RR: Cycle Eastlake

Today I took part in my first ever organized MTB event, Cycle Eastlake. Cycle EastLake is one of the EastLake Educational Foundation’s three main fundraising events. EEF, established in 1995, is a 501(C)3 non-profit foundation that raises money to support technology initiatives and promote educational opportunities in the six public schools within the EastLake community.

I don't live in Eastlake or have any specific ties to the charity, I was just interested in taking part in an organized event, and this one seemed like a nice choice for my first one. It wasn't a race, so there was no pressure. It was located at a trail I had never ridden, so I was looking forward to some new scenery. And it was a Poker ride, so I knew there would be rest stops along the way.

Rachel and I arrived early and picked up my packet which included a t-shirt and bib number. I noticed riding around that I was having a shifting problem, and since we had about 45 minutes before the ride was scheduled to start, I took it over to two REI bike mechanics who were performing free tune-ups just outside the store. This turned out to almost be a big mistake.

The two guys working on bikes were quite nice, but had never seen a bike with a chain guide/tensioner before, and in trying to adjust my shifting, completely screwed up my drivetrain. After taking the chain off and putting it back on twice, they couldn't get it to even pedal, let alone shift. By the time they got the chain back on the second time, it was 7:55 and everyone had lined up at the starting line. I didn't want to miss the start, so I had them just put the chain back on and bypass the tensioner, and it seemed to work OK. I just prayed I wouldn't have any mechanicals out on the course.

I made it to the back of the pack just in time for the start, and we were on our way.

We started out from in front of the REI at the Otay Ranch Shopping Center, and the route began with about a mile and a half of pavement riding before we hit the dirt. During the paved section, everyone just cruised along, and people started to separate out naturally. I didn't want to go out too fast and bonk, so I stayed toward the middle and coasted the down hills and spun easy gears during the uphills.

The first poker stop was at the trailhead for the dirt path, and there was quite the bunch-up of riders. I waited there about 4-5 minutes, got my card (8 of clubs) and was back on my way. The bunching continued along the first section of singletrack, and it was a bit of a cluster. Several people were unable to negotiate a series of bridges over some streams, and as a result the logjam reached a quarter mile or so. It also kept me from riding the bridges myself, because people kept falling in front of me. Oh well.

The whole next section was narrow, twisty singletrack that wound along the lake right at "lake level" which was pretty cool. The downside was that with a large group and narrow singletrack, my pace was dictated by the person at the front of the line, who was going a little slower than I would have preferred.

I made it to the next poker stop, and at that point the gaggle of people began to break up.

After a shorter wait for my card, I was back under way, this time for a short distance along the paved road and then onto some additional single and doubletrack that meandered nearby the lake. I was still behind some people, but their pace was closer to mine, and I wasn't stuck.

I crossed a paved road, and the rode it back toward where I had come from for about a half mile or so, until I came to a fireroad that went moderately uphill.

I made it up the fireroad with no problem, and was then once again stuck behind some other riders as the fireroad turned to singletrack.

I soon came up to the third poker stop, and after receiving my card, quickly continued up the trail, rather than stopping at the water stand like many were doing. I figured that would be a good chance to get in front of some of the slower riders who had been in front of me, and I had 70 oz of water in my pack, so I was good.

From there I rode some uphill sections that traversed a ridge above a smaller man-made lake, and then finally got up some speed during a short dowhill that brought me back to the paved road I had come from.

I crossed the road, picked up my fourth poker card, and then backtracked along the lakeside singletrack that I had ridden near the start. Then, instead of backtracking all the way to the pavement and heading back to Otay Ranch, the course bared east and continued to follow the lake toward the south. I rode along for a while at that point by myself, and didn't see other riders for several minutes at a time.

It was pretty, scenic singletrack that ran along the lake, and I enjoyed the views. It was starting to get hot, which was a factor, but I was determined to enjoy myself.

The singletrack turned to doubletrack, and eventually pavement, as the course cut through the parking area for the lake and made its way past the water treatment facility to another parking area where the next poker card was dealt. From there it was another backtrack, along the southwest part of the lake and back toward the paved road where we had started. Fatigue began to set in after the last poker card, but I dug in and kept in mind that I had a fairly long pavement climb to get back to Otay Ranch Shopping Center, so I kept the pace steady.

I passed a few people going the same direction as I was on the way back to the pavement, and was surprised to see how many people were behind me still on the course. I guess I was doing pretty well.

I stopped briefly at a water station at the trailhead, then steadied myself and started the paved climb back to REI and the finish line. The uphill sections weren't as bad as I thought they'd be, but it was a slog. I also think I may have done some bonus mileage by taking Hunte Parkway instead of just staying on Olympic Parkway all the way back. The final two miles of pavement were pretty rough, and I was tired at that point. I middle ringed as much as I could, and passed about 5 or six people before I made it back to the REI parking lot. I would have been able to pass one other, but he cut through the parking spaces instead of following the street that was part of the course.

It felt good to finish, and Rach was there to cheer me on. My poker hand was terrible, but not bad enough to win the worst hand award, so no luck there. The events booths were a little frail, so after just a few minutes recuperating we hit the road. I didn't even stay for the raffle, but the prizes were also pretty weak, so it wasn't a big deal.

I am glad to have done this event, and would love to do more events like it. Less pavement would have been better. Doing it with friends would also have been fun. The crowds and bunching up on singletrack were an issue early on, but after about the first 1/2 they weren't a factor.

This event also marks the longest I've ever biked in a single ride, which is a nice milestone. All in all it was a nice way to spend a morning, and we were on our way back home around 11:00.

Here are the CycleEastlake stats:

Total Distance: 19.25 miles
Total Time: 2:11:74
Ascent: 1,237 feet
Average Speed: 8.5 mph
Top Speed: 30.1 mph
Bike: Specialized Enduro Elite
Map:

View Larger Map