Showing posts with label SART. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SART. Show all posts

(Big) wheels keep on turning...

Finally got back on dirt this weekend! Even though I felt like I had a boat anchor attached on Saturday, it was great to get dirty again. I miss long days in the mountains, and always enjoy the extreme fatigue and mental un-acuity that come with many hours in the saddle.

A small group of us (Justin, Eric, and Joy, with honorable mention to Al who joined up after climbing up the highway from Redlands) took off from just above Mentone for the climb up to Angelus Oaks on Saturday. Sky was gorgeously blue and clear, and the temps were pretty perfect for a day in the mountains.







Fall leaves. Yes, in So Cal. Crappy pic.



Big wheels, part 1.



Lunch



Courtesy of Justin:







I've determined that Armadillo Captain 29er tires do not really roll. I mean, they do, just with extreme effort.

I hadn't ridden a 29er in awhile, really, nor had I done a long day on the bike, so I wasn't sure if it was the slowness of the big wheels (haha), the fact that I was somewhat fatigued from the gym, or just general lack of fitness that left me feeling winded on every slight incline.

I somewhat redeemed myself on Sunday pushing my new SS gear (29x18 - bitchin') with faster tires and had a blast.

See you beeshes later.







He sings the songs that remind him of the good times...he sings the songs that remind him of the better times



It's about time



Single and lovin' it.



Big wheels, part deux



Going...down?









Killer weekend on the bike(s). I realized on Sunday that I love the Santa Ana's, and that singlespeeding is a total blast. I was pretty worked, but it just is so... je ne sais que. I don't want to say "pure". But, it's just the rider, the bike, one gear, and brakes. You can sit, you can stand, and you can brake. It's just you, the trail, and sweet, sweet suffering. I hated and loved every second of it.

No SS for me any time soon, though. Gotta train my mind and body to get ready for my next big off-season project.

BTW, can you over-reach in the off-season? No, really?

Happy Monday.

Weekend Report

Started off the weekend right by partaking in Bike to Work Day on Friday. Put in some extra time and mileage to make up for being lazy on Thursday night. I blame Luke.



Kidding!

It was good news for me that we had another weekend of slower, steady long miles ahead of us! I was looking forward to getting back up to SART, and also heading out to Cuyamaca, where I've only ridden once before.

Friday night Steph and Dan came up after dinner so we could be up and on the road to Mentone in the morning. Ever since Brian turned us on to climbing up from Loch Leven that is our new starting point for SART. It's a good warm-up climb that takes place on pavement, dirt, fire road, and a bit of singletrack (overgrown fire road).

It was warm when we arrived at the trailhead, but honestly… I don't recall temps ever being all that bad. A lot of the trail is shaded, and while it wasn't a squelcher, it wasn't cool, either. Temps were just right!

Up, up, up



Taking a pic, of Stephanie about to take a pic :)



Train!



Heading out behind the PO



He'll be ridin' all over



About to descend, yay!



Fun singletrack for sure







We hadn't stopped a whole lot, but finally did at Glass Rd for a break. I hadn't taken in many calories, so it was time for one of these to get me up to South Fork!



Yum.

The trail ahead



Snow in the background



Once we got up to South Fork it was time to fuel up for sure. I took in a MASSIVE amount of calories. I just could not stop eating. I figured I'd wind up with a lot of stomach issues on the way back to Angelus Oaks, but I kept eating anyway. Naturally!

Made it back to Glass Rd with no problems, and continued on. My only issue was my right foot. It was giving me a LOT of trouble wearing my old Sidi's. I used to love those shoes, and now they just generate a lot of pain and discomfort. Weird.

Stephanie as we head back down to the creek crossings



We had waited a bit at the trailhead for Luke. I had unfortunately missed his email the night before asking on start time, so I wasn't sure if he was going to show. We took off, and he had actually caught us as we hit Middle Control the first time around, before heading up to Glass Rd. He did a bit of bonus mileage!





Justin approaching the post office near the end of the day



I had been a little sad we were shortening the ride by over an hour, so I did a pretty good effort up Middle Control back to town. We sat around a bit wondering where Luke was at (he had already headed back down to Loch Leven), eating, resting… and eventually made our way down. It was less than 25 minutes to descend, and over an hour to climb! Good one.

We stopped and ate at Cuca's. The chicken burritos are seriously killer!

We got some sleep, but not enough, Saturday night, and were up early to get packed up and head out to Cuyamaca. Warm temps greeted us once again, but we loaded up and got on the trail!

Uber blue skies all day





We visited more than one park



The crew





Steph and Justin





Some fun traversing





Gorgeous views



We did some route finding with the crappy map they sell. Er rather, Dan tried to do some route finding with the crappy map :)



The steed! Watch out, he bucks around horses



Chillin' before another climb



Love the views…







Stephanie







One last big hill ahead… steep pavement



The best



Friends!



Parting shot…



Overall, great weekend. I didn't feel very good the rest of the afternoon. Not sure if it was due to heat or nutrition or whatnot, but I felt pretty bad. Felt great this morning, but then did a gym workout, and now I'm WORKED again :) So much for regen!