2010 Goal List

Part of the way I talked myself into resurrecting the blog for 2010 was deciding to put my poor blogging performance in 2009 behind me. I have 15-20 draft posts sitting in my inbox for 2009 that would take me forever to finalize and update, and the prospect of doing that was so overwhelming that I almost deleted the whole website.

Instead, I decided to make a clean break and start fresh in 2010. And in my second post of 2010, I'm already going back. At least a little bit. See, before I can articulate my 2010 goal list, I have to at least briefly summarize how I did on my 2009 Goal List, which I wrote and posted before bailing out on the rest of 2009.

So here is the 2009 quick summary: I had eleven goals for 2009, and made five of them. I did ride the Tour de Noble, I rode in Idyllwild, I rode Cowles and Pyles Peak, I joined (but didn't participate in) a MTB Patrol, I did an out of state ride, and I controlled my spending (somewhat). If I give myself a half point for the Patrol and half a point for controlling spending, that makes 5 goals achieved.

I did not: Ride the Spring to Sycamore Canyon ride, Ride SART, do the Archipelago backwards, do an organized MTB event or race, and ride Otay Mountain.

So I have something to shoot for in 2010.

Now, enough of the past, I'm all about looking forward in 2010, so here's my 2010 goal list:

1. Keep the blog updated. Its fun for me to look back and read old ride reports from 2008, so one major goal this year is to stay on top of the blogging.

2. Ride new dirt. I'm blessed to live in San Diego, where we have great year around riding weather and a fair number of trails to choose from. But truthfully, I've gotten a little bored with the local San Diego MTB scene. At the end of 2009 I spent several weekends in the Laguna Mountains riding some new trails, and enjoyed that. In 2010, I want to find and ride some new stuff. I don't care whether its local trails I've never ridden or stuff a little farther away, but I'm craving some diversity. I'm not putting a specific number on the amount of "new dirt" rides I want to do, but I'm planning to make it a priority.

3. Finish off parts of the 2009 goal list. I'd like to ride SART, do an organized MTB ride and do my Archipelago ride backwards. I don't care as much about Spring to Sycamore, or Otay Mountain, though if they happen, great.

4. Do more night rides. I almost always enjoy the rare times I do night rides, and want to do them more in 2010.

5. Do a roadie century. I'm new to the road bike, but this seems like a worthwhile goal for 2010. I'll have to build to it, and I don't care whether the 100 miles are part of a sponsored event or around my neighborhood by myself, I just want to do a full century ride at some point this year.

6. Do an organized road ride event. Much like the MTB version, I'd like to do a roadie event this year. Maybe the Gran Fondo Colagno, maybe the Bike the Bay ride, maybe something else. The distance isn't important, just riding in the event is the goal.

7. Do not buy a bike. I have a great mountain bike. I have a great road bike. I purchased bikes in 2007, 2008 (multiple), and 2009. Enough. No new bikes.

8. Find a way to incorporate ministry and riding. I enjoy riding bikes. I am passionate about my faith. Yet for the most part these days, the two rarely intersect. Skyline Cycling was a huge part of my early mountainbiking life, but the fact that I don't attend there anymore and the club folded means that I'm not presently involved in any biking ministry. I want to change that, or at a minimum, be much more purposeful about involving my spiritual life in my riding life.

9. Ride more consistently. In 2008 and 2009, I had periods of time where I would go weeks between rides. While I want to ensure that I maintain proper priorities in 2010, its also important to me to avoid those kind of multi-week layoffs that really hurt my endurance and fitness. Whether its mixing in more road rides, doing more night rides, or getting up early and riding when I know I have a busy day coming, I want to be more consistent and not allow my fitness to slip this year.

10. Get better at working on my bikes. I've been riding on a bald rear tire for three months because I don't know how to change my tubeless tires. I broke a chain on a recent ride and needed Billy to repair it so that I could keep riding. I have been plagued by minor ghost shifting issues since Moab in May. My rear hydraulic brake has been performing poorly, but I don't know how to fix it or bleed the lines. That all has to change in 2010. Especially now that I have a road bike as well, I need to learn how to repair and maintain my stuff.

So there you go. Its nice to have some goals to shoot for this year, and I'm optimistic about achieving all of them if I stay committed and purposeful. We'll see how it goes.

The Blog is Back for 2010

After blogging virtually every ride in 2008, I pretty much abandoned the blog in 2009. There were some sporadic updates, but they were admittedly frail. I know longtime readers were crushed. (Please note the sarcasm.) 2009 was actually a great year as far as riding goes, with trips to Phoenix and Utah/Colorado, and plenty of new dirt and fun rides. But I didn't make blogging a priority.

In any event, I'm resurrecting the blog for 2010, and it will have many of the same old features as years past (a goal list, regular ride reports, quarterly summaries of miles and high points, and a year in review thread at the end of the year, etc.)

I'll also be adding some new wrinkles. First, the ride reports will link to the new Garmin Connect site instead of Motionbased. Second, I purchased a road bike on Christmas Day 2009, so I'll be posting up road ride reports and my thoughts on road biking in general every once and a while. Other changes to both form and content are on the way as well.

So stay tuned for the 2010 Goal List Post and thanks for checking back in after last year's hiatus. I'm looking forward to a great year.

RR: Cuyamaca Oakzanita

Fun ride today on new dirt. Met up with Barcy, Ali, Billy, Eric, Jose, Arturo, and several others for a ride up at Oakzanita Peak in Cuyamaca.

We started from a trailhead I'd never been to, and climbed for a while up fire road. We lingered a bit a couple of times for regroups, and enjoyed the temperatures.




After the regroup we forged on to the Peak, and I was glad to see the fire road give way to singletrack. We had a couple of detours around downed trees, but the trail was largely clear and in good shape even after some recent snow.

Once at the Peak, we lingered for a while, catching up and enjoying the views.


It took some longer than others to make the summit. I guess Barcy has an excuse, as this was his first ride back after breaking his collarbone at Noble several weeks earlier.

His triumphant returned coincided with the purchase of one of the most blingy bikes I've ever seen.

Our bikes enjoyed the rest at the top of Oakzanita Peak, but before long it was time to enjoy the downhill that we had worked to earn.




At the bottom of the hill we traversed some new trails, regrouping every so often.

Eventually the group split, and a couple of us took an alternate route back to the cars.


The route Eric, Billy, and I took involved some awesome singletrack, but it was on the west side of a mountain and was still pretty muddy. If it had been dry it would have been amazing, and as it was we still enjoyed it.

At the end of the day, though, I paid for my fun singletrack option with some required clean up.

Total Distance: 12.85 miles
Total Time: 3:13:17
Ascent: 2304 feet
Average Speed: 4.0 mph
Top Speed: 19.5 mph
Bike: Intense Spider XVP
Map: Click here.

Tour de Noble?

After last week's aborted Tour de Noble, I decided late in the week to give it another shot. With most of my regular riding companions on the DL or doing a 50 mile SART epic, I elected to ride solo.

I had mixed emotions about doing the whole thing alone. Noble can be pretty unforgiving (as we saw last week,) and some of the trails are a little remote. At the same time, its a pretty popular trail on Saturdays and I was familiar with the route after riding in the Lagunas twice in the last three weeks, so the risk seemed relatively low. I just figured I'd stay within myself and go at my own pace, which has its own appeal.

With only myself to worry about, I got an early start and arrived at the Pine Valley trailhead at about 7:30. I was wheels up 10 minutes later and began the 4 mile slog up the paved road.

The weather was flawless, and I just sat back and tried to enjoy the climb as the sun rose over the mountain to the east. Seven days earlier I had climbed the road to the Oak tree for the first time, and had paced myself quite a bit in anticipation of a long day. Today, I wasn't sure what my pace was like since I was alone, but it felt faster and more consistent. I didn't take any rest stops on the way up, and just spun along listening to my ipod and dodging hunters who were driving up and down the road.

I hit the oak tree in about 50 minutes, and was feeling good, so I didn't even pause. I just turned the lockouts off my shock and fork and proceeded down the fire road toward Indian Creek. Once I got to the Indian Creek singletrack I paused for about 3 or 4 minutes to eat a gel and drink some Vitalyte, and then proceeded up the trail.

I cleaned the initial singletrack climb this week after screwing up the entry last week. Even so, that first section of singletrack involved one short HAB, though I rode much more of that section of trail this week than I did last week. From there I rode through the small meadow and began the real Indian Creek climb in earnest.

That climb is not a lot of fun. Its loose, steep in parts, and just sort of beat me down. I rode more this week than last, and didn't stop to rest at all, but did find myself HABing several sections. It helped quite a bit this time to know how long it was and when it would end, which allowed me to ride a little more aggressively and clean some parts I didn't even try last week. Even so, my shoes got more of a workout than I would prefer.

Near the middle of the Indian Creek climb, I did stop to snap this picture, which I liked.
Once I got to the top of Indian Creek I rested for about 5 minutes at 4 Corners (aka Champagne Pass?).
At that point I had a decision to make. I felt great, with no cramping in my legs at all and no real fatigue after I rested a bit. Even so, I just didn't feel like riding Pine Valley trail (for the third time in four weeks) over to Sunrise Highway and back to Penny Pines. We had ridden that route last week, and while Pine Valley trail is pretty fun, didn't feel an overwhelming need to hit it again. The road ride on Sunrise Highway to Penny Pines just seemed like extra miles for the sake of extra miles, especially when I had an attractive alternative. Instead of taking Pine Valley trail to the Sunrise Highway to Penny Pines to the very top of Noble, I instead elected to continue down Indian Creek (aka Pinball) and take that trail over to Noble.

I flew down Pinball, and then climbed the rest of the way up Indian Creek to the Noble connector. I didn't hesitate, and headed right down Noble. Noble went by in a flash. I cleaned several of the rocky sections that I didn't make it through last week, stopped for a second to pay homage to Barcy's collarbone at the tree grove, and thoroughly enjoyed the descent. After two attempts at both widowmaker and stairway I was unable to clean either of them, and since I was alone I figured discretion was the better part of valor. For pure bragging purposes I'd like to be able to clean those two, but whatever.

I did clean all of the other sections that had given me trouble in the past, and did so while just flowing along, without re-tries. Very quickly I found myself at the junction of Noble where heading left leads to extra credit while heading right leads to the road. I felt great, and without hesitating made the left up EC.

The climb up was a little longer than I remembered, but not as difficult or tiring as it had been last year when I rode it last. I rested for a few minutes at the top, and then tackled the final descent of the day. I had hoped to ride the entire thing, but did have to walk one short section that I just couldn't figure out the line through. I made it back to my car very quickly, and was a little struck by the feeling of anticlimax.

Maybe it was my decision to skip Pine Valley trail and the road section. Maybe it was because I was legitimately not tired and felt fine. Maybe it was because I was alone and had no one to share in my accomplishment. Maybe it was because the ride was only 17 miles long, which is fine, but no epic. Whatever it was, I was pretty "meh" at the end. At least my wife would be happy that I was home early in the day.

As I loaded up the car and headed home, the anticlimactic feelings faded and I reflected on all of aspects of the ride that I had enjoyed. The amazing weather. The peace and solitude of the mountains. The opportunity to enjoy God's creation and truly appreciate its beauty. The fun, swoopy sections during the Noble descent. The accomplishment of completing all that climbing and not wanting to die. (I remember my first Noble shuttle two years ago when I was completely wrecked at the end of the 9 mile descent.) So on balance, I felt great. But there is still a part of me that feels like I have unfinished business up there.

So I think I'll try to make it up there again. Next time I'll probably do Pine Valley trail to Sunrise Highway to Penny Pines, and then loop BLT before heading down Noble. At the end of the day, I think the title of this RR is misleading; I didn't do the Tour de Noble. I did Indian Creek to Noble, a worthy ride in its own right, but a bit short of the epic feat that is the full Tour.

In any event, here are the stats:

Total Distance: 17.19 miles
Total Time: 3:39:36
Ascent: 3388 feet
Average Speed: 4.7 mph
Top Speed: 22.8 mph
Bike: Intense Spider XVP
Map

BLT/Los Gatos Redux

Cuyamaca Poker Ride 2009

For the second year in a row, I elected to ride the Cuyamaca Poker Ride. It would be my first ride back after breaking my hand at Los Gatos in early September, and I had some apprehension.

Because I was uncertain about my recovery time and when exactly the cast would come off, I had not registered for this ride beforehand and rode it solo as a bandit. There weren't any aid stations, and I didn't eat any of the food after, but I still felt bad about this and made a donation to the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park that organizes the ride afterward.

The cast came off on Friday, and I wore a brace on Sunday for the ride. I got there early, geared up, and headed out. I rode the whole thing solo and felt great. I had kept up my fitness by running even when I was in my cast, so I wasn't in horrible shape. I cleaned all of La Clima without stopping, and pretty much kept riding the whole time without any breaks.

Milk Ranch Road was easier than I remembered, and I actually cleaned the whole short, steep climb up the double track that heads up after leaving Milk Ranch Road. I had failed to do that during my previous two times on this route.

The rocky doubletrack descent was rough on my hand as my grip strength was abysmal and I had a hard time holding the handlebars and breaking with my right hand. At one point the washboard trail involuntarily shook my right hand right off the bar, almost causing me to lose control.

I finished with the fun singletrack section that is one of the best parts of this route, and then was back at the car before I knew it. Riding solo with no stops was a little lonely, but it made for a fast ride, and I was glad to work out the kinks without worrying about anyone else.

I apparently forgot to bring my GPS, so I dont have a route or stats. But the ride was essentially the same as last years, so just under 20 miles with around 2700 feet of climbing.

After the ride I headed down the mountain and over to the parent's house in El Cajon to watch my Broncos beat the Patriots in OT, so it turned out to be a pretty good day.

BLT/Los Gatos