Somebody like log rides

"Fire destroys and renews," according to signs put in Sycamore Canyon after the 2003 Cedar Fires. Someone seems to have taken this to heart after the recent, small brush fire in the east end of Sycamore Canyon. On Saturday, I noticed four small to medium sized log piles in the burn areas. They were pretty well constructed, solid and very ridable. But four, really? Here are photos of three of the four. It looked like a fifth had been scattered.

Thank you Sir, may I have another?

...and another....

and another! Note the log-bounded go-around on the right.

Twilight in MTRP

I'd blame the rattlesnake, but it's not really his fault. A late start and the approaching autumn equinox are the real reasons I am on the trails after dark. Stopping to nudge the rattler off the trail only delayed me a few minutes.

Soaking in the last of the heat, this guy did not want to move.

I'm on the usual west side route at Mission Trails: Calle Vida to the Rim, out to Portobella, up the climbs beside 52 to the rock ledge below North Fortuna, down e-ticket, through Suycott wash, and up s-turns. The light is decent but fading for the climbs.

As I head down the fall-line fireroads toward e-ticket, the full moon is rising over the Fortunas. It's a dim mirror of early morning rides; the full moon following the sun on a 12-hour delay. I lose the moon as I descend into Suycott wash. No daylight left, either, so now I'm riding by feel and memory.

In the dark, it helps to know the trail.

I'm not alone tonight; a line of riders with lights is descending from the Fortuna saddle. I have a light too, just a little LED headlamp, but it seems like cheating to use it now. Plus, I'd have to stop and get it out of my pack. There's enough light to see the trail by, though not really enough to see rocks in the trail. It wasn't a crash, more of an abrupt dismount. 'Don't go fast at night without lights' shouldn't require an object lesson, but I guess it does. I pick my way through the rock garden.

As I climb s-curves, I make the moon rise again. I figure this is an omen, I am going to clean s-curves in the dark. My rear tire spins out almost immediately - stupid omen.

From the top of s-curves, it's just a little further, mostly fireroad. It's really dark now. Before I leave the park and get back on the roads, I put on my red blinker and headlamp. You'd be crazy to ride on the roads at night without lights.

Cuyamaca to Laguna and back again

This weekend I took the Motobecane out for a Cuyamaca to Laguna transit - which turned out to be a beast of a ride. Scott, Heidi, and I leave the Oakzanita trailhead in Cuyamaca around 8, then climb the East Mesa fireroad (passing a few wild turkeys) to Deer Park. We descend into Pine Valley, cross the fireroad, and begin the climb up Indian Creek. About 2/3 of the way up Indian Creek there is a nasty rocky section (past the waterfall, which apparently was the site of an equestrian rescue last week) that I always struggle to clear. You encounter 3-4 rocks or step ups that you have to clear one after the other. On this ride, I 'basically' clean it, bouncing off my line on the very last rock that could cause problems - one that you could easily ride around under normal circumstances. I also spot a tarantula on Indian Creek, the first I've seen in a long time.

From Champagne pass, we ride down Pinball and up to Upper Noble Canyon, then take the BMX cutoff to Big Laguna Trail. The meadow is noticeably cooler (it's about 1000' higher than Cuyamaca). Here Heidi does a lap around the meadow, while Scott and I climb the Los Gatos fireroad and then down the trail. I finish my first camelbak (1.5-2 L) as we leave the meadow and head to Penny Pines, where we meet up with Heidi and fill up on water.

From Penny Pines we go back down Upper Noble, then climb up Pinball to Champagne Pass. I have not done this climb before, and it is long, rocky, and steep in places. Plus, we are getting into midday and the heat is noticeable. I think this climb is just as tough as coming up Indian Creek from Pine Valley, but being several hours in probably has something to do with it.

From Champagne Pass, we head out to Pioneer Mail and Sunrise Highway. As you leave the Pass, there is a short climb before the trail starts gradually downhill. Near the end of the climb, a rocky approach leads to a 6" step up. It's doable, but last week I was 0-4. So this time I pin it and grunt my way over - very satisfying.

We turn left on Sunrise Highway and ride down to the Lucky 5 ranch, then take the singletrack over to La Cima, then Upper Green Valley. This is a really fun section of trail that seems rarely used (especially Lucky 5 and La Cima). When we hit the Green Valley fireroad, we've been riding about 4.5 hrs and it seems like we should be just about done. But wait, there's more! The fireroad to Camp Cuyamaca has some nice stretches of washboard that remind me I'm riding the hardtail.

The final sections of singletrack - West Side Trail to Sweetwater, East Side Trail back to the car - are fun. The climb at the start of the East Side Trail is a nasty little kick in the shins. Scott and I push it; at this point we are in "get it done" mode. The final stretch (new trail?) from East Mesa to Oakzanita is a few minutes of fun, twisty downhill, reminiscent of San Juan Trail.

Final ride stats: 45 miles, 5k of climbing, 5.5 hours, 4+ liters of water. Great day in the mountains, beautiful weather (if a little warm), and good company.

RIP9 all-mountain makeover

Getting a race bike freed the RIP9 from being my do-it-all bike, so I gave it an all-mountain makeover. (And by 'I', I mean Mike, who actually did the work - thanks Mike!). Not that I'm very aggressive or planning to do drops or jumps, but the watchword is differentiation. Why have two bikes if they aren't all that different?

So far, the changes are on the front end:
Front fork: new 120mm Reba XX w/ 20mm thru axle and tapered steerer in place of old 100mm Reba Team w/ 9mm QR.
Front wheel: new Stan's Flow rim w/ Hope Pro 2 hub in place of old Salsa Delgados rim w/ XT hub
Grips: Odi lockon grips in place of my worn down rubber ones
Tires: new Kenda Nevegals on front and rear (thanks, John!)

Possible future changes:
Rear thru axle (the RIP has replaceable rear dropouts)
Gravity dropper seatpost (so I can experience the joys of seatpost failure like everyone else who has one?)

Before

Now things are getting serious... Let's do this!

The essential ingredient

I dub thee, "White Chocolate"

Tour de Noble?

Yesterday, Scott and I did Tour de Noble, or at least an abbreviated TdN. Here's what we did; you decide if it counts. We made an early start from the trailhead, rolling out at 7:15. It was about 45F, but quickly warmed as we climbed the road to the big oak, then down the fireroad to the Indian Creek turnoff. From Champagne Pass, we went down Pinball, up to Noble, and then to Laguna via the cutoff trail (aka, BMX trail). We rode the north side of the Laguna meadow, climbed the Los Gatos fireroad, then went down Los Gatos - whee! We went back up the same side of the meadow and out to Penny Pines. After topping off water, we went down Noble, including extra credit. Total ride time was 4hrs - exactly what we were aiming for, but putting us just a little late for Scott's noon appointment due to a slightly later start time.

What did we leave out? A proper TdN should probably start up extra credit (aka whore, which is how you spell extra credit backwards) rather than the road. There needs to be a full circuit of the meadow, and probably a couple more side runs, such as Wooded Hill, Red Roost, or Chico Ravine. Still, we road 30+ miles of SD's best trails in great weather with no crashes, so it's hard to ask for more.