After months of anticipation and build-up, the Skyline MTB weekend in Laguna turned out to be pretty anticlimactic for me. It was no fault of Billy, who did an awesome job organizing the whole thing and planning out rides. Between some external factors beyond my control, last-minute plan changes, poor coping skills on my part, car trouble, and a mystery illness, the weekend was far from the oasis of MTB enjoyment I had hoped for.
We were only planning to stay in Laguna Friday night, because we had a work BBQ Sunday morning to go to with Rachel's boss. But I figured if we were having a great time, we could stay Saturday night also, and just get up early and drive to the BBQ Sunday morning. We didn't end up doing that.
I had been a little ambivalent about how the weekend would go starting from the week beforehand. Nichole told Rachel she and Joel were not coming because Joel was leaving for the academy, so we figured we would not go up early on Friday for an afternoon ride. As late as Wednesday, I figured we would get out of work at the normal time, drop off the dogs with Rob and Michelle, and make it up to Laguna around 7 or so.
Then Joel told me he and Nichole were coming up to Laguna on Friday, but they weren't riding or spending the night. So I plead with my boss to leave early Friday afternoon, got into work before 6:00 a.m. in order to pull that off, and left work around 2:30 so we could get up there and spend some time with Joel before he left for Sacramento for seven months.
Rach had done a great job getting the car packed and ready to go, so when I got home all I had to do was throw the bikes on the back of the Acura, herd the chihuahuas into the car, and we would be off. Except that's not what happened.
I got the bikes on the car, herded up the chis, jumped into the driver's seat, and then: *click click click*. Dead battery. I didn't handle the setback well. With Rachel's help, we jump started the car, loaded everything back in, and got underway only 20 minutes later. But the tone for the weekend had been set. And I was a little stressed out.
We dropped off the girls in Spring Valley with the Walkers and headed for Laguna. We arrived and checked into our hotel room, which was mere feet away from the cabins the rest of the group were staying in, which was nice. The room was adequate, with a mini fridge, microwave, small fireplace, and king size bed. It was rustic and old, but seemed like it would do the trick for a night or two.
Despite getting to Laguna in plenty of time Friday night for a ride, we didn't do one. Billy and his family and Tony and his family were already there hanging out at their cabins, and Joel and Nichole were visiting as well. Since no one was riding, we didn't either. I was a little bummed, but we had a great time hanging out, eating BBQ chicken and S'mores, and having a time of fellowship. I really enjoyed it.
We planned to start the Noble ride the next morning at 9:00 a.m., and Billy and Nate drove down to the Pine Valley trailhead in the morning to drop a car for the shuttle back to the campground.
We actually got the ride underway around 9:20, and the conditions were great. It was a beautiful day, not too hot and clear and cloudless. I started out wearing a long sleeve shirt, but stashed it in my Toolbox about halfway around the Big Laguna Loop.
We started the ride from the campground and rode a mile or so down a fire road that linked up with the Big Laguna Trail. We rode BLT for about three miles until it intersected with the Noble Canyon trail, and we were on our way.
It was a pretty standard Noble ride, and frankly, was not as much fun as the ride Joel and I did a few months ago on the same trail. But saying that is kind of like a little kid saying "this Disneyland trip wasn't as good as the Disneyland trip we had last year..." Noble is always going to be Noble; its a fun, diverse, challenging ride that will never fail to live up to its status as the only IMBA epic ride in San Diego.
We kept up a pretty quick pace for the first part of the ride, and as I rode, my perceptions of the Enduro began to change diametrically from my earlier first impressions. It absolutely ate up everything the trail threw at it. My last time at Noble was recently enough for me to remember little details that had given me trouble before, and virtually none of them were a factor this time. Perhaps even more importantly, the Enduro no longer felt sluggish on the climbs, and the weight really wasn't a factor. I did labor a bit going up the only real climb toward the beginning of the trail, but that was more due to a recent slacking off of my conditioning, not the bike.
The bike was also far more nimble than I anticipated, and I cleaned all of the switchbacks with relative ease and no dabbing. That is, until I blew my rear tire leading into one of them. The flat took forever to fix, and I would probably still be up there if not for Tony's help. I eventually got back up and running, and continued to sail along smoothly after that for the most part.
Even with my new trail machine, I didn't clean Stairway. To be honest, I didn't really even give it a full attempt. That is a gnarly section, and while I rode through some of it, I didn't have the chops to make it the whole way. Nate and Tony each tried, but neither of them could do it either. Billy had decided from the outset that it wasn't going to happen for him, and didn't even make an attempt.
I did, however, ride the log jump that came up next on the trail. The first time I rode it, I landed front wheel first and lost control a little. I regained my balance just in time to keep from wiping out entirely, but still rode a little off trail into the bushes. So I decided to ride it again. Nate did it before I did, and advised me to just pull up as hard as I could right at the lip of the log, and I should be OK.
So I approached the log a second time, maintained some speed, and pulled up as hard as I could just as I reached the lip, like he suggested.
Turns out I took his advice a little too literally.
I landed rear wheel first, with a lot of speed, then tumbled forward, OTB, hard. Both knees hit the handlebars on the way over, and the bike rolled over the top of me. I ended up off the left side of the trail, in a tree. Seriously, the bike was hung up on a branch like an ornament, and I was flat on my back hanging over the edge of a small slope. My right knee in particular really hurt from hitting the bars, and I was embarrassed and a little pissed. The bike, fortunately, was OK.
Turns out it was pretty fortunate the bike and I were caught up in the tree, because if we had kept going, we would have ended up about 15 feet down in the creek. So that was a silver lining. I hobbled around for a few minutes, took note of some other miscellaneous scrapes and bruises I had acquired, and then we continued onward. I did not attempt the log jump again.
We didn't stop at playground that came next because we needed to get back to camp around lunchtime. I was a little bummed, but wasn't sure I would have hit second tree jump, so not that big of a deal. I had hit it on my last ride at Noble, and had been pretty proud of myself. But with my fall just a few minutes before, I'm not sure I would have gone for it even if I had had the time.
From there I handled all of the moderately tricky techy stuff leading up to widowmaker. I actually passed Billy as he got hung up in one of the nasty sections and I was able to find a better line. It was a this point that I was completely in love with the Enduro. I was not, however, able to clean the switchback leading into widowmaker. That thing is truly ridiculous. Does anybody clean that? I can't see how anyone is able to negotiate the rocky descent, and then the crazy sharp left turn, without riding over the edge and into the gorge below.
I actually rode most of widowmaker, but not all. Cleaning it is definitely a possibility someday. I need to maintain enough speed to clean the chunk, while picking the right line to avoid endoing over some of the bigger rocks. I was close today, so someday...
We reached the fork in the trail where we were faced with the choice to head west and ride the road back to the trailhead or head southeast and finish the Noble Canyon trail with the section they call "extra credit." Joel and I had bailed out in favor of the road last time, and I didn't want to make that mistake again. We agreed to do the extra credit, and I'm really glad we did. In fact, I don't think I can claim to have ridden Noble without riding that last section. So I guess it shouldn't be called "extra credit" in my opinion.
The climb at the beginning of EC was rough on me. I had to stop several times to rest, and the other three guys got pretty far out in front of me. The altitude and heat were a factor, but it was just general conditioning that was my true downfall. In reality, the climb was not particularly steep, just long. I want another shot at it when I'm in better riding (and overall) shape. Also, I had begun to experience some shifting problems, and didn't have granny+1 gear which would have been nice. I felt like I was spinning out too much in granny and the biggest ring in the back, but granny+2 was still to big of a gear for me to turn. Eventually, I made it to the top and, after a short break, was ready for the downhill. Which was awesome.
The ride down extra credit was probably the best part of the Noble Canyon trail. It has fun sweeping sections, tricky technical sections, and beautiful views. I didn't even know what the Roman wall section was called as I was riding it, but I cleaned about 90% of it and could have done virtually all of it if I wasn't so tired and we had a little more time to session a spot or two I had trouble with. I cleaned most of the really hard parts though, which felt great. Once again, the Enduro and I were getting along much better.
We finished up at the bottom of the Noble trailhead, and Billy decided to drive us back to the cabins via the road we would have climbed had we done the full Tour de Noble. And after driving it, I now realize that that is one brutal climb. I was exhausted after the shuttle, and I can't fathom doing that climb, then climbing and descending Penny Pines, then descending Noble. That would be rough. But I still want to do it some day.
By the time we got back to camp, it was a little after two. I had initially planned to do an afternoon ride around BLT with the whole group (including the wives,) but because of our car trouble, Rachel and I decided to head back into town at that point and see if we could get the battery fixed before she had to drive it to work on Monday.
As we were packing the car, I started to feel really sick, and my stomach was extremely upset for the rest of the day. I don't know why. Maybe it was from the exertion. Maybe it was sun-related. It could have been minor altitude sickness. I don't know what it was, but it made for a tense and unpleasant ride home.
It was an OK weekend overall. It wasn't as relaxing or long as I had hoped, and I didn't get anywhere near as much riding in as I had anticipated. The car trouble and stress of getting off work early contributed to some of the rough start, and the need to get home early and feeling sick didn't make for a great ending.
With all that said, the actual Noble ride was a lot of fun. The Enduro was awesome, and I feel a thousand times better about my purchase now. The extra credit portion was a blast, and well worth the climbing that preceded it. My riding companions were great, and I enjoyed getting to know them better, especially Tony and Nate, who I hadn't talked to as much before. I also enjoyed starting out at BLT and getting a little extra mileage in before charging down Noble.
My knee does hurt pretty bad, and it's making me limp around like an old man. But it makes for a good story, which is almost worth it...
I didn't take any pictures, which is borderline criminal. Between the pace of the ride, getting dinged up, laboring up the extra credit climb, and not having easy access to the camera, I just didn't get any shots. That is not a mistake I intend to make again.
Anyway, here are the stats for the Noble Canyon Shuttle, my only ride of the weekend:
Total Distance: 16.52 miles
Total Time: 3:25:50
Ascent: 1749 feet
Average Speed: 4.8 mph
Top Speed: 26.7 mph
Bike: Specialized Enduro Elite
Map:
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