Lake Hodges East (Mule Hill Trail)

After years of riding North and South Hodges, I finally decided to head east this morning. I parked at the self storage trailhead for North Hodges, and headed east on the San Pasqual/Mule Hill Trail.

Having never ridden it before, I didn't know exactly what to expect. As I wound through mile after mile of flat, wide trail, I began to realize why this trail does not get a lot of publicity.

The trail (road?) wound its way through some marshland that at one time comprised the eastern portion of Lake Hodges.

Then, after about four miles of sleep inducing trail, things began looking up. Both literally and figuratively.



The trail transformed into narrow, scenic singletrack that began to contour along the side of the hill. The climbing was moderate, but welcome after the extended warm up. After about a mile of singletrack climbing, I reached the top of the hill. From there I took this shot of the trail from whence I'd come:

From where I stopped initially, the trail seemed to descend to the northeast. I rode down a little ways and reached another viewpoint that enabled me to see where the rest of the trail led.

I elected to head back at that point, but had I continued I would have descended down towards Bandy Canyon and the Wild Animal Park (seen above). It looked like a fun descent, but time was short this morning, and I wasn't sure how far the trail went below. Subsequent research seemed to indicated that the trail went for another five miles or so, making this particular route a 20 mile out and back if you do the whole thing.

Instead, I turned around and enjoyed the fun descent back down the mile of singletrack I had just climbed, and then tried to keep as much speed going on the flat section back to the trailhead as possible.

After the ride Rach met up with me at the Centre City Cafe, where we had a nice breakfast.

Stats:

Total Distance: 10.58 miles
Total Time: 1:05:15
Elevation gain: 552 feet
Elevation loss: 541 feet
Average Speed: 9.7 mph
Top Speed: 21.0 mph
Bike: Intense Spider XVP

Garmin Training Center Log

I've Joined Team World Vision

Over the next few months, I am running and riding with Team World Vision to help change lives in Africa and Haiti. I have entered a series of trail running and cycling events that will act as a platform for me to raise money for this important cause.

World Vision works with communities in desperate need to help provide things like clean water, nutritious food, education, medical care, and economic opportunity.

As I participate in athletic events over the next few months, I will be asking friends, family, and members of the community to join with me in supporting this important cause. Whether you can donate $1 or $1,000, your support will both bless the people of Africa and Haiti and encourage me to "run with perseverance the races marked out for me." (Hebrews 12:1.)

Here is a list of the events in which I will be participating as a member of Team World Vision:

Trail Running Events:

Chollas Lake 5K Trail Run

Black Mountain Summit 7K Trail Run

Mission Driven Eco Run 10k Trail Run

XTERRA Mission Gorge 5k Trail Run

XTERRA Black Mountain 5k Trail Run

Cycling Events:

Bike the Bay 2010

Tour de Poway

Warrior's Society Toad Festival

Will you make a tax-deductible donation to support my efforts? Together we can help change lives. To visit my personal fundraising page and make a secure online donation, click here.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.

To learn more about World Vision, visit http://www.worldvision.org.
To learn more about Team World Vision, visit http://www.teamworldvision.org

South and North Hodges Night Ride

Tonight was a fairly basic Hodges ride, starting from the Poblado trailhead. My goal list involved doing more night riding this year, so I figured I'd better get started.

I did a little of the South side singletrack, crossed the new pedestrian/bike bridge, and rode the North side trails over to the docks. My plan was to go all the way to Hernandez Hideaway, but I realized mid-ride that I had not locked my truck and had left my laptop and all other worldly possessions inside.

That realization made for a ride back to the trailhead at race pace, and I arrived to find everything in place. What a blessing in the face of my stupidity.

It was a fun quick spin, and I hope to do this type of impromptu ride more often. Maybe next time I can rustle up some company.

Total Distance: 10.83miles
Total Time: 1:02:18
Ascent: 971 feet
Average Speed: 10.4 mph
Top Speed: 21.1 mph
Bike: Intense Spider XVP
Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

Firestone to Work to Home Point to Point Ride

Today was one of those days where you plan everything out, and it actually ends up working out just like you hope. I love those days.

With vacation prep in full swing and a list of errands to do only partially complete, I wanted to find a way to combine some of my chores with a road ride. I was way overdue for an oil change in the Tahoe, and also had to pick something up at work in Escondido before we left town, so I started thinking about dropping the bike off at Firestone and riding the road bike to work.

I got on mapmyride.com, put together a route, and uploaded it to my Edge. The area near North County Fair in south Escondido was a bit of a mystery to me, but I found a neat site online that provided great instructions and an excellent map, so I figured I'd be fine.

I dropped the truck off at Firestone and headed north. I crossed the relatively new Hodges pedestrian/cycling bridge for the first time on a road bike, and successfully navigated the North County Fair connector thanks to the map. That area behind the mall was a short but beautiful section to ride, and I enjoyed it very much.

Time and miles passed quickly from that point, and I made it to work in just over a half hour. I grabbed what I needed to get and was back on my way two minutes later. Instead of doubling back, I headed west. After a brief stop for a Jamba Juice in Escondido, I headed down Del Dios Highway toward Rancho Santa Fe.

I had plotted out a course on mapmyride using google maps, but it became clear as I began climbing up Del Dios that the turn I had plotted on the map wasn't there. Still, I soon saw a sign for the entrance to The Lakes community, which I knew was part of my route, and headed down the road to the guard gate.

I had initially thought that there would be a pedestrian gate that I could just go through without issue, but that proved to be incorrect. After negotiating for several minutes with the guard, I was granted a day pass to go "check out the model homes" and was back on route! (I am extremely grateful that the guard hooked me up, because the alternative involved riding through all of Rancho Santa Fe back to San Dieguito Road. That would have meant time I didn't have and miles I wasn't prepared for.)

I cruised through The Lakes, which is a beautiful development, and soon found myself back on Camino del Norte headed home.

It was an extremely fun and interesting ride. Uploading the route to the GPS worked pretty well for route finding, but I still would really like an Edge 705 with street mapping capability to help when I get lost or miss a turn. Now that I know the route from RB to Escondido, I can consider commuting to work from home sometime, which would be nice. I am also amazed at how much more ground I cover in less time on the road bike as opposed to the mountainbike.

Here's the report:

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Firestone to Work to Home Point to Point

Santa Luz Loop from Home

Before leaving on vacation next week, I wanted to get in a MTB ride. Time was scarce this weekend with packing and other prep-work, so I decided to just stay local and ride the Santa Luz loop from home.

In keeping with my desire to ride new dirt this year, I attempted to at least put a slightly different spin on the ride. I left from home, and instead of riding the 4S trails to Carmel Valley road up to Black Mountain Community Park, I headed west into Lusardi Canyon and rode the steep trail up the back side to the Park.

I had ridden that trail a few times before in the past, and never cleaned it. This time I did. Its not technical at all, just steep, and I grinded away all the way up to the top. From there I rode along the fringes of the soccer fields and hooked up with the Santa Luz singletrack.

The singletrack ended way too quickly, as it always does, and from there I rode along the doubletrack that winds through the Santa Luz valley.

As I reached the brief paved connector street, I spotted one of those portable speed displays that the County puts up in certain areas to warn drivers about their speed. I was curious to see if it would register my speed as I rode by. Turned out it would!

Clearly I wasn't able to generate much speed holding my camera in one hand and riding with the other, but it was an entertaining experiment.

After that I rode through the neighborhood and over towards the two hills that mark the most difficult part of the loop. I cleaned the first fairly easily, which I have done several times in the past. This time, however, I also cleaned the second hill, which is something I have never done. The rains had made it much less loose than usual, which helped, but it still felt good to cross that one off my list.

From there my path took me back into Lusardi Canyon toward home.

I decided to explore a couple of faint double track trails as they led out of the canyon, which proved to be a minor mistake. They eventually petered out into overgrown brush, and I had to plow/bushwhack my way back to the road home as I reached the top.

Still, it was an enjoyable and satisfying ride. Cleaning the trail up to Black Mountain Community Park and both of the rough hills in the middle felt good, and it was nice to take advantage of the beautiful day.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Santa Luz Loop from Home

Road RR: Modified Trek San Diego Monthly Ride Route

For my first longish road ride I elected to try a modified version of the Trek San Diego Monthly Road Ride.

The route passes fairly close to my house, so I elected to ride it from home instead of starting in Carmel Valley. I downloaded the mapmyride.com GPS route to my Edge 305 and headed out. It was my first time riding the 56 bike path, and I enjoyed it. There were a ton of people out, but there was plenty of room to pass and enjoy the mostly downhill from Black Mountain toward the coast.

After a few missed turns and route finding issues (even with the GPS), I made it through Carmel Valley and to the coast. The ride through Del Mar was a little sketchy with all of the traffic, but I joined up with a couple of other cyclists during that section and found safety in numbers. This route didn't have many opportunities to see the ocean during the ride itself, and I didn't stop or detour to go down to the water. Maybe next time.

After riding along the coast I passed the Del Mar Fairgrounds and headed back into Rancho Santa Fe. Before long I was in familiar territory and made my way up San Dieguito Road to Camino del Norte and was home.

I felt great at the end, and wasn't really even tired. I wasn't going for speed per se, but I didn't take any breaks and maintained a pretty consistent pace for the entire ride. I'd like to explore some route options that I can spin off of this ride to make it a little longer but still enjoyable.

Because I didn't start the GPS route guidance from home, and had some GPS problems right before the end of the ride, the stats are a little off. But here they are anyway:

Total Distance: 29.70 miles
Total Time: 2:03:09
Ascent: 536 feet
Average Speed: 14.9 mph
Top Speed: 33.0 mph
Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Modified Trek San Diego Route Part 2

LPQ Night Ride

My first MTB ride of the new year ended up being an LPQ night ride. Original plans on DT scheduled the ride to start at 7PM, but that was a little late for both Mark and me, so we made plans on the side to start a little earlier and get in some time before meeting up with the rest of the group at 7.

I arrived at the trailhead woefully under prepared because I got out of work late, but after 15 minutes of lubing my rusted chain and pumping up my nearly flat tires, I eventually was good to go. (As an aside, I used my new Thule T2 rack for the first time, and loved how convenient it was getting the bike on and off.)

Mark and I put in an hour of fun riding and then met up with the rest of the group. It was great to see Evan, Joaquin, Mike, Jacek, and Dennis again after not doing a DT ride for a while. Mark and I rode with them for another hour and then headed back to the cars. Before splitting up I did have a mishap where my bar end caught a low hanging branch, spilling me into some trailside bushes. No harm done though.

I didn't take any pictures because it was a night ride, but that's something I'll remedy in the future. All in all it was just a easy ride over some fun trails with great company, which always makes for a fun time.

Total Distance: 10.40 miles
Total Time: 1:52:54
Ascent: 703 feet
Average Speed: 5.5 mph
Top Speed: 22.7 mph
Bike: Intense Spider XVP