Lory Weekend Adventure

(click images for bigger view)


I gave the new bike a run for its money this weekend. Wifey and I met up with Dizzney, one of my coworkers, and drove up to FC with our bikes on Saturday morning. On the way up I leaned out the window of the truck and my hat blew off. We stopped and I jogged back about a quarter mile but couldn't find it anywhere. Then Dizzney noticed it, wedged between the bike spokes in the back of the truck. Good thing, I like that hat!

In FC we met up with another coworker, Sharkdog, and his girlfriend and her friend and set out for the reservoir. We paid our park dues and found a place to park the vehicle and then set off on our adventures. The ladies were going to hike around while we dudes did some biking. Our parking spot is circled in red on the map above. The ladies set off to the West, up the mountain, but we decided to ride down by the shore first (green path going East from the parking spot).
(Sharkdog and Dizzney at the summit, all photos taken with bad cell phone camera...)
We rode along until our trail dead-ended at the reservoir. There was a "slight hill" to our left and we decided to climb over the top and catch the trail (that we imagined) on the other side (first red section of the map above). This took place on foot because there were spiky bushes and cacti that made in unfriendly for riding. Plus it was pretty steep. At about this time we were soaking with sweat and we all got rid of our t-shirts.(View from the summit down to where we started at the reservoir)
When we finally reached the top the other side was a short cliff (10-15 feet?), unsuitable for riding down. Sharkdawg crawled down and then Dizzney and we passed the bikes down (first blue section of the path). We descended into a little gully with a sort of dry creek bed down the middle. We rode part of that out but also had to walk some because of large rocks and cacti (second red section). Keep in mind that there was no trail here. The gully ended in another cliff that we navigated using our previous method (second blue chunk).

From there we were pretty much back on trail. We rode up the coast to a trailhead that went up the mountain. It was a long, hard climb. The trail was thin and had lots of rocks and roots to navigate over. It was steep enough that if you lost momentum you pretty much had to walk to the next switchback so you could get started again (at least at my riding level). Also, I couldn't stand up to pedal much because it took too much weight off my back tire and I would start spinning out. You can see on the map above how steep it gets by looking at the topo lines.
(Me and Dizzney on the summit, Dizzney is just glad to be alive)
Dizzney and I were on our first ride of the summer and neither of us have been training. By the time we hit the top it was all we could do to keep pushing the pedals down. My bike seat came loose and rotated backwards so I couldn't sit down for about a mile until we ran into a guy with a bike tool. I had left my bike tool behind because I decided I didn't want to carry a backpack.At one point I was heading upward and hit a rock that stopped my progress, I tried to put my left foot down but there was nothing to put down on. The mountain dropped off too steeply on that side of the trail. So I ended up sort of falling on my shin in a spiky tree that was growing up the mountain. Kinda tore my shin up and my ankle got a little stiff for the rest of the ride.

Sharkdog stayed pretty much daisy-fresh through the climb. He trains hard almost every day and has a triathlon lined up for pretty much every weekend this summer. I think he also intends to compete in the ironman: 2mi swim, 50mi bike ride and a half marathon at the end. He was our main inspiration to keep going as we weren't sure that the trail we were on would lead us back over the mountain to our parking spot. His curiosity about what lay at the top of the mountain (and apparently infinite energy) kept us motivated.

We finally topped out on an old logging trail and found the summit at Arthur's rock. It was a great view, overlooking the reservoir. After we rested for a bit we started down the other side, a much steeper drop that ended right at our vehicles.
(Climbing up the final rock pile on weary legs)
The ride down was a blast but would have been more fun if I had more energy left. We found out later that it was a walking trail only and there were lots of places where we were riding down nature's equivalent of stairs...large terraces of rocks or logs planted by the parks to stop erosion. We also discovered that it was rated "Moderate to Difficult" as a foot trail. It's important to keep your butt over your back tire and your weight as far back as possible when you're descending stuff like that. I was heading down a really steep rock drop and my front tire dug in at the bottom. My bike threw me as smoothly as any horse but I got my feet over the handle bars and landed painlessly on my feet. Dizzney, who was behind me, and a couple hikers following up were pretty amused by the unconventional dismount. I think my wrecks could have been avoided, not with more skill but with more endurance. My wrecks were the product of slow muscles and slow brain from over-exertion.

Anyway, by that time we were all hallucinating hamburgers and were glad to get to the bottom. The ladies were waiting for us, having walked up the path we just descended to the summit and back down. We did damage to the food supply at Lucky Joe's and then headed back home so Dizzney could make a soccer game that evening. Sharkdog had plans to relax in his hot tub (so jealous...).(Me and the Sharkdog, unaware of how bad the sun is burning us right now)
When we got home I discovered how incredibly sunburned my back was, a joyous discovery to be sure. Sharkdog and Dizzney appear to be equally toasted.

Anyway, it was a blast and a great adventure, if a little more than I planned for my first summer ride. I definitely broke the bike in and got used to riding it. It rides a lot different than my old Giant. It can also withstand some damage, I'll vouch for that!

PS: I found out at work today that Sharkdog rode another 35 miles on Sunday and then ran 5 miles. The guy should get his head checked :)