RR: Spring Canyon w/Rachel and Skyline MTB

I had a lot of fun the last time I rode at Spring Canyon, and today had a chance to get back there with the Skyline MTB group. It was billed as a beginner ride, and I thought it would be a good chance to have Rachel come along and get a few more dirt miles in at a place that was close to her speed. It was also a perfect place for the maiden voyage for the Spider. I wanted my first ride on the new bike to be at a place where I could familiarize myself with the new geometry and make sure that all of the parts were assembled properly.

We arrived early and parked at the Father Junipero Serra campground. Billy was already there, and I was surprised to see that Nate decided to come along as well. Nate is an excellent rider, and usually wouldn't do a beginner ride, but it was nice to see him and I hoped the pace wouldn't frustrate him.

After a few minutes showing off the new bike, we got underway. We rode through the meadow, under the 52 freeway, and into Spring Canyon. We stuck to the main doubletrack/fire road through the canyon in order to make sure Rach was comfortable, and she did awesome. She made it through several dry stream crossing strewn with babyheads and powered up a couple of short steep climbs with ease. I warned her that the ride north through the canyon was a subtle but significant uphill, and she still did great. Our pace was social, and Billy was gracious enough to stay close and enjoy an easy spin as we enjoyed the morning.

Eventually we reached a good rest spot, and Nate decided to explore some of the singletrack to the northeast. Billy tried to give him some directions:

Rach was still doing great at this point, and I was glad to see she had a smile on her face.

After parting ways with Nate, we continued up the singletrack toward the north end of the canyon. About half a mile from the end, Rach was starting to tire, and we spent a few minutes hanging out and catching our breath. I used the opportunity to take a few pictures of the new bike for posterity. Its pretty.



After our rest, we decided that heading back was the best option for this time, and began the ride back to the cars. Rach was a little nervous on the downhills, but shouldn't have been, because she did great. She had two nice saves that kept her from crashing, and negotiated several turns and short climbs perfectly.

We made one final rest stop toward the south end of the canyon, where the foliage nearby showed some signs of fall approaching.


After our final rest, we headed out of the canyon and back toward MTRP and the parking lot.

It was a fun spin through the canyon, and I was so glad that Rachel was willing to come along. I was also really proud of her for how well she rode. She said she was nervous, but I couldn't tell from watching her. She made good decisions and fought the instinct to dab whenever she started to get wobbly. As a result, she cleaned several sections that I thought she would have trouble with.

I was also appreciative of Billy and his willingness to hang back and give instruction and encouragement. This was clearly a beginner/social ride, and he seemed content to go at Rach's pace, which I appreciated.

As far as impressions of the Spider, those will have to wait until after the Cuyamaca Poker ride tomorrow. We didn't do any climbing or real technical riding today, so all I could tell was that it felt lighter to pedal and the geometry was very different from the Enduro. There was one instance where I stopped to take a picture, and then pedaled hard for a minute to catch up. At my first hard pedal-stroke, the bike leaped forward, something the Enduro never did. So that was nice...

Here are the stats:

Total Distance: 6.76 miles
Total Time: 1:35:10
Ascent: 917 feet
Average Speed: 4.3 mph
Top Speed: 14.7 mph
Bike: Intense Spider XVP
Map:

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