SoCal on Fire

Bailed Catalina early Sunday AM after Bob & Jessica's wedding to avoid getting ruined by the Santa Anas. Smoke from the Malibu Canyon fire blowing directly offshore was visible from as far away as Palos Verdes. Oddly, south of the Palisades, the wind was negligible. Here are photos taken from the water...





Here's a photo of the hellacious-looking evening sky taken from the Marina on Sunday. Phil ended up leaving his boat there when it was too hairball to sail on Monday AM...



This was the eerie scene on the 101 around Camarillo on Monday...



Not suprisingly, air quality is bad from all the particulate matter and trail access could be affected as well. Here's a satellite image grabbed from latimes.com showing all the fires around SoCal on Tuesday. Gnarly.

Fall Night Ride

Went for a great night ride w/ Nor and Andrew after work yesterday. Figured it would be a good idea since I know I'll be off the bikes and having many cocktails this weekend.

Came down Backbone into Will Rogers which was super fun as usual. Total moving time was just under 3 hours and mileage was 27+. Air temps were cool and the ground was still moist after last Friday's rain. Saw a ton of frogs all along the fireroads and trails plus a few owls.

Here's a pic taken at the entrance to the single-track...



Here's a link to info on MotionBased...



Thinking about a Halloween night ride in two weeks which could be very fun. The helmet-cam will be mandatory for that.

Weekend Rides

After the much-needed rain on Friday night, put the 'cross wheelset on the Bianchi and hit the fireroads on Saturday. Went up Westridge, across Dirt Mulholland to the Hub and down Paseo Miramar. For the most part, the ground wasn't muddy but it was soft in places. Here's a link to MotionBased...



On Sunday, rode the Turner up Sullivan Ridge, down Rusty Car, across Dirt Mulholland then down Backbone into Will Rogers. The single-track was in perfect condition: moist, tacky, fast and not a speck of dust.

Hopefully, some people hit the Westridge single-track and packed down the dirt more. Will try to check it out on Wednesday night and report back.

Mulholland Hwy to Encinal Canyon Loop

Did a long one on Saturday going from home to PCH, up Topanga, across Mulholland Hwy, down Encinal Canyon to PCH and back. Here's a cellphone shot of Zuma and Broad Beach taken 3/4 of the way down Encinal.



Total mileage was around 73 and moving time was just under 4:30. Hard to believe this ride is less than 10 miles longer than the Kanan loop from last weekend. Here's a link to MotionBased...

Saturday Ride

Went for a lengthy road ride Saturday before meeting up w/ Bob and Jessica at Paradise Cove to witness them exchange marriage vows. The ride which took me up Topanga Canyon, across Mulholland Hwy, down Kanan Rd and back on PCH ended up being just over 64 miles and about 4 hours. Road tires mounted on the extra Cane Creek wheelset made a difference.

Here's a link to info on MotionBased...



I'm eyeballing a ride that continues on Mulholland to the very end where it intersects w/ PCH at Leo Carrillo. From home, it'd probably be around 90. We'll see...

Westridge Singletrack Coming Back?

Took a spin up Westridge today to check things out after the weekend's stormy weather. As expected, the rain did a lot to settle the soft dirt on the bulldozed singletrack.

Although it's quite ugly up there with all the brush gone, some sections of the trail were kinda fun. (Other sections were slow-going as you had to pick your way through.) The whole thing was rideable though which definitely marks progress.

Here are some photos...






Forget what people say about staying off the trails after it rains. Next time it pisses, we should all head up there right away to ride and pack down the dirt more. It's the best way to facilitate the come-back of the singletrack.

Saturday Road Ride

Rode the Bianchi up Topanga Canyon, across Mulholland, down Malibu Canyon and back on PCH. This was the longest ride I think I've ever done; total mileage was just over 50.

Click on the map for data on MotionBased...



Legs felt pretty good at the end. Wonder if 65 is doable?

Summer's Gone

Temps are cooling down and it's getting dark earlier. Took advantage of the mild weather this weekend and got out for a few local rides on the Bianchi. Total mileage was just under 60.

Here are links to data on MotionBased...

Big Bear Shoot-Out #2 XC Race

Raced in the final event of the season last Sunday in Big Bear. Wasn't feeling at all prepared and not surprisingly, ended up getting ruined.

The course started at 7,300 ft with a 2+ mile fire-road climb. Fearful of falling off the back, tried to keep up w/ the mid-pack riders in my class which was a mistake. Ten minutes in, was completely out of breath and had severe lactic acid issues. Here's a nice graph...



Before the course flattened out, got passed by numerous Sport racers and then single-speed maniacs including Brett. Eight miles in, started getting passed by the fastest Beginner riders who started seven minutes behind. Ten miles in, got passed by Miles and shortly after that, Nor. Jacinda went by on the final fire-road climb but fortunately, I was able to pass her back on the Fall Line single-track.

Click on the map for race data on MotionBased...



Results? 13th out of 15 for me w/ a time of 1:44:06. Ouch. Dave who was able to recover after a tough start finished 10th at 1:40:19. (The fastest time in our class was a scorching 1:21:39.) Miles finished 3rd in his class w/ a time of 1:35:44. Nor finished 4th in his class at 1:36:18. (Apparently those two had an epic battle going -- wish I could've seen it.) Jacinda finished in 1:40:58 and Carlyn finished 1st in her class at 2:17:02. Here's a pic of the big medal-winners...



With their strong finishes, Miles, Nor and Carlyn all placed in the final points race for the season. Next year will be interesting as everyone will be in Sport -- just where they belong.

Labor Day Heat Wave Rides

The three-day weekend brought some of the hottest temperatures to the Westside I can recall. Still managed to get on a bike every day. On Saturday, rode w/ Dave up the Canyon, over to the Hub and down Backbone. Sunday, rode the Bianchi solo on a medium length fire-road/road loop. Nothing too exciting except for the incredibly hot gal on the white Orbea on San Vicente.

On Monday, headed up to Sycamore w/ Miles to ride the single-track we had to skip last weekend. Got dropped almost immediately on the fire-road climb and then again on the way to the water tower. When we got to the Coyote Trail, I kinda expected the single-track to basically wind down to the Sycamore fire-road similar to the Wood Canyon trail. Wrong... After two granny gear climbs, some cursing and a bit of walking, finally got to the pay-off. When it finally turned downhill, the single-track was very reminiscent of the Rusty Car trail -- quite fun. After that, slogged up Guadalasca and then down Wood Canyon again.

Total mileage was 22.2 and total elevation gain was 3,414 feet. Don't believe the 80.6 degrees MotionBased cites. Here's a link...



Next weekend is the final race of the season at Big Bear. Heading up w/ a good group of people and it should be fun. Miles and Nor are both riding strong and are locks for the podium in their respective classes. The question is how high can they finish?

Sycamore Canyon and Backbone Trail

Rode up north this weekend to mix things up a bit.

On Saturday, headed up to Sycamore Canyon along w/ Mike, Miles and Dave to sample new single-track. The ride was cut short after a weekend warrior ran nearly head-on into Mike, taco'ing his front wheel. While neither was injured too badly, we were grossed out to discover skin, blood and hair on Mike's stem and fork crown after the collision. Gnarly...

Here's a short video from the Wood Canyon single-track prior to the carnage...



Then hit Backbone up in Malibu on Sunday. Rode w/ Miles from Corral Canyon past Kanan and back. Poison oak was everywhere but the trail was in the best condition I've ever seen. Here's a link to a ride overview on MB...



The out-and-back ride was less than 15 miles long total but it gained 3,256 feet over that distance. Kind of an ass-kicker as evidenced by this elevation/hr graph...

Altadena Naked Crow MTB Challenge

Entered a small grass-roots MTB race in Altadena today along with Nor, Carlyn, Andrew and Brett. The short course comprised of pavement and fireroad only started up the Arroyo, went towards Brown Mountain, over to Millard and down the Chaney Trail road. Here's a link to info on MB...



In all there were probably around 75 racers. The fastest time for the 8.2 mile course posted by a Fisher/Subaru sponsored rider was around 37 minutes. On local turf, Nor bested everyone in our group and placed 3rd in his age group. Carlyn also podium'd in the women's category.

It would be cool to do something similar on the local Santa Monica trails. Unfortunately, according to the race organizer, it took 7 years to get the necessary permits/approvals to run this event. Brutal.

My Simpsons Avatar

Alright, this post has nothing whatsoever to do with riding or boarding. The Simpsons Movie came out last week and to nobody's surprise, the marketing was brilliant and the movie killed it at the box office.

Here's my avatar in action. Where's Moe's??

Sullivan Singletrack R.I.P.

Headed out for an afternoon ride last Wednesday and was bummed (but not surprised) to see that the top portion of the Sullivan singletrack had been plowed. As of Friday, the fun downhill section after the big oak tree was gone.

Not sure what the status of the trail is now but it's fair to assume that everything down to the Camp Josepho gate is doomed. After Westridge went under the 'dozer blade last month, I guess this was bound to happen.

Here's a re-post of a helmet-cam video shot on the single-track last year...



Here are a few still photos taken of various sections of the trail over the years. It really is a shame -- Sullivan Ridge was truly a fun piece of singletrack. Not technical but very fast. As Miles would usually say after finishing, " Muy peligroso!"

Random Weekend Rides

Got the Bianchi back from servicing at Helen's last week so I had to take it out. On Saturday, went up Westridge, over to the Hub, down Paseo Miramar to Sunset through Rustic Canyon and back on Montana. After 6 days off, the legs felt great.



Here's an elevation/hr graph...



Sunday, rode up Sullivan, over to the Hub again, down into the Palisades Highlands and back via PCH and San Vicente. Weather was exceptional.

Sycamore Loop

Drove up the coast on Saturday to ride Sycamore Canyon. Temps were warm but there was a good breeze blowing.

Repeated the Cinco de Mayo ride which entailed going up the fireroad, down Gualdalasca single-track, up Hell Hill, down Overlook single-track then back up Guadalasca and back down Overlook. Total distance was 21+ miles with 3,500+ ft of elevation gain.

Click on the image for ride info on MotionBased...



Here are a few random pics from the trail...

12 Hours of Temecula MTB Race #2

Rode on a four-man team along w/ Nor, Mike and a guy named Brett in the 12 Hour race Sat. The layout of the 10+ mile loop was slightly different from the January event. For a sweet course map, description and photos, click here. (Looks like the organizer, Jason, could use a little help with his web design.)

Collectively, we completed 11 laps on what was a friggin' hot day. Everyone (except me) turned sub-hour or hour long laps. Fastest times were around :58. In contrast, my 3rd lap was somewhere around 1:20. Yikes... At least I have an excuse.

Here are a few random pics from throughout the day.









This is an elevation/hr graph of my lap 1 data.



Click on the map for details on MotionBased. Note that the temp was more like 86 than 68.

Westridge Follow-Up

It's a done deal - the remainder of Westridge singletrack went under the blade on either Thurs or Fri. While I understand the need for preventative measures in a drought year, especially after the scary Griffith Park fire, I'm still saddened. The vegetation and trail will come back but it will take years. Here are a few pics from today.

Can't help but think the "Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority" has never been so expeditious in finishing a project.



"Plow King" at rest on the fireroad.



An ugly swath of dirt with the Nike base off in the distance.



With Sullivan singletrack's days possibly numbered, made sure to hit it yesterday w/Mike and Miles. Click on the map for details.

Westridge Singletrack - R.I.P.

On a post-work ride yesterday, was bummed to discover that the top section of Westridge singles had been bulldozed, ostensibly to create a fire-break. Per this thread on MTBR, the whole thing could be gone soon. Oh, the memories...

Here are a few old pics from the trail. The first is a shot of the bay, PV and Catalina taken with an unsteady hand. The second shows a fast section in the afternoon light.





This is a re-post of helmet-cam video shot by Mike back in November.

Elings Park XC Race

Raced in SB on Saturday along with what's become a pretty regular group. The short course was the same as last September except for a different start/finish placement. Improved upon my Firestone results, finishing 17th out of 30 with a time that was just a minute off the average for the class. Here are final results on Geoladders. After Castaic, was generally happy w/the outcome.

Click for an overview on MotionBased...



Here's an hr/elevation graph. In contrast to Castaic, all the climbs at Elings were manageable. (Still ended up using the granny on 2nd and 3rd laps though.) While my avg hr over the course of the race was 168, it never went above 177...



Miles kept his podium streak alive finishing 4th. Two dropped chains interfered w/ what would've been a 3rd. Wonder if he'll get that fixed soon??