mlgk89ZEBqU/s1600/P1000565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6LwERzUzI/AAAAAAAABlg/Mlgk89ZEBqU/s400/P1000565.JPG" vi="true" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6L1uB0oGI/AAAAAAAABmI/pTAF1KWPPeE/s1600/P1000570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6L1uB0oGI/AAAAAAAABmI/pTAF1KWPPeE/s400/P1000570.JPG" vi="true" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6L5OaaffI/AAAAAAAABmg/Qff8VmJ0glc/s1600/P1000573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6L5OaaffI/AAAAAAAABmg/Qff8VmJ0glc/s400/P1000573.JPG" vi="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6LyjTamWI/AAAAAAAABlw/CSdwUKbdFao/s1600/P1000567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6LyjTamWI/AAAAAAAABlw/CSdwUKbdFao/s400/P1000567.JPG" vi="true" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6L6NuirGI/AAAAAAAABmo/Z0jBxdRsoh4/s1600/P1000574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6L6NuirGI/AAAAAAAABmo/Z0jBxdRsoh4/s400/P1000574.JPG" vi="true" /></a></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I made my way down the eastern switchbacks behind Steven and Rob. When I got to the bottom I looked up and it was an inspiring scene as so many riders were descending the switchbacks at once. I thought to myself that it would be quite a site to see so many riders with lights at night.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6MCFBHgWI/AAAAAAAABnU/dWULICHtJto/s1600/P1000579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SV6MCFBHgWI/AAAAAAAABnU/dWULICHtJto/s400/P1000579.JPG" vi="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>We regrouped with the riders who had avoided the climb and waited for everyone to get to the bottom of the eastern switchbacks. Then, off we went, riding on the east side of the creekbed. At some point I managed to get out in front and rather than take my usual trail toward the gate at Goodan Ranch, I swooped in on another track and was so completely overjoyed. Fast, swervy singletrack that tested and encouraged good turning skills. There were a few stream crossings too.<br />
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We regrouped again at the gate, and then hit the double track leading up to the ranch house and then continued on the singletrack that runs to the west depositing us at the 4-corners of the main road. Several of us headed up "Cardiac" so that we could ride the downhill on the backside of Martha's Grove while the majority headed up the more direct route that doesn't have any payoff other than getting you to Martha's Grove trail faster. <br />
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We agreed to meet at the start of Martha's Grove Trail, but when our little group of four riders got there after a fast and fun downhill, no one was waiting. We didn't think that there was any chance we could have reached the gate before the other riders, but we waited a few minutes anyway. A family with small children took off hiking up the trail and then another large group of riders that was resting at the gate took off. Rather than have the hikers make way for two separate groups of riders, we followed on the tail of the other group. Once at the top of the first climb, we encountered two of the other riders in our group who informed us that the rest had gone on ahead. We continued the ride down Martha's Grove Trail and rode without stops, except for a brief moment at the gate at the south side of Goodan Ranch. <br />
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We hit the high trail on the west side of the creek, but there were a few spots where trees had fallen onto the trail. None of us had more than a nail file and the trees were too big to move by hand, so we climbed over the obstacles (none of us being trials riders), and continued on our way. By this point my legs were starting to cramp, probably as a result of the New Year's Eve drinking I did. By the time we made it back to the parking lot, my legs had cramped so bad that there was a stretch where I needed to walk because I couldn't power through the pedal stroke.<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Once back at the parking lot, bikes and gear was quickly stowed and people departed for points unknown. Our two-and-a-half-hour ride had taken almost 4.5 hours and covered over 38km.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-80184027794255789962008-12-31T10:38:00.000-08:002008-12-31T11:05:11.841-08:00Props to Cal Coast BicyclesOver the years I have dealt with several local bike shops as well as national chains and web merchants. Some of the LBS' have been very hard to deal with. The national chains offer great prices and adequate customer service and the web merchants, well, they're web merchants and have ranged all over the place. But my experience this past year with <a href="http://calcoastbicycles.com/">Cal Coast Bicycles</a> has been extremely positive.<br />
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I went to Cal Coast because they are the only local dealer for <a href="http://www.ibiscycles.com/">Ibis</a>, and when I was looking to buy my <a href="http://www.ibiscycles.com/mountain/mojosl/">Mojo SL</a>, I didn't have much of a choice. The entire purchase experience was great. The bike was built up and ready in a day, and they have supported me every step of the way. <br />
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When my XTR rear derailleur went out, they offered to give me an XT swap while they were waiting to hear if Shimano would cover it or, when I suggested that they replace it with an XTR and I would pay them and they could just refund me when positive news came from Shimano, they said OK, but would only charge my CC if they heard back from Shimano that the part wasn't covered.<br />
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Then, most recently, my Crank Brothers Jopelin-R seat post died. In the period between sending it off to Crank Brothers, they gave me another Jopelin seat post so I could keep riding. When I went to pick up the repaired seat post on 24/Dec, they were actually closed, and had been for about 2 hours, but someone was there and was kind enough to go through the trouble of turning off the alarm, unlocking the store and exchanging the seat posts.<br />
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Finally, yesterday, I returned to the store because I was uncertain how to adjust the seat post cable as well as pick up the new Lopes Link for the bike. I decided to just have them install the Lopes Link, expecting to pay for the service. But, when I got the bike back, there was no service charge! Awesome. <br />
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Cal Coast also price matches, so I'm never going to pay more than I would at one of the web merchants. And even though I don't get the "10% back" on top of the price match that I would get at that big national chain, the fact that they didn't charge me for the service will keep me coming back for years to come.<br />
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Way to go Cal Coast.Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com03020 Adams Ave, San Diego, CA 92116, USA32.763224 -117.12964732.758713 -117.1369425 32.767735 -117.12235150000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-33760166427691526432008-12-29T22:16:00.001-08:002008-12-29T22:23:53.875-08:00Very DIsturbing...Wow, I haven't been on my MtB since the 30th of November. That's pretty scary! I guess the rains can be blamed for some of it, and the Crank Brothers Jopelin-R seat post that was in the shop for repair for a around two weeks can be blamed for some of it too. But in reality, I've just been a sloth and haven't gotten off my ass to get out there. I'm off all this week and it seems to be drying out a bit. I've got the seat post back and just need to put it on the bike, mount the seat and run the cable to the handlebar and I'm set.<br /><br />On a somewhat related note, I'm really bummed about the undesired and unexpected destruction of a NiteRider HID bulb that fell off my road bike after I went over some railroad tracks. Fortunately, even though the light head was sitting in the middle of the road, no one ran over it. I'm gonna have to beg NiteRider to replace the bulb because right now I can't afford to buy a new one and it's still to dark outside to ride home from work without a really good light.Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-81868305098922512912008-11-30T22:15:00.000-08:002008-12-08T18:55:11.214-08:00Palm Canyon 30/November/2008<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STykNoeCyeI/AAAAAAAABgM/wGLfzRJ4BZk/s1600/Palm%20Canyon%202008-11-30%20Randy%20Blow%20Job.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" lh="true" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STykNoeCyeI/AAAAAAAABgM/wGLfzRJ4BZk/s400/Palm%20Canyon%202008-11-30%20Randy%20Blow%20Job.jpg" /></a><br />As I mentioned in my previous post, a string of errors on my part lead to a fortuituous meeting with <a href="http://www.sirenbicycles.com/">Mary and Brendan Collier of Siren Bicycles</a> in Idyllwild. They had already scheduled a Sunday morning ride at Palm Canyon for which they kindly invited me to participate. I was extremely happy to accept as it meant the possibility of riding a new trail with some great riders.<br /><br />On Sunday morning, I woke around 6:30 again, grabbed some breakfast and headed up the mountain to gain some cell phone service. Once in Idyllwild, I stopped to buy some coffee and discovered that I had a message from Mary about meeting at their place around 8. Fortunately, I had 20 minutes to spare, so I grabbed a coffee and called her back.<br /><br />After directions to their home, and morning greetings, I went about getting myself ready for riding. The chain needed to be lubed and since I wasn’t going to be driving, I needed to ensure that I had everything I needed out of my car. The past few days were ones of less than average organization, so the search was on to dig out all the necessary items from the back of my car. Fortunately, much of my riding kit is already organized in bags stuffed into a duffle, so I grabbed one of the sacks, ensured that everything needed was inside, and then set to finding the doodads and other items I’d want on the ride. It was quite chilly, but since we were going to be heading into Palm Springs, which had been quite warm the day before, I left the warm clothes in the car.<br /><br />While I was getting my stuff together, another rider, Dave, showed up. Again, greetings were passed around, and I continued about my work. With everything finally collected from the depths of my car, Brendan attempted to load my bike into the rack on the roof of his car, but the disc brake wouldn’t allow for a fit. We thought about removing the rear wheel and stuffing it into the back of Brendan and Mary’s car, but in the end we decided to load it into the rack on Dave’s Truck.<br /><br />As we were putting the bike onto his car, the rest of the riding crew arrived. I was introduced to Bill, Randy, Carol Ann and Brett. After some chit-chat, a brief disappearance by Brendan to pick up some stuff at the bike shop, and a stop at the local ‘grocery store’ we were on the road to the trailhead.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STy7lDKAIKI/AAAAAAAABhI/9fe0cYLbarc/s1600/Palm%20Canyon%202008-11-30%20Group%20Shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STy7lDKAIKI/AAAAAAAABhI/9fe0cYLbarc/s400/Palm%20Canyon%202008-11-30%20Group%20Shot.jpg" /></a>We pulled into a parking lot on the north face of Santa Rosa Mountain, unpacked everything from two of the cars, emptied ourselves of the coffee we all had invariably been drinking (the plants in the area probably hadn’t received so much nitrogen rich fluids for some time) and Dave, Brett and Brendan left us to deposit a sufficiently capable number of vehicles at the bottom of the hill.<br /><br />Those of us who were left settled into a socially comfortable circle on the asphalt and chatted about this and that. I couldn’t help gawking at the three beautiful Sirens that lined the wooden fence. It was decided at some point that as a joke, Mary would swap the break levers on Brendan’s bike. Bets were placed as to how long it would take him to notice the sabotage. After about an hour the guys made it back from Palm Springs and we readied ourselves to ride.<br /><br />Brendan hadn’t more than straddled his bike before he figured out something had happened. Lazy and good natured accusations and recriminations were made, but Mary quickly confessed her culpability and a good laugh was had by all. The break levers were quickly returned to their normal locations and we headed out.<br /><br />The beginning section of the trail we rode is called “Pinyon Flats Loop” and this section was a glorious introduction. Fast rolling singletrack with plenty of turns and mildly technical segments to keep us on our toes. The decomposed granite trail was tacky from the rain just three days before, which made the trail that much more fun. From the ridge top, the views of the endless canyons below us was breath taking. While there were plenty of spiny plants near the trail, at this point in the ride they were, for the most part, invisible because of the speed and the beauty of distant hills and valleys. Finally, we descended off the ridge via a series of seven sharp switchbacks that had dropped us several hundred feet. Although we didn’t do Pinyon Flats Loop as a loop, it was at the bottom of these switchbacks that Brendan and Dave pointed out where we would have zigged instead of zagged if a loop had been our goal.<br /><br />We ended up waiting at this intersection for some time as one of our compatriots repaired a flat. Once he was down, he mentioned something about missing knobies from the tire, but I didn’t pay much heed to his attestation, assuming a minor rather than major issue. It would only come to bear later in the ride that the front tire had insufficient structural integrity to actually be used on a ride of such proportions.<br /><br />We continued on our way, now surrounded by high canyon walls, with thorny plants closing in on our trail. I was the only one in the group wearing elbow and knee & shin guards so I was mostly oblivious to the flesh tearing spines that hid behind the soft leaves on the thickets of Acacia greggii, commonly known as “Cats Claw”. While we were stopped for one of the innumerable flat repairs, I looked around and saw that everyone except for me had bloody scrapes and scratches on their legs and arms. Dave was particularly well scratched with trickles of dried blood sticking to his shins and calves. I still haven’t gotten over feeling foolish for wearing so much protective gear when I ride, but to see the degree of flesh that had been left on the trailside spines, I was glad for my foolishness.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.naturesongs.com/vvplants/catclaw2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="http://www.naturesongs.com/vvplants/catclaw2.jpg" width="420" /></a><br /><br /><br />In addition to the Cats Claw, there were cacti of various sizes and shapes to enforce good bike handling on the narrow ribbon of exposed DG that swelled up and down the lower portion of the canyon walls. Even without touching these enforcers, the structural integrity of the tire mentioned above continued to bear witness to the need to always ride with properly maintained equipment. It would no sooner be repaired than it would blow another tube. There was a concern that we would not have enough spares tubes or patches to get us down the canyon.<br /><br /><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVR7iIyEOI/AAAAAAAABcY/at7YHW9cpq4/s1600/P1000510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVR7iIyEOI/AAAAAAAABcY/at7YHW9cpq4/s400/P1000510.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSOb5CiII/AAAAAAAABdE/c1PHE-9pb14/s1600/P1000511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSOb5CiII/AAAAAAAABdE/c1PHE-9pb14/s400/P1000511.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSQOxunoI/AAAAAAAABdI/JyrXvGQKf0o/s1600/P1000516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSQOxunoI/AAAAAAAABdI/JyrXvGQKf0o/s400/P1000516.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSRAKB9WI/AAAAAAAABdM/WqWGhuFkaOQ/s1600/P1000515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSRAKB9WI/AAAAAAAABdM/WqWGhuFkaOQ/s400/P1000515.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSRoYD23I/AAAAAAAABdU/OokM6DUI6lI/s1600/P1000513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSRoYD23I/AAAAAAAABdU/OokM6DUI6lI/s400/P1000513.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSR-NOiXI/AAAAAAAABdY/AHEB0azmW8M/s1600/P1000509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSR-NOiXI/AAAAAAAABdY/AHEB0azmW8M/s400/P1000509.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSR0Ztp_I/AAAAAAAABdc/XidX9mCjPhw/s1600/P1000514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSR0Ztp_I/AAAAAAAABdc/XidX9mCjPhw/s400/P1000514.JPG" /></a><br /><br />We made it to a large rock and stopped for a snack. Brendan had been waiting to spring a surprise treat on the other riders – crackers and oysters – which seemed to be enjoyed by everyone, although I must say that the smell was a bit antagonistic to the Chocolate Builder Bar and banana I was enjoying. After a the snack, and the fifth flat repair, we continued on. The sun was low in the sky, producing a beautiful alpenglow on the golden desert flora.<br /><br /><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVR7qLliAI/AAAAAAAABcU/k3Xm4enS1M8/s1600/P1000518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVR7qLliAI/AAAAAAAABcU/k3Xm4enS1M8/s400/P1000518.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSKpsr1ZI/AAAAAAAABco/xYfYZL4MTlg/s1600/P1000517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSKpsr1ZI/AAAAAAAABco/xYfYZL4MTlg/s400/P1000517.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVRyavkEwI/AAAAAAAABbQ/UHN9TyeCH70/s1600/P1000520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVRyavkEwI/AAAAAAAABbQ/UHN9TyeCH70/s400/P1000520.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Shortly after starting, and after throwing almost every tube we collectively carried at the problem, the offending tire flatted again. At this point, the sixth flat, the decision was made to attempt to shore up the sidewalls of the tire with wrappers, paper, and any other item that might help the situation. Carol Ann and I decided to ride forward, leaving Brett, Randy and Bill to repair the flat. Brendan had turned around and ended up returning to help with the flat.<br /><br />By this point, I was experiencing some difficulties with my Joplin R seat post. It wouldn’t stay extended. While it was fine on the descents, it made the uphill sections much more difficult as I couldn’t get good leg extension and I was a bit too fatigued to ride every uphill section out of the saddle.<br /><br />Carol Ann and I met up with Mary in the wash, which we then had to ride. With my seat now fully lowered, it was all I could do to keep my legs spinning fast enough to not lose too much ground as Mary and Carol Ann with seemingly effortless pedaling made their way through the sand.<br /><br />We finally came across a sign stuck in the sand that pointed us to the north, where we immediately noticed Dave sitting patiently, enjoying the buzz of endorphins, exertion, the natural beauty of the surroundings and the tetrahydrocannibinol that was flowing through his brain. We all chatted for a while until Mary recommended that Dave and I continue on our way down the singletrack while there was still light. She and Carol Ann would wait for the others to arrive and instead take the shorter route through the wash to the dirt road.<br /><br />Dave and I departed with good wishes for a safe ride passed around to all of us, and we were quickly enjoying some sweet singletrack. I was still physically bothered by the lack of leg extension, until Dave recommended that I raise the seat post housing. Duh! I felt a bit silly for not having thought of it myself, but the extra two inches made climbing so much easier. On the other hand, the descents seemed a bit more awkward as my center of gravity was much higher than I’ve been used to since getting the Joplin R.<br /><br />We quickly made our way to the dirt road, descended rapidly to the community below and rode the asphalt to the shuttle vehicles. Once there, we stretched and chatted and the decision was made to buy some beer. I stayed behind to watch the bikes and Dave returned quickly enough with a tasty 12-pack of brews. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I can say that the cold, salty taste was just perfect.<br /><br />It was now very dark. Dave had covered his proverbial you-know-what by calling his wife to tell her he wouldn’t be back until after 8, and we settled in to wait, expecting that the offending tire would ultimately result in the need to walk the bike down the hill. We were pleasantly surprised to see a mass of bicyclists entering the parking lot only a few minutes later.<br /><br />Bikes were loaded, beers were consumed, hugs and handshakes were given, and we were soon on our way. It was a great day, a great ride, with great company. Lessons were learned and friendships strengthened. It just doesn’t get any better than that.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/ST3Z_rDBA6I/AAAAAAAABhw/WiJYyrHs69w/s1600/Palm-Canyon-Ride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lh="true" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/ST3Z_rDBA6I/AAAAAAAABhw/WiJYyrHs69w/s400/Palm-Canyon-Ride.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/ST3aAKC9d9I/AAAAAAAABh4/HdfBefVJEUo/Palm%20Canyon%202008-11-30%20Elevation%20Profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" lh="true" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/ST3aAKC9d9I/AAAAAAAABh4/HdfBefVJEUo/Palm%20Canyon%202008-11-30%20Elevation%20Profile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-4586301546513756842008-11-29T11:00:00.000-08:002008-12-08T18:54:05.924-08:00Pathfinder Ranch to Idyllwild on the road<div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVR3fz_YlI/AAAAAAAABeM/K1FRa5nRZQ4/s1600/P1000506.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVR3fz_YlI/AAAAAAAABeM/K1FRa5nRZQ4/s400/P1000506.JPG" border="0" /></a></div>I went to the California Men's Gathering at Pathfinder Ranch over the Thanks Giving weekend. On Friday night there was a dance which I ended up co-DJing and even though I expected to be up early in the morning, I was up until well after midnight. So, on Saturday morning when I woke at about 6:30 I was still a bit groggy. I spent about 10 minutes rustling through my things trying to find all the clothing I needed for a ride in the chilly mountain air while trying to not wake the people who were sleeping in the dorm.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="CLEAR: right; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em" href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSCfycUHI/AAAAAAAABcc/dG3lGNBFTqU/s1600/P1000508.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVSCfycUHI/AAAAAAAABcc/dG3lGNBFTqU/s400/P1000508.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /><p>After locating all the clothes that I should have organized the night before, I headed to my car where my road bike was sitting patiently in the roof rack. Before I could ride, I had to clean the chain which had gathered enough dirt from the previous week's riding to seem a bit stiff. After cleaning and lubing, I plugged in the ear phones and headed down the road.<br /><br />When I arrived the on Friday evening, I had gone the wrong way on highway 74, and made a round-about trip through Hemet rather than the more direct way through Anza. However, it was rather fortuitous as I decided to head up the 243 to Idyllwild before going to Pathfinder Ranch.<br /><br /><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVR2fmbMFI/AAAAAAAABbU/bMvMdbE9dRA/s1600/P1000507.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/STVR2fmbMFI/AAAAAAAABbU/bMvMdbE9dRA/s400/P1000507.JPG" border="0" /></a>Just as I was driving through Idyllwild I saw <a href="http://www.sirenbicycles.com/">Mary and Brendan Collier of Siren Bicycles</a>. I had followed Mary's adventures on the <a href="http://tourdivide.org/">Tour Divide</a> race. There wasn't any real reason that I looked forward to reading about her daily exploits on that Canada to Mexico race other than that she was the only one from SoCal, so it was like rooting for the "hometown" team. Anyway, I had emailed her about a month before to inquire about riding in the Idyllwild area and her reply told me to contact her closer to the date I'd be in the area. However, when I did that, I didn't receive any reply. I don't know if it was because of troubles with my email account or because she just didn't reply, but seeing the two of them walking down the road made the communication about riding a bit easier if not forced. Had I not gotten stuck in traffic in Temecula and gone way out of my way, I wouldn't have seen them, so I'll thank my rationalization that since Idyllwild was north of Temecula, that I should take Highway 74 North rather than the 371 to 74 South.<br /><br />We went to a coffee shop to chat and get to know one another. There was going to be a MtB ride on Sunday with some of their friends from Orange County. We exchanged phone numbers and I headed down the mountain. As I drove down, I became aware that past the obvious altitude difference between Idyllwild and Mountain Center at the intersection of Highways 74 and 243, there was an elevation change from the lower Mountain Center to the Keen Camp Summit and then a several mile elevation change from Keen Camp Summit to Lake Hemet.<br /><br />So, when I got on my bike Saturday morning, I wasn't actually looking forward to the long climb from Lake Hemet to Keen Camp Summit that would be followed by the climb up to Idyllwild. But, I had about 13km to go from Pathfinder Ranch before I got to start climbing, and the road undulated sufficiently to warm my legs up fairly quickly.<br /><br />The climb to Keen Camp Summit reminded me of climbing Torrey Pines, except that there is almost no shoulder on the road so, I kept watch in my mirror for cars that might cut the corners a bit tight. After I made it to Keen Camp Summit, it was a fast zip down to Mountain Center and then the real climbing started. Except, while it was 5 miles of solid non-stop climbing, I felt like it wasn't very difficult. Sure, it was a grind, but there never came a time where I felt like I needed to stop to rest.<br /><br />I made it up the hill and to the coffee shop in Idyllwild in a bit over one hour. I sipped a coffee and skimmed through the front section of the newspaper (almost everything in the LA times I had read the day before on the internet which makes me wonder why anyone would read a newspaper anymore.) After about an hour, I decided it was time to head back to Pathfinder Ranch and the California Men's Gathering.<br /><br />The descent from Idyllwild to Mountain Center was fairly fast. Being on a bicycle I was able to take the turns much faster than the car that I spotted several times in my mirror, so I took the entire lane for myself and swooped into the curves with some gusto, although muted because of cracks and crazes in the tarmac left me uncertain if something might grab my wheel and spill me onto the road.<br /><br />The climb from Mountain Center back up to Keen Camp Summit was a bit slower than I had expected, but I made it without trouble. Then came the best part of the ride. From Keen Camp Summit down to Lake Hemet was fast and for the most part without sharp curves. I managed to hit 75.3 km/hr, which is the fastest I've ever gone on my bike.<br /><br />The undulations from Lake Hemet back to Pathfinder Ranch seemed more uphill than down, and when I arrived, breakfast had been over for about half an hour. </p><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="CLEAR: right; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em" href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/ST3Z962jvkI/AAAAAAAABho/ntwPnT8G9AU/s720/Pathfinder-to-Idyllwild-Track.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/ST3Z962jvkI/AAAAAAAABho/ntwPnT8G9AU/s400/Pathfinder-to-Idyllwild-Track.jpg" border="0" /></a></div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-40728977453817356982008-11-27T12:12:00.000-08:002008-11-27T12:13:45.014-08:00Bike Routes on Google Maps!You know that Google Maps will get you from place to place by car, but what about by bike? If you think Google Maps should include bike route information, please sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/bikether/petition.htmlZen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-74105596653563085372008-11-15T17:07:00.000-08:002008-11-17T17:49:25.901-08:00MtB Skills Clinic - 2008-11-15I organized a Mountain Bike Skills Clinic for 15/November through the Southern California Mountain Biker Boys and GayOutdoors.Com. So many people said that they were interested, but when the shit hit the fan, only five of us showed up. It was still a great event, and in actuality, the number of students was just right. It appeared to me that everyone who attended got something out of it to make the modest cost and time committment worth while.<br />
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I arrived a bit early at the appointed spot and waited for everyone to arrive. Jake pulled in soon after I did followed by our instructor, <a href="http://www.mtnbike-skills.blogspot.com/">Julius Syvanen</a>, then Bill S and Jim H. We waited around for the one remaining person, Peter D. It turns out Peter had been there for about 10 minutes before he started asking around for us. Since there were other people using the spot as a starting point for their rides, I just assumed he was waiting for someone else to meet him. But as soon as he asked some other guys if they were there for the skills clinic, I approached him.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-KB5J_4-I/AAAAAAAABW8/5PNzSBz8l-s/s1600/P1000491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-KB5J_4-I/AAAAAAAABW8/5PNzSBz8l-s/s400/P1000491.JPG" /></a> </div><br />
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Bill and I have both been riding for 15-20 years. I'd put Jake in the "Intermediate" range, Jim in the "Advanced Beginner" to "Intermediate" skill level, and Peter, has been in the saddle for only a month.<br />
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From there, we moved to the actual starting point of the ride, got our bikes set up and Julius started his lecture on center-point balance on the bike and using weighting to turn the bike rather than turning the handlebar. We all practiced on the dead-end street for about 15 minutes before heading off to the trail.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-KG7K1JtI/AAAAAAAABXE/A0vyaENv4y0/s1600/P1000492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-KG7K1JtI/AAAAAAAABXE/A0vyaENv4y0/s400/P1000492.JPG" /></a>The trail started off with a downhill, which I blasted down, enjoying the opportunity to catch some air on several small jumps. We continued down a trail I used to know as "Cobble 2" until we got to the duck pond near "Shits". It was decided that we would do some technical uphill sessioning while we were all still fresh and the weather wasn't too hot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We practiced going up a sandy, rutted, steep incline with an obstacle in the middle. Bill climbed it without any problems. It took me several attempts, but I finally made it past the obstacle and some distance further up the hill. Everyone else gave valiant efforts with varying degrees of success. It certainly wasn't an easy climb. The wheels would slide in the loose sand or lose traction, or the gearing we'd set up would be wrong. Regardless, everyone learned some important skills at that early stage of the clinic's ride.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-KOObhcwI/AAAAAAAABXM/ZxA4844eBHM/s1600/P1000493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-KOObhcwI/AAAAAAAABXM/ZxA4844eBHM/s200/P1000493.JPG" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-Kop6FLWI/AAAAAAAABXs/yBYJWT8PqvQ/s1600/P1000497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-Kop6FLWI/AAAAAAAABXs/yBYJWT8PqvQ/s400/P1000497.JPG" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-KadENoAI/AAAAAAAABXU/cSeuZe2xp24/s1600/P1000494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-KadENoAI/AAAAAAAABXU/cSeuZe2xp24/s400/P1000494.JPG" /></a> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-Kf8RV_vI/AAAAAAAABXc/fOOLgs-aMLo/s1600/P1000495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-Kf8RV_vI/AAAAAAAABXc/fOOLgs-aMLo/s400/P1000495.JPG" /></a> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-Kkde4-vI/AAAAAAAABXk/cV6t-qKVddg/s1600/P1000496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-Kkde4-vI/AAAAAAAABXk/cV6t-qKVddg/s400/P1000496.JPG" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-K84nCQSI/AAAAAAAABYQ/fLBtIIe7TEE/s1600/P1000501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-K84nCQSI/AAAAAAAABYQ/fLBtIIe7TEE/s400/P1000501.JPG" /></a>After the climb sessions, we headed down to the canyon's main road and then up Powerline. Once we climbed to the top of Powerline, we headed to Tunnels. After a brief introduction to some additional skills, and pointers on our riding techniques, we started descending into Tunnel #3. This was the first time for everyone except for myself (and Julius), and the common refrain was "I'll be riding here more often". </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-LAXuL0JI/AAAAAAAABYY/60UM-mBZpgY/s1600/P1000502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-LAXuL0JI/AAAAAAAABYY/60UM-mBZpgY/s400/P1000502.JPG" /></a>We rode down Tunnel #3 (also known as "Rocking Horse" for the old wooden rocking horse hanging from a tree at the top of the trail.) and then emerged in Deer Canyon. After more pointers and tips, and discussion as to whether we were tired or wanted to keep going, we opted for the longer long loop back to the cars. The loop took us on some nice singletrack through Deer Canyon and then back into Tunnels, which we climbed back to the mesa top. </div><br />
We rode some fairly technical trails, and I was pleasantly surprised by Peter's dedication, willingness to push his limits and the ultimately, by his strong abilities on the bike. It definitely wasn't an easy ride--there were significant challenges in terms of technical features (sand, loose rocks, narrow steep trails, etc.)<br />
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After the clinic, Jake, Julius and I went out to lunch (of course, everyone was invited, but other obligations called the others) where the conversation frequenly veered into the realm of socio-political analysis (Julius is currently a student of Political Science/International Relations at UCSD, and I have an MA in Political Science from UC Irvine and did my undergraduate degree at UCSD.) Jake seemed a bit bored by our rantings, but the food was good no one seemed anxious to leave.<br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-LGQ5V67I/AAAAAAAABYg/Jw_dgyljejg/s1600/P1000503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-LGQ5V67I/AAAAAAAABYg/Jw_dgyljejg/s400/P1000503.JPG" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-LLXdYWfI/AAAAAAAABYo/5t7kKikwCd4/s1600/P1000504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SR-LLXdYWfI/AAAAAAAABYo/5t7kKikwCd4/s320/P1000504.JPG" /></a></div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-67707609809571646042008-11-12T20:42:00.000-08:002008-11-12T12:44:31.629-08:00[Updated] Another Rush!!Updated: <a href="http://www.lifepursuitvideo.net/asppublic/Video91935.aspx?VID=12799&VF=gyanpenrose-kafka_102908-1541.flv">Link to the video of my jump</a><br />
<br />
OK, this post isn't about mountain biking, but it's about something just as exciting. Today [26/October/2008] I went skydiving! It was an absolute blast. I took my son for his 19th birthday and enrolled us in the Accelerated Free Fall solo jump course at <a href="http://www.skydivesandiego.com/">Skydive San Diego</a>. My dear friend Beth from Martha's Vineyard came along with the intent to do a tandem jump. Due to concerns about her knee she decided that she didn't want to jump, but after watching how smooth and soft the landings were for several dozen other people, she decided to do the tandem jump after all. <br />
<br />
We started out early in the morning, leaving Encinitas at around 6:30am and arriving at the Otay Lakes site just a little before 8am. Our course was scheduled to start at 8, but as was to be expected, there was paperwork to do and after waiting for late arrivals, so we finally got started with ground school around 9.<br />
<br />
Once we got going, ground school went pretty fast with only 6 people in the class. We learned hand signals that the in-air instructors would be giving us. We also learned the correct position for free fall, how to control the chute once it was open, the mechanics and parts of a parachute and how to recover from possible malfunctions. It was a bit awkward, in my opinion, that the last 45 minutes of the class were about possible malfunctions, rather than ending the class on a more positive note by burying the unlikely malfunctions in the middle of the class.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQccuMjHyjI/AAAAAAAABNk/sb-Mf8bmGtA/s1600/P1000465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQccuMjHyjI/AAAAAAAABNk/sb-Mf8bmGtA/s320/P1000465.JPG" /></a>We also spent a good amount of time going over the airplane exit procedures and body position. The all important "arch" was drilled into us from the moment we got into the classroom.<br />
<br />
My son and I were the first to practice the exit procedure with an actual chute on. Man, they were a lot heavier than I would have thought, and after twenty minutes with them on, my shoulders were screaming.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQcchdgxa8I/AAAAAAAABMU/QbZEh-Kz2N0/s1600/P1000455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQcchdgxa8I/AAAAAAAABMU/QbZEh-Kz2N0/s320/P1000455.JPG" /></a></div><br />
The instructor had us lay on the ground to practice the free fall arch position, while he came around to check whether we were "relaxed" enough and in the right position to allow him to flop us around. With the chute still on, it was not easy to keep in a good position. I was really glad when he told me to let someone else try on the parachute.<br />
<br />
After the ground school was finished, we sat around and waited to be manifested on a plane. This was one of the points where Skydive San Diego appeared to be unorganized, at least for the uninitiated. After about an hour of waiting, I decided to ask what the deal was, and was told that we'd be jumping around 3pm. With about 90 minutes to spare, I decided that we should head off to East Lake Village to pick up some lunch (since the only food that they had on site were burgers and pizza, neither of which was very enticing to me. My son decided to order a specially made sushi roll, and the fellow making it was about as slow as he could possibly be and still make progress. After about 10 minutes of making the roll, we were back on the road, and another 10 minutes later we were back at the drop zone.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQcc9Ay2BhI/AAAAAAAABPI/6-SSMIFzOpw/s1600/P1000477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQcc9Ay2BhI/AAAAAAAABPI/6-SSMIFzOpw/s320/P1000477.JPG" /></a><br />
Just as we got back we heard my son's name being called over the loud speaker and he rushed to get a jump suit, parachute and then kitted up.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, we were all manifested on the same plane, but while Hakan was suited up and ready to go, there was no one who seemed to be able to provide any information about me or Beth, other than that we were all on the same plane.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQcdBOCXlkI/AAAAAAAABPg/nzBD1Hk1u8A/s1600/P1000480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQcdBOCXlkI/AAAAAAAABPg/nzBD1Hk1u8A/s320/P1000480.JPG" /></a></div>After a while, with only about 20 minutes to go before we were supposed to load up into the plane, someone one of my in flight instructors finally showed up and got me kitted up. After suiting up, he ran me through the exit and jump procedures one more time, and then told me to go to the waiting area. Beth took one more picture of Hakan and I before we headed out to the plane, a twin prop Otter.<br />
<br />
On the walk out, our camera flyers (I bought the "delux video package" for both of us) filmed us and asked us how things were going.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQccwfjcYMI/AAAAAAAABN0/3C9mZgKNU_4/s1600/P1000467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQccwfjcYMI/AAAAAAAABN0/3C9mZgKNU_4/s320/P1000467.JPG" /></a>Once on the plane we took our seats, somewhat crowded together, with Beth all the way at the front of the plane, Hakan a few spaces further back, and I was somewhere in the middle of the plane. I had one of my in-air instructors to my right and one across the isle from me.<br />
<br />
As we climbed, the in-air instructors asked me what I would do at the specific altitude we were at. At 5500' I told them I would pull the rip cord. At 6000' I told them that I would wave off and reach for the rip cord. It was at that point that all the training seemed to disappear from my head. When they asked me what the different hand signals meant I couldn't remember "Circle of Awareness" (checking the altitude on the altimeter and scanning the horizon.) I recovered my composure, but felt very awkward for having forgotten something so basic.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQY039pTFwI/AAAAAAAABKk/bRE_qzh_xwI/s1600/024_1A.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQY039pTFwI/AAAAAAAABKk/bRE_qzh_xwI/s320/024_1A.JPG" /></a></div><br />
When we got to 13000' they opened the door and people started jumping out. Very quickly the back half of the plane was empty and it was my turn. One in-air instructor positioned himself outside the airplane and the other just on the inside.<br />
<br />
I shouted "Check In" to the instructor inside and "Check Out" to the outside instructor, each responding with "Check". I looked down but VERY quickly decided it was best to just look forward at the propeller and wing. I then ran through the three steps: "Drop" (lowering my shoulder so I was no longer wedged in the doorway), "Prop" (I continued to look forward at the propeller), and "Jump" (stepping out of the airplane). Strangely enough, just writing this has caused my heart to race and give me butterflies in my stomach.<br />
<br />
As I started to fall, I could feel the turbulance of my body and tried to figure out how to make them stop. Then, one of my instructors shook me, reminding me to relax and arch. I did so, and all the turbulance stopped and the free fall felt very smooth.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQY03EE9a_I/AAAAAAAABKU/wPTgF42VggA/s1600/003_22A.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQY03EE9a_I/AAAAAAAABKU/wPTgF42VggA/s400/003_22A.JPG" /></a>They ran me through the different skill checks (altitude awareness, practice handle touches, more altitude awareness) and kept telling me to straighten out my legs. They were giving me hand signals, to do all this, which would have been much better had I been aware of what it would be like because they seemed to be in the periphery of my vision rather than easily seen. Of course, everything was in the periphery of my mind at this point with the exception of falling. I checked my altimeter and we were at 7000'.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQY03uJoBNI/AAAAAAAABKc/5XG4kvem15I/s1600/021_4A.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SQY03uJoBNI/AAAAAAAABKc/5XG4kvem15I/s400/021_4A.JPG" /></a>The next thing I knew one of the in-air instructors was telling me to pull the rip cord. I reached down, grabbed the handle and threw it as I had been taught. My in-air instructors were quickly gone below me as my chute opened, leaving me by myself.<br />
<br />
The parachute had opened properly and I grabbed the toggles and tested out turning to the right and turning to the left, and then finally flaring to slow the parachute down.<br />
<br />
I looked down below me and the ground was quickly approaching (all though, not nearly as fast as it had been when I was free-falling at 120 miles per hour.) I turned this way and that, experimenting with the way that the parachute worked, enjoying myself as I watched the ground approach.<br />
<br />
When I got to 1000', I started working my way down the air strip as we had been instructed, turning to cross the airstrip at 500' and then heading into the wind at 250'. At this point I heard a crackle on the radio instructing me that I was doing great. As I approached the ground the voice on the radio told me "not yet", "not yet", "not yet", "not yet" and then finally "Flare". I was about 10' feet off the ground and I pulled the toggles all the way down, bringing me to a very soft landing.<br />
<br />
I gathered up my parachute and headed back to the waiting area. I was looking for Hakan and Beth as I walked, and just as I got to the fence, Beth and her Tandem Instructor came floating down. Beth had a smile on her face that was so big, it extended past her ears! I still didn't see Hakan anywhere. There was only one more person descending, and I figured that had to be him. He too made a perfect landing.<br />
<br />
I dropped my parachute off, got comments on my jump from the in-air instructors who gave me my log book, and decided right then and there that I was going to continue on toward my A-Licence (25 jumps).<br />
<br />
We chatted on the way back to Encinitas, everyone was thrilled, excited and stimulated. I feel like I've embarked on a new adventure that will keep me engaged for a long time.<br />
<br />
Of course, I still have Mountain Biking, so when I'm not jumping out of planes, I'll be riding single track. Now, if I can just figure out a way to combine the two... :) <br />
<br />
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-30040175690323079532008-11-05T15:51:00.000-08:002008-11-05T16:15:35.987-08:00Glaciers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/168/427820912_cf86586f15.jpg?v=0" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/168/427820912_cf86586f15.jpg?v=0" width="420" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It sure would be nice to see some thaw happening in the gears of county and city management with respect to the San Diego Mountain Biking Association/National Mountain Bike Patrol. But, we might see the end to several glaciers around the world before anything in government happens.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I spoke with a representative from the county before I went to Moab in the beginning of October and she claimed that she was unable to get the ear of her boss to talk about the NMBP and the coordination required to make a viable alternative across county and city governments for us to volunteer without needing background checks and orientations for each park and city and the county itself. Now, almost 5 weeks later, she still hasn't been able to meet with him. It's no wonder so little happens.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have also tried to contact the trails coordinator for the city of San Diego about 10 times. He returned my call once and left me a message. I've left my cell and home phone number and email, but I'm getting frustrated. On top of that, he's not even the person I need to deal with, but is supposed to be able to point me in the right direction.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On a more positive note, CNLM, which manages La Costa, Flightline and Calaveras is very interested in having us patrol, but I'm caught in that loop of the person I am talking to has to talk to someone else who probably has to talk to someone else and then the chain flows back. I'm waiting for a call back right now...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maybe we'll have a patrol going by 2099 :(</div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-88534110494535180412008-11-02T13:27:00.000-08:002008-11-04T14:04:49.388-08:002008-11-01 La Costa Conservation Area<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jake and I were expecting to be joined by some others, but as it was, we had the whole trail to ourselves as we started the climb up the switchbacks. I was a bit apprehensive about the ride because I forgot to bring my guards, so I didn't push the limits as much as I would have had I been wearing them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SQ4bsrWwGBI/AAAAAAAABRw/ciGRnh4NK_s/s1600/P1000487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" jf="true" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SQ4bsrWwGBI/AAAAAAAABRw/ciGRnh4NK_s/s400/P1000487.JPG" /></a>We climbed the switchbacks in pretty good time. Since this was Jake's first time at La Costa, he was distracted by the views of Batiquitos Lagoon to the west. I have to admit, even though I've ridden La Costa many times, the view of the ocean is always a welcomed sight, not to mention that even on a warm, clear day, the ocean breeze keeps things cool and refreshing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SQ4c0GI9_sI/AAAAAAAABSQ/f27aC2W1XLI/s1600/P1000485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" jf="true" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SQ4c0GI9_sI/AAAAAAAABSQ/f27aC2W1XLI/s400/P1000485.JPG" /></a>After climbing to the top of the hill, we jetted down the fire road on the other side, through the old green waste site and then up to the next water tower. I was feeling a bit slow, but I kept my pace as fast as I could. Jake wasn't far behind, and after a very brief stop at the top of the second hill, we headed back down. Just as we got through the gate, back into the conservation area, two other guys were going up hill. We sailed past them. When we got to the bottom, Jake commented about how he thought the downhill run seemed to be a shorter distance than the uphill, even though we rode the same trail.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SQ4bm1WeCtI/AAAAAAAABRY/tPPpCMpoWCE/s1600/P1000482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" jf="true" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SQ4bm1WeCtI/AAAAAAAABRY/tPPpCMpoWCE/s320/P1000482.JPG" /></a>We were quickly climbing back up the back side of the conservation area. I could really feel the strain of the climb in my legs, so I was glad when we got off the fire road and onto the little serpentine singletrack since it's much flatter. We stayed on the singletrack, crossing the road, and continued on our way down the southwest side of the hill. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SQ4bpGmn1oI/AAAAAAAABRg/3e9XgX2hXXA/s1600/P1000483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" jf="true" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yf-Gl_xcjMg/SQ4bpGmn1oI/AAAAAAAABRg/3e9XgX2hXXA/s320/P1000483.JPG" /></a>On the way down, I encountered a pair of hikers. I politely pulled over to let them pass, motioning to them that they could continue on and saying that they had the right of way. The woman snidely remarked that no one else had ever stopped for her. I thought to myself, that while she may be right in her indignation, she probably had never come out to do any trail work, and that the trail we were on was built by mountain bikers and not hikers.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, as we reached the bottom and started on the short uphill section back to the Calle Sitio trail, Jake looked ahead and saw two riders going up the switchbacks and thought we were going to climb back up. He let out a loud "Oh Gyan" that was reminiscent of vocalizations I've heard during other pursuits, but I assured him that we weren't going to climb back up again. I don't think he trusted me, because he stayed put until, I assume, it became evident that I was heading on a flat trail and not upward.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Afterward, we enjoyed a nice conversation at my house while sipping cool water and watching some mountain bike videos. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-43663390457867122032008-10-11T19:31:00.000-07:002008-10-14T17:17:25.073-07:0024 Hours of Moab and Bartlett Wash 2008-10-11The trip is coming to a rapid closure, and I today is my last day for riding. Even so, I was a bit saddened by my loneliness as stayed in bed until about 10. I then decided I'd go off and check out the 24 Hours of Moab race because I was hoping that there would be a big vendor area and the opportunity to get gear at a discount.<br />
<br />
I headed south out of town, knowing only that the venue was about 12 miles south of town. But, did that mean 12 mils south of Center St. or did it mean 12 miles south of the edge of the city. Regardless, I assumed it'd be well marked. As I drove south on Utah 191, I just happened to see a plastic ribbon strung to a bush and as I looked back in the mirror, I saw a sign that simply said "24". That was it. It seems like I wasn't the only one who missed the entry, as three other cars turned around with me at the turnout just down the road.<br />
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The drive from the highway to the actual venue was down a dusty dirt road. I was in a long line of cars, and when I finally made it to the entrance, I was required to cough up $10 to get in. I continued on, found a parking spot and walked around looking for a vendor area. Amazingly enough, there wasn't one. You'd think that with all the racers, biking families and other bike people, that this would be a great location to at least take orders for items, if not have a stock of various items to sell. But, the only ones who were really there in that regard were the light people (NiteRider, PrincetonTec, etc.)<br />
<br />
The wind was whipping up all the sand and the entire area was like a giant dust cloud. Everyone who had a face mask or Buff or bandanna was wearing it. I saw the race get started and then I left to go do my own riding.<br />
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I drove north, wanting to ride at Bartlett Wash. I had seen some pictures and I was impressed by the steep bowls and interesting Slickrock formations. About 18 miles north of Center St. I found "Blue Hills Road" (some of the hills here really are "blue") From there, I navigated my way out to the parking lot and campground. I kitted up, as usual, alone, and started my ride. The ride took me through a stream bed and then up what appeared to be an unrideable incline (although from the tracks on the hill, it obviously does get ridden by some.<br />
<br />
Unlike the "Slickrock Trail" just outside of Moab, this trail has no painted lines or cairns to locate in the distance. On the one hand, this makes the ride as free-form as you'd like. On the other hand, there was this nagging feeling like I was missing something because I didn't know where to go.<br />
<br />
The wind was very strong although there wasn't the amount of dust in the air as there was at the Behind the Stones trail (24 Hour venue). I couldn't help feeling like I was climbing a very steep hill as I made my way horizontally along one of the stepped ridges that ran the length of the finger of slickrock. I zigged and zagged my way upward, always looking for areas in the stepped ridges where I could manage to manual up and over. In some instances I traversed almost the entire length of the finger to find a spot that I was capable of riding my bike to the next higher ridge. In other instances the shortest steps from ridge to ridge were very close, getting me closer to the boulders and trees that lined the top of the finger.<br />
<br />
When I finally made my way to the last ridge, I discovered that the area with the boulders and trees was also covered with sand that somehow was very moist (I don't think it rained recently, but maybe it did last night while I was sleeping), and my wheels didn't really want to move through it very quickly. Plus, I was still fighting the wind.<br />
<br />
As I made my way along this top ridge, in the direction from which I had started the ride, I noticed two riders making their way up the stepped ridges, but much less eloquently than I had--they just got off their heavy downhill bikes and lifted them up and over the steps. I turned around when I came to the end of the trail--a spot where it appeared that other riders had simply descended straight down the stepped face of the slickrock. Since I wasn't interested in trying my luck and skill on 100cm-150cm hucks, I decided that I'd chase after the two other riders and possibly tag along with them.<br />
<br />
Even though we were on a trajectory that would bring us to the same space at the same time, and given how I made repeated attempts to show them that I saw them, they failed to acknowledge my presence even when we were all within just a few feet of one another. So, instead of meeting up with them and chatting and possibly riding with them, I navigated past them as they ignored me. At this point I was on a "flat" section of slickrock, past the finger and the wind was fierce.<br />
<br />
I rode into the wind to the edge of the slickrock to find myself high above the sandy wash. I hadn't realized I was so high up, but when faced with what appeared to be a cliff, I decided I'd keep my distance. I turned and followed the countour of the ridge, but the wind was so strong that it was very difficult to keep the bike going in the direction I wanted. After a few hundred meters I decided to give up, and turned the bike in the direction of the wind. WOW! No pedaling needed. I was being blown across the slickrock, my back acting like a sail to the wind. The only time I had to pedal was when I needed to manual up a small step. When I got back to the finger area, I found a few really interesting dips and bowls to ride. One of the hills was so steep that I was a little scared to descend. But, I knew it was smooth and slickrock tacky, so I rode down. About half way down there was a change in the rock, with pockmarks all over the side of the steepest part of the hill. I lost my nerve, and it's probably a good thing, because the trajectory that I had been heading would have put me right in line for the largest of the pocks that might have stopped me and thrown me over the handlebars. To be honest, my leg still hurts and that's giving me some hesitation to try anything that's outside of my known ability level.<br />
<br />
I played around on the hill for a while, but I was unable to actually ride back up. So, using the pockmarks as footholds, I walked the bike back to the top of the hill and then continued along the finger toward the place where I started the ride. At one point I was moving across a very steep slope and the bike slid on some sand. Fearing that it'd be a long slide down, I unclipped and tried to catch myself before I fell. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get my foot down. Fortunately, I was wearing my knee guards because landed squarely on my knee. My slide down the hill was avoided, my knee was uninjured and I was soon on my way.<br />
<br />
The two other riders I had seen were already back at the parking lot when I got there. I tried to make conversation with them, but they simply grunted and moved out of view. Oh well.<br />
<br />
I think Bartlett Wash might be a great place to ride when there's no wind, and if I make another trip to Moab in the future, I'll be certain to go back and explore more.Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-36909641968749589752008-10-10T20:16:00.000-07:002008-10-14T10:56:59.126-07:00Gemini Bridges 2008-10-10Gemini Bridges sounds like one of those nice places to ride until you actually get started. The ride was listed as an easy ride that is usually done as a shuttle, but is also possible to do as an out-and-back. The out-and-back option also can be done from either the 'top' (where the shuttled riders start) to Gemini Bridges and then back, or from the 'bottom' (where shuttled riders leave a vehicle to take them back to the 'top.'<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SPSmHzpQ5PI/AAAAAAAABFE/vIb82HnnTpM/s1600/P1000442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SPSmHzpQ5PI/AAAAAAAABFE/vIb82HnnTpM/s400/P1000442.JPG" /></a></div>I started from the 'bottom' and rode up to Gemini Bridges. The going was on dirt roads the whole way, and as such the area in front of my wheels had very little of interest to keep my attention focused. There were a few good climbs, and at one point I was several hundred meters above the highway and could look out and see Arches National Park. Otherwise, it was a good excuse for exercise as well as a good way to get my leg moving after the Amasa Back incident two days ago.<br />
<br />
As I was getting ready to ride, I was approached by a fellow who had shuttled with a large group. Unfortunately for him, he apparently forgot to bring the keys to the car that he left in the parking lot where I was kitting up. He offered me $20 to drive him 12 miles down dirt roads to get to where his keys were. $20 wasn't enough to eat up what would have been probably 2 hours of my time and a bunch of gas, so I declined his offer.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SPSmE3P2ICI/AAAAAAAABE8/FlK_xTIsAZo/s1600/P1000441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SPSmE3P2ICI/AAAAAAAABE8/FlK_xTIsAZo/s400/P1000441.JPG" /></a>The Gemini Bridges, themselves, were pretty impressive. When I arrived I just saw this huge hole in the ground with a rope stretched across. Some climbers cinching gear and making modifications to their outfits, but I didn't hang around long enough to see anyone rapel down the hole. I rode my bike around on the slickrock field that was all around me, coming to the very edge of the canyon where I noticed that I was actually quite high above the canyon floor.<br />
<br />
The ride back had a good portion of downhill, followed by a very steep climb before heading back down to the level of the highway. All the way back I kept thinking I would catch up with the group I encountered about 2/3 of the way to the Gemini Bridges. I did see them again, though they were waiting for a their shuttle car to return.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SPSmKVNuvvI/AAAAAAAABFM/Z_IJ725BN0o/s1600/P1000443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SPSmKVNuvvI/AAAAAAAABFM/Z_IJ725BN0o/s400/P1000443.JPG" /></a></div>It was a pleasant enough way to get my leg moving again, but I wouldn't suggest this ride to anyone who is looking for excitement, technical trails or beautiful vistas.Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-54506679250748600522008-10-09T13:38:00.000-07:002008-10-09T15:57:32.882-07:00Arches National Park<div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">Ok, my leg is still not 80%, although after icing it for much of the night and then hiking on it today, it's feeling much better. The major issue seems to be not from where I banged my leg but from the muscles that have had to compensate for the injured tissue.</div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">Anyway, I had a pleasant time at Arches National Park. I stopped to hike at various points; not going far, but usually about a half-hour to explore the different rock structures. As I hiked here and there, I couldn't shake my thoughts free from a repeating pattern of desires. And everywhere I went, my thoughts were reflected back at me. </div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO5oWaY2I0I/AAAAAAAAA3c/YTA1dY8_6hg/s1600/P1000341.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO5oWaY2I0I/AAAAAAAAA3c/YTA1dY8_6hg/s400/P1000341.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO5ocd9imWI/AAAAAAAAA4E/yARn37zihwM/s1600/P1000346.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO5ocd9imWI/AAAAAAAAA4E/yARn37zihwM/s400/P1000346.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; 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TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO5qfrmkkrI/AAAAAAAABA0/hon_RYirns8/s1600/P1000415.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO5qfrmkkrI/AAAAAAAABA0/hon_RYirns8/s400/P1000415.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO5q3e6hkdI/AAAAAAAABCo/9oJHZhOXUFk/s1600/P1000429.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO5q3e6hkdI/AAAAAAAABCo/9oJHZhOXUFk/s400/P1000429.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO5q7gMBApI/AAAAAAAABDI/smCw9q2RBOg/s1600/P1000433.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO5q7gMBApI/AAAAAAAABDI/smCw9q2RBOg/s400/P1000433.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-28425527043083713332008-10-08T21:06:00.000-07:002008-10-09T15:57:53.912-07:00Amasa Back<div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO157hKPaPI/AAAAAAAAAzY/wAdlH9qG6-A/s1600/P1000326.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO157hKPaPI/AAAAAAAAAzY/wAdlH9qG6-A/s400/P1000326.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a>I was excited about riding Amasa Back. The drive there was beautiful, driving along the edge of the Colorado River. When I got to the parking lot, I took my time getting ready, but for some reason I forgot to put on my padded shorts.</div><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">It started out the wrong way...</div><table style="WIDTH: auto"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9BNXA-J8sXP91X7CrGu9FA" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO2DLSh8uAI/AAAAAAAAA10/0N5qNCGy1k8/s400/Amasa%20Back%20-%20A%20Bad%20Start.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="FONT-SIZE: 11px; FONT-FAMILY: arial,sans-serif; TEXT-ALIGN: right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/MtB">MtB</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">I should have walked, but I was feeling cocky, and it didn't look like it was undoable. But I was really not feeling in top form even from the start. The first fall didn't slow me down. On the second fall though, I slammed my thigh into a rock and there was a lot of pain in my quadraceps, But I could move and I could pedal, so I continued on anyway with the belief that I just needed to work out the muscle.</div></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="CLEAR: right; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; cssfloat: right" href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO16O1bfBUI/AAAAAAAAA08/sXtkGWVJPNc/s1600/P1000338.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO16O1bfBUI/AAAAAAAAA08/sXtkGWVJPNc/s400/P1000338.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">But, the pain never went away regardless of how hard I tried to ride. I did make it to the top of Cliff Hanger, where I struck up a conversation with some guys who were 'wheeling'. The view over the canyons around us was pretty incredible.<br /><br />The ride back down was slow with lots of walking.<br /><br />I returned to the hotel and iced my leg which made it feel much better. After some stretching, everything was moving better.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO16MGnDRWI/AAAAAAAAA0s/BsgOxA8gbcE/s1600/P1000336.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO16MGnDRWI/AAAAAAAAA0s/BsgOxA8gbcE/s400/P1000336.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="CLEAR: right; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; cssfloat: right" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO16I0EVVqI/AAAAAAAAA0c/R7ggGn0LR3Q/s1600/P1000334.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO16I0EVVqI/AAAAAAAAA0c/R7ggGn0LR3Q/s400/P1000334.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><br /></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO16CavWAGI/AAAAAAAAAz4/9hCktIRUbi0/s1600/P1000330.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SO16CavWAGI/AAAAAAAAAz4/9hCktIRUbi0/s400/P1000330.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-74156429152735869362008-10-07T17:46:00.000-07:002008-10-07T20:58:35.107-07:00Slickrock<div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwBo6VDB7I/AAAAAAAAAyQ/dgRm6Obxu_s/s1600/P1000324.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwBo6VDB7I/AAAAAAAAAyQ/dgRm6Obxu_s/s400/P1000324.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a>Moab: The name means so much to Mountain Bikers across the world. Beyond the oft referenced Islamic connotations, it has other religious inferences.</div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">Slickrock is Moab, but only to a small degree. Slickrock is just about anything but slick. It's grippy and tacky and if you slide on it you're doing something very wrong. </div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="CLEAR: right; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; cssfloat: right" href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwBsCefOLI/AAAAAAAAAyg/atHWYgd2Egw/s1600/Moab%20-%20Slickrock%20Trail%20Sattelite%20Image.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwBsCefOLI/AAAAAAAAAyg/atHWYgd2Egw/s400/Moab%20-%20Slickrock%20Trail%20Sattelite%20Image.jpg" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">The jagged La Sal mountains, frosted with snow, were a powerful contrast to the flowing sea of rock that I was climbing and surfing.</div><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">Inclines that remind me of walls are possible to climb provided you are in the right gear and far enough forward over the bar to keep the front end from coming unglued from the rock.</div><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">There were very few people out when I was riding. On the one hand, it was nice because I could take pictures without getting riders. It was also nice to not have to wait for groups of people to ascend or desend. I ran into one group of about 8 people who were going very slowly. They said that they'd been out for 2.5 hours when I had been out for 1.75 hours, and they had more than half the loop left to do. </div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwAt3CAkhI/AAAAAAAAAs8/lF1IgkNgd8g/s1600/P1000283.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwAt3CAkhI/AAAAAAAAAs8/lF1IgkNgd8g/s320/P1000283.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">It was perfect weather for a ride. The sun was shining, but the air was crisp, even in the middle of the day. The average temperature according to my bike computer was 23° C.</div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">Even though there wasn't a whole lot of climbing, with the exception of the hill in the picture, the ride was a constant up and down, and consistantly, steep in both directions.</div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">There were a lot of places there I sabotaged myself by looking at something and thinking I wouldn't be able to do it. Although, on a several climbs I just powered it out and made it without any problem.</div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><a style="CLEAR: right; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; cssfloat: right" href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwBgbeKg-I/AAAAAAAAAxk/SRCjlMPZHPw/s1600/P1000319.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwBgbeKg-I/AAAAAAAAAxk/SRCjlMPZHPw/s320/P1000319.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">I have to thank Joe Lawwill for all the knowledge he imparted when I did the BikeSkills class. Without what he taught me in that class, I would have had a very difficult time riding both here at Slickrock as well as at Little Creek. It's amazing what a manual can do</div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwBTZItPoI/AAAAAAAAAwU/0vBd6GjU_nI/s1600/P1000309.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwBTZItPoI/AAAAAAAAAwU/0vBd6GjU_nI/s200/P1000309.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a> </div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwBOe89CII/AAAAAAAAAv8/_s1rm9BrEiY/s1600/P1000306.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwBOe89CII/AAAAAAAAAv8/_s1rm9BrEiY/s400/P1000306.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwBHy9X2xI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/Yoi2v-v-vvQ/s1600/P1000301.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOwBHy9X2xI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/Yoi2v-v-vvQ/s320/P1000301.JPG" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-71992698601362561202008-10-06T20:17:00.000-07:002008-10-06T23:31:13.709-07:00Hurricane to Moab through Zion<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOrWfPvQADI/AAAAAAAAAnA/CsbEAgQakvw/s1600/Hurricane%20to%20Moab%20Map%20Track.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOrWfPvQADI/AAAAAAAAAnA/CsbEAgQakvw/s400/Hurricane%20to%20Moab%20Map%20Track.jpg" xd="true" /></a>For some unknown reason, I had a hard time getting myself together to leave this morning. Between this and that, it wasn't until just before 11 when I finally got out the door.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I decided to take the advice that John and Steve gave me, and drive through Zion and then up the 89 to the 70 instead of driving the non-stop, cruise controlled I-15 to the 70. It was definately more beautiful in spots than I would have seen on the 15, but I feel the weight of the added driving time on me now.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOr-qDjW-kI/AAAAAAAAAno/afifffJBvFU/s1600/P1000248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOr-qDjW-kI/AAAAAAAAAno/afifffJBvFU/s400/P1000248.JPG" xd="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Along the way I saw a sign for a rest stop and a hiking/atv "trail" (Paiute Side Loop), and I was feeling like I needed to get some exercise, so I got my bike together and set off up the dirt road. I expected it to switch to something a little more interesting, but it never did. It was just a big dirt road for ATVs. The only excitement was climbing up and up and up for 40 minutes before I turned around and headed for the car. It makes me realize that I'm not much of a downhill rider, because I was never shy about handling the breaks. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOsAmdweeuI/AAAAAAAAAqY/pc7HiyyfDjg/s1600/P1000266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOsAmdweeuI/AAAAAAAAAqY/pc7HiyyfDjg/s320/P1000266.JPG" xd="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">There was a bunch of snow at higher elevations which was cool to look at. I can only think that winter is going to come hard this year around here.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It was a good feeling to see signs for Moab and know I was getting closer. I easily found the hotel and checked in. Of course, even though I reconfirmed, they didn't have an upstairs kitchen unit. So, I'll move tomorrow.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOr-z4XFtoI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/Zo3d1EUe-jE/s1600/P1000253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOr-z4XFtoI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/Zo3d1EUe-jE/s400/P1000253.JPG" xd="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOr-8yJGNHI/AAAAAAAAAo4/pYCCY9_DLNk/s1600/P1000258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOr-8yJGNHI/AAAAAAAAAo4/pYCCY9_DLNk/s400/P1000258.JPG" xd="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-49430659695058377022008-10-05T22:29:00.000-07:002008-10-05T23:33:35.360-07:00Little Creek<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOmWLguv7PI/AAAAAAAAAgY/yucJV6-wjTo/s1600/P1000200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOmWLguv7PI/AAAAAAAAAgY/yucJV6-wjTo/s320/P1000200.JPG" xd="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I met up with Russel, Steve and John, members of the Color Country NMBP, at Over the Edge Sports in Hurricane. We were soon moving down the road to Little Creek. After approximately 15 miles on a paved road, we turned onto a dirt road which lead us gradually upward onto the Little Creek mesa.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This was my first introduction to slickrock and I must say I enjoyed it. We were riding for about four hours over expansive oceans of super grippy rock and sweet singletrack patches of gritty soil weaving through small trees that unlike similar sized trees in San Diego don't bend. In fact, I managed at one point to run into what i thought was a 30cm high shrub that stopped me dead in my tracks. Fortunately, I was able to unclip fast enough to save my body from a hard landing.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOmWc9Q0UkI/AAAAAAAAAhI/UomJJgzLP7c/s1600/P1000206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOmWc9Q0UkI/AAAAAAAAAhI/UomJJgzLP7c/s320/P1000206.JPG" xd="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
Steve, originally from Ramona and then Julian, lead the pack for most of the ride. He was clearly a good rider with a lot of skill and practice in this terrain. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">John was usually second and was most often in the gaze of my helmet cam. I shot video of the whole ride and have started to edit it. I'm going to make another music video out of it.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And generally bringing up the rear (and thankfully sweeping me back onto the trail the few times I lost it in the scrabble of rocks.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOmWsMaFnOI/AAAAAAAAAiE/TecwQMzgp5s/s1600/P1000213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOmWsMaFnOI/AAAAAAAAAiE/TecwQMzgp5s/s320/P1000213.JPG" xd="true" /></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOmWSdaxTfI/AAAAAAAAAgw/jhp2PlKciwI/s1600/P1000203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOmWSdaxTfI/AAAAAAAAAgw/jhp2PlKciwI/s320/P1000203.JPG" xd="true" /></a><br />
<br />
We rode out to the "North Point", snaking our way along the rim of the mesa, with incredible views, although it was generally recommended to keep eyes focused on the trail and not look out over the cliff. One medium sized error would be all it would have taken at some points to have found flight. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We stopped at a few spots along the rim to gnosh and talk. The conversation was pleasant and it was clear that this group of guys was not of the political and social pursuasion one is told to expect in Southern Utah.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div>From one of the places we stopped, it was possible to see Gooseberry Mesa in the distance. I'm told that Gooseberry Mesa is much more technical than the ride at Little Creek. <br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">There wasn't a whole lot that was too technical, but it was still necessary to be on for the whole time. We rode waves of stone that had gaps and drops and steps. There were creek beds, and waterfalls and a whole host of great riding.<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOmW2J-6xPI/AAAAAAAAAiU/fhGVqZd60E4/s1600/P1000215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOmW2J-6xPI/AAAAAAAAAiU/fhGVqZd60E4/s320/P1000215.JPG" xd="true" /></a>When the ride was finished, Russel passed around beers and gatoraide. I must say, a cold beer after a ride was very pleasant. I was slow packing up, but I didn't want to hold up the other guys who still needed to drive to Ceder City. So I bid them fair well, and continued packing and changing. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOmWZhdQOBI/AAAAAAAAAhA/rE0KRBMSIhU/s1600/P1000205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOmWZhdQOBI/AAAAAAAAAhA/rE0KRBMSIhU/s320/P1000205.JPG" xd="true" /></a>The drive back to the paved road seemed too take much longer than the drive in, maybe because I was able to focus on the scenery rather than the bumpy road.<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I took several pictures that I want to stich together into a panarama, but I uninstalled the application a few weeks ago and I forgot to bring the disc with me.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div>Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-63890773932880646662008-10-04T19:16:00.000-07:002008-10-04T20:09:19.733-07:00Hiking in Zion<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOgpGfhGGHI/AAAAAAAAAfs/EMRj96Dx4Bk/s400/P1000199.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ZenMonkeyMtB/SOgpGfhGGHI/AAAAAAAAAfs/EMRj96Dx4Bk/s400/P1000199.jpg" border="0" /></a>Well, it wasn't much of a hike, but it was enjoyable to get out after sitting around all day waiting for the rain to stop. The sun was going down as I walked along the river, normally on a small ridge trail that ran on about 2m above the water line.<br /><br />Hopefully the storm will blow over by tomorrow and I can get some riding in. Kind of silly to be stuck somewhere, paying for a hotel room, and have nothing to do. If I can't ride tomorrow, I'll go back to Zion and take the shuttle all the way to the end.Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-73607833780601682652008-10-04T11:52:00.000-07:002008-10-04T12:44:38.347-07:00Sitting in the middle of Hurricane<div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="CLEAR: right; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; cssfloat: right" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FCCjGx4yRG0dtaYoNE67_h_0mTB2-6WHbWE9Y5-d0tYabTtzyLX6RNwOD-o91t0ctnOhaI5sA2dRjAxsvD0g8Na21iCzgeWPkDrai7g3X456pWCqOK40k-Se7Kqy90Q_PPhpjg/s1600-h/Encinitas+to+Hurricane+GPS+Track+Image.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EuXrLD3-SQDJ4lJG2qr9mg1eQWwd9NkDoLyGyZldRUNafgOi8dhfS2yzffYQyWoT63p1q5gX6aVxDBERMRtB42dYo1266GUK2PzIt6QQ3cG0mEF1Qsf-_1amSihqmhynH8-uOg/s400-r/Encinitas+to+Hurricane+GPS+Track+Image.jpg" border="0" xd="true" /></a></div>By the time I got up and got myself going, and then going here and there to buy the few little things that I wanted for the trip, I finally made it out the door and onto the freeway at 10:47am. I set the cruise control at 90km/h and settled into the right hand lane for the long haul to Hurricane, UT.<br /><br />The trip would have been much better to do in the dead of night because at least that way I wouldn't be able to see that there was nothing to see.<br /><br />Vast expanses of monotonous desert landscape stretched around me without even the suggestion of hidden treasures. The only interesting thing that I noticed were the areas on the freeway tarmac that had multiple skid marks going in every-which direction. There seemed to be too many skid marks to suggest that it had been a multi-car pileup, but on the other hand, the regularity with which patches of cement were dotted with black skid marks made me wonder.<br /><br />I'm sold on the benefit of driving at 55 mph now more than ever. I left Encinitas with a half tank of gas. When I filled up again, I had gone 80 extra miles on a tank of gas from what I would have used had I been driving at 65. The first full tank of gas had gotten me to 225 miles on a half-tank. When I drove at 65 I would only have gotten to 150 miles on a half tank. It's also a lot less stressful than driving faster because I'm out of that "I'm trying to be first" mentality.<br /><br />Anyway, I woke up this morning looking forward to riding and enjoying conversation with the Russel from the Color Country NMBP. Then, I rushed though a shower so I could grab something from the free breakfast before it ended. When I opened the door I was greeted with a San Diego winter day. It was cold and raining. Not a great way to start a vacation!<br /><br />I grabbed some fruit and coffee, headed back to the room and called Russel and we agreed to meet up tomorrow for a ride. Hopefully this storm will blow over by then. Now, at around 1:30 in the afternoon, the rain has mostly ended and the sky is starting to lighten up.Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33594103.post-25168944406629139732008-10-03T02:58:00.000-07:002008-10-03T02:59:26.752-07:00Ready for MoabIt's 2:58am on the 3rd of October. I've got everything packed into the car except the batteries that are still charging, the charger itself, my toothbrush and a few odds and ends that are already in a bag. I was thinking about just leaving now, but I still have a little bit of cleaning and some dishes to do before I can walk out the door. Plus, I'm very tired. So, I'm going to bed, and I'll just hit the road when I wake up.<br /><br />Next stop: Hurricane, UT for two days of riding. I'll try Gooseberry Mesa and perhaps Thunder Mountain. I'll be meeting up with two of the patrol directors for the Color Country NMBP to learn about their patrol and see them in action as I shadow them as they teach a new patroller.Zen Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900597423701365960noreply@blogger.com0