Its been a while hasn't it!!!???

First off I just wanted to wish everyone a belated Christmas. I hope that Santa was good to everyone. It was a rough week for the family with the flu ripping through us like a hot knife thru butter. We've all spent about a day or two on the disabled list. Not fun.

On the dirt front three weeks ago I got to ride the San Clemente Single track with some guys from STR which was killer. Met some nice guys and found some really sweet singletrack that I will most assuredly go back to. Then last Monday I met up with some more great guys from STR over at Southridge. I got to ride my first 4x course which rocked. I watched them make some cool jumps and ride a bit of the DH section there. It wasn't a lot of riding per se but all afternoon on or around the bike which was fun. I probably should've brought the Chameleon and not the Heckler but it was still fun. I even got a new skid lid and some sweet 661 knee pads.

Less dirt but still riding I went out this morning (I probably shouldn't have since I was down with the stomach flu on Monday and not feeling nearly 100% yesterday...just couldn't help myself!) I drove over the Albertsons at the corner of Murrieta Road and Newport and rode from there to Diamond Valley Lake (DVL). It was a rough beginning to a ride. I felt off and was riding into a slight head wind. My legs felt like Spaghetti but I pushed on anyway. It felt food to think up a ride and make the destination. I rested for a minute or two at DVL and then started back. For some reason I really got a second wind and just felt a lot better. I hammered pretty good and forced my pace for a decent stretch. It was really awesome. The ride out to DVL lasted about 58 minutes and the ride back to the car lasted about 45 minutes. Pretty cool.

So I'm feeling the itch again to ride and love how some of the winter gear I bought recently really helped this morning. The temp was in the low 40's and while I was cold it was tolerable. I think now that I'm going to be able to get out a bit more on both the road and the mtn bike. It's been tough with my new schedule at work (all openings) and the cooler temps.

Last but not least it looks like I might end up getting a bit of cash to purchase another bike but I am undecided as to which one to get....not brand per se but style. Do I get a XC bike or a longer travel freeride/DH bike. Part of me wants to get an XC bike and rebuild the Bullit....hmm decisions, decisions. It'll be fun to decide and see if I can find a really good deal somewhere!

The picture here is of me on the rock wall that Destroyer and Ricky built at Southridge. Its one of the first shots of me actually riding a mtn bike. I have a couple others that I'll try and post later.

Rain...Rain...go away...

Well it's been a while since I've posted so I thought I'd put a little plug in here. Its been a rough week for exercising in general and biking in particular. With babysitters being sick, a change in my work schedule and doctors appointments theres been no time for me and my pedals. I've been feeling it too with the legs being a little jittery and just a bit down in the dumps from the lack of action.

So today after I got home and checked my fantasy football team (I won the week) and to check on the stats of the Chargers (GO CHARGERS!!!) I decided I just needed to get out for a spin...BIG time. So I donned a bit of kit and took the Chameleon out for the sole purpose of finding something to pound off of. I remembered a couple of small jumps near my house so I went there first. It was nothing huge but still fun with a cool berm to rail around and enough confidence in my riding to do a quick cross up off of one of the small jumps. I even crashed which is always cool and good reason to get more gear!!!!!!

It wasn't a long ride, it wasn't a training ride but it was a FUN ride and that is exactly what I needed tonight. Here are some pics of the Chameleon as well as a post ride pic. Thanks for reading and keep the rubber side down.

The De Luz Loops...

Well I knew I wanted to get in a good road ride this week and last night I started prepping for what has become my longest road ride to date. I had the bright idea of riding up Rancho California Road into De Luz and so this morning I started out at Back Alley Bikes in Wildomar off of Clinton Keith and made my down to Rancho California. It was a good beginning ride and the hill up and out of Temecula was crazy steep and FUN! It was hard work but after riding the whole thing with no stopping and no walking it was very gratifying. The ride continued on and I saw some new sites and in general had a great time. I turned down Comancho (I think) and road over to Los Gatos. Now there is a scary steep street. The guys at Redhawk Cyclery told me this afternoon that Los Gatos is like 27% grade so needless to say I did walk that section. The rest of the ride was a blast as it was mostly downhill and again FUN!

On another note I tried some gel packets today (Strawberry/Banana) and was impressed with both their taste as well as the results of taking them. I felt great the whole ride and really didn't bonk the whole ride. I also tried the Chocolate Chip Clif Bar and was also impressed with that. So all in all it was a great morning off riding followed by a nice hour long visit to the bike shop where I got some nagging questions answered (Like it's gonna cost me a pretty penny to get a true XC rig and that the 12 hour event at Vail is doable with some good support).

So it was a good weekend (my weekend at least) of riding and I only really need to do a little 2 mile run on Saturday to feel like I had a good week of exercising. Hope every one has a great real weekend. Keep the rubber side down y'all.

I tried....I really did...

I went for a good hard run on Monday morning that included, for the first time, two 60 second hill sprints. They were tough but fun, however I was really feeling the amount of running/riding I had been doing the previous week and knew my body needed a couple of days off. So I told myself that on Tuesday and Wednesday I'd take it easy by staying away from excercise...btw i also did some gym work on Monday after the run (45 minutes worth).

Well I did okay Tuesday but today I just couldn't take it. I was pacing around the house which inevitably led to getting on the internet which in turn landed me here at my blog which then led to all of the mtn bike blogs I've saved. So there I sat waiting for a lunch date with my wife to arrive. That was fun as always but then I was faced with two hours of more waiting (for the girls to get out of school) soooooo I couldn't take it anymore and hopped on the Heckler.

What was suppose to be a nice easy 45 minutes of so of spinning turned into 90 minutes of riding some unknown and not always there trails that was 50% bushwacking. Thank goodness for the toughness of the Heckler. It was a pretty cool ride, with a few hike-a-bike sections since there really wasn't a trail. I had been debating on whether or not to ride the Chameleon but I'm glad I stuck with the Heckler for this one.

All of this leads me to wonder though how people like Mary at Siren bikes and her friends can ride for 8 hours! My max is probably 2 hours although I've never pushed myself past that since most of the time I either don't have the time or don't know how to link that much dirt in this area. I think it'd be epic and totally awesome to be able to do that and am wondering how to start even thinking about that. Neither of my bikes though could be considered 8 hour ready though. The Heckler perhaps but I was looking at the pictures from Mary's last blog and a couple of them are riding FULLY rigid bikes!!!!! Makes me feel like a total wuss. lol

So now I'm wondering what it'd take to get a bike that could be ridden like that. A true XC bike that I could use to eventually ride for 8 hours or....better yet...ride in a 12 hour or 24 hour event either as a team or solo. I'm really thinking that next year i could probably get the weekend off to ride in the last 12 hours of Temecula series. That would be pretty awesome and give me a goal to start working towards. My Grand Canyon trip would be my first epic little adventure in April followed by training for the 12 hours of Temecula. hmmmm That's a pretty good idea.

Well I have children to pick up so I'm off. I need to get a lighter camera than my digital Rebel so I can some shots of my rides and really spruce up my blog a bit with pictures. Take care all and keep the rubber side down!

Who needs an energy drink....

When you can get out and ride who really needs to worry about some new sports fad? I mean I got home from work this afternoon at nearly 3:15, I was beat but the kids and the wife were all out watching "Enchanted" so the house was quiet. I stood in the middle of the living room frozen, the couch calling my name, the TV was practically flickering on as I stood there but from somewhere deep in the house came another voice! I walked into my office to put away my gear and there was my Chameleon, how could I refuse!? So I ignored the couches sweet siren call and suited up for a ride. I knew that it'd be a shorter ride and I wasn't trying to train (for what I'm not sure) and I wasn't trying to see how long I could stay out.

I just wanted to RIDE!

So I threw a leg over my HT and off I went. I felt like a kid again hitting every curb I could summon the energy to jump off. I can only imagine what my neighbors were thinking (of course they're probably used to it by now! lol). I hit dirt and off I went. It's a bit of a small frame for good XC riding but i lowered the Tora 302 fork as low as it would go and dug deep here and there to clear a few uphills I probably couldn't have ridden on the Heckler. When I got near the end I extended the Tora again and flew home jumping everything I could, heck I even impressed a couple of 12 year olds on BMX bikes. I laughed as I bunnied a football lying in the street.

So now here I sit with a grin from ear to ear and happily sitting in sweaty riding gear full of energy and ready to get the evening chores done. The kids should be home soon and all will be right with the world. Yep who needs an energy drink when you can ride! Take care all and keep the rubber side down!

Turkey Day Run...

Well I couldn't quite afford the time to get out for a good long Turkey Day ride with anyone so I comprimised and went spent about 50 minutes on the dirt trails around the homestead. I also squeezed in a 40 minute workout in the ol' home gym. It felt good to get out and the morning has been absolutely beautiful. Running is not nearly as fun as riding but it's not a bad substitute and it does a good job of keeping the knees from getting to sore from riding constantly.

Also just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope everyone is having a great day and that everyone returned from their rides/runs healthy.

Piece of Wisdom for the Day:
Life is better lived than conseptualized. - Bruce Lee

Two Rides in Two Days...

So with Thanksgiving coming up and only two days off i figured my time for riding would be a bit cut back so I decided to give two decent rides in two days shot. Yesterday I took the road bike out. I packed up for work, dropped the kids off at the sitters and hit the road. I rode for about 10 minutes shy of two hours at about a 15 mile an hour pace. I started out at the Barnes and Noble in Temecula, went down Winchester to Nicholas to Medusa and then left on a street I don't know the name of which got me all the way around to DePortolla. I took Deportolla instead of the 79 because there only stop signs (I feel less guilty about running stop signs) and not stop lights. I did eventually swing down to the 79 and then onto Old Town. I took Jefferson all the way down to Murrietta Hot Springs up over Hot Springs to Margarita and then back to Barnes and Noble. It was a good ride that really got me in a good mood for my 8 hours at the park. I can't believe how good it feels to ride and am really stoked that I found road riding. It really is more fun than I originally thought and has boosted my overall fitness ten fold.

So my second ride was this morning and was a 65 minute mountain bike ride on my Heckler. I've been sort of jonesing for a new XC ride but I am totally in love with that Heckler. It just rocks, it'll ride over just about anything. I am taking some advice from a couple of the British Mountain Bike mags and making some small tweaks just to see what happens. I played with one of the controls on the Fox front fork and I think for my next ride I'm going to move the saddle forward about 1/4" or so. I felt like I was riding on the nose of the saddle. Anyways, this ride was a variation of what most of the locals call the Nursery Ride in Murrieta. I don't really do the traditional version 'cause I'm riding it from the Farm in Wildomar. There's a couple of really good climbs on this side of the ride and a couple of pretty fun gentle downhill runs. I've done this ride a bit faster in the past but considering I rode for nearly two hours yesterday I think I did pretty good.

So besides being a bit saddle sore I'm feeling pretty good. I close again tonight at the park and I'm sure I'll hit a wall at about 9:00 it is Friday for me so I just have to push on till 10 and get the heck out for a nice weekend of family.

In other news (still mtn bike news though) I'm really stoked about finding some great on-line communities and the possibility of hooking up with some other riders from the area. There may be a ride on Dec. 5th but I'm not sure if my fitness and skill level will let me ride with them and another guy wants to ride over at Vail to show me around which would be great. Unfortunately, he wanted to ride this week but my 'weekend' is full with a trip to the parents place and a promised day of family togetherness on Thursday (I'm not complaining though since we are NEVER home together for an entire day!)

Alright well this has been going on for long enough. I've gotta get dressed for work. Take care all. I'll post some pictures of my rides as soon as I have a bit o' time. Keep on Keepin' On.

Cool Stuff....

You know I'm not sure which I love more, the outdoors or the gear that gets me there! I mean honestly I don't think I can stop cruising the internet for gear be it running gear, backpacking gear, hiking gear or bike gear. Right now I'm obssessing over bikes! Here's a perfectly good bike that I rode all over the place. It's ugly I know and I didn't pick the color (bought it used for an excellent deal) I beat the heck out of it for about a year and now it's lying in the laundry room devoid of parts (they're all on my Santa Cruz Chameleon which kicks butt itself...pics to follow). So this Bullit was two bikes ago (Just to prove to my wife what a gear whore I am I bought 2...yep 2 brand new bikes at the same time!). So now I have a hardtail for beating up, a dual suspension all mountain beauty (by the name Heckler) and now I'm looking for a possible pure XC ride for those road dires on dirt type rides. (Have I mentioned I also own a Specialized Road Bike? I'd have bought a Santa Cruze but they don't make their road bike anymore). So what is one to do with this disease? I mean it can be pretty bad...I did just spend like $800 on backpacking gear! Whew, I know I'm not the only one who has this affliction but man I work for the local government...one of these days I'm going tohave to find a cure for this...wait I know a trip to the local bike shop.....or maybe....REI could do the trick! ;-) Ride On folks!

History is a B**ch

It's inceredible sometimes how our life can come around a bit us in the butt. My whole past, all of the little problems I had through school are slowly coming back to get me in the form of my two daughters. It's like bad karma or something. Here I am nearly 35 and at times not sure how to take care of myself and I'm trying to figure out how to raise my daughters self-esteem and deal with other unpleasant things. It's a bit over whelming that's for damn sure.

For those who care here is a picture of my three beautiful children. While it can be a bit rough raising these three can also be really rewarding at the same time. It's no wonder my sister-in-law doesn't want to raise kids!!

My quote of the day:

Shame and repentance are like upsetting a pot of water...If one will rectify his mistakes, their traces will soon disapear.

- "Hagakure", Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Another Day in paradise...

Well it's Friday for me today and I can hardly wait to get it over with. Tomorrow I'm taking the family on a little trip to Disneyland and it should be a blast. The weather couldn't be more perfect for it and hopefuly we'll miss the Thanksgiving crowds. It's always a blast to hang with my girls. For those who don't know they're twins and 6 years old. I have found that at this age the world is so new to them and someplace like Disneyland is just magical. I remember before they were born I was pretty much done with the whole place but since I started taking them, its like experiencing it all over for the first time each time we've gone. It should be a blast.

My little nugget of wisdom;
"If we live our ives continually motivated by anger and hatred, even our physical health deteriorates."
His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Here's a picture

I'm gonna give this a shot. This is at the end of my first backpacking trip in 10 years and my first solo trip EVER! It was an awesome one nighter to Little Round Valley on San Jacinto Mt.

Brand New

My first blog, not bad for a 34 year old guy from SoCal. You'd have thought I would've started one before this. Actually, I'd like to thank a lady from backpacker.com who has a great blog and has inspired me to start one as well. I've never met her except through her blog yet she seems pretty cool and has on more than one occasion goten me off of my butt and outside for a run. Thank you Dirt Diva.

Well for now I guess that's about it. I'm off to play with the kids and get ready for work.