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??

NMBS Race #3 - Castaic Lake

Last Sunday, a good group of people including Mike, Miles, Jacinda, Dave and Nor rallied for the Castaic event. Here's a timeline of the race which resulted for me in a DNF (again). At least my hr got up to 178 -- for a minute or so. I now officially hate Castaic.



A few shots of the Pro Women and Expert Men starting out plus Miles on a sweet section of single-track w/ no one else in sight.









Podium pics of Miles and Jacinda.





Milo was a bit chapped that the 1st place rider in his class (sponsored by Sho-Air) won by 9 minutes. Hmmm, sandbagger perhaps?? Jacinda basically rode the last lap with no rear brake after the outer edge of her rotor broke off d/t wear. Nice!

Looking forward to Santa Barbara in two weeks.

Castaic Lake XC Course Pre-Ride

Rode with Mike and Miles from Milo's house in Valencia to Castaic Lake where next weekend's XC race is running. Did one lap around last year's course to get re-acquainted. If everything stays the same, the biggest potential trouble spot is a section of the last climb that is covered by a ton of tree/brush clippings.

The six plus mile XC loop covers roughly miles 10 through 16 on the elevation profile shown below. The prominent spikes equate to pretty steep climbs, all of which will be interesting on the second of two laps.



In last year's final race of the season at Castaic, DNF'd after a mechanical at the end of lap 1. Weak.

NMBS Race #2 - Firestone Classic

Drove up to Santa Ynez last weekend for the Firestone Classic. Met Jacinda and her friend Dave on Saturday for a slow motion pre-ride of the 13 mile XC course. Camped out...



... then woke up early Sunday for an 8:15 start.



Had a lot of nervous energy racing Sport for the first time. After a frenetic and dusty start, passed a number of riders in the first few miles but got passed by many more. About 2/3 through the first lap, got stung by a bee in the face. Nice...

At the end of lap one, started feeling a second wind. Was able to turn a fairly big gear and actually gain back a few lost positions. Too little, too late though. At 17+ miles, reached the start/finish again and was surprised to be done. Kind of anti-climactic as I was expecting at least one or two more miles.

Here's an elevation/hr profile and link to data on MotionBased.





After some drama, ended up finishing 33 out of 45 riders in the Sport 40-44 class. Dave beat me by under two minutes coming in 29th.

Here are a few more random pics from the weekend.



Jacinda sharing the stoke with her friend Dan who's just about to finish first in Expert 30-34.



A 1/4 mile into the Pro Men's XC race. In first through third at this moment are Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (on a 29er), Geoff Kabush and Ryan Trebon. Kabush would end up winning, beating JHK by a second.



Pro Women churning up a ton of dust, much of which would end up on and in my car.

Sea Otter Classic: 04.13.07 - 04.15.07

Headed up to Monterey over the weekend to check out Sea Otter for the first time. Upon arrival, took a few pics of the crazy dirt-jumpers and walked around the trade show where every manufacturer from huge to small was present.






Saturday AM did the XC race along with Alfredo Alforque and hundreds of others. The 19 mile course started out on the Laguna Seca race-track then headed off on a mix of fire-road and fun single-track. Finished 14th out of a field of 137 in the Men's Beginner 40 - 44 category.

See below for the course elevation profile and a link to details on MotionBased.





Alf's friend Jose who oversees fork manufacturing at Fox raced downhill on Saturday PM. In treacherous, muddy conditions, he placed 2nd out of 22 in the Men's Beginner 35-39.



Stuck around for awhile on Sunday to watch the pro downhill and XC races and take a few pics. Here are snaps of Steve Peat, April Lawyer and an unknown other ripping up the DH course which dried nicely from the previous day.





All in all, a super-fun weekend. Will definitely be back next year.