Night Riding

The dark days of winter are upon us. Okay, it's hard to call the weather conditions in Southern California "wintery." Warm Santa Ana-style high pressure kept our weather dry and warm for most of January and February. Many of the warm sunny days were followed by cloudless and temperate nights. If you can't get out during the day, these are ideal conditions for exploring trails at night. Yes, the weeks before the return of daylight savings are the perfect time for night rides or twilight/night rides. Invest in a light and rediscover your favorite trails. Night riding allows a whole new perspective - ride under the moon and the stars and take in everything the nocturnal world has to offer.
I particularly like riding narrow, canopied and confined trails with plenty of turns and surprises. The Lizard Trail is a great example. On trails like this, it's easy to get lost in the darkness and desolation. Even if you have ridden the trail countless times before, you tend to lose your bearings. As the cellular memory and the cognitive map gets lost in the darkness, the experience becomes completely immediate and absolutely sensory. For a few moments you forget where you are and forget where you are going. You just keep riding through the dark...and going along by dead reckoning.

Silverado Snow and Sun

Yesterday, while fog blanketed much of Orange County, I basked in the sun atop the ridges of the Cleveland National Forest. Yes sun! The thick cloud line hovered at a mere 2,000 feet so almost all of my ride was under blue skies. Perfect riding conditions - cool weather and warm sunlight. When I reached the top of Maple Springs road I was greeted with views of snow-capped Baldy and Big Bear. There was even a bit of snow in the Santa Anas. The roadways near Four Corners (just below Silverado Peak) still had patches of snow and ice, remnants from the pre-Christmas storm.

Past Four Corners Main Divide Road was almost completely dry. It was also in great condition, with only a few rocky and rutted sections. Since I hadn't completed the Silverado Loop since before the fire (which resulted in a twelve-month closure of Maple Springs Road), I was happy to get on it again. The downhill on the Silverado Trail was also magnificent. One rider complained that the trail was too loose, but perhaps that's like saying a lemon is too tangy - it's the nature of the beast. Definitely sections of the trail would be difficult to climb, but the downhill was pure fun- with small berms, fist-sized rocks and wide sweeping switchbacks. I'm grateful for the Warrior's Society and the volunteers who spent the time to remake this trail after it was demolished during the fire. I'm not waiting a year to ride it again.

Merry Christmas To All

Winter Wonderland

Snow in Orange County comes around about as often as a fresh fruit cake. But here it is...and just in time for Christmas. This week's storm gave a proper dusting to the peaks of the Santa Ana range. These photos are taken from the San Juan Trail, just above Cocktail Rock. Yesterday I rode the bottom half of the trail with two friends. It was great - clear skies, crisp air and snow capped peaks. Wow.

For those of you not in the know, the San Juan is great for post-rainy day sessions. The surface is mostly decomposed granite, so mud isn't a factor. Yesterday the trail was almost perfect, perhaps slightly slick in places, but grippy enough for a hair-raising descent.

A few weeks ago I broke my bike frame...again. Faced with a sad month of not riding and consequently falling out of shape, I was saved by my friend Mark. He loaned me his extra bike - a single-speed Bianchi. At first this seemed like a mixed blessing. I had always claimed (thought, assumed) I was too big (6’8": 225) to ride a bike without gears. Plus, the hills around Laguna are steep. Most of my rides start with steep climbs. I thought it was going to be hard...too hard. I was right, but only partially. Single speeding is a great workout and great fun. First of all, thanks to Mark for the bike. The Bianchi W.U.S.S. rides really well (Bianchi cheekily says, "the double-you stands for white." No further explanation. I assume the "S.S." stands for single speed and can only guess on the "U". Ugly came to mind the first time I made a substantial climb). Overall I learned to climb fairly well on the single speed. I learned to pace myself on long climbs and sprint up short sections. You view the climbs differently on a single speed - it's all about sections. You have to know when to sprint, when to rest and when to grind. (If I was cleverer I could put that to the tune of The Gambler.) Surprisingly I found myself able to keep up with my riding group. The single speed did not make me ride slower; it just made me ride differently. The bike was also a blast downhill. I'd forgotten how much coast you get out of hard tail and when you're on a single speed every bit of coasting matters. I've been riding full suspension for quite a while and it was fun to go back to the solid feel of the hard tail...not permanently, but for a while. This week I will get my main ride back. Happily so. But I won't rule out more days on the single speed. In fact I'm looking forward to it.

Note: There are photos of the W.U.S.S. available online. Unfortunately none of the photos were downloadable.

MORE MOAB

I thought I'd post a few more shots of Moab. These are all taken near the Sovereign Trail. We found an enormous flat slab of rock -perhaps five square miles - and took a bit of detour. It is hard to judge the scale of the landscape and rockscape from these photos, but I do think they give an idea of the impressive array of colors and textures that greet the eye in greater Moab. The top two photos feature Carl Hyndman, sussing out and then riding through a rock chute. In the third photo, Charles and Chris guard our bikes against possible predators. And the fourth photo depicts the rockscape. From the nearby hillside this rock slab looked like a big pan of biscuits. I guess I may have been hungry.

MOAB

I spent last week in southern Utah, mountain biking with five friends in the fat-tire Mecca. Yes...Moab. It was my first time riding in the area and I'm happy to say that all my expectations were met, if not surpassed. First of all, I had forgotten how utterly breathtaking the landscape is in southern Utah - the colors, the scale, the rock formations and the amazing textures of sand and sandstone. The overall effect is surreal, otherworldly and, perhaps, psychadelic. Then there was the riding. We rode five routes in five days. Three of the trails - Porcupine Rim (part of The Whole Enchilada ride), Slick Rock and the Amassa Back - were as good as any I have ever ridden. The stoke level in our group ranged from extreme to supernatural. Everyone found at least one memorable section or vista in every ride. The Whole Enchilada ride and the Amassa Back both offered plenty moderately technical dropoffs and climbs. And when I say plenty, I mean hundreds. The Amassa Back is a 10-mile out and back up a ledgy, rock-strewn jeep road. The end point offers an amazing birds-eye view of the Colorado River. On paper the riding may seem a bit a pedestrian, but it is far from it. After a challenging, technical climb, complete with knee-high slick-rock steps, we were treated a white knuckle, pick-your-line-and-hope for the best, fast and raucous downhill. The Whole Enchilada is a shuttle ride that combines two sections of single-track in the La Sal mountains with the spectacular Porcupine Rim Trail. The twenty-mile plus route descends more than five thousand feet from snow capped mountains to the dusty Colorado. This descent was truly an experience. I can't imagine there are many rides equal or better to this in the mountain-bike universe. Although the top section was a bit dicey due to high winds and cold air, we quickly descended to the UPS and LPS trails - tight tree-lined single tracks, with fun slick-rock chutes and makable rock drops. The LPS trail led to Porcupine Rim. The somewhat famous trail, at first, skirts the edge of a precipitous cliff then descends down a fast, rocky jeep trail. The latter section is an adrenaline junky's dream. It's fast, challenging and goes on and on and on. Everyone had a smile while riding this section (perhaps until they crashed). Porcupine Rim becomes a narrow single track and courses along the cliff side to the bank of the Colorado River. Just this single-track section alone would stand up to any trail in Orange County and yet it is only about 15% of the Whole Enchilada experience. Talk about scale. Finally, I should mention the Slick Rock Trail. I didn't have great expectations for this ride but was pleasantly surprised. The route follows a white line of paint that has been sketched across an enormous rock wilderness The trail rollercoasters up, around and between bulbous rock mounds. Fat tire enthusiasts are treated to some of the best gripping surface their tires will ever encounter. The downside is that is there is no excuse to walk. The rockscape gives riders a chance to test their leg strength and their will as steeper and steeper climbs are encountered. Each climb is rewarded with great views of the Colorado River basin and the La Sal Mountains. I've included a few photos taken with my small Point and Click camera. The photos don't do the landscape justice. You really have to experience this place for yourself.
(The 3rd photo is courtesy of Ron Leland. The 5th photo is courtesy of Carl Hyndman.)