Manny and his magic Rivendell took The Bearded One and I back to Diablo this weekend for more off-road shenanigans. This time we brought our Ride-On crew along with us: Chava, Daniel, Ellen, Johnny, Laura and Nick. It was foggy and cold at the top — TBO reported many roadies shivering their way down from the peak and one even hitched a ride back down the mountain from Juniper Campground — but we had tons of fun descending into the gray mist. By the time we hit the single track, the sunshine had returned and it was just loads of splashy goodness with a series of rad creek crossings. Thanks again to Manny for leading our group, and the Jens Voigt HTFU award goes to Laura for riding the entire route on her CX bike!
Tag mountain biking
Click the images to view larger sizes
Today we rode our mountain bikes in the glorious winter sunshine up to Hill 88. It’s an annual tradition for local cyclists to work off their hangovers by making an afternoon pilgrimage to the old military radar site that’s located high up in the Marin Headlands. Folks congregate at the abandoned structures to drink more beer and eat a buffet of snacks brought up by backpacks, baskets and even a cargo bike (Cameron Falconer, a Bay Area framebuilder, slogged up the climbs to bring his custom creation to the spot.)
Afterwards, The Bearded One, Amos and I kept riding onwards to Coastal Trail and Dias Ridge — a great way to ring in the New Year.
The Bearded One and I took a fun week-long holiday mountain bike trip just outside of Phoenix, Arizona. We loaded up our rigs and drove 12 long hours to desert country, where we stayed with his aunt Marsha and cousin Breck. Every morning we’d set out from their lovely home for our daytime excursions to White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Estrella Mountain Regional Park and Phoenix Mountain Preserve, and they’d spoil us with delicious dinners upon our return.
The riding in this region is a world apart from Northern California with its dry, dusty and rocky terrain that’s peppered with cactus. It was quite a challenge for me to negotiate the seemingly endless fields of rocks as I’m still an off-road novice, so I took my time and slowly explored the alien-like landscape of the parks. I’m hoping that mountain biking in Marin will seem a bit easier after this trip!
Click the images to view larger sizes
My first real mountain bike ride ever was in April 2010 with my friend Brad at Tamarancho. Several bike companies were hosting demo days, and I took a Specialized full-suspension MTB out for a spin. Here’s what I had to say two years ago about the experience:
“[I had] my first real MTB ride at Tamarancho. Thanks to my mentor Brad for being such a patient and supportive coach. I wouldn’t have survived without him.
I was scared shitless for the beginning half of the ride and lots of walking and screaming ensued. But I began to enjoy the views and feel more comfortable in the dirt. I definitely have a lot more walking ahead of me, but with time I can hopefully stay on the bike – even through rock gardens.”
Well, I’m sad to say that I’m still pretty awful at riding the single track sections of Tamarancho. I did my best to keep up with Brad, The Bearded One and our friend Aaron, but I truly suck at riding switchbacks – and I’m especially bad at negotiating sharp right turns. No matter how hard I try, it’s super hard for me to swing the bike in that direction. (I blame my years of turning only left at Hellyer for this.) And the combination of switchbacks with lots of roots and rocks means it’s hike-a-bike territory for me. Some sections make me feel like I’m going to tumble down the mountain, while the narrow passages that squeeze between trees make me afraid of pedal striking. I did encounter another fellow newb out on the trail. She and her husband were walking a challenging woop-de-doo section that was peppered with rocks. I dismounted also and as I passed them, she said somewhat shyly, “I’m a beginner.” I replied, “Me, too!” And we smiled at one another and enjoyed our moment of scared solidarity. Fortunately, it wasn’t all white-knuckling and push-biking. I enjoyed the latter part of the loop where it opens up into wider, swoopier fire roads, and the weather couldn’t have been more beautiful.
We then headed to down Fairfax to check out Biketoberfest. Our framebuilder buddy Mike Ahrens was chatting with his friend who had an Adaptrac system on his rig; it allows riders to adjust their tire pressure on the fly. It’s a pretty nifty setup, and I love this sort of DIY ingenuity. Now if only someone could develop a product that removed the fear factor from my brain while I’m attempting technical sections on my mountain bike…
Click the images to view larger sizes
Since I wanted to stake out new mountain biking territory in the East Bay — I have a perpetually restless need to ride in areas I haven’t ridden before — TBO and I headed to Briones Regional Park today. While we’ve zoomed past the entrance countless times during Three Bears rides and briefly refueled there during a Grizzly Peak Century rest stop several years ago, neither of us had ventured in the park with our mountain bikes.
TBO wanted to do a clockwise perimeter loop, but it turned out to be a bit too ambitious for me — especially after CX practice all week and getting there from Lafayette BART via the long climb up Happy Valley Road. The first ascent up Briones Crest Trail was at least 25% grade, if not more. After much hiking on my part, we decided to turn around and hit up some easier sections.
Briones is filled with tons of short, steep climbs — which is not my forte on the dirt (although nothing really is at this point in time!) By the time we climbed up to about 1400ft., I was pretty knackered. But the views are gorgeous; you can see Mt. Diablo, Suisun Bay and endless miles of golden hills at the very top. We left at the northern entrance of the park and made our way to Pleasant Hill BART. It’ll be a great place for me to keep practice climbing and descending in the future; maybe one of these days I’ll be able to hoof up that one gnarly climb at the start of Briones Crest Trail.
19.11 miles / 2523 ft.