Ham-Hock Like Training Ride

Old Coach Trail Bridge out... gnarly downhill led to detour.

I was carrying Mac's dyno wheel bungee'd onto my left handlebar as I made my way over to the 8:00 start at Mule Hill. Weather was OK, with temps approaching 50 degrees and the sun was starting to push thru the clouds in the east. Made good time from San Marcos as the 27.5" x 2.8 WTB Trailblazers were quite smooth on the roads with 30psi. Was a little nippy approaching the San Dieguito Valley start. Trail runners all over the place... seems an event today.


Dan Phillips was near his truck as Mac & Keith were getting ready. I dropped off the wheel to Mac and then sped over to Chevron for a ice refill on the bottle. After viewing Keith's new tubeless tire setup & Mac's cheapo tires, we were off just after 0800. Guys were layered up & several had jackets on. Answering "when will it warm up" question with "in 30 minutes you'll be sweating like a dog".. So it was after the 19% climb up to Old Coach Trail.

Horse climb in back-alley trail Poway rutted & washed down.

We opted for our first detour here. I figured it was too gnarly on the power-line road downhill and with the muddy portage at the bottom it made sense. ( I had ridden down there on Wednesday to check things out...not good). Nice downhill riding thru country estate homes and out past a bewildered security guard post. Soon back on Justin Trail, we stopped for several regroups before hitting the back alley horse trails in Poway. Tough H-A-B at the end brought us to a short roadie ride and then back on the downhill dirt. After a park bathroom stop, we soon were at Poway Road 7-Eleven and a refill. Short chit-chat and we were off.


The old route took us straight onto dirt from here. It was really tough with wet mud, so we did the revised roadie route with a Community Road turn thru the Fire Department and back onto a Poway side trail. Nice short ride as we soon were back on the Poway Trail into some drying mud and filled in pea gravel uphills. Dan knew by now that his road rated rear tire wasn't good in this stuff. A regroup or two later, we approached $5 Hill. I've never seen anyone make this climb and today was no exception. Mac gave 'er a go, and fell over. Dan was the cleverest by packing his bike up to the top. The rest of us pushed up.  Regroup time.

Placid look down $5 Hill on Poway Trail. H-A-B time!

Nice rocky trail riding along the ridge-line overlooking Poway. Interlaced were several gnarly rocky climbs thrown in. A long downhill on once smooth packed trails (now rain rutted gutters) brought Mac some dirt-face. Maintained trails awaited along with a few runners as we made our way over to the pump-house by I-15. Real nasty downhill section around the pump-house had been filled in spots. Info regroup and we were off into Penasquitos East Trails.


Passing the "TRAILS CLOSED" sign, Mac made a comment as we soon found out our first bridge-out portage. Not bad as we tipsy-toed across boards and rolled onward. Trail was packed with high-water trash and wood bridge remains. Not to be deterred, we stopped at the split trail signboard for a regroup and to chat with a old trail rider on his FS TREK. Shoes damp as we opted to ride across the water and try the north trail, following the old guy. Rock garden time for the group here. The lowered air 27.5+'s were really nice here, just floating over and not worrying about "picking a line thru the rocks". Into Canyonside Park for water and a blow.

Penasquitos East Trail requires several water portages.

Another "TRAIL CLOSED" sign didn't deter us at all as we entered Penasquitos Canyon North. After a mile, we cut off, crossed a road and took a trail north under the SR-56 Bike Path. I offered Dan a 5-dollar note for clearing the end-of-the-trail H-A-B climb. He took one look and said "not today". Mac gave it a try and went down again. Nice try. We were soon onto the SR-56 Bike Path and into the sun alongside Camino Del Sur Circle K store.


Return trip started with a short roadie north and then we cut off just before Bryn Glen Way. Trail had a big hole which Keith almost went into while jumping over. After a few trail turns and some muddy tires, we stopped at a trail "Y" near Camino Del Sur. Left followed the trail under... the right branch went around and up to the roadway. I suggested to Keith he might opt for the latter. Mac "offered" to keep him company on the roadie route back to Mule Hill. Away they went. Dan & I turned left. That's when the fun started.

This hole nearly swallowed Keith & his Salsa Spearfish!

After several steepish uphills, we made our way toward Black Mtn. Park the trail way. This included several rock gardens and upward side-hills. I was sort-of familiar with this and led out not to be denied. Dan was behind when he disappeared!

Dan's story:  
"Oddly and ironically, Keith as you and Mac rode away I was thinking it would be better if we stayed together in case one of us needed to be carried out after a big get off. Little did I know! Kelly and I were chatting while climbing a notchey little side hill trail and I lost concentration for a nanosecond and the next thing I knew I was tipping over with no place to put my right foot but air. As you can see by the pristine trail we chose I never should have fallen.

At least I landed down in some bushes between the rocks and not the rocks between the bushes! I remember closing my eyes so as not to get my eyes poked out as I flailed through the brush and I heard a big "smack!" I remember thinking "I wonder how much that will cost?" Well the bike hit the rocks and bent the derailleur bracket and broke a tooth off the little sprocket. Lucky for me I kept my newspaper from the morning and so I wrapped it around the derailleur assembly and gave it a twist. After a few tweaks it was good to go. You can see from the photo it was pretty ugly. Up at the park I took a break for some inventory and flat repairs while Kelly chatted it up with a rider about parts sources and the good, the bad and the ugly of retail."

 After ravine tumble, Dan's initial repaired derailleur looked like this.

I heard some yelling, stopped and walked back to check things out. Dan was down in the ravine walking back up with his bottles. After some time, the rear derailleur was close to position and we were off to the Park ahead. Dan went into post-concussion mode and was fumbling around with his tube repair, counting the thorns he was pulling out. I was chatting with a Santa Cruz big-guy rider packing his bike away. He liked my single ring set up and said Bike Bling had a deal on a single ring conversion for only $1500. After I cleaned my pants, I suggested he take his hi-end Santa Cruz back to his dealer and have them do it for cheaper. Dan was finally finished up, so after a mini-medical, we left.

Not wanting to risk a further hanger breakage or blood loss, we opted for a roadie route back to Mule Hill via Rancho Bernardo. Still a few trail runners as we swung around the bike path and back to his truck. We were done for the day. Dan took my 27.5+ for a spin around the gravel lot and then we chatted about tubeless advantages. Local hard core FS rider overheard and added his tubeless knowledge on air pressure. Made sense to me. Dan offered a ride home, so we threw the bikes in the back of his pickup and we were off. Another memorable training ride.


Per report, Keith and Mac made it back to Mule Hill OK... arriving around 2:00 PM. At home, I'm sure they were resting up and ready for the next one.

-randorides

First "Trail" Brevet In San Diego

Rock & Road Trail route today

This event was moved up 1 week and the timing was perfect. Four days of rain predicted for next week with over 3" of rain would have definitely nixed the scheduled ride on January 9th due to muddy, un-passable trails. 38 degrees when I rolled out late to the local start at San Marcos Albertson's. After so many riders showed keen interest in this ride, I was a little disappointed at the turn-out. Maybe it was the holiday season, could be other commitments but I think the majority of hopefuls just thought they didn't feel confident on the dirt enough to complete the ride in 8 hours.

A roadie brevet is just that ... polish up your carbon, air the tires get on your bike and ride roads.. a hill is a hill with the only variance being the grade. The difficulty being how many miles & how many hills (also thrown in would be some traffic conditions). Not so on trail riding. Every week the trail conditions change, the goat-heads blossom and the rocks get bigger. Just 4 riders for this one.

Keith Olsen took his Salsa Spearfish out of mothballs and finally got some help setting it up for dirt riding. His results proved that today.

Non-rando Bob Sheldon from Fallbrook was a newbie to randonneur stuff and was well mounted on Yeti carbon full suspension ride. Bob is a OFR road rider and likes the climbing stuff.

Rando Mike Bailey rode a few brevets years ago and was back with his brand new Giant cross carbon bike. Mike did good today with just navigating the rock gardens and finding some traction on the climbs.

I was on the thrice ridden 27.5+ wider tire C'dale and still playing with the settings, tire pressure and where to put bags to carry things.

After a few words, we were off just after 0700 on a crisp, clear morning on the Inland Rail Trail heading for Escondido. Our first "detour" came as construction equipment blocked the East Escondido Bike Path at Broadway Street. We rode around looking for another entrance and finally found one over on Fig Street. Bob and Mike were blasting off the front with the early adrenaline surge. Fun riding the Old San Pasqual Valley Road & Milkey Way. Finally some dirt as we stopped at the Ysabel Creek Trailhead. A dozen trail runners were just leaving as we approached. Mostly women training group heading the same direction as we were. We stripped off a layer, I let some air out of my tires and after the INFO question, we were off for some fun!

Ran into the trail runners again just on the steep part of Raptor Ridge climb. I waited a bit for them to clear and went around as they thankfully stopped off trail at the top. Bob was just behind be as I kept hearing his squeaking rear disc brakes. We made a stop as I pointed out to Bob the hillside trail way over there where the Ham-Hock Trail would be going up in March. Quick time on the sandy flat stuff over to Mule Hill Chevron. Mike caught up by then, having a little traction problems going up the first climb. Keith cruised in a bit later. Water refill, receipt and we were off in about 15 minutes.

Lake Hodges "rock gardens" quickly separated the group. A whole lot of hikers out along Hodges today, so it was "Good Morning" and "Thank You" galore. Got together at the parking lot and took the roadside trail over to the regroup in Del Dios town (I think it's a town...sort of?) Mike's top-tube baggie blew up and Keith helped him pick up the goodies scattered over the trail.

Santa Fe Trail: 33 switchbacks make for interesting climbing!

Easy riding downhill on Del Dios Hwy., as were were joined by a roadie trying to draft. Mike's narrow tired CX bike rolled good, but the big tired bike were right there. A turn at the Fruit Market put us back on the dirt Santa Fe Trail.  A short regroup before great single trak riding and soon we were up the switchbacks. Everyone onto their own method of climbing those, but I found the grab a post and slingshot was the safest and fastest. Met a large group of neo-pros blasting down. We yielded as these riders were packin' carbon hardware. Poor girl at the rear had a few words to say about her hardtail. Regroup at the top before hard surfaced Artesian Road for a bit.

More great single-trak on Lusardi Loop Trail. Nice little bridge crossing and the steep rocky side-hill was mellowed out over last weeks recon ride. We all made it safely thru there and a regroup before the cardiac workout ahead. At least there were no tumbleweeds blocking the double-trak this time. Looks like a truck smashed up some and threw the rest over the side. We finally all made it over to Black Mtn. Park and a brief repose at the water fountain. Smooth sailing ahead down hard-surfaced Black Mtn. Road to the Shell Station Control.

Nice lady there knew all about cyclists stopping and needing receipts. I grabbed a over-priced bottle of Citrus Vitamin Water and added powder to my bottles. Temps were warming up to low 60's by now and I was considering shedding the long sleeve layer. Not just yet, as we had a fast downhill ahead to more dirt. Around 15-minutes later, we were off, chasing a roadie downhill to Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve. Entering the Preserve, this place was packed with Saturday hikers!

Lusardi Loop Trail: Pristine single trak

Great day for a hike and the wide smooth trail showed it. Dogs, kiddies on Walmart bikes and groupies abound for the
first 2 miles. We still made constant riding over to the waterfall. After which, the foot traffic fell off dramatically and we were able to hit those rocky uphills with some speed. Wide tires are perfect here with the softer stuff mixed in with rocky sections make for a easy straight line. Mike was picking his way thru with accuracy and Keith's pre-ride planning was paying off. At Wagon Wheel Crossing I ask a hiker about the Abode Trail section mud bath and she said it was dried out some. That's the way we went and only had to dismount one time just before the Adobe Ruin. Shoes slightly muddy, we were soon onto Sorrento Valley Blvd. heading for the hidden Roselle Street dirt climb.

Easy way up to UTC or not, this climb gets steeper as you go and makes for another good cardio workout. Non-rando Bob and I cleaned our cleats out at the top and soon our small gruppo was back together again for the blast down Genesee Ave. to the last section of dirt.

Rose Canyon Hiking Trail-N is like a rutted access road. Lots of "Preservation Construction" signs and a few rocky uphills brought us to a shortened detour onto La Jolla Colony Dr. sidewalk. Another plus for the pre-ride last week. Regroup there as I briefed Bob on the little "switchy thing" on the top of his right suspension fork. Keith led out down Rose Canyon Bike Path and onto the now soft riding Rose Creek BP (with suspension MTB's, of course). Mike on CX bike was now back on comfortable riding mode. Necessary stop at the first Mission Bay bathroom, where it was time to refill bottles.

Do to moderate BP traffic and lots of kiddies out on bikes, we decided to make a "safety move" and left the Mission Bay Bike Path for a stint onto Mission Bay Drive over to Fiesta Island. Back onto BP, we were soon winding around by Sea World Drive and a packed parking lot. A few turns later, crossing the channel, it was Ocean Beach 7-Eleven for our short final stop. Looking at the clock, we had less than one-hour to finish up downtown. Bob was lying on the sidewalk, stretching out his lower back.

Scenic Sunset Cliffs: Ride by just before the cardiac Hill St. climb.

Hill Street climb ahead. This climb always kicks my butt at the end of this ride and today was no exception. I was 2 lbs low on the tire pressure and it sure showed it here. Made it up with Bob at a high cadence spin before the speed-o blast down Talbot Street and along Harbor Drive. It's always relaxing to cruise around the Bay on the Bike Path here. Not much foot traffic today and we made good time to the Broadway Pier. Joined the tourists on the sidewalk and cut along the RR tracks to the Coaster ticket kiosk track-side. We all finished up in good order and now the hard part... figuring out how to get a Coaster ticket from the right machine!

Keith rode back home to Point Loma (we almost passed his house on the route), Bob, Mike & I finally got tickets & jumped the 3:18 Coaster to Oceanside with time to spare. Bob opted to dig into my drug cache for 2000mg of Tylenol to ease the back pain. Soon joined at Sorrento Valley Station by a big body-builder guy on a Specialized 29'er who sat next to Bob! Things got real quiet after that. Oceanside stop we jumped the 4:33 crowded Sprinter Train to San Marcos. Some anorexic girl passed out on the train so the ride was anything but boring for me! A short BP ride and it was back to the Albertson's start just as the sun was setting and time for rear blinkies.  Good ride guys!

Sun, light clouds
Hi:  63     Lo: 38
Wind: Light, variable
84 miles

-randorides