Daley Ranch

Much to my surprise, I was able to mix in a last minute spin around Daley this evening with Mark and Doug. After a day of errands and whatnot I made it home in time to pack up the Tahoe and get over to Daley right around 5:30. I haven't really taken advantage of the longer days much this year, but at least today I was making the most of the daylight I had.

We started from the main lot and did the traditional Creek Crossing to East Ridge to Sage climb. Near the top of the first part of Sage I convinced the guys to do the bonus trail that Ben and I had done a few months ago. We took the Quail something singletrack down to Caballo, then climbed Caballo back to Sage and repeated a bit of the climb we had just done. The Quail singletrack was fun but a little blown out from the lack of rain. It was worth the detour to me, and I was surprisingly not bothered too much from the bonus climbing at that point.

We then continued up Sage to Diamondback and Coyote Run, then took East Ridge over to Jack Creek Meadow. We then took the east side of the meadow over to Hidden Spring (Cardiac). People complain about Cardiac, and with good reason. Its a monster. But what I really hate is the stupid meadow. Its 1.75 miles and has a small uphill grade the whole way. Its not difficult, per se, just unpleasant. And then when you're done with the meadow, you are faced with Cardiac.

I hiked the hard part of Cardiac as usual, and had an amusing exchange with a couple of other riders as they were coming down. One guy mentioned as he flew by us that "we had a long way to go." I simply thanked him for his insight and continued with the story I was in the middle of telling to Mark and Doug. You probably had to be there.

From the top of Cardiac we took Engleman Oak to Cougar Ridge, and Cougar Ridge to Crest. I love the Crest singletrack, and didn't even stop for the tarantula that was in the trail as I flew by. It was the first tarantula I'd seen in the wild, but all I really got was a glimpse. I think Doug and Mark stopped behind me and examined it further.

From Crest we took the road back to the cars and hung out for a bit catching up. I always really enjoy riding with Doug and Mark, and this time was no exception. Mark was on his SS as usual, and Doug has gone pretty much full time 1X9 which is also impressive. I like my gears, and have no intention of giving them up.

I didn't bring the camera, so no pics this time. Great ride though, with great company.

Here are the stats:

Total Distance: 12.85 miles
Total Time: 1:45:09
Elevation gain: 2,000 feet
Elevation loss: 2,005 feet
Average Speed: 7.3 mph
Top Speed: 29.2 mph
Avg HR: 168
Max HR: 194
Bike: Intense Spider XVP

Garmin Training Center Log

RR: Daley Ranch (Intense Demo Day)

I'm in the midst of trial preparation hell, but somehow found time to work in a short ride this morning at Daley Ranch before heading into work on a Saturday.

Intense was having a demo day out at Daley, and because its so close to work and I am now an Intense owner and fan, I wanted to make it out there for at least a little bit.

I brought my bike, but was hoping to get to ride a new Tracer if one was available. I got there early, but all of the Tracers in my size were already gone, so I elected to demo a Spider 29'er instead. After a quick waiver form and installing my own pedals, I was on my way.

I took Creek Crossing from the parking lot to East Ridge, up Sage, then down the Diamondback singletrack. Just before the turnoff to Diamondback, I saw a coyote just off the trail.


He eventually went his way, and I went mine.

From Diamondback I took East Ridge north to the west side of Jack Creek Meadow Loop, up Hidden Spring (Cardiac) to Englemann Oak, and hooked a left on Cougar Ridge.



On Cougar Ridge, I stopped for a quick picture to the west. It was gorgeous out, and I could see all the way to the ocean.


By taking this route I skipped a significant section of trail that I had ridden before, including the Burnt Mountain and Bobcat singletracks, but I was short on time and trial prep was calling my name.

I then took Cougar Ridge to the newly re-routed Crest singletrack, which was a ton of fun and a big improvement. After that all I had left was the banzai down the Ranch House fire road back to the Intense truck and my car.

As far as my impressions of the Spider 29'er, my thoughts are limited. It felt a lot like my Spider 26'er, so I didn't notice a huge advantage to the bigger wheels. I loved the XTR brakes, however, and the bike did climb very well. If I didn't have the 26" version and was in the market for a full suspension 29'er, I think it would be a great choice. But since I already have a FS 26" bike with almost the same geometry, I can't see buying one of these. Either way, it was fun to ride something different, and the color was really cool.


Here are the stats:

Total Distance: 1.73 miles
Total Time: 1:34:51
Ascent: 1705 feet
Average Speed: 6.8 mph
Top Speed: 30.5 mph
Bike: Intense Spider 29'er
Map:

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RR: Daley Ranch

Today was redemption day for me, as I decided to attempt to do a full ride at Daley Ranch more than five months after I had tried to ride out there and couldn't finish because I was so tired.

After struggling somewhat at Cuyamaca on Friday night, I had some concerns about how I would do at Daley, so I elected to ride it solo. Armed with Doug's suggested route, and a trail map I found at the Daley Ranch website, I figured I would go at my own pace and do as well as I could. By riding alone, I didn't have to worry about holding other riders up or taking breaks when I wanted to.

I left work a few minutes early, and was at the trailhead a little after 5 PM. I gave my chain a quick lube and got underway around 5:15.

Here was the map that I was using:

I started out on Creek Crossing trail, which I had ridden back in January. As I spun up the climbs, I actually felt pretty good. My pace was generally slow, but I was keeping a consistent speed and not stopping to rest as I made my way over to the East Ridge trail and started up Sage. It was a grind, and I was feeling the ascent as I climbed up Sage, but I wasn't blown out and wasn't even tempted to HAB. I even had a chance to enjoy the views a little as I rode along.

I continued to climb Sage past the connector to Coyote Run, which I had ridden back in January. The ascent continued another mile or so, including this section which briefly went under a neat canopy of trees:

Just past the tree canopy I saw the sign for Diamondback trail, and I made a left. That section included an awesome singletrack descent, with small bumps in the trail that enabled me to get a little air as I swept through the turns. After a little less than half a mile on Diamondback, I made the transition to a section of Coyote Run that I hadn't ridden before, and it was a blast as well. After just over a half mile of awesome swoopy singletrack, I reached the junction of Coyote Run and the East Ridge trail.

I took the East Ridge trail to the right, and rode that fire road for about 4/5 of a mile until it joined Ranch House Road. On my left as I rode by was the Ranch House itself. After passing it, I decided to double back for a quick picture:

Then I turned around and headed north, to the Jack Creek Meadow Loop. I had read on other sites that the Meadow Loop was just a flat spin across the meadow and is essentially a connector to some of the climbing sections in the far northwest part of the Ranch. I agree that the Meadow Loop is not a destination portion of this ride, and I would not consider it a highlight. It seemed to go on forever, and despite the advertisements, I think the northbound side had a slight incline the whole way out. Here's what it looked like as I slogged along:

I rode the entire east side of Jack Creek Meadow Loop, made the turn at the end, and approached the right hand turn for Hidden Spring fire road, better known as Cardiac. Here is what it looks like from the bottom of Hidden Spring;

Not that bad, right? I started my way up, with no idea what was in store for me. That quickly changed as the road morphed from graded fire road to rocky trail in the blink of an eye.

Any designs I may have had on cleaning the whole climb disappeared at the first rocky step-up that I couldn't handle, and it was HAB for me from there on. I did stop to take a picture of the Palomar mountains to the northeast:

The rockiest and most difficult part of the climb ended after about a quarter mile, and when I reached what I thought was the top of the climbing, I stopped for a short break. I ate some Clif Shots and gathered myself, and after three minutes or so re-mounted the bike and continued the ride.

What I didn't realize at that point was that the climbing had only just begun, and the rocky section had been but a preview of coming attractions. The next 3/4 of a mile alternated between moderate to significant climbing, and I was able to ride all of it except for one final steep, short, rocky 100 yard section that I had to HAB. I was also feeling pretty fatigued by this point, but was actually pleased with my overall performance. After having to bail out at the Ranch House back in January, I was chugging along pretty well today.

The climb up Hidden Spring finally ended, and I made a right turn onto the singletrack at Burnt Mountain trail. My legs were a little fried at that point, and I actually had to walk a tiny uphill at the beginning of Burnt Mountain because I lost momentum making the turn and didn't have the strength to get clipped back in and power up the brief climb.

After that I rode the rest of Burnt Mountain, which was a fun downhill singletrack with some short drops and rocky sections that kept me on my toes and provided a nice contrast to the miles of fire road climb that I had been doing. After about 1/3 of a mile, Burnt Mountain intersected Engelman Oak trail, and I made a left at the "T " intersection.

It was back to fire road as I rode along Engleman Oak, but the views were scenic. There was some tree cover alongside and over the trail, and on my right was the "Old Water Tank."

Off to my right was also an even better view of the Palomar Mountain range than I had seen before:

I rode along Engleman Oak for about a half mile, and then made a left onto the Bobcat trail, which was once again a fun and challenging singletrack descent. Bobcat was more difficult than either of the previous singletrack sections, and a couple of times I had to grab fistfulls of my brakes in order to stay on trail or keep from getting more air than I wanted on a particular drop. It was also pretty rocky and rough, and by the end of Bobcat my hands were actually a little sore from the vibration. Nonetheless, it was a fun section, and I had a great time flying downhill and taking the turns as fast as I was able.

Bobcat dead-ended at Cougar Ridge trail, and I took a left at the point of intersection of the two trails. What I didn't know at that point was that the next mile and a half of the Cougar Ridge trail was a steep, rocky uphill climb that for my money was even more difficult than Hidden Spring (Cardiac) had been. Cougar Ridge was not as rutted or rocky as Cardiac, but it felt longer and steeper. (My GPS graph of the elevation of the ride informed me that I am mistaken about that, and Hidden Spring is slightly longer but Cougar Ridge climbs a little higher in less time, which is probably why it felt so difficult.)

I'm not proud of it, but I HAB'ed most of the Cougar Ridge climb and just tried to keep going as the trail unfolded in front of me. I did stop to take a picture of the views to the south, which were expansive:

Eventually, the death march mercifully abated, and I enjoyed a short downhill section of Cougar Ridge before making a left onto the Crest trail, which I believed would be the final singtrack of my ride today. Here is what the early section of the Crest trail looked like:

Crest trail was another fun downhill singletrack, with more short bumps to get air over and sketchy downhill spots that required getting back over my seat and skimming through and over ruts that seemed to be everywhere. I almost got out of control at one particularly rutted section that led to a short drop, but reduced my speed and rolled the drop without stopping or crashing, which was good.

The Crest trail was a mile and a quarter of downhill fun, which I needed after the slog that had been Cougar Ridge. When I reached the bottom of Crest, my directions told me to take a left and ride a very short section of the Boulder Loop trail until it connected with the Ranch House Road, which I would then take back to the car.

I was pleased with myself that at that point, I was on pace to make it back to the car in about 2 hours and 5 minutes, which was only five minutes more than the suggested ride time of 2 hours that Doug's directions had indicated. Even with my HAB(s), I had kept a decent pace and had not fallen too badly of the projected ride duration, which made me feel pretty good.

It was only 7:05, however, and I figured I had at least an hour of daylight left. I was fatigued, but not exhausted, and I was not entirely ready to go home. However, without detailed knowledge of any of the other trails nearby, I decided not to risk getting over my head, and made the left turn on to Boulder Loop trail and quickly turned right on to Ranch House Road to do the short paved ride back to the car.

As I started down Ranch House Road, however, I had a change of heart. I had ridden well today (for me), and still had some gas left in my tank. I could tell on my map that the Boulder Loop was less than two miles long, and had a singletrack section in the middle that looked like it would be fun. After consulting the map for another minute, my mind was made up, and I turned around and rode back west on the Boulder Loop trail in the direction I had come.

I passed the turn for the Crest trail that I had ridden, and continued along Boulder Loop to the west. I turned a corner, and then I saw the first climb. It was steep. I downshifted and spun away, doing my best to keep my cranks turning despite my fatigue and the ascent. After about 2/10 of a mile, I was cooked, and the remaining 3/4 of a mile uphill climb constituted my final HAB of the day. And defintately my slowest.

I stopped a couple of times to rest, and each turn of the trail revealed another uphill section. I finally hauled myself and my bike to the top, passed the turn-off for Cougar Ridge that I would have taken had I not ridden the Crest trail, and continued along the Boulder Loop.

I pedaled away, spinning an easy gear even on the flats, and willing myself up the short moderate climbs that punctuated the north side of the Boulder Loop. Just as I was finally questioning my decision to do this bonus loop, I spotted the sign for Rock Ridge trail. I made the left turn, and rode up two short medium climbs that wound their way along the singletrack. After the climbs, it was all downhill, and I was glad I had decided to ride this section. It was less rutted and rocky than Crest and Bobcat had been, and had some fun bermed turns and up and down sections. I rode the Rock Ridge singletrack until it re-connected with the Boulder Loop, and I made a left turn.

The Boulder Loop continued downhill, and ended with a gnarly fire road descent that was particularly steep and rocky. I was on the brakes the whole way down, and had very little traction as I bumped along the rocks and ruts all the way to the bottom. From there I hooked up with the Ranch House Road, and rode the final half mile section of paved road back to the car.

I had an awesome time on this ride, and left Daley with a sense of pride and accomplishment, particularly in the face of the debacle I had experienced back in January. This time, I had ridden the entire beginning section without major difficulty, whereas I had HAB'ed almost all of it in January. And despite the fact that I still had more than my share of HAB's on today's ride, I think most of them would have presented problems for many riders, and I did significantly better than I could have done in the past.

I had a great time experiencing a new trial, and was aided tremendously by Doug's directions and the Daley trailmap that I brought with me. And despite the brutal climb at the beginning of the Boulder Loop, I was glad I chose to do the bonus section at the end of the ride. I had the time and the legs to do it, and despite the difficulty, it was fun and gave me a sense of accomplishment. But now I totally understand why it wasn't part of Doug's regular route.

I'm also glad I made the decision to do today's ride alone. I'm planning a lengthy post about my feelings on solo vs. group rides, which is inspired by my preliminary thoughts posted in the last portion of my ride review of the Cuyamaca night ride last Friday. But as far as today's ride, it felt great to go at my own pace, take pictures when I wanted to, explore new trails for myself, and HAB when I couldn't ride a section without worrying about holding someone(s) up. Someday I'm sure I'll do a group ride at Daley, but at least now I'll know what I'm getting in to.

Here are the stats from today:

Total Distance: 14.46 miles
Total Time: 2:28:55
Ascent: 2592 feet
Average Speed: 5.8 mph
Top Speed: 25.9 mph
Bike: Specialized Enduro Elite
Map:

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RR: Daley Ranch

So today had my first ride at Daley Ranch, in Escondido, CA. I had heard about that trail several times, and had been really looking forward to riding it. I had been told, however, that it involved a lot of climbing. As I've mentioned, this is not my strength. However at the urging of others, I decided to give it a try.

Turned out to be a mistake.

Now I should say this: the views (when I could lift my head enough to see them) were beautiful. Also, it's pretty close to home, and very close to work. It wasn't too crowded, even at mid-morning on a Saturday. And the people I did see were unusually friendly. It was a beautiful day. However, and I can not stress this enough, I'm just not in the cardiovascular shape to handle a ride with the kind of climbs that are at Daley.

I've mentioned that I want to get in better shape. I've mentioned that the reason I want to get in better shape isn't my overall health, but because I know I'll have more fun biking. Today was a prefect example of what I meant by that. It was a beautiful trail, but I couldn't enjoy it because the climbs absolutely slaughtered me. They started virtually from the parking lot, and meandered for more than two miles, climbing more than 1,000 feet over that span.

What bothered me most was that the others in my group seemed to have little problem with the climbs. I'm happy for them, but humbled and a little embarrassed that I couldn't hang. I also felt like an anchor, and that's never a fun feeling. So for all of those reasons, Adam and I bailed out about a third of the way through, at the Daley Ranch House.

The best part of the ride was that when we got back to the car, we drowned our sorrows in Pibbs in cans. And when we got home, Adam gave me two 12 packs he brought back from Sac this weekend. So that eased the pain somewhat...

(Adam, by the way, did really well at Daley. He's in good shape because of the Academy, and rode really well on my Iron Horse. I was impressed. I hope he'll try another ride with us that doesn't involve as much climbing.)

Anyway, my failure has been eating at me all day. I know it shouldn't: that biking is a hobby, and should be fun, and I can't take it that seriously. I just hate having the physical limitations that I do, and they gnaw at me. I'm even praying it doesn't rain tonight, so that I can get a ride in somewhere else to get the bad Daley taste out of my mouth.

So I'm not crossing Daley off my 2008 ride list yet. I feel like I haven't earned it. Which disappoints me that much more, because I was really looking forward to crossing one of the rides off my list. But it is what it is.

Perhaps fortunately, I brought my camera but forgot the memory stick at home, so I don't have any pictures of this ride. That's probably for the best, since this is not a memory I want to stick with me for very long.

Here are the stats:

Total Distance: 4.75 miles
Total Time: 108:19
Ascent: 1013 feet
Average Speed: 4.2 mph (ouch)
Top Speed: 24.5 (down paved road to parking lot)
Route Map: Click here for Google Map
Bike: Specialized FSR XC Pro